♪ hello, and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. chinese health authorities have not updated daily covid-19 case counts since sunday, even as infections continue to surge and that has global experts concerned. the center for disease control and prevention had been posting daily updates on both cases and deaths online. but that ended on the weekend along with beijing's so-called zero covid policy. it marks a major shift from

buyers prevention to treatment. the government plans to announce data once a month. the world health organization says the data cna does provide doesn't projects how things are. >> heavily under reported from china, and this is in relation to the definitions that have used. >> the w.h.o. says china has not even given enough information to understand which variants are spreading. it's sparking fears that new virus strain could tear through the country. a surge in coronavirus cases in china means people arriving from japan face controls when they arrive. they responded by suspeing visas for japanese citizens. for many in japan, the new reality is sinking in. >> translator: it's extmely regrettable that china that has unilaterally restricted its issuance of visas in a way that

appears to have nothing to do with tackling the coronavirus. >> travelers from mainland china have to take a coronavirus test when they arrive in japan. they also have to prove they tested negative before they left china. but japan is not limiting visas for chinese citizens. before japan tightened its controls, more than 8% of the people arriving from mainland china tested positive in the space of a week. they began imposing stricter measures on people arriving from macao. >> before covid, we came to japan a lot, and back then it only took around 15 minutes for us to come out to the luggage, but now it's a lot longer. >> we understand and respect the country policy but we're really looking forward to whole tourism get to open and we can travel as before. >> reporter: about 100,000 japanese are in china for stays

of three months. they include business people, their families and students. japanese companies and schools are concerned they may not be able to send more staff or students. matsuyama university plans to send students to partner universities in shanghai for the first time in three years. >> translator: quite a lot of students took part in the short study program before the pandemic. i'd feel sorry for the students if we couldn't run the program again this year. >> japan is demanding china startishing visas against but there's no sign of a change in policy. for more, we're joined by our beijing correspondent genta. china's move has nothing to do with the virus, what do you think is the real reason. >> it's hard to look beyond politics.

beijing typed up its covid strategy. it was easy to feel when cases were low and elsewhere. now they find themselves in the middle of an outbreak they cannot control. officials are in a tough spot and looking for a way out. one strategy has been tightly controlling information. but that's brought china some heavy criticism from world health experts. officials have also been pushed to open up borders. now that's happening, and the outside world is hesitant to let travelers move freely without knowing exactly what's happening with china's infections. japan and south korea are not the only countries imposing new rules, but they are among the strictest. we spoke with onexpert who made an interesting point. perhaps this is a warning. beijing is showing other nations what will happen if they go

against china. >> we can't ignore the timing, can we? the lunar new year holiday begins soon, china's biggest travel season. what should we expect? >> i don't think the scale of trouble this year will be back at pre-pandemic levels and most of the moment will be inside china, but that's still huge cause for concern. millions will leave home with 2.1 billion trips expected in just over a month. that could send the virus shooting around china and moving farther and deeper into the countryside. it's something officials are desperate to avoid. they know there is no going back for the good of the economy and the public sanity. zero covid era is over, and many people are ready for a well deserved break. >> thank you very much for your insight. that was our correspondent kn

nackamura genta reporting from beijing. salesmen ♪ japan and the united states say they are reorganizing their defensive cooperation to be more effective. it comes as tokyo is strengthening its capable to respond to attacks. japan's foreign and defense ministers were in washington on wednesday. they spoke with their american counter parts about their plans to strengthen the japan, u.s. alliance. >> translator: the joint announcement will present a vision of a modernized alliance that is poised to win. we need to take action with speed to implement this. >> japanese officials discussed their country's goal of significantly increasing their defense spending and acquiring counter strike capabilities. terrce is indispensable

because of the region's harsh security environment. the u.s. secretary of state praised japan's actions and said their countries will continue to work together. >> these new strategies make clear japan's commitment to invest in enhancing its capabilities to take on new roles and foster even closer defense cooperation with the united states and our mutual partners. >> the ministers took time to voice strong opposition to what they say are beijing cease attempts at unilaterally influencing the status quo in the east china sea. they announced plans to redeploy troops in japan's okinawa prefecture in response. south korea's defense ministry has plans to hold simulation exercises with the united states based on the scenario of a nuclear attack by pyongyang. defense minister unveiled plans wednesday for so-called table top drills. they're set to take place next

month. he did not provide details, but the news agency reported the exercise will be held in the u.s. the two sides are expected to announce a coordinated response to north korea's possible use of nuclear weapons. a similar exercise is being planned for may. the announcement comes as north korean leader kim jong un steps up his rhetoric. he stressed in his year end address his country needs more warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles. washington will deploy strategic weapons near the korean peninsula more frequently. in novp, u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin said his country recently deployed defense fighter jets. he added an aircraft carrier had visited the south. the table top exercise is a way for seoul to extend its deterrent, including nuclear

capabilities. south korea is considering have a foundation offer to korean war time laborers, instead of japanese firms that have been ordered to do so by a court. south korea's foreign ministry explained the plan thursday at a forum in seoul. director general for asia and pacific affairs, said views were raised in a consulttive body, it may be difficult to expect the japanese side to pay or offer apologies. damages could be paid by a third party instead. in light of the age of the plaintiffs, the south korean government may see this as the final stage in settling the wartime labor dispute with japan. but there's opposition to the idea. more than 50 people protested near the venue. they included opposition lawmakers and supporters of the plaintiffs. south korea supreme court ordered japanese companies in 2018 to compensate people who

say they or their relatives were forced to work for them in world war ii. tokyo says any right to claims was settled completely and finally in 1965 when the two cotries normalized ties. japan's top spokesperson said tokyo was ready to cooperate with seoul. >> translator: based on the foundation of cooperative relations that has been built since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1965, japan will closely work with the south korean government to bring back a healthy bilateral relationship and develop it further. >> he added leaders of the countries agreed at a summit last november to seek an early resolution of their differences. ♪

>> japanese tennis star osaka naomi has announced she's expecting her first child just days after she pulled out of this month's australian open. the former world number one broke the news wednesday posting a photo of an ultrasound scan on her social media accounts. she tweeted, every day is a new blessing and an adventure and added she's looking forward to having her child watch one of her matches one day. osaka went on to say she plans to return to tennis at next year's australian open. it's a tournament she's won twice. the 25-year-old hasn't competed on the world tour since september last year. she's won four grand slam tournaments and is currently ranked 47th in the world. japanese defense officials are updating the status of a destroyer that's stranded in the settle inland sea. they say it lost part of a propeller and it's still leaking

oil. the destroyer may have struck rocks during a sea trial of yamaguchi prefecture on tuesday. maritime defense force divers examined the damage. they found one of the ship's two propellers had part of a blade missing. oil was also leaking from a hole. they patched it up, but some is reportedly still seeping out. they also found cracks and dents in the hull suggesting the ship may have struck an underwater obstacle. the coast guard is expected to tow it back to port, but it's not clear when that will happen. tokyo police have raided the offices of a you tuber turned lawmaker. he has been accused of slander for his time running a celebrity gossip channel. investigators searched several places linked to a company that managed if gsai's income. he has been asked to comply with

a police probe. multiple figures he alleged defamation and intimidation due to his you tube channel. he won an upper seat in june as a member of the nhk party but he has yet to attend a dive session. he plans to travel back to the united arab emirates in march. he'll submit to police questioning but has to be provided with a body guard. switching now to the weather, the possibility of avalanches continues to impose a threat for people in parts of japan. our meteorologist jonathan oh has the details in our world weather report. >> hello, we have been seeing warmer temperatures across japan as we have high pressure in the area helping to lift the temperatures, but concerns of avalanches because of the rapid warming that's been taking place. meanwhile back to the west in china, getting ready for a bitter blast. here's a look at video to set

the stage of what is expected as authorities renew their blue alert for a cold wave impacti much of chin blue is the lowest lev, never the less, part of the warming system. china will have a huge temperature drop. we can expect gail, heavy rain, snow, and sandy storms to be a part of the forecast. so here's the stage right now. high pressure keeping things on the warm side across a good portion of japan. notice a return flow bringing unstable weather back toward the east areas of china. that cold air coming from the north, that's going to also impact the northern areas of japan as well. a look at the forecast here, the colors, the blue colors, the darker the shade, the colder the air. as we look forward to the next couple of days. notice that corridor marching down on south, which means you need to bundle up and get ready for more winter weather. look at the high on friday in

mongolia, temperatures down into the negative 20s. so definitely on the colder side. tokyo looking at partly cloudy skies for friday with a high of 15. meanwhile, we're looking at severe thunderstorm possibilities in the southeastern areas of the united states with a low pressure system that's been marching across the country, and we're looking at some of the strong storms that impact places like georgia and atlanta. be on the lookout for that. back toward the west. another low impacting the western areas of the united states. especially coastal areas and extending all the way up into bring dish columbia. strong winds and heavy rain a part of the story adds we s we through the day on thursday and into friday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪

♪ and before we go, here's a story about a surprise encounter with a massive deep sea creature near the japan coast. divers were treated to this show

near the peninsula in the western prefecture of hyogo. it's rare to see a giant squid so close to the water's surface, but getting to swim alongside its dancing tentacles is exceptional. scuba instructors say when they saw it, they were immediately enthralled. >> translator: i dove in with so much excitement. i was really thrilled to film this. >> the squid was about 2 1/2 meters long and likely one or two years old. after 30 minutes, the creature swam into deeper waters and disappeared. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so stay right there.

. ♪ this is "newsline biz," i'm ramin mellegard. japanese and thai firms have teamed up to try and cut thailand's coal emissions. they aim to use fuel at a power plant that's mixed with ammonia which does not produce carbon dioxide when burned. energy related companies in the two countries signed an agreement in bangkok, they include japan's largest contribute, and mitsubishi corporation. if the project makes it past research to the business stage

it would be the first instance of energy produced with mixed ammonia in thailand. countries in southeast asia are highly dependent on coal and natural gas for power generation. it's hoped ammonia could help meet the growing energy needs while reducing coal's environmental impacts. and a similar initiative is underway in vietnam. government backed institutions from japan, and australia have supported hanoi's efforts to cut carbon emissions. the chairman of the japan bank for international cooperation revealed the plan at an indo-pacific forum on thursday. the bank together with the u.s. international development finance corporation and export finance australia will launch a ne framework for support. in consultation with the vietnamese government, they will help the southeast asian nations switch to thermal plants fueled by liquified natural gas, and expand the use of energy.

vietnam has set a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. the institutions aim to create business opportunities by introducing technologies 4d carbonization. japan has reported the biggest ever current account surplus for november. the figure was pushed up by returns from investments abroad. preliminary figures in the fitness ministry show the surplus was 1.8 trillion yen or $14 billion. the current account is a key gauge of japan's trade and investment with the rest of the world. the trade balance remained in the red. the deficit was about $12 billion, mainly due to higher costs to import energy resources such as crude oil and coal. the big difference came from the primary income surplus. it widened from a year earlier to about $28 billion. the figure shows interest and dividends are from overseas

security investments. japanese auto makers, trading houses and security companies in particular saw their dividends at subsidiaries increase. as a result, the surplus and the primary income account made up for the trade deficit. and official data has been showing a consistent rise in prices in japan for many months. a survey by the country's value bank now finds more than 90% of people are feeling the impact of this in their daily lives. it's the highest proportion in about 14 years. the boj's latest quarterly poll was conducted from november to december 2022. it questioned more than 2,100 people across the country aged 20 and older. 94.3% of respondents said prices went up from a year earlier. that's an increase of 2.5 points from the survey in september. 53% said they feel worse off compared with a year ago when they were asked about their

present household circumstances. that's up 3 points from the previous survey and is the highest figure since march 2010. a record 88% cite price hikes as the reason showing how much household budgets are being stretched in japan. now rice consumption has been on the decline in japan, but one japanese company is looking to change that. the firm is opening a complex in tokyo meant to help people see rice as more than just a dinner table staple. yan yanmar holdings is operating six shops and restaurants in the building that are all about rice. one of them deals in varieties of brand name rice from across japan. the store shows their levels of stickiness, texture, grain size and more on five-tier scales. it allows people to find just the type they're looking for. another shop is pasta made from rice flour.

the grain is even on the dessert menu with tiramisu that uses rice sochu liquor. >> translator: domestic rice consumption is declining. rice is the most eaten super food in the world. it's packed with nutrients. we want to make people aware of this and also help them learn more about rice farming. >> nagaya says the number of rice farmers is also declining. he hopes the facility will provide new opportunities for them when it opens on now, the russian invasion of ukraine global inflation and fear of a recession. concerns are growing that the world economy may slow down going forward. we spoke with legendary investor jim radiology skpeogers and eco

sandy who's well versed in the trend in the economy, to hear their thoughts on the economic outlook. >> jim rogers made a name for hi himself in the 1970s after he cofounded a top performing fund. he points to the continued risk of inflation looming over the global economy. rors notes that central banks around the world flooded the massive easing measures before beginning toaise intert he says inflation, which accelerated in 2022, will continue into 2023. he fesees tough times ahead for the global economy. >> the world has printed more money in the last few years than ever in the history of the world. there are serious problems developing, and so inflation is not finished yet. interest rates only went up a little bit. we're going to have economic problems in the u.s. we always have.

the world has always had economic problems and recessions. and we will, again, probably in the next year or two, the signs are already there. >> economist mark zandy for his part expects u.s. inflation to ease this year. he said a recession could still be avoided. >> i don't think it's inevitable. i think the economy has some underlying strenhs. the american consumer is in a pretty good spot. american businesses are doing well. profit margins are near record leve. balance sheets are strong. >> we asked zandi what he thinks of the biggest risks for the world economy in 2023. >> at t top of the list of risks i would put what's going on in russia, the russia/ukraine conflict and what that might mean for oil and other commodity prices. if russia goes down a darker path here and oil prices spike back up again, that would be a

real problem. that would aost for sure mean that the gbal economy is going en into a recession in 2023. >> rogers on the other hand, says policy mistakes of central banks are the top risk. >> they have printed too much, and the bank of japan, and the central bank in europe. everybody. but the central banks around the world are the biggest risks because they have made mistakes, they will make more mistakes and we are all going to suffer. >> as for japan's economy, rogers points to the pressing need for the country to restore its fiscal health, while stopping the massive monetary easing that is causing the depreciation of the yen. >> my only surprise is it hasn't gone down more. stop spending money. stop borrowing money. and balance your budget. and stop printing money. you think tokyo's going to do

that? no, they're not going to do that. >> rogers is wary of japan's structural problems, such as its declining population and government debt, while warning of a worsening outlook for the global economy. rogers and zandi have different takes on the dirtion of the world economy in 2023, but they do agree that the outcome will depend on whether the major central banks can push down inflation without sparking a recession. okay. let's get a check on the markets.

that's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching.

russian forces have stepped up their assault on the salt mining town of soledar east of ukraine. russia has taken control of much of the town, blocking a key ukrainian supply line. heads of state of the u.s., canada, and mexico have held wide-ranging talks at the north american leaders summit. the u.s. president, candace justin trudeau and the mexican president have been meeting in mexico city.