hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin in japan where prime minister kishida fumio is dealing with a fresh blow to his cabinet. his justice minister has resigned after facing significant pressure from lawmakers. it's related to controversial remarks he made about his role and the death penalty. >> translator: he undermined public trust towards the legal administration by his thoughtless remarks about the system that is the basis of our

your additional administration. the justice minister bears part of the heavy responsibility of government's vigorous efforts to help people who have suffered damages due to the actions of the former unification church. his remarks could have delayed diet discussions on our key relief measures. considering these points, i have accepted his resignation. >> y ashuhiro had been under fire. he said he had a low-profile job that made headlines only when he authorized executions. that triggered criticism from the opposition party and his own party's lawmaker who called for him to immediately resign. kishida has delayed countries in southeast asia in order to appoint his replacement. he's picked former agriculture minister saito ken to take over the post.

it comes less than a month after the resignation of the economic revitalization minister. daishiro stemmed down after a series of revelations about his links to a controversial religious group formerly known as the unification church. leaders of the association of southeast asian nations are holding a series of meetings on friday. myanmar's escalation of violence and political gridlock is high on the agenda. the asean summit is being hosted by cambodia in the capital, phnom penh. prime minister hun sen welcomed his counterparts as the chair. >> translator: let us focus on the common goal of mutual stability, and the betterment of the gion. >> political, social, and economic chaos have gripped myanmar since the military overthrew the civilian

government led by aung san suu kyi last year. asean had been trying to engage with the country's junta through the so-called five-point peace consensus. this includes calls for an immediate end to widespread violence and allowing a special envoy to mediate among all parties. myanmar's military leaders are not allowed to participate in the summit because of their ongoing suppression of the country's pro-democracy camps and not implementing the agreed peace plan. some asean members a urging that a tougher stance be taken against the junta. the focus of the discussions is on whether they can agree on substantial measures and a timeline to make myanmar comply with the peace plan. world leaders, including those from the u.s., japan, and china, will join a series of meetings with asean leaders over the weekend. moscow will be sending foreign minister sergey lavrov. they're expected to discuss

issues including russia's invasion of ukraine and territorial disputes in the south china sea. meanwhile, the japanese government says it's arranging a summit meeting between prime minister kishida fumio and chinese president xi jinping next week in thailand on the sidelines of the apec summit. a face-to-face meeting of the two countries' leaders will be the first in three years. kishida is likely to express japan's stance on issues such as maritime disputes in the east china sea and taiwan. a south korean police officer reportedly being investigated in connection with the fatal halloween crowd crush has been found dead. authorities are treating it as an apparent suicide.

police say the intelligence officer was found dead on friday by a member of his family at home. the officer worked at the police station in charge of the itaewon district where 156 people died in a crush on the halloween weekend. south korea's news agency reports the national police agency was investigating the officer on suspicion of ordering the deletion of an internal report after the accident. the report is said to have warned of a safety risk during the halloween period. police have been facing public criticism for failing to draw up proper security plans despite warnings that an accident could happen. turning now to china where retailers are hoping an annual shopping bonanza will be the remedy for stagnant consumption. november 11th means "singles

day" in china. it's when online retailers roll out major sales campaigns. what used to be a one-day affair has grown dramatically in scale in recent years. last year, e-commerce giant alibaba ran an 11-day extravaganza thatrought in revenue of $80 billion at the time. but this year, consumer spending has stalled as the country's covid policy put the brakes on many activities. infection measures are also affecting logistics and causing delays in the delivery of people's shopping. japan's government is moving forward with plans to open a probe into the religious group formerly known as the unification church. the group is accused of pressuring followers to make large donations and conducting dubious marketing practices known as spiritual sales.

culture minister nagaoka keiko said friday that numerous court rulings have acknowledged illegal activities by the religious group and its members, and the government plans to question the group directly. >> translator: we plan to exercise our right to report, collect, and question the former unification church. >> the ministry will swiftly draft the questions and the reasons for asking them. it plans to exercise its right to question religious organizations after consulting this month with a council within the ministry that deals with relious issues. the ministry says plaintiffs in prior civil lawsuits against the group and its members have been awarded a total of at least $10 million for damages. the group, which now calls itself the family federation for world peace and unification, says it will respond sincerely

to the government's request and answer the questions. tragedy has struck the world of japanese professional baseball. tokyo police officials say former pitcher and hall of famer murata choji has died as a result of a fire at his home. the fire broke out at murata's tokyo residence shortly past 3:00 a.m. on friday. the cause has yet to be determined. tokyo metropolitan police authorities say murata later died of carbon monoxide poisoning. he was 72. murata was born in hiroshima and joined the tokyo orions in 1968. the team is now known as the chiba gotte rines. knowfor hidistincte devery, muta had15 wins during his 23-year career as a professional. he also had 2,363 strikeouts,

which left him ranked tenth in japanese professional baseball history. he was inducted into the baball halof fame in 200 as survivors of the atomic bombings in hiroshima and nagasaki get older, concerns over their health are also growing. for decades, doctors have traveled to the americas to provide survivors living there with specialized care. nhk's koyama suko spoke to one member of the medical team about the challenges they face. >> reporter: matsumura makoto flew halfway across the world to speak with this patient and others like him. it's not the first time the hiroshima doctor has joined the medical mission.

but during a three-year pandemic break, things changed. >> translator: the effects of aging are becoming more pronoued on this population and the number of a-bomb survivors suffering from various illnesses, including cancer or respiratory and circulatory diseasesis increing. ben in 197 doctorsave gr sited rvivors brazil,he unitedtates, a canada. dr. matsumura joined in 2004. survivors were grateful to be able to hear from experts who fully understand their medical challenges. but the long line of patients is growing shorter. about 700 survivors of the bombings live in north and south america. only 64 people had consultations this year.

>> translator: due to illness and since their families are getting older too, some can no longer come for health consultations. >> reporter: the average age of an a-bomb survivor is now 84. from what he's seen in these consultations, dr. matsumura says the condition is worsening, both physically and mentally. >> translator: the survivors themselves have lived with, understood, and accepted their illnesses for many years. but they will still afraid the next generation, their children and grandchildren, could suffer from the same disease. >> reporter: and there's another issue. a-bomb survivors living outside of japan are entitled to the same health care allowances and medical benefits as survivors living in japan. but with the value of the yen

now so low, survivors abroad are getting missed. some are forced to pay for more themselves. >> translator: no matter which country ey live in, they are the same survivors, so the japanese government should provide them with the same medical support. that would tell survivors we will not forget them no matter where they live, and we will continue to provide them with medical support. >> reporter: dr. matsumura is now heading back to japan, but he and the survivors he helps hope this trip was not his last. koyama shoko, nhk world. ♪ ♪

it's time for world weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. it's been a beautiful week here in japan, especially seeing clear blue skies as a backdrop to the changing colors of the fall foliage. sayaka shares some of the sights with us. >> hello again. we saw crystal clear skies again in tokyo today. the blue skies created a nice contrast with fall foliage. i went to a famous gingko tree street in central tokyo. half of the trees have yellow leaves already. it seems the peak will arrive in two weeks. but it's already gorgeous under the trees. and we can see the nice contrast as we go into saturday, because we'll continue to see sunny weather, thanks to a big high pressure system. but a big change is on the way. a frontal system will be drifting over the country on sunday. many places in japan, from the south to the north, will receive

significant rainfall with strong winds. tokyo could see rainfall for the first time in two weeks on sunday. and sunny weather will continue as i mentioned as we go into saturday in tokyo. temperatures will be quite high on sunday in tokyo, but a big change in temperatures as well. it will be in the teens next week. it will be only 14 degrees on tuesday. sapporo could see the first snowfall of the season on sunday. meanwhile, a rare november hurricane made landfall in florida on thursday, causing damage along the coast. take a look at this video. the storm named nicole washed away beachfront properties and verely flooded some streets. almost 350,000 houses and businesses have no power. two people were electrocuted by a downed power line. it's the first november hurricane to strike the united states in 37 years. nicole has turned to a tropical depression and still bringing

heavy rainfall to the southeastern united states. moving into friday, heavy rain will be spreading to the northern areas, including new york city as well as washington, d.c. it's going to be on the warm side along the east coast, but much cooler in many places of the u.s. and canada. only 8 for the high in oklahoma city on friday. that's it for me. stay safe.

and finally, colder weather setting in around the country. but people in western japan's matsui city are having no problem th the chills. they are enjoying rides on sightseeing boats equipped with traditional k ochotsua heaters. it's a low table covered with a

blanket that has a heat source underneath. unlike modern kotsua, these ones use coals to keep people warm. the first rides of the season set sail early thursday morning. the temperature outside was a chilly 7.8 degrees in the early hours. but tourists had no trouble enjoying the leaves around the castle, thanks to the toasty tables. >> translator: years ago, i had a kotatsu that used coal. it gives me a sense of nostalgia. it's a crisp, autumn day and my feet are nice and warm. it feels great. >> the kotatsu boats will be offering a cozy seat through early april. and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching, and do stay with us for more.

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. eight japanese companies have teamed up. their ultimate goal is to domestically produce two nano meter chips five years from now. a task foundry makers have yet to achieve anywhere in the world. >> translator: we are 10, 20 years behind when it comes to developing advanced semiconductors. this is our last chance to use

our country's manufacturing advantage to make a contribution to the world. >> the consortium includes toyota motor, sony group, and telecom giant ntt. it plans to set up a company called rapidas to developed a advanced chips. these are essential components for technologies such as self-driving vehicles, super computers, and so-called smart cities. chipmakers around the world are striving to create designs for better performance. taiwan-based tsmc aims to commercialize 2 nano meter chips by 2025. japan used to control half the world's semiconductor supply at its peak in 1988, but now it relies on foreign imports. it believes japanese companies need to step up against rival companies in taiwan, south korea, and the united states.

concerns are growing that japan could face serious supply issues from political conflicts and other disruptions. tensions between china and taiwan are especially worrying. japanese government officials say overdependance on imports should no longer be tolerated, but analysts say catching up and closing a 30-year gap will not be easy. they say the key to success will be developing human resources capable of handling cutting-edge chip production technologies. the consortium plans to work with overseas makers including some in the u.s. to achieve its goal. tokyo's benchmark stock index surged on friday. investors shared the view that weaker than expected inflation in the u.s. could prompt the federal reserve to ease back on its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes. the nikkei average ended the day at 28,263, up 817 points or almost 3% from thursday. investors placed buy orders in a wide range of sectors.

tech-related shares were especially strong. the index finished above the 28,000 mark for the first time in about two months. the surge was driven by a sense of relief among investors about the outlook for the american economy. the u.s. consumer price index rose 7.7% in october from a year earlier. that is the first time in eight months for the rate to come in below 8%. that encouraged bets that the fed will raise interest rates by .5 percentage points from next month rather than the .75 points seen in the most recent hikes. major indices across the asia-pacific region were also up. seoul rose 3.4 if there is. sydney, 2.8%. hong kong's hang seng surged 7.7% after china said it will ease some coronavirus measures. 7 and i will sell sogo and seibu

to a u.s. fund. sources say the operator of the 7-eleven convenience store chain made the decision at an extraordinary board meeting on friday. fortress investment group will acquire all of sogo & seibu shares at an estimated cost of over 200 billion yen or $1.4 billion. japan's softbank group owns fortress. the deal has another player. electronics retailer yodobashi holdings will shoulder much of the cost and set up outlets within some seibu and sogo locations. these include the flagship store in tokyo. sogo and seibu operates 10 stores mainly in the tokyo metropolitan area. it has stayed in the red for the past three years due to competition from online shopping and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. producer prices in japan rose in october for the 20th month in a row. that was due to rising costs for raw materials. the bank of japan says the costs of goods traded among companies increased 9.1% in october from a year earlier. the rise is slower than the double-digit increase recorded in september. still, last month's figure is

relatively high. that was mainly due to price increases for steel and electricity as well as food and beverages. 515 items are covered by the survey. over 80% were more expensive. that suggests companies have been hit with higher procurement costs and are passing them on in their products and services. the import price index surged over 40% year-on-year in yen terms as the japanese currency continued to slide against the u.s. dollar. the boj says uncertainties remain high due to fluctuations in prices for raw materials and the weaker yen. the officials say they will closely monitor trends in import prices and moves by firms to pass on higher costs to other businesses. let's look at what's happening in the week ahead. on tuesday, we will have data on the economic condition in ththr countries -- japan, china, and germany. the japanese government will

announce the economic growth rate for the july-to-september period. analysts expect that it continued to expand for four quarters in a row. the range of estimates are between 0.7% and 2.4%. they attribute the growth to the increase in exports as covid-19-related restrictions were lifted in shanghai and automobile shipments have recovered. consumer spending also likely grew. people spent more at restaurants and hotels during the summer holidays after covid-19 restrictions were lifted. but analysts say the pace of spending growth slowed as consumers were deterred by rising prices. the national bureau of statistics of china will hold a press conference on the economic situation, including retail sales, industrial production, and the investment in fixed assets. the chinese authority referred to economic improvement at their last conference in october. but analysts say the momentum has been weighed down by a

sluggish real estate market and other negative factors. they say it will likely be too difficult for beijing to achieve its gdp target of around 5.5%. in germany, the zew indicator for economic sentiment for november will be released. it measures the direction for the country's economy in the coming months. the indicator rose to minus 59.2 points in october from the previous month's 14-year low. it showed economic expectations improved slightly, but the assessment of the current situation declined sharply. zew says the outlook had deteriorated significantly. on wednesday, we'll have the figures which will influence the monetary policies of the central banks in the united kingdom and the u.s. the consumer price index in the uk rose by 10.1% from the year earlier in september. it returned to july's recent high.

the bank of england lifted its key interest rate for the eighth consecutive time in early november to curb inflation. the rate has risen by 75 basis points to 3%. the move marked the first time since 1989 that the central bank has raised the rate by such a large margin under normal monetary policy. the bank projects that the cpi will pick up to around 11% by the end of 2022. it also indicates the possibility of another rate hike in the coming months. the u.s. department of commerce will release retail and food services sales for october. total numbers for september were virtually unchanged from august. people bought less motor vehicles, electronics, furniture, and building materials. meanwhile, sales at food and beverage stores were up. the federal reserve is maintaining its policy of raising interest rates to control inflation. consumer spending could affect

the pace of rate hikes. all right, let's have a look at the markets. ♪ ♪

from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks for being with us. for dt

dictators. ♪ hello again. u.s. president joe biden has called midterm elections a good day for democracy as declared poll results defy the projected so-called red wave. republicans secured smaller margins than predicted but are likely to control the house of representatives. >> the president making very clear his basic message, saying to the american people -- we hear you -- clearly acknowledging