♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi on the grougasawara i japan's prime minister is calling on ministers to look at downgrading the perceived risk of covid-19 to similar to the flu. kishida fumio wants the reclassification to happen as early as this spring so japan can begin rolling back its strict restrictions. >> translator: in order to get back to a more peaceful time in japan, the government plans to gradually downgrade various

policies and measures that have been taken while further promoting efforts to get the country back to normal. we will make concrete arrangements. >> but kishida says japan will keep up its all-out efforts to fight the current wave of infections as deaths rise. covid-19 is now ranked at a level almost equivalent to category 2. that's the second most severe tier on japan's classification system for infectious diseases. that lets authorities take strict measures to stop the virus spreading, including urging people to limit their movements. but in light of its impact on socioeconomic activity, the government will consider downgrading covid-19 to the lowest rank of category 5. the reclassification would mean more medical institutions could accept coronavirus patients. people would also no longer be requested to limit their

activities. a government expert panel will discuss it in the coming months. one measure kishida specifically pointed to is masks. he wants experts to weigh in on whether people should continue to wear them indoors. if covid-19 is lowered to the level of the flu, patients will also need to shoulder fees for testing, hospitalization, and other procedures. but the government is expected to continue covering the costs for the time being at the request of the japan medical association. japan's neighbor is also relaxing its anti-virus measures. south korea plans to ease its indoor mask mandate after the lunar new year holidays that start this weekend. >> translator: from january 30th, the mandatory wearing of face masks indoors, except in some facilities will be eased to a recommendation.

>> the prime minister told the task force meeting, the country's daily infection count has been declining for three weeks. he says conditions meet three of the four criteria for relaxing the mask mandate, including numbers of deaths and crically ill patients. but people will still be required to wear masks on public transportation and at medical facilities. in a recent survey, about two-thirds of respondents say they will continue to wear masks indoors even when it's no longer mandatory. south korea stopped requiring masks outdoors last september. japan has submitted a revised application to get a group of gold and silver mines registered as a world cultural heritage site. centuries ago the country was a major producer of gold. it mostly came from mines on sato island in the sea of japan. they remain well intact.

the government sent its first bid about a year ago, but unesco said the document was incomplete, so it didn't start the registration process. the organization's world heritage committee is expected to make a decision on the updated version next year. south korea opposes the bid. it says people from the korean peninsula were forced to work there. seoul says it will continue to work with unesco and the international community to bring attention to the history of forced labor. train stations and bus terminals across china's major cities are packed ahead of sunday's lunar new year. millions are traveling to spend time with relatives after last year's covid lockdowns. nhk world's nakamura genta tagged along for a beijing factory worker's homecoming.

>> reporter: it's been two years since zhang bo has been able to visit his family in shanxi province. high-speed rail makes the more than 800-kilometer journey easy, but covid has kept them apart. zhang gets a warm welcome and sits down for his first family meal in a long time. >> translator: i'm feeling good and happy to be back. >> reporter: it's not just zhang who is in good spirits. for his mother, it's the kind of get-together that was unthinkable only a few months ago. >> translator: it's great to have my family around, my son and daughter back. of course i'm happy. it's totally different from before. >> reporter: but underneath the positivity is a hint of anxiety. after zero-covid policies were

eased, infection spread through the shanxi region. it became hard to get medicine, and many people died. zhang says he understands the risk from gathering right now and has taken precautions. >> translator: yes, there are concerns, but i was diligent and took steps against infection. i wore a mask and didn't take it off to eat while traveling. >> reporter: he and his family say they are on alert. >> translator: of course i'm worried, but covid is a thing of the past. it's much better now. >> reporter: but they also say they don't want to go back to the way things were before, not being able to spend lunar new years like this. >> earlier, kanako sachno spoke with genta from beijing about the covid-19 situation going into the lunar new year.

>> as you mentioned, people are excited to see family again, but they're still worried about covid. what do we know about the situation in china right now? >> reporter: to be honest, we don't know very much. beijing hasn't been publishing daily infection numbers, but there are signs things could be bad. almost a week ago, china confirmed just under 60,000 coronavirus-related deaths had been reported since it stopped its zero-covid policy. the world health organization also says this month, china saw its highest number of hospitalization over a single week since the pandemic began. but those signs are not stopping travel. when i left beijing for that report, i met many people just like zhang. they know infection is a risk and they are being careful, but they are not canceling their plans. put simply, at this point in the pandemic, covid-19 is not going to scare people out of returning home.

>> and knowing that, what are the risks being posed by lunar new year travel both in china and abroad? >> reporter: well, to start, i don't think there will be a big impact overseas. china effectively banned travel agencies from selling international packages in january 2020. that hasn't been lifted, so most travel will be domestic. what that means is people working in big cities may risk bringing covid home. if infections do spread, it could hit rural areas hard where the hospitals may not be able to deal with it. but china has chosen to take that risk. zero-covid was bad for business, and holidays mean people spend money on travel and gifts. this weekend could be good for the economy. but if covid does spread out of control, the short-term boost from lunar new year may have a long-term impact on china in

2023. ♪ ♪ the taiwanese government has decided to allow more transnational same-sex coupl to register their marriages. this comes following several defeats in court. taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019, becoming the first jurisdiction in asia to do so. but it did not recognize unions if one of the partners was from a place where it's illegal. the interior ministry says the change will help avoid inconsistency, but one

restriction remains -- taiwan will not recognize same-sex marriages if one of the partners is from china. it's not including hong kong and macao in that restriction. the united states has announced a new round of military assistance for ukraine. the $2.5 billion package includes troop transporters but not the tanks kyiv has been asking for. the u.s. defense department says it will supply stryker armored personnel carriers to ukraine for the first time. the 90 vehicles in the package are expected to help with the rapid deployment of forces. an additional 59 bradley infantry fighting vehicles will also be provided. by the pentagon's tally, the u.s. has committed more than $26.7 billion in security assistance to ukraine since the russian invasion began. western nations are discussing

military support for the country at a u.s.-led meeting in germany friday. japan's national police agency is getting more active on an issue involving north korea. cyber crime experts are fighting hackers who are believed to be stealing money to fund the country's missile program. as this next report explains, they say the threat to japan is growing. >> reporter: in the silence of this office, there's a quiet operation. this team is working 24 hours a day trying to protect japan from cyberattacks, including from north korea. hackers from the country have been stealing cryptocurrency for years. >> translator: our country is exposed to many threats in cyberspace. we want to improve our abilities by sharing information about how cryptocurrency is stolen with investigative groups overseas.

>> reporter: investigators are focusing on the hacker group known as lazarus. it's believed to be run by the north korean government. hackers contact employees at japanese cryptocurrency companies by email or through social media. if they click on the links, they will be connected to an unknown server and infected with a virus, giving hackers the ability to steal. crypto companies say they can't protect themselves on their own. >> translator: i realize that we are being constantly targeted. if a state like north korea is behind the attack, it's difficult for private companies to deal with the problem by ourselves. >> reporter: this group is trying to help. it analyzes emails and collects data from companies that have

faced cyberattacks, and it's been able to link them to lazarus. it estimates the hackers have stolen $1.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency around the world. in japan, they may have taken up to $78 million. and there are concerns they could expand their range. >> translator: lazarus is capable of launching similar attack campaigns on businesses in different regions. the cryptocurrency market is growing, and new companies are entering the market. >> reporter: japanese police also plan to work more closely with international investigators. as the hackers find new ways to steal money, experts say they're becoming more difficult to track. japanese tennis player nishikoa has advanced to the last 16 of the australian open

men's singles, his best showing ever in a grand slam event. nishioka faced mckenzie mcdonald in melbourne. he beat defending champion rafael nadal in the previous match in straight sets. nishioka is ranked 33rd in the world, while mcdonald is 65th. both are 27 years old. the first set went into a tiebreak, but nishioka nailed the shot close to the line to win the set 7-6. the second set was briefly interrupted by a medical time-out for mcdonald, but nishioka held firm, winning the set 6-3. mcdonald tried to turn the tide with an underhand serve in the third, but nishioka prevailed, taking the set 6-2. nishioka is the first japanese men's singles player to reach the round of 16 in the australian open since nishikori kei in 2019. it's time for a check on the

weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. people in northern japan are dealing with stormy winter conditions, including powerful winds. sayaka has the latest. >> blizzard winnings are out from the western flank of japan to the niigata region, snow plus typhoon-like gusts. the cbination has been causing very low visibility. we have a low and frost moving across the country at this moment. those storms will pull away from the country by saturday, but cold northwesterly winds will cause more sea-effect snow into the weekend. some areas could see nearly 80 centimeters in two days, and snow will likely continue into the rest of the next week. meanwhile, we are seeing quite low temperatures and will be colder as we go into saturday. cold air enough to turn any kind of precipitation to snow will cover most parts of northern japan, but it's going to be much

colder next week. this is the forecast for next wednesday. it will be covering much of the country with the exception of the okinawa regions. even the southern places of the country, including kagoshima, could see snow flurries on tuesday as well as wednesday, and the morning lows could be minus 2 degrees. tokyo minus 4 degrees. to beat the cold, people wear layers. but how about monkeys? take a look at this footage. monkeys are huddling together in the shape of a dumpling to keep themselves warm. the so-called monkey dumpling grows larger as the mercury drops, sometimes made up of 200 monkeys. it will be much colder next week, so the size could be much bigger. they're interesting out there. meanwhile, acrs the southern hemisphere, a tropical system made landfall in madagascar, causing a lot of heavy rain and

displacing hundreds of people. the storm has weakened, but stormy conditions could continue into sunday at least. that's it for 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. the consumer price index in japan rose in december at the fastest pace in about four decades. the cpi climbed amid rising energy and raw material costs as well as a weaker yen. japan's internal affairs ministry says consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 4% last month from a year ago. it marks the biggest leap since december 1981 when the country was wrestling with the impact of an oil shock. officials also announced the

inflation figure for the full year of 2022. the annual cpi excluding fresh food rose 2.3% from a year ago. the last time the index spiked by this margin was in 2014, but that was triggered by a consumption tax hike and quickly subsided. excluding that, the figure represents the biggest jump since 1991. families with children are finding it particularly hard to absorb the rising prices. a working couple raising a 5-year-old daughter near tokyo say they may have to make sacrifices that will affect their child. the couple say their electricity bill in december was 50% higher than last year's, and their gas bill was up by 20%. their annual food and gasoline expenses have shot up by around 20,000 yen each or around $160. the couple want to give their daughter outside school tuition but are no longer sure they can

afford it. the labor ministry says that when adjusted for inflation, real wages in november fell 3.8% from a year earlier. it's the eighth month in a row that they have fallen. >> translator: prices are clearly going up, so if earnings don't go up too, we're going to be really squeezed. >> the couple are trying to cut down on daily spending by buying meat and other groceries in bulk. they are also trying to keep a better account of their money flow. the cpi has been on a steady rise after years of deflationary pressure, but some business owners still fear people will refuse to buy items if they raise prices. nhk world's tomura keiko looks at the challenges of a staple vegetable producer and a retailer. >> reporter: the bean sprout known as moyashi is a basic ingredient in home cooking. it's a very affordable

vegetable, usually going for about 25 cents a bag. >> translator: i think moyashi should be cheap and easy on the household budget. >> reporter: hayashi shoji runs a company that produces moyashi. he faces an uphill battle to raise prices on his product. the price of moyashi for consumers has actually fallen over the past 30 years. but the cost to import beans has more than tripled. most come from china. the sharp depreciation of the yen last year made them even more expensive. >> translator: if we just focus on prices, we may be able to buy beans from other parts of the world. but we like to stick to the chinese beans because we want to keep producing high-quality sprouts. >> reporter: rising energy costs are a further blow. the rooms where the sprouts are grown need to be heated.

so does the water used. the company's energy bill has jumped by 50% over the past year or so. so hayashi joined with other moyashi producers to ask retailers to pay more. the growers association ran a full-page newspaper ad explaining the situation. that followed a series of letters it sent to clients. but hayashi still doesn't have the price hike he needs. he says it would take a 20% increase to cover the cost. but so far, he has only got 10%. >> translator: retailers tell us a price hike of about one cent a bag would be possible, but they say four cents is beyond the limit. >> reporter: supermarkets are also struggling. akiba hiromichi has a small

chain in the tokyo area. he received countless requests for price hikes from suppliers. >> translator: the size and number of the price hikes are unprecedented. >> reporter: akiba is reluctant to pass on all these costs to his customers. milk is one example. he did raise the price but says that the profit margin is now razor-thin. these sprouts are sold below cost. he used to stock up on products when a supplier warned of a price hike. but now he's running out of storage space. >> translator: the government thinks it's fine to raise retail prices if wholesale costs go up, but it's not that easy if you are the one meeting the customers face to face. >> reporter: the japanese government thinks the shock of the inflation could be mitigated if workers' wages increased more than the inflation ratio.

but an economist says that's not happening for many industries. >> translator: the weaker yen has helped export-oriented manufacturers improve their performance. but for midsize and small businesses using basic imported materials, it's hard to raise wages. >> reporter: both the bean sprout producer and the retailer think prices will never return to where they were. it's much harder to foresee business prospects down the road. tomura keiko, nhk world. a hotel in tokyo will adopt an extra coronavirus measure for the chinese lunar new year holidays that start on saturday. staff at mimaru tokyo usually

asks guests at check-in how they are feeling and use tablets with multiple languages to encourage mask-wearing. from this weekend, they will also have chinese-speaking staff at the reception to ask guests for their cooperation. the hotel says it's seeing more bookings from taiwan, hong kong, and mainland china for the latter half of this month. >> translator: reservations are recovering, relatively speaking, and given that international flights have some way to go to get back to their peak, we expect numbers to keep rising. >> the hotel says more than 60% of the bookings are from the three places. u.s. video streaming giant netflix has reported a surge in new subscribers. a cheaper service supported by advertising led more people to sign up, but it still posted more than a 90% drop in net profit f the thr months netflix said thursday it had over 230 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of

december. that's up nearly 7.7 million from the figure at the end of september. the company introduced its low-price, ad-supported subscription plan in 12 countries in november. netflix says it's satisfied with the results. net profit for the quarter came in at $55 million. that's down 91% from a year earlier, partly due to an increase in program publicity expenses. netflix also announced that its co-founder, reed hastings, is stepping down as co-ceo and moving into a new role as executive chairman. a village in northern japan is hoping to attract tourists with its new ice carousel on a frozen dam lake. local officials demonstrated the merry-go-round in hokkaido's nakasatsunai village to representatives of the tourism industry. a circular sheet of ice about ten meters in diameter was cut out with a chainsaw.

people use their legs to rotate the ice disk. these ice merry-go-rounds are popular attractions in scandinavian countries. >> translator: this is a special place, a world where there is nothing but snow and ice. but by creating nevalue, i want to make it a place loved by both local people and tourists. >> the regional development bureau now hopes to organize events for the public to experience the ice carousel. let's have a look at the markets.

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

♪ >> these are the top stories. ukraine secret service has launched an investigation into a helicopter crash that killed the interior minister and other senior officials for 14 people died, including one child. afghanistan's government says freezing temperatures have killed at least 70 people and tens of thousands of cattle. forecasters say the cold snap will continue for at least another week. antigovernment protesters from across peru are converging on