♪ hello and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. south korean president yoon suk-yeol will visit japan next week and meet with prime minister kishida fumio. it comes amid efforts to thaw chilly relations. >> translator: we hope that through the visit, bilateral relations will further develop in the friendly and cooperative spirit imagined when diplomatic relations were normalized. >> the top government spokesperson announced yoon will spend two days in japan starting next thursday.

it's the first visit of a south korean leader since 2019. so seoul issued ame statement, calling it an improvement in relations. seoul set out a plan for a longstanding issue, compensation for those who say they were forced to work for japanese companies during world war ii. it'd see the diplomatic dispute settled with the use of a fund supported by south korean companies. ukraine's military says russia fired more than 80 missiles in an early morning strike that targeted the nation's energy grid. the strikes prompted the closure of europe's largest nuclear power plant and set off air-raid sirens in the capital. people in kyiv are assessing the damage caused by the latest barrage. the mayor encouraged them to take shelter in the south and west. elsewhere, the zaporizhzhia

nuclear plant was forced to backup power. ukraine says the generators will only last ten days, and it worries a prolonged outage could lead to a serious accident. moving now to georgia, where protesters took to the streets for a second straight day to oppose what they call an attack on democracy. the new foreign agents bill is being likened to a russian law that clamped down on civilian freedoms. thousands rallied against legislation requiring organizations with more than 20% overseas funding to register as foreign agents. georgia's ruling party calls it transparency, but the opposition worries it'll be used to silence critics. >> now is the time when we are under direct attack from the government, so we should protect ourself. >> we cannot allow our country to become pro russian or pro

russian state or undemocratic. we do not have any other choice. georgia is either democratic or there is no georgia. we will win. >> security authorities broke up crowds with water cannons. georgian officials say the protests have led to 70 arrests. russia's state-run media is covering this closely. the deputy speaker of russia's upper house denied allegations moscow helped draw up the law. a u.s. global security report warns beijing aims to fuel a military by 2027 that could deter u.s. intervention in a potential cross-strait crisis. the office of the director of national intelligence released the annual report wednesday on what washington sees as worldwide threats. with the chinese leadership headed by president xi jinping in its third term, the report says beijing will continue to press taiwan on unification.

it notes china will also take stronger measures to push back against a increases in u.s. support to taiwan. the report says the measures could include additional taiwan strait border crossgs o mor missiles launched overtaiwan. the report adds, despite global backlash against russia's invasion of ukraine, china will maintain diplomatic defense, economic and technology cooperation with russia. at a senate hearing, director of national intelligence, avril hanes, says beijing continues to deepen ties with moscow. the united states sees china providing assistance to russia as a real concern. euiranian authorities belie the poisoning of schoolgirls were also involved in anti-government protests. young students started to fall

ill in november, a few months after protests began to rage across iran. the shocking case has not led to any deaths, but it has seen many young people injured. authorits say they've now arrested suspects in six provinces. >> translator: today, our emies intend to create terror and stress, as well as disrupt our education system. they are making the issue seem worse than it really is. >> officials say three suspects took part in demonstrations that led to a massive crackdown and death sentences. othe believe the government is deflecting criticism. they blame the poisonings on radicals seeking to punish young protesters. the wave of unrest began after a 22-year-old woman died while being held for how she wore her head scarf. in other news, ten u.n. member states issued a statement

on international women's day, urging the taliban to uphold the rights of women in afghanistan. the islamic group has taken steps to limit the rights of women, such as banning girls from middle school. albania's u.n. ambassador read out a statement, saying women and girls in afghanistan are facing one of the world's worst human rights crises. >> we demand the taliban immediately reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls and respect the human rights of all afghan people. >> the u.n. security council later discussed the issue. member states, mostly western nations, expressed concern over the taliban's measures. the envoys from russia and china said they'll cooperate with efforts to protect women's rights, but they also criticized western countries, saying their economic pressure has aggravated afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. millions of women across the globe have demonstrated toark international women's day.

they called for advances in women's rights. thousands of women in istanbul rallied despite a ban on protests. police blocked their access to a main avenue and used tear gas to disperse them. >> in the peruvian capital of lima, hundreds of indigenous women marched. they demanded an end to racial discrimination. >> translator: we feel underrated because they don't value our culture, our identity. they treat us with racism. racism is taking hold here in my country. >> thousands also gathered in the nigerian city, many wearing purple to represent eradicating violence against women.

♪ people here in tokyo have remembered the victims of u.s. air raids during world war ii. a memoria was held othe e ofhe 78 annersary of th predaw s, whi claimed an estimated 100,000 civilian lives. damagen the eastern part of e capital. about how relati40 relatives of and others gathered at a private museum. the participants took turns reading out the names of 1,928 people who lost their lives on march 10th, 1945. their families have consented to the use of the names of their

relatives. a 77-year-old participant said reading the names underscored each victim was an individual. >> translator: people simply say 100,000 victims, but all of thothem had theirwn lives. i read out each name, trying to imagine what kind of life they had. >> a high school student said reading out the names made her feel even more strongly war should never happen again. ♪ people throughout japan will soon commemorate 12 years since the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern japan. one of the worst hit areas was miyagi prefecture, where more than 1,000 children lost at least one parent.

nhk world explores the journey of two brothers whose father died in the disaster. >> reporter: these brothers are from ishinomaki, miyagi prefecture. they were aged 20 and 17 when their father died in the tsunami. >> translator: i never imagined my father would be caught in a tsunami. >> translator: at that time, i really didn't know how to live or where to go. >> reporter: their mother had died of illness six years before the disaster. so they were truly alone. one was at college at the time of the tsunami sought out assistance. he graduated and became a schoolteacher.

ruito, who was at high school, moved into their grandmother's home after graduating. he became a firefighter. even while apart, the bond between the brothers grew stronger. >> translator: he was part brother, part parent, helping me with my life. so i was thankful to him. he became indispensable. >> reporter: he is still haunted by regrets. when the earthquake struck, he was at home in ishinomaki with his father. straightaway, they got in the car to pick up his grandmother from her home. they were hit by the tsunami while driving. his father died.

>> translator: i can never forget that moment. if i had done something differently, i might have been able to save him. >> reporter: three years ago, ruito switched his career from fire fighting to education. today, he helps school children with instruction and job seeking. drawing on his experience of losing hope after his father dad, he aims to have children dream about their future. 12 years on, the brothers are also fathers themselves. >> translator: i am finally able to talk about my experience during the disaster with someone, and i will continue to do so if i can help people.

>> translator: when i see the pictures of my decease d parent and classmates, i feel like time has stopped. so i need to live my life for the people whose time has ended. >> reporter: these brothers are now savoring every moment of life, both the joys and the perils with their growing families. fujio nhk world, sendai. >> nhk world will have special coverage of the 12th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami with stories of people still strugtolo struggling to rebuild their lives. join us 2:40 p.m. japan time on saturday, march 11th. next in weather, people in

some portions of europe are seeing huge dumps of snow now after going through one of their warmest winters. our meteorologist jonathan oh explains the situation in our world weather report. >> hello. we're seeing some chilly air coming in from the north, and so it feels a little more like winter opposed to spring. we're seeing snow rolling into the northern portions of europe. here's a look at video. we've been over into portions of the united kingdom, where animals in england were treated to a big surprise wednesday as snow turned their enclosures white. authorities say minus 15.4 degrees celsius was recorded in parts of scotland. in sweden, heavy snow caused problems. buses had to be canceled and airports had delays and cancellations, as well. we're looking at the wintry weather pattern to be in place as we go through the day on thursday. we have another low from the north and west, so that'll bring in rain and also maybe unstable weather. thunderstorms are possible in places like london as we go through the day. we'll see snow still a part of

the story, extending over into portions of central europe here. warsaw looking at snow possibly. stockholm looking at a high of 1. moscow also looking at snow as we go through the day on thursday. to the south, much warmer. upper teens to lower 20s was ae as we go through the day. really warm weather across japan. once again, looking at highs into the lower 20s in places like fukushima, kyoto and tokyo. 22.2 degrees. certainly a warm pattern. we're going to be seeing a little bit of change in terms of seeing rain because we have a low pressure system and cold front coming in from the west, and that's going to help bring some wet weather, extending from okinawa to kyushu and across the country as we go through friday. we are talking about temperatures still staying relatively stable, maybe cooler into the weekend but not by much. 20 in tokyo on friday with a high there. sapporo at 10. 14 in me ng niigata.

the sun will return on friday for fukuoka and into naha as we go through the day. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪ ♪

as jonathan mentioned, the warm weather here in japan means cherry blossom season is right around the corner. as the pandemic continues to ease, visitors to toktokyo's puc parks will be allowed to picnic under the trees for the first time in four years. after a government review of anti-coronavirus measures, people will be able to make their own decisions on mask wearing from monday. even so, the tokyo metropolitan government says it'll keep some restrictions in place along the main cherry tree path from monday to mid april. officials are reminding people to continue taking anti-virus measures where possible as the pandemic has yet to be declared over. and that wraps up this edition of nhk news line lyne. i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away.

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. japanese retail giant seven & i holdings says it'll close a quarter of its main supermarket and general merchandise outlets. the company is planning to focus on its 7-eleven convenient stores. seven & i is shuttering 33 of its 126 ito-yokado stores in japan, mostly in regional cities. seven & i will seek to grow in the tokyo metropolitan area.

it's seen clothing sales struggle as more people opt for specialty retailers or online sellers. seven & i said it'll completely withdraw from operating an apparel business and focus on food sales. nissan motor says it plans to bring down costs for electric vehicles to the same level as gas engine cars by 2030. the japanese auto maker says it'll get there partly by sharing more components across power trains for evs and hybrid models. the firm believers this will reduce production cost by 30%. it aims to first bring down manufacturing prices for the models, putting it on par with internal combustion by 2026. it's also working on first generation baj generation batteries that will help the cost be the same. the country's gdp grew less than initially reported in the

fourth quarter of last year. the downward revision comes as consumer spending was more sluggish than thought. the cabinet office released revised data on thursday. it indicates the country expanded at an annualized rate of 0.2% in the october to december period. the reading last month showed a bigger 0.6% increase. now, consumer spending was revised slightly downward from the preliminary figure. this category accounts for more than half of the gdp. people spent less on dining out and buying automobiles than thought. services and inbound tourism demand is likely to recover as coronavirus-related restrictions are being eased. but prices of food and other everyday items continue to rise. japan will need to maintain economic growth while avoiding a decline in consumer spending. in a survey by the u.s. federal reserve, it shows the

country's economy remains strong despite a state of interest rate hikes aimed at taming inflation. the fed released its latest beige book on wednesday. it's based on interviews with businesses in the central bank's 12 districts. the report says overall economic activity increased slightly in early 2023. six districts reported little or no change in activity since the last report in january. six others described expansion at a modest pace. the report says consumer spending generally held steady. a few districts reported moderate to strong growth in retail sales during what is typically a slow period. fed officials said high inflation and steeper interest rates continued to reduce consumers' discretionary income and purchasing power in some districts. they notarizing credit card debt. the survey indicates strong tourism activity in most districts, while labor market

continued to be solid. the fed is trying to curb inflation with rapid rate hikes, yet recent economic indicators are showing the moves are failing to keep a lid on rising prices. fed chair jerome powell vows to continue the tightening, but policymakers have to maintain a balance between cooling the economy and preventing a recession. now, improving labor efficiency is critical for japan's economy as the country tries to deal with depopulation. its hourly productivity is the lowest among g7 nations. one of the reasons is its inflexible labor market. now, long held concepts regarding employment are changing. tomura keiko has more. >> reporter: this student

changed professions at the age of 28. before that, he worked at a tokyo travel agency. during the time, he taught himself computer programming. that work inspired him to seek a career as an engineer. he had told the recruiters about his computer skills and enthusiasm for the new position. yoshia thinks changing jobs is now more commonly accepted among young workers. >> reporter: aft >> translator: after graduation, most people imagined working for one company until retirement at age 60 or 70. now, if you feel you don't match your current job, it's better to find one that better suits you. not only will society benefit but the well-being of individuals. >> reporter: in japan, companies used to prefer to hire new graduates.

some of its employment was normal, and switching jobs was seen as negative. but this idea is changing. the i.t. firm that yoshiya joined is one such company that adopted a new take on recruitment. it focuses on mid-career hiring from other industries. the director says the pace of change, especially in the digital industry, is speeding up. companies have to diversify their workers to be able to keep up with the changing needs and technologies. >> translator: it is our advantage to have people with various experiences from various industries. if our employees have only the same experience, we cannot adapt our businesses in accordance with changes in society. unless we're self-changing, we

cannot survive. >> reporter: the number of companies hiring workers from different industries such as yoshiya has been increasing in recent years. this hr expert says the big factor is japan's shrinking work force. human resources are regarded as an essential asset of enterprises around the world. >> translator: this more mobile era, individuals who are selecting their places of employment, companies can no longer make their employees follow the traditional work style. to delop the talent of their workers, employers have to explain concretely their job mission, set a goal, and make clear the role the employee will play. >> reporter: in the face of a growing labor shortage, japan's job market is becoming more flexible and fluid. if workers are allowed to excel,

it goes without saying that productivity will go up. so will the economy. tomura keiko, nhk world. ever tried white strawberries? i have. well, farmers in southwestern japan are busy harvesting exactly that. five farms in saga prefecture, karatsu, grow the prized fruit. the white strawberries with a wide flavor. some fetch 700 yen or $5 a piece. this local grower developed this rare variety. he says this year's crop has been drenched in sunshine since planting in september, giving them a sweet flavor and pleasant aro aroma. >> translator: the scent is like that of red strawberries. they are grown without chemical spraying so people can be safe when enjoying their flavor.

>> reporter: the fruit is sold at local farm stands and department stores in tokyo and its surrounding region. some are also exported to hong kong. 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. o;o;ó7ó7■x■x

forget their eyes. >> canada's dark secret on al jazeera. >> the united nations is appealing for nearly $900 million to help rohingya who fled to bangladesh from firenado myanmar. -- from their native myanmar. this is "inside story." hello and welcome to the program. we are taking a further look at the plight of rohingya