♪ hello and welcome to nhk ne news line. i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. a powerful rocket has failed to launch from a site in southwestern japan. the h3 is the country's new flagship rocket. it was set to launch from the space center friday morning. the heavily anticipated launch from kagoshima prefecture had been set for 10:37 a.m. a video feed showed the main engine igniting, but the solid boosters did not and the rocket

stayed put. japan's aerospace exploration agency a trying to figure out why. >> translator: we haven't been able to analyze the cause yet so we can't provide any details. of course, we will do our best to successfully launch the rocket by the end of this fiscal year. >> it was called an aborted launch, not a failure. the heavy lift rocket was loaded with an earth observation satellite, which will be used to improve disaster damamanagement. it can carry 30% more than its predecessor, and it is cheaper to launch. japan hopes the h3 will overtake foreign rivals in the competitive rocket busine, including spacex. it'll also play a role in the u.s.-led artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon. it's 11 days since two devastating earthquakes hit southern turkey and syria.

deaths from the disaster have topped 43,000. the likelihood of finding survivors has faded significantly, but rescuers are keeping up the fight. in one of the hardest h province provinces, emergency crew pulled a 42-year-old woman from the rubble more than ten days after she was buried. a short time later, a boy was saved after a 260-hour ordeal. even after being rescued, survivors mustm harshest conditions. many are syrians who fled the civil war ten years ago. many only have carpet to shelter from freezing winds and almost no privacy. >> translator: it's very cold. what we want most now is a tent to protect ourselves. >> people in japan are sending their support.

officials in the western city of soja sent 800 sleeping bags. they're calling for more donations from across the country. the european bank for reconstruction and development estimates the disaster could cost turkey up to 1% of its gdp this ye. the united nations says it is stepping up effts to help survivors. it announced an appeal t provide turkey $1 billion in aid. >> the funding, which covers a three-month period, will assist 5.2 million people and allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up vital support for government-led relief efforts in a number of areas, including food security, protection, education, water and shelter. >> the u.n. also launched a $400 million humanitarian appeal earlier this week to help survivors in syria over three-month riod. u.n. officials say the quake in

the country damaged about 9,000 buildings and 11,000 people lost their homes. as the rescue work continues, providing sufficient medical care is becoming important. a japanese doctor is warning the disaster's aftermath will have to be dealt with for years to come. yoshida mayu has more. >> tex treextreme challenge her have a huge impact on people's health. >> reporter: kubo arrived in turkey last week. he is now working at a coordination center set up by turkey's government and the w.h.o. kubo's mission is to strengthen coordination between medical teams from around the world. kubo says collecting information is critical during a crisis. he developed this simple checklist for doctors and medical support staff. it was created from the lessons

learned during japan's march 2011 quake and tsunami. medical staff can use this checklist to keep track of people's injuries and ailments using digital data and easily share it with other professionals on smartphones. >> we need to avoid confusion, and we need some order. namely, we need coordination, which is led by the authority. >> reporter: kubo introduced this checklist as soon as he joined the coordination team. from data collected on over 2,000 people, he found that many children and elderly survivors developed severe cough and high fevers from the cold weather and dust rising from the rubble. >> based on the data, we now realizing we are getting out of the trauma phase. the air pollution situation is not good for children, so we need to provide some more

support to protect people's health. >> reporter: kubo says that as the number of evacuees continues to rise, he is worried about the worsening of hygienic conditions, which may lead to an outbreak of infectious diseases. >> what i can say from our experience in japan from 2011, the great japanese earthquake, is this is a very long challenge. it is not just a day, week or months. it is going to be years. >> reporter: japan has experienced many such disasters in recent decades, and the lessons learned from them are now being shared in areas of turkey devastated by this current crisis. yoshida mayu, nhk world.

the u.s. is ramping up efforts to prevent advanced technologies from falling into the hands of what it sees as adversarial countries. the u.s. justice department announced in a statement on thursday the launch of a disruptive technology strike force along with the commerce department. it said the interagency body wi bring together government experts, including from the fbi and homeland security investigations. the statement also said advanced technologies acquired by countries such as china, iran, russia and north korea could used for military purposes and to commit human rights abuses. the task force will focus on fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. this is just the latest biden administration strategy to counter china's growing tech impact. washington last year added 36 chinese companies and organizations to its trade

blacklist. beijing is also taking aim at businesses but for a different reason. it has added two u.s. companies to a list of entities that it says endangers its sovereignty and security. the commerce ministry announced sanctions thursday against lockheed martin and a defense unit of raytheon technologies. it claims they sold missiles, fighter aircraft and other arms to taiwan despite beijing's strong opposition. the companies are banned from engaging in trade activities with china and making new investments in the country. they've also been fined. beijing created a system for the list in 2020. it says it is for foreign entities and individuals that could harm china's national sovereignty and security, as well as the legitimate interests of chinese businesses. the sanctions are the first time the system has been used.

♪ foreigners living in japan can struggle to communicate with the locals. in times of disaster, many have found themselves lost. but one woman is giving them some words of encouragement. nhk world has her story. >> reporter: itabashi spes keiko's reassuring voice helps those living in sendai, northeastern japan.

she has been producing her radio program, discussing how to cope with disasters for foreigners since 2005. >> translator: i started this program with the belief that we should provide disaster information for foreigners so they can take steps to protect themselves should something tragic happen. >> reporter: six years after launching the program, the great east japan earthquake and tsunami hit. some of the guests on her show had gathered at the radio station in the days after that disaster. they translated information from japanese into english, chinese and other languages for

broadcast. a native of china was one of th them. she said she tried to speak in a calm tone. >> translator: there was limited information amid the chaos. many foreigners were unable to get reliable updates due to the language barrier. people were relieved to be able to hear information in their own language. >> reporter: sendai city launched an initiative to teach disaster management to foreigners who can serve as community leaders in times of disaster. >> reporter: the participates are allotted points based on their knowledge and skills. for instance, they receive one point if they know there is a chance that the tsunami can occur after an earthquake.

five points go to those who are able to act as interpreters in the event of an emergency. today, an exchange student, abidin, visited the booth. he wants to contribute as a member of his community. >> translator: developing relationships in our everyday lives can be very helpful in the event of an emergency. i hope to continue this radio program for many years to come. >> reporter: given the growing number of foreigners living in

japan, her radio program has never held greater importance. nhk world, sendai. people at one city in akita prefecture welcomed back a tradition that was on hiatus for a few years. our meteorologist sayaka mori shows us what took place and has the forecast in world weather. >> hello there. northern japan is one of the snowiest places on earth, and we have many snow festivals in winter. yes, the sapporo snow festival is one of e examples, but the one in akita prefecture has a longer history. 450 years of tradition. take a look at this footage. it has been three years since people in akita prefecture held an event for their famous snow huts. the ckamakura are built for a bountiful harvest. people are able to go inside.

40 of these were built in various parts of the city. the event finished on thursday, and now temperatures are on the rise. warm air is coming in from the south, and we will likely see springlike, warm weather. akita, 9 degrees. snow and also kamakura could melt. tokyo, 18 on sunday, more like mid-april. fukuoka at 20 degree on your saturday. i know it is still early, but the cherry blossom forecast is already available thanks to the japan weather association. it looks like the flowers will start to come out in koji prefecture around march 19th, three days earlier than usual. for tokyo, march 22nd, two days earlier than average. the cherry blossom front will be moving toward the north into may. a low pressure system to the south of hawaii is bringing ample moisture to the island chain. a lot of rain is falling, and we have a winter storm warning in

place for the summits of the big island. nearly 25 centimeters of snow and freezing rain are expected. in the southern indian ocean, we have freddie, an intense tropical cyclone. it'll track toward the west, and the storm will likely hit madagascar next week. probably on tuesday or wednesday. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

♪ here's one last story from major league baseball. the los angeles angels have decided to start japanese

two-way star ohtani shohei in this year's opening game. this means he will be their starting pitcher for two consecutive seasons. >> translator: i think i'm in perfect condition now, even better than i was last year. maybe my best ever. >> the team's manager said on thursday ohtani will take the mound when the angels play the oakland athletics on march 30th. ohtani did some batting practice and base running drills in spring training. the 28-year-old switched to a new bat and failed to connect with the bat at first, but then he hit some over the fence. that's all for this hour on 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. flying cars are widely seen as a next generation mode of transport. they came a step closer to reality on friday when a manned test flight was conducted in southwestern japan. the trial was carried out by okayama-based research group using a two-seater flying car that was built in china based on drone technology. it flew a pre-programmed route without a pilot at the controls.

the vehicle rose vertically to a height of 30 meters and circled over the sea at 36 kilometers per hour. the flight lasted 3 1/2 minutes. >> translator: we are aiming to turn flying cars into a commercial propositionme. i think that possibility is growing. >> the transport ministry says this was the first test flight of a man-flying car in an open space in japan that it's aware of. the japanese government is offering a fast track to permanent residence for highly qualified foreigners. the initiative is aimed at attracting more people with professional skills from abroad. the plan to grant preferential immigration treatment to those who mee the eligibility criteria was decided at a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers friday. a category for highly skilled professionals will be launched, giving them the right to obtain

permanent residence after living in japan a year. it includes foreign researchers and engineers who have an annual income of at least 20 million yen or $150,000. they must also have a masters degree or ten years of work experience. it includes foreign nationals who run a business and earn 40 million yen or about $300,000 and have at least five years of work experience. those in the new category will also receive preferential treatment at immigration control at airports. for nationals who graduated from globally recognized universities and are seeking jobs in japan, they'll be eligible for visas valid for up to two years. labor unions representing employees at japanese tech giants are seeking significant pay raises. the union submitted to the management a request for a monthly increase of 7,000 yen or

just over $50. the requested increase is the biggest in 25 years. >> translator: we want to negotiate with the union. not just mechanically reflecting recent price increases, but taking comprehensive mid and long-term views. >> requests for monthly increases for the exact same amount have also been made by unions for employees at toshiba, fujitsu and sharp. a special purple and white train has made a comeback in western japan to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of services using yakumo rolling stock. the super yakumo began running on friday. the revival attracted many rail enthusiasts. west japan railway launched yakumo trains in 1972. the service was upgraded in 1994 with the spintroduction of the

super yakumo, which operated until 2006. jr west says it hopes the revival train will attract many people to the region. french auto maker renault posted its first net loss in two years. its decision to withdraw from the russian market has taken a toll on profits. renault group reported a net loss for 2022 of 338 million euros or $360 million. that was despite sales climbing to 46.3 billion euros or $49.4 billion. the invasion of ukraine prompted renault to end operations in russia. it also sold off its subsidiary in the country. russia had accounted for about 20% of renault's sales. last year, the company sold just over 2 million vehicles worldwide, down sharply from the previous year. the french firm is focused on

boosting its electric vehicle business. it is in alliance with japanese auto maker nissan motor and u.s. chip maker qualcomm. ♪ let's take a look at what's happening in the week ahead. we start with a key business indicator from the world's biggest economy. the u.s. composite purchasing managers index for february will come out on tuesday. january's figure was 46.8, the seventh straight month of private sector contraction. business activities in the manufacturing and service sectors fell, but the pace was slower than before. total new orders fell modestly in january across the private sector. weak domestic and foreign demand hampered new business as new

export orders fell. the u.s. federal reserve on wednesday will disclose the minutes of its latest two-day meeting. the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate this month by a quarter of a percentage point. the fed drastically raised rates by three quarters of a percentage point four times in a row last year. it then slowed the pace to half a percentage point in december and reduced it further this month. slower u.s. inflation was behind the move. chair jerome powell said he thought for the first time that this inflationary process had started. but he said it would be premature to declare victory, hinting the fed will continue hiking rates at its next meeting. later in the week, we will see another monetary policy decision from turkey where rescue work continues after powerful earthquakes struck the country. turkish central bankers will

announce their policy direction on thursday. the bank held interest rates at 9% for a second straight month in january, marking the end of its rate cutting cycle. the country's policy has contrasted with efforts of other nations in controlling inflation by raising rates. interest rate cuts since september 2021 have triggered a plunge in the turkish lira and soaring consumer prices. it's also led to a deeply unbalanced current account, which shows the nation's transactions with the rest of the world. economists say president erdogan's unorthodox policy will continue, at least until presidential and parliamentary elections in may. also on thursday, the european union will revise january consumer prices for the euro area. early estimates predict annual inflation of 8.5%. the rate slowed for a third straight month in january.

croatia is included in the data for the first time since joining the single currency bloc on january 1st. one of the main components of the euro zone inflation is energy. it is expected to have hit the highest annual rate of 17.2% in january. that's followed by food, alcohol and tobacco at 14.1%. japan's consumer prices for january are due out on friday. the cpi excluding fresh food climbed 4% in december compared to the same month last year. that's the biggest jump since december 1981, when the country was wrestling with skyrocketing oil prices. the cpi has exceeded the bank of japan's 2% target for nine straight months, but not in the way the doj had hoped for. the internal affairs ministry said major factors were soaring food and energy costs and a weak yen. all right. let's have a look at the markets.

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from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for being with us. ■óúóúóúóúórórórórórórór■p çó?

>> days after powerful earthquakes hit turkey and syria, the death toll continues to rise. rescue crews are finding survivors under the rubble. what impact is this disaster having on survivors and emergency workers on the ground? this is "inside story." hello there and welcome to the program.