hello and welcome to nhk newsline. we begin with the latest provocation from north korea. japanese defense officials say a suspected ballistic missile has likely fallen into waters outside japan's exclusive economic zone. top military says the north fired two ballistic missiles. japan says the north conducted a launch from a suburb of john yang late friday afternoon. it reports one missile flew

about 300 km and a maximum altitude of about 50 km before falling into the sea of japan. state minister of defense told reporters it may have had an irregular trajectory. so far there are no reports of any damage to aircraft or ships. this is the 36th launch of the year. the last was on sunday when south korea says the north fired two medium-range ballistic missiles. that firing defined as an important final stage test for its reconnaissance satellites. for japan has launched a strong protest over south korean drills . a source within the sole defense ministry from the ministry activity your islands. the islands are controlled by south korea. japan claims them.

drills regularly prompt complaints from tokyo. the source told nhk the thursday drills were to practice defending the islands. south korean media say they were small in scale. a japanese official exercise totally unacceptable and conveyed his government's position that the takashimaya islands are an inherent part of japan's territory. an unprecedented wave of coronavirus cases continues to surge throughout china. which is now dealing with packed hospitals and crematorium >> infections went up after beijing lifted its zero covid policy as a shot in the arm toward landing the economy. china no longer restrict people's movements. . many have chosen to stay home spiking case counts put a strain on delivery, companies now dealing with a staff shortage.

the japanese conflict general confirms it has also been touched by rising cases. but local diplomatic sources say that is affecting production lines or distribution at japanese firms. chinese media outlets report that some provinces have had shut public offices as civil servants fall ill. there calling on citizens to use online services instead. growing outrage over the taliban banning women from attending afghan universities has boiled over into protest. the move has been widely seen as another step to curb the rights of women and girls. this video appears to show dozens of women's holding it

devastation in kabul on thursday. they were chanting about freedom and equality. there were other protests in the country's north and east. it comes after the taliban and announced that female students would be barred from university campuses until further notice. the band is trigring global condemnation, including from germany's foreign minister. >> persecution on the grounds of gender, persecution just because you are a woman or a girl can constitute a crime against humanity. >> u.n. is calling on the taliban to immediately reverse the ban. officials accused the group of breaking promises that it would uphold the rights of women and girls. the u.s. congressional committee investigating january 6th 2021 attack on the capitol released its final report thursday. it accuses former president donald trump of engaging in a multipart conspiracy to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat.

the report runs about 850 pages. is based on more than 1000 interviews the committee conducted over 18 months. it examines how trump spread his false claims of election fraud and pressured state election officials to overturn voting results. report also details how trump watched the right on tv, but did nothing to calm supporters picked committee concludes that trump tried to obstruct a peaceful transition of power. is as he should be indicted for inciting and insurrection and three other federal crimes. the report also lives legislative recommendations to prevent further attacks. trump refused to cooperate with the committee. he calls the report a witch hunt after its release. ♪ ♪

>> a government survey suggests one in every four women who come to japan as a technical training has been told she will lose her job if she gets pregnant. the program aims to provide people from developing nations with new skills job training. but pregnancies have become an issue with some giving birth secretly. the immigration services agency surveyed 650 trainees from vietnam, the philippines, and five other countries. about 26% said they were told that pregnant trainees must quit. 5% signing a contract stipulating that rule. the practice is japan, but just 60% of the trainees were informed of that. the government ordered supervising institutions and employers on friday to tell foreign trainees how to get help with pregnancy or childbirth.

more than 300,000 technical interns are working in japan for the government is reviewing the program following complaints of abuse and reports that trainees are being used as cheap labor. the u.s. space agency, nasa, says astronauts completed spacewalk on thursday to install a solar array outside the international space station. inside the station japanese astronaut assisted the astronauts installation of a roll out solar array. it was the first such task since fluid leaked earlier this month from a dock space craft. the leak on december 14th led to the spoke postponement of the spacewalk by two russian cosmonauts. nasa and russian space officials are investigating what caused the fluid leak but they say it posed no risk to the iss crew.

heavy snow is continuing to cause problems in central and northern japan. emergency officials are blaming the weather for least eight deaths. whether authorities say a cold air mass continues to grow into the sea of japan coast. dumping a huge amount of snow in a wide area. 20 cm fell on central japan over a period of six hours on friday. more than a meter and a half has piled up in some northern preceptors. wind is also picking up. the weather is disrupting travel. japan's two major airlines canceled 100 domestic flights on friday. officials are also urging people to be careful on the roads. there wanting them to take precautions around homes. on wednesday crews found an elderly man buried in snow in northern japan. officials think he died after a large amount fell from a roof.

vietnamese investigators have arrested diplomat for allegedly receiving bribes. the former ambassador to japan has been linked to a wide- ranging scandal involving the repatriation flights. he served in the role and tell late this year. local media say he is accused of taking bribes connected to flights that brought him vietnamese from japan during the pandemic. vietnamese government chartered flights and repatriated more than 200,000 people from dozens of countries. the bribery probe has led to several other high-profile arrests, including that of a former deputy foreign minister. ♪ ♪

>> welcome to nhk news live. >> more and more south self checkout machines are popping up in japan. they are promoted as he had the option for customers and await help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. shoplifters see a different kind of opportunity. one retailer is trying to tackle that with new measures. two the country known for its customer service, this do-it- yourself approach seems a bit contradictory. many are on board with this. >> it's very convenient. i can pay without the usual weight. >> reporter: self checkouts are becoming more common across japan. some 1000 shop operators

operating over the summer. 25% reported having their assistance. it may be causing a rise in something else some items being taken without payment. >> it's hard to say if people do this intentionally. the pandemic some steel due to poverty. >> reporter: ito has been a loss prevention specialist for 20 years. he says those using self checkouts often using excuses, saying they did not scan them. >> even if it is unintentional people taking items without paying for them continues to be a problem. those losses have a financial impact. >> reporter: she says there is

no end to shoplifting, but cases are decreasing thanks to some new measures. instead of standing in the corner of the checkout area staff now stand in the middle with a better view of customers. staff have also been told to interact with them more. the company says instances of items being taken without being paid for have dropped by 25%. these measures are part of a research project for the company. >> offering customers quality service is the most effective way to prevent shoplifting. >> reporter: self checkouts have diminished. it appears the human touch is still influenced to the bottom line. nhk road. japan's emperor has

celebrated his 89th birthday with family at the akasaka estate in tokyo. he and empress moved back there in april. for friday's. they visit they welcomed their children. the emperor and empress and crown prince and princess the prime minister also attended. imperial household agency officials say the emperor emeritus's condition has improved since he was diagnosed with heart failure in july. who now enjoys twice daily garden walks with his wife. ♪ ♪

>> now enrolled weather, our meteorologist has more on the winter storm pounding many places of japan. >> streets of so-called performing over the waters and flowing into parts of japan. this morning wind flew from the west to the east. reaching the island of shikoku, which usually sees mild weather, even winter. we saw record-breaking heavy snowfall in parts of the kochi prefecture. 14 cm fell. that is a record for this area. we have some video coming out of this location. the chapel blanketed with snow, which is a rare sight. 14 cm accumulated, making it the heaviest since records began about 100 years ago.

buses and some trains have been suspended with main roads being closed. this area could see snow continuing into the next several hours. other areas of japan saw heavy snowfall. 21 senators falling where authorities issued a special warning for snow. 66 cm is the record for december. height reached 1 m, making about three times higher than normal for this time of year. heavy snow and very strong wind. even typing like strong wind anticipated. visibility could be very, very low for the next 48 hours. we could see more than 1 m of snow. the heaviest snow will likely fall in this region, many 1.7 m of snow is likely. even the pacific side, which is snow free most of the time, will see significant snowstorms. stay indoors as much as you can. win you travel in snow make you sure push snow rather than lift

it. prepare for power outages. blowing snow will likely continue at least into monday in parts of the country. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ that's all this edition for nhk newsline. thanks for watching and to stay with us for more.

this is newsline biz. i'm gino otani. a aft budget approved for the next fiscal year. it is the largest ever at %114 trillion or about $860 billion. the figure approved by the cabinet on friday is 6% higher than the initial budget for this year. the major reason for the increase is the allocation for reinforcing defense capabilities at $50 billion, up nearly 30% from the budget or draft budget a year earlier.

another $25 billion are earmarked for strengthening defense in the future. the package also includes social security comps of around $280 billion. that accounts for one third of the total. tax revenue is likely to hit $520 billion. the expected shortfall will be about $270 billion, which will be covered by issuing government bonds. more than one third of total revenue will be covered by the sovereign bonds indicating a risky physical balance. the draft budget will be submitted to the ordinary session next year. people here are feeling the pinch as prices continue to rise. the latest data released on friday shows inflation in november hit a fresh 40 year high. the internal affairs ministry says the consumer price index

food, climbed 3.7% last month from a year earlier. that is the biggest leap since december of 1981 when the impact of the second oil shock was lingering in japan. last month shoppers paid 6.8% more for food, excluding fresh items. higher cost for raw materials and the weaker yen pushed up what was paid for the soaring energy prices continue to pressure the cpi. utility bills for gas and electricity both jumped more than 20%. a new survey indicates that the prices of more than 7000 the food and beverage items will go up in japan next year by an average of nearly 20%. private research firm takeover databank surveyed 105 leading food and drink makers country. inbound manufacturers were planning to raise the prices of 7152 items between january and april next year. that's about 1.5 times more than in the same period a year

earlier. items include nearly 4000 processed food products, such as frozen and canned goods. hikes are also in the pipeline for over 1400 alcoholic and other beverages. increased use for almost the same number of condiments including soy sauce and dressings are expected. the databank says a growing number of manufacturers are raising prices for the second or third time. or reducing that unit weight of their products. more domestic companies are extending help to employees that deal with the skyrocketing prices of food. a service called ticket restaurant is offered by red in japan. cards are charged with up to about $60 a month. the employer pays about half. this is not count as taxable income for the employee. the employee can then buy food at participating restaurants and convenience stores. >> a little help goes a long way

. it is nice that i can choose what i want to eat. >> the president of the company running the service says to is catching on. >> companies want to support employees, especially now. that is inspiring them to use our service.>> the service can be an alternative to companies that are not ready to increase base pay. mitsubishi group set to use artificial intelligence to screen started companies for loans. this will begin as early as next fiscal year. startup firms often losses until their business get on track. they usually don't own the property that can be used as collateral, preventing them from getting loans approved. emu fg plans to use ai to

provide real-time data analysis to judge a company's growth potential and speed up the screening procedure. the metrics include sales, payments to clients, and the number of users the group also plans to provide advice on the business to help you grow.>> if we can support startups in this way we think more people will be able to take on the challenge. they can also grow with the financial create an excellent win-win cycle. >> the president of the company said the group has already been using the system overseas, including in southeast asia. breaking open a barrel of stock a with a hammer is a symbolic gesture done at ceremonies in japan. the new year's around the corner and construction of kegs is at its peak. the home temporary in hiroshima prefecture has been in business for 168 years.

of the surface is made smooth and the barrel is bound together with bamboo hoops but finally, there wrapped in straw mats and ropes. >> stock eight asian barrels has a cedar aroma and tastes different. it is special. >> the brewery says it received 40% more orders than last year. they ship to temples and shrines across the country. ♪ ♪ holiday season and we look at what is happening next week and in the first week of 2023. first, a summary of the bank of japan's latest policy meeting. set released a memo on wednesday of what policy makers discussed during their meeting earlier this week. that is when the central made the surprise decision to double its cap on the 10 year government bond to deal. the governor's not to move and

indicated a shift to monetary tightening, but investors saw it as a step toward exiting his extraordinary easing policy. market participant are looking for clues on what the central bank would do next as the recent meeting showed the policymakers to be more unpredictable than previously perceived. china will release its purchasing managers index for december on the last day of the year. the reading for november showed both factory and service sector activities further declined to below 50. any number below that suggests a contractor. china's economy has been a struggling. a sudden easing of restrictions this month failed to spur growth and also unleashed the rapid spread of infections. many businesses, including factories, are forced to curtail activity. and let's see the disruption continuing for some time as the

nation could face severe outbreaks due to low natural immunity in the population. fresh inflation figures for germany are due out on tuesday of the first week of next year. the figure in november eased a bit from its all-time high since german but higher energy prices continue to be a concern as your's biggest economy relies heavily on natural gas. people in germany will see higher than expected inflation next year, according to the projection released earlier this month. the central bank says germans may have to wait until 2025 for the rate to come down to the 2% level. we will get a glimpse of the future at an annual tech event in the first week of next year. ces is scheduled to open its doors from january 5th in las vegas. media will have access two days before the official start of the show protect consumer electronics giants such as microsoft and sony will be

showcasing technologies. the meta-verse, wearable devices, and other cutting-edge technologies will be displayed. visitors can also expect to see a growing presence of the car industry. the latest implement figures in the u.s. will be released on the first friday of 2023. the job market in the worlds biggest economy has been steady, despite indications of an overall slow down do to the federal reserve monetary tightening. hourly wages continue to grow in november. the fed slowed the pace of its rate hikes last week market participants are closely watching if the labor market will start to cool quickly enough to help ease the nation's stubbornly high inflation. >> here's a quick look at the markets. >> ♪ ♪

i'm you know otani. thanks for being with us.

anchor: time for a checkup the headlines. the parliament of peru has rejected the movement to bring forward election as unrest grows with regions under a curfew and 18 people killed since the rest of the former president nine days ago. we have more from lima, peru. correspondent: as you can see, the center of the capital has been militarized. there are police here and there is an army als