♪ hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. japan's lower house has passed a bill aimed at helping people who make huge donations to religious organizations. they include the controversial group formerly known as the unification church. the bill was approved with majority support from japan's ruling coalition as well as the constitutional democratic party. the new law would ban religious entities from stirring anxiety

to solicit donations and imply followers have a spiritual obligation to give. violators could be punished with up to one year in a prison or a fine of up to $7,300. the law would also require groups to considered if their practices impact people's free will or their ability to support themselves, and it would allow authorities to reveal the names of entities that don't follow the rules. the bill is expected to be enacted on saturday after a vote in the diet's upper house. japanese defense officials are looking at developing submarine-launched missiles. the weapons could provide a strategic boost for the self-defense forces. the defense ministry has been upgrading surface-to-ship missiles for the ground defense force. they could be converted for use on submarines. that means they can be launched

from outside an enemy's range. >> translator: the stealth factor of submarines would work well in combat, involving long-range missiles. it's very effective in strategic and the missiles would force the enemy to respond in a more complex manner. >> the ministry is looking at using the missiles on destroyers and fighter jets. the plans will be raised while the government works to revise its national security strategy before the end of this year. government officials plan to change the name of japan's air self-defense force to include the word "space." the move shows the increasing importance of security in the domain. the government established the space operations squadron as part of a the asdf in may 2020. the unit monitored space to

protect japanese satellites from attacks and space debris. legal measures are necessary to make the name change, the first for the asdf since 1954. government officials plan to state the change in the national security strategy and related documents to be revised by year's end. the main governing liberal democratic party requested that the defense ministry and the self-defense forces be drastically strengthened in response to china's space development and north korea's missile program. ♪ the south korean government is sounding the alarm about north korean i.t. workers with false identities. it says the money they earn overseas is helping north korea develop its nuclear and missile programs, and it's warning south korean businesses not to

inadvertently hire them. >> translator: there have been many cases in which north korean i.t. engineers have made huge profits by winning i.t.-related contracts outside the country. we are asking for greater vigilance. >> the south korean foreign ministry and intelligence service put out an advisory saying north korea has sent thousands of i.t. engineers around the world. they say these engineers live in groups and get hired by companies to develop software and mobile apps. and they say the engineers pretend to be from other countries by using illegally obtained driving licenses and forg forged i.d. cards. the advisory says north korean i.t. workers earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year. it says most of that money goes to a north korean agency and

helps pay for nuclear and missile development. the south korean government is urging businesses to do thorough background checks on i.t. workers before giving them contracts. the united states issued a similar warning in may. german prosecutors say they've foiled a plot by a terrorist group to try to overthrow their government. about 3,000 officers rated more than 130 locations in germany, austria, and italy. they arrested 25 suspected members and supporters of a group of far right and ex-military figures. prosecutors say a man named heinrich the 13th and former servicemen are believed to be ring leader. they suspect some of the group's members plan to storm the parliament building. members are said to believe in a conspiracy theory that germany is controlled by a so-called

deep state. and a plot to install their own government had been in the works since around november last year. prosecutors say the group had its own cabinet and a military wing and was trying to recruit people in the german military and police. a day of intense political drama in peru ended with the president being ousted and arrested and a successor being sworn in. pedro castillo abruptly declared on wednesday he was dissolving congress, installing an emergency government and imposing a nighttime curfew. observers believe this was spurred by his impeachment trial that was scheduled to be held later in the day. it was prompted by allegations of corruption. congressional lawmakers went ahead with the trial with more than 2/3 voting to remove him from office. castillo's administration has been unstable since coming into

power last year. battling with the opposition over cabinet appointments. castillo was also accused of showing favoritism to certain parties during the bidding process for a government-linked engineering project. vice president dina bularte has been sworn in to replace him. she's the first woman to lead peru. ♪ wednesday marked the 81st anniversary of japan's surprise attack on pearl harbor that prompted the united states to enter world war ii and hurt japan/u.s. relations for decades. american and japanese children honored the anniversary by coming together to discuss peace. students from honolulu school met online with 6th graders from na gaokai city, where the

commander who led the attack on pearl harbor was from. they shared their war history, that including a u.s. air-raid that killed 100 kids at their school. this former officer helped the cities so they can work through the past together. >> we need to understand what it takes to create this peaceful relationship. one of the most important things, i think, is to understand different cultures and different peoples, and different ways of thinking. and not to be suspicious, not to be critical, but to be more accepting. >> the student left the online lesson determined to defend these values. >> translator: what i remember deep in my heart is how he said it's important to understand each other regardless of where

we come from. japan's birthrate is on track to hit another record low. just under 800,000 new babies for all of 2022. the japanese government says more financial support is on the way but as we see in this next report, parents say it's still too expensive. >> translator: she always wanted to have at least two children. the 38-year-old office worker is raising her 4-year-old daughter with her husband in tokyo. she cut work hours to spend more time with her kids, and after going through years of infertility treatments which cost around $20,000, katahira says a biggest family is just too pricey. we are surviving by cutting into our savings now. a second child is unthinkable

for us. >> she's not alone. japan has seen record low births for the last six years. statistically japanese women are expected to have an average of 1.3 children over their lifetime. they need to have 2.1 for a sustainable population. prime minister kishida fumio says hep he wants to give more money to new parents, including an extra $500 per child on top of existing benefits, but experts say it's not enough. >> translar: financial help in major western countries provide. >> reporter: one success story lies in western japan. over the last two decades, this small town invested heavily in covering prenatal and child care for parents. in 2019, its fertility rate hit 2.95, far surpassing the national average. the town of 5,700 even markets

itself as family friendly to attract new residents. nagi funded its utility boom by cutting municipal staff. it paid off, creating a community more focused on building its next generation. parents like katahira say it's something the whole country should consider. >> translator: if our society can make having kids feel more natural, i think the idea of becoming a parent will be more attractive for young people. >> reporter: young people who for now at least are on the decline. japan's world cup soccer

team paid a visit to the prime minister's office on thursday. the team was bounced from the tournament in qatar this week, but their strong performance excited fan excited fans at home. the squad presented kishida fumio with a uniform and a ball. the team missed out on a berth in the quarter finals losing to croatia on penalties but they stunned germany and spain in the group stage. kishida says their play was inspiring. >> translator: i think the performance of japan's national team surprised the world. it definitely provided courage and energized many fans in japan. >> coach and the prime minister shared notebooks, sharing the custom of keeping thorough records. he shared the memo he had written before the final match. it said nothing is impossible for japan.

>> translator: i really think everyone on the team showed potential and i would be grateful if that inspires young people and the people of japan to play an active role in the world. >> this was the fourth time that the samurai blue had advanced to the round of 16 before bowing out. ♪ it's time for a check on the weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. it's been seasonally cool in japan thursday with wintry

weather impacting parts of the country. s sayaka tells us how things are looking for friday. >> hello there, it's seasonally cool in much of the country, and in miko, we saw the first ice and frost of the season on thursday. that's the latest, by the way. and snow is piling up across the northern areas. it looks like snow will be decreasing into friday. temperatures are going to be dropping significantly late next week. look at this, three in sapporo on friday, and then minus 2 on thursday. for tokyo, it will be in the mid teens for the next several days but cooling down to 11 degrees on thursday, and the time of year when animals and plants change their colors. take a look at this footage. the leaves aren't the only things that are turning red on mount in the prefecture these days. it's also the season of love for monkeys at the zoo. the faces of the animals turn

red in order to attract mates. the leaves and monkeys will continue their colorful season for the next couple of weeks. cute. let's switch gears and talk about a cyclone over the bay of bengal. this system has become a cyclone named mandose. it's expected to maintain its intensity, and hit the south coast, you could be directly hit by this storm. heavy rain and strong winds anticipated for several states in the southern areas of india into the weekend. meanwhile in doha, or in qatar, in fact, two tornadoes were sighted in qatar on wednesday. it's very rare to see tornados in the desert nation but that occurred because it's the rainy season. rain is on the menu on thursday as well as saturday in the capital city of qatar. sunny weather in the forecast on friday, but temperatures will drop significantly as we go into

saturday. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪ ♪ before we go, monks in the

ancient japanese capital of nara have finished their annual year end dusting of buddhist statues. after reciting a sue tra, they used dustings of bamboo to clean the statues. it is a unesco world heritage site. its main hall and some of the buddhist statues in it are national treasures of japan. >> translator: it's very nice and refreshing. >> translator: i was so moved. i feel lucky to be able to see it. >> 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. new figures from japan's government show the country's gdb shrank less than initially reported in the third quarter this year. the office released revised data, indicating the economy contracted at an an eweized rate in the quarter. the preliminary reading showed a bigger 1.2% decrease. yet this is the first decline in

gdp in two years. the new data shows exports expanded over 2%. more than the preliminary figure. government spending was also better than expected. but consumer spending was revised downward. the original figure was a fraction higher. this category accounts for more than half of gdp. the decline is attributed to a sluggish demand for food and services due to a renewed spread of the coronavirus. inflation and slowdowns in overseas economies remain concerns for the october to december period. but some analysts say the resumption of inbound tourism and campaigns to promote domestic travel will boost consumption and help the economy return to growth. japan has posted the first current account deficit in nine months after searching fuel prices and a weak yen made imports more expensive. the current account is a measure of japan's trade and investment with the rest of the world. the finance ministry said thursday that october's figure

was more than 64 billion yen in the red. that's about $470 million. the trade deficit hit nearly $14 billion. imports surged to a record high due to the prices of crude oil and liquified natural gas, as well as the weak yen, but prime income went up. that's the money japan receives on investments, and reached $21 billion. the economy got a boost from the surge in tourism after the government eased border restrictions. inbound visitors spent $314 million more than outbound japanese spent over seas. airways is stepping up recruitment demand for flights since the japanese government eased coronavirus entry restrictions. the major carrier says it will hire graduates to join as flight attendants in 2024. the ana group suspended recruiting staff fresh out of

school in 2020 due to the pandemic. it has already resumed hiring ground staff and mechanics who will start working next spring. but there were no positions for cabin crew. mid career recruitment will also resume for jobs that begin in april. rival carrier japan airlines has already restarted recruitment of new graduates for flight attendants to begin next april after a two-year hiatus. businesses are gearing up for the 2025 world expo in osaka and the operator of the subway that takes people to the venue has unveiled their new train. osaka metro has been extending one of its lines to reach the venue. it has also been installing signage in multiple languages to prepare for the influx of tourists. meo official says they hope the new carriage design will impro improve the overall experience. >> we've developed this model as

a vehicle to give people a sense of excitement as they head to the expo venue. >> the new trains come with improved security and comfort. cameras let the crews see what is happening throughout the train, and a temperature inside each carriage will be automatically adjusted depending on how crowded it is. osaka metro plans to debut the model next april. egg prices are surging in japan largely because the cost of feeding hens is too. russia's invasion of ukraine sent those prices rocketing, and the spread of bird flu in the country made matters worse. an industry group says the average wholesale price of medium-sized eggs in tokyo was 262 yen or about $1.90 in november. that's up more than 25% from a year earlier and is the highest on record for that month. eggs aren't usually as

susceptible to price swings as some food items in japan. they are so important to the food industry that manufacturers have built in a high degree of efficiency, and it usually absorbs any external price pressures. flower growers near tokyo are busy shipping ball shaped chrysanthemums known as ping-pong mums. they are used for new year's decorations. shiba prefecture is the second largest area of the flower cultivation in japan. farmers start to ship the blooms in december. the chrysanthemum has been considered to bring happiness and prosperity since ancient times because it lasts for a long time. it is especially popular in japan as decoration for the new year. farmer hirayama grows about 80,000 of them and cuts those that are 70% in bloom for shipping. those flowers will be at their best over new year's.

>> translator: as flower farmers, we want to produce flowers that will soothe people's minds and spirits. it would be wonderful if the beauty of flowers helps make people's wishes for a happy new year come true. >> the chrysanthemums can be enjoyed for about a month after reaching full bloom. ♪ capsule toys sold in vending machines have been the craze in japan. sales of miniature products in these egg shaped containers have soared and the industry is now worth around $300 million. the capsule is also providing an avenue to sell creative art work that's bringing more potential. nhk world's sakura adisa has the details. >> translator: temple debuted a new attraction in october. a capsule toy vending machine.

the toys inside are mini sized where rich people write their wishes at temples. the creators of these small artworks are people with disabilities. >> this is enma, the king of hell. i drew the face, the right leg and the right arm. >> the person behind this project is watanaba yoko. she heads an organization for the commercialization of art by people with disabilities. by searching for ways to help them participate in society, she thought capsule toys would be perfect. the project enables many artists to be involved. plus the toys are likely to appeal to tourists.

>> i thought this was something we could all do together while taking advantage of everyone's talents. i felt third-degrs had a lot of potential. >> reporter: she began by collaborating with welfare facilities providing support to those with disabilities and created a network of contributors. a graphic designer also joined the project giving professional advice on commercialization. through these combined efforts, the artists were able to create unique capsule toys, which are now sold in machines installed across takahoka city. the project is supporting the artists, and a new perspective on their abilities.

>> translator: until now, i just wanted people with disabilities to have fun and enjoy themselves. but it's amazing to see their art works become real products through this network. >> translator: it would be great if others followed the same path, and the network expands. >> reporter: now working on a wider variety of capsule toys. her dream is that one day artists with disabilities will be able to share their talents to society independently. sakura, nhk world. >> all right. let's have a look at the markets. ♪ ♪

and from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo. i'm gene otani. tan thanks for being with us. kkkkkr x

>♪ >> time for a quick check of the headlines here on al jazeera. former u.s. president donald trump's company has been found guilty of tax fraud in new york. it adds to legal woes facing trump as he campaigns for office again. more from washington, d.c. >> this judgment is likely to reflect very negatively on the trump organization as a whole. for donald trump himself it is just adding to his long list of legal woes. one must remember there is a