hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. japan, the uk, and italy have announced they're partnering to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet. it comes as japan considers a major increase in defense spending. the defense ministry plans to replace the air self-defense force's f-2 jet. the main contractors include japan's mitsubishi heavy industries, the uk's bae systems, and italy's leonardo.

the ministry says collaborating on this project will reduce costs, and it hopes to deploy the fighter starting in 2035. the government is also considering changes to allow the exportation of defense equipment, including the kind that will be used for the fighter. japan's prime minister wants to discuss tax hikes to fund a significant increase in defense spending. he's calling on the ruling coalition to hold talks. kishida fumio is ordering the defense budget to be increased to 2% of japan's gdp within about five years. but the government needs to find over $29 billion to finance the additional spending. it plans to raise taxes to cover about a quarter of the shortfall. >> translator: i will consider ways to avoid increasing the burden on individuals as much as possible, considering the tough situation that households are currently facing.

>> the government could consider hiking corporate taxes to cover the deficit. japan's finance minister says the details have not been decided yet. he says the government wants to make a decision by the end of this year. a senior u.s. defense official has indicated that washington will bolster its military presence in the indo-pacific region next year to deter any potential use of force by china. >> i think it is fair to say that in my view, 2023 is likely to stand as the most transformative year in u.s. force posture in the region in a generation. >> ely ratner oversees the indo-pacific at the u.s. department of defense. he said china is developing its capabilities to use military aggression against taiwan and that u.s. deterrence would make any such actions harder for beijing. he said the u.s. is carefully

watching ongoing discussions in japan about strengthening its own defense capabilities. vietnam has long relied on russia for the majority of its weapons. now it's shopping around, hosting its first international fair. among more than 170 vendors are defense firms from japan, russia, and the united states. they're showing off armored vehicles, drones, and small arms, hoping to find buyers and widen their influence. prime minister pham minh chinh also saw a chance. >> translator: this expo is an opportunity for us to welcome international friends as well as tighten relations with them. >> the socialist southeast asian country became close to the soviet union during the cold war. russia retained a major stake in its arms deals. now experts suggest it provides roughly two-thirds of vietnam's weapon imports.

but the insion of ukraine significantly changed things. this researcher says russia is already having trouble fulfilling its responsibilities to foreign buyers. >> the top priority for them now is to resupply its forces in ukine. so it will have no bandwidth to increase its production to meet thdemandof other couries in terms of arms supplies. so vietnam will have to think ahead, to take more drastic measures. >> one option is japan, now evolving its defense posture. vietnam already puts a high level of trust in tokyo, making this a promising partnership. but a deal would depend on whether japanese suppliers can overcome compatibility issues with vietnam's existing equipment.

chinese president xi jinping foreign countries. the government said friday it notified china through diplomatic channels that any activities which violates japan's sovereignty would never be tolerated. nga space based defenders said china had set up at least 54 police stations as of september. it says they were in 30 countries mainly in europe, but also in the united states and japan. western media report there are indications china established the police stations to pressure chinese residents in other countries. some european countries are investigating their activities or taking steps to close the police stations down.

a testing method that helped china keep up its strict zero-covid policy is becoming a major headache. beijing is scrapping mass pcr testing requirements, but for months many people were getting a swab several times a week. health authorities dealt with the testing crunch by screening samples ten at a time. that meant all ten people isolating, even if only one had covid. while it was an effective way to identify outbreaks when case counts were low, that's no longer the case. many fear their lives will be upended without reason. for public buildings, it's more than a minor annoyance. this week, the japanese embassy had to limit entry after officials were tested. and with beijing now making it easier to work, shop, and travel, experts are worried the virus could spread faster and

farther than before. a senior u.n. development official is calling for more help for millions of people displaced in their own countries. she says the numbers are sky rocketing. . >> translator: the situation will only get worse. the burden on them will increase even more. we don't have enough humanitarian aid to keep up. that's already happening. >> the u.n. refugee agency says conflicts and disasters caused a record 59 million people to flee their homes in 2021. an estimated 6 million ukrainians have been displaced because of the russian invasion. the world bank also warns that climate change could displace over 200 million people by 2050. the official from the u.n. development program says the world needs to look at longer term measures, including

employment and educational opportunities. she says humanitarian assistance is now falling short of meeting people's needs. russian president vladimir putin is confirming one of the specific targets in his country's invasion of ukraine. >> translator: there has been a lot of noise about our attacks on the energy infrastructure of the neighboring country. yes, we are doing it. >> putin called the attacks a legitimate response to the october bombing of a bridge that connects to crimea, a ukrainian area russia invaded and annexed in 2014. he went on to say that the criticisms of his country's strikes would not interfere with combat missions. russian forces have launched attack after attack on ukraine's power grid. the country's utility says restoration work is being hampered by poor weather and further strikes.

kyiv residents are preparing for the worst. the city has designated 45 subway stations as shelters in case of a massive power outage. >> translator: it's a good idea. i had to shelter in a subway station before. i saw many others do it too, including children. >> this station can accommodate nearly 2,000 people. it has phone chargers and water fountains inside. as russia continues to hit ukraine's energy grid, millions of displaced people have been left vulnerable. many are relying on foreign donations to stay alive. in this next report, we hear about a japanese missionary who's helping out. >> reporter: when it gets cold and dark, funakoshi masato is there. he's supporting people despite the power outages and the threat of missile strikes. >> translator: as winter

approaches, everyone's anxiety grows. reporter: funakoshi is a pastor with a baptist christian missionary organization. he moved to odesa 24 years ago with his family. when russia invaded, he was forced to flee to a village in the west. but after six months, funakoshi returned. he's now focused on handing out supplies in odesa and nearby areas, bought with donations from japan. >> translator: these are games for the children. we like to eat these sweets after bible study. >> reporter: as ukraine gets colder over the coming months, the need for emergency relief grows, especially in places hit by frequent power outages. since september, funakoshi has been paying a visit to a village

located near the front line. >> translator: there were fierce battles between kherson and mykoiv. many people fled after they lost their homes. i think that it will take a little more time for the reconstruction to start. >> reporter: so funakoshi delivers food and clothing to the refugees. he's also brought something else from japan, teaching injured kids the art of origami. >> translator: the war will definitely come to an end someday. i hope from the bottom of my heart th my work will continue as t country recovers. i hope i can be a part of it. >> reporter: lending a hand as ukraine prepares to weather an especially brutal winter.

♪ ♪ soil that was decontaminated following the 2011 fukushima daiichi nuclear disaster is set to find a new home at one of tokyo's most famous gardens. it's the latest step in the japanese government's plan to recycle the contaminated soil. the soil has been kept in separate sites during decontamination procedures. the government plans to use the soil in public works projects as long as radioactive substances

falls below a certain threshold. trials have only taken place in fukushima, but the environment ministry announced plans friday to test the soil at the national garden in tokyo. it says the soil will be used for flower beds in an area that's normally closed. but it says there will be public viewing events held at later dates. >> translator: we hope this will build public understanding on the uses of the decontaminated soil. >> ministry officials will meet with residents to explain the specifics of the plan later this month. the trial is expected to start early next year. japanese researchers studying the world-famous nazca lines in peru have discovered 168 new images etched in the ground. the discovery was announced on thursday by a research group led by professor sakai masato of yamagata university. the group worked with local

archaeologists from june 2019 to february 2020 at the unesco world heritage site. they used a.i. and drones to analyze and investigate sites in the desert around the city of nazca. some of the geoglyphs, as the images are known, depict what seem to be humans and animals. some of them are as much as 50 meters long. the newly found artwork is estimated have been created as long as about 2,100 years ago based on the dating of pottery found nearby. the research group has now found 358 geoglyphs since it started surving in 2004. it's time for a check on the weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. sayaka's been telling us over the past few days about a tropical system swiping the southern part of india. she has more on the situation. >> hello, there. a cyclone is projected to strike

southeastern india tonight. the name is mandos, meaning "treasure box" in arabic. it's expected to pound the chanai area tonight, then rain and winds will be spreading inland into the weekend. meanwhile, deadly floods in lisbon wedsday after experienng a lot of rain. a woman was found in a flooded basement. unfortunately, another system is already acing lisbon and all surrounding areas, then more rain and winds are expected to pound the iberian peninsula. and temperatures are going to be much chillier than normal in western europe. look at this, london, it should be 8 during this time of year but only 1 is expected on sunday. paris 3 with snow on sunday. berlin will see subzero temperatures during the weekend. kyiv is a different story. you'll see temperatures climbing into 8 degrees on sunday. it's two weeks ahead of christmas, and a huge tree

appeared. take a look at this video. the largest christmas tree in the world according to the guinness book was lit in gubbio, italy, wednesday. nearly 300 lights outlined the shape on a hill. the tree is 750 meters high and 450 meters wide, requiring about nine kilometers of cables to light it up. the tradition dates back to 1981, and december is a start of meteorological summer in southern hemisphere. in argentina it's more like midsumm midsummer. the high rose to 46 degrees, tying the record for the month of december. hot weather will continue to affect at least the northern half of argentina and surrounding countries. the daytime high in buy juan nose aires could hit 35. paraguay will see sizzling-hot conditions, too. that's it from me. stay safe.

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. international passenger flights at narita airport near tokyo have been increasing since japan eased coronavirus entry restrictions, but the latest figures are still less than half what they were before the pandemic with a big decrease due to china's zero-covid policy. the airport operator says the number of takeoffs and landings totaled under 6,900 in october. that's down 53% from the same month in 2019. before the pandemic, flights to

and from china were the most frequent, but they are still down more than 75%. the slow recovery of passenger numbers is affecting shops and restaurants at the airport. of the 460 tenants before the pandemic, nearly 20% have permanently closed and about 30% of those remaining have shut their doors temporarily. shop operators are hoping that chinese travelers return soon. japan has formed a partnership with the democratic republic of the congo. tokyo aims to increase investment in the african country while working to secure a stable supply of rare metals. japan's trade minister met with the visiting mines minister from the african nation. they released a joint statement saying their countries will hold investment seminars and establish a framework for their government to exchange opinions. the drc produces 70% of the world's cobalt. that's a rare metal used in

lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles and electronics. japan has been working to establish supply chains for rare metals as chinese companies expand their interests in africa. >> translator: the drc has natural resources and japan has advanced manufacturing technologies. the goal is to develop human resources and industrial infrastructure in the drc. >> nishimura added that he wants to support the sustainable development of the drc and build a relationship that benefits both countries. a japanese panel of experts is recommending that the government boost its spending on official development assistance, or oda, and do more to help developing countries become more economically secure. japan is planning to revise its oda charter next year for the first time in eight years. the panel handed its report to foreign minister hayashi yoshimasa on friday. the paper outlines the direction of japan's oda for the next

decade. the experts say the government should place importance on assisting developing countries with their economic security and tackle climate change. the report also advises the government to lay out a clear path toward achieving its oda spending target. the goal is to double the allocation to 0.7% of gross national income from the 2021 figure over the ten-year period. gni is gross domestic product plus income from overseas. the panel stresses that the revised charter should maintain the principle of avoiding any use of the assistance for military purposes. government officials plan to revise the charter after hearing opinions from business leaders and others. japan's consumers have been paying higher prices for their products and services this year. they include osechi, a type of

food customarily eaten during the new year holiday period. the product lineup of a catering company in tokyo includes takeout sets with standard offerings such as black beans and egg rolls. some special seafood items are also on offer. the sets were priced at 9,720 yen, or about $70, last year. now they cost around $95. >> translator: this is a container for osechi. if we tried to keep last year's price, then there wouldn't be any salmon, salmon roe, herring roe, octopus, or other seafood. you'd see many empty spaces. osechi is very important for customers. we decided to keep the items to maintain quality. >> the company says that prices for some imported marine products went up 50% in 2022. it blames a weaker japanese yen

and surging transportation costs. the japan car of the year award is breaking new ground with the title going for the first time to electric mini vehicles. they were selected from all the cars put on the domestic market in 2022. the 43rd award went to two models, the sakura and the ekx ev. they were jointly developed by nissan motor and mitsubishi motors. the selection committee says the models adopted the standards of mini vehicles in order to produce reasonably priced electric cars which increases the chances of evs catching on in japan. this year foreign automakers such as mercedes-benz and japan's toyota and subaru put evs on sale. research firm marklines says a record 39,000 evs excluding tesla vehicles were sold in the japanese market between january and october this year.

that's nearly triple the figure from a year earlier and surpasses the total for all of 2021. chinese automaker byd is expected to put an electric passenger car on the japanese market next year, and other automakers are likely to develop models as competition in the ev market heats up. let's take a look at what's happening in the week ahead. first we have inflation data for the u.s. economy and the nation's central bank's policy decision. the department of labor there will release the consumer price index for november on tuesday. october's reading was up 7.7% from a year earlier, less than expected. it was the first time the index dropped below 8% in eight months. the level was still high, but it suggested inflationary pressure may be easing. health care, used vehicles, and apparel were among the categories where price increases slowed.

on the other hand, housing and accommodation costs rose. markets will be watching the number closely as it could influence the federal reserve's interest rate decision the following day. on wednesday, the fed wraps up a two-day meeting. policymakers in november raised the benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point at a fourth consecutive meeting. fed chair jerome powell later suggested that a smaller hike could come as early as december, but he also warned there is still a long way to go to tame inflation. turning to japan, the central bank will release its quarterly tankan survey of corporate sentiment on wednesday. economists predict the mood for large companies in the non-manufacturing sector will return to pre-pandemic levels. that is because they think a travel discount campaign and the resumption of inbound tourism will deliver a much-needed boost. meanwhile, analysts say the index for sentiment among major

manufacturers is likely to fall even though automobile output has recovered. they point out production of electronics and other components has decreased due to soaring energy prices and declining overseas demand. on thursday, china's national bureau of statistics will hold a press conference on the economic situation in november. the raft of data is likely to reflect the negative impact of the government's strict zero-covid policy. retail sales fell 0.5% in october from a year earlier. that was the first decline since may. consumption slowed due to a resurgence of covid infections and strict government measures. october industrial production rose 5% year-on-year, but that was slower growth than expected. year-to-date investment in real estate development through october fell 8.8% from the same period last year. lastly, the european central bank will announce its decision on interest rates on thursday. the ecb raised rates by 0.75

percentage points in october to 2% to tame inflation. that followed increases in july and september. consumer prices in the 19-nation eurozone increased 10% in november. that was below the expectations of analysts although the inflation rate is still way above the ecb's 2% target. yet some policymakers have called for a 0.5 percentage point hike in december. they argue that inflation has finally peaked and the central ba has achieved enough to justify more modest measures. 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. óróxórr