ñr hello and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." fromlp tokyo.han with the news - we begin with more signs tensions between tokyo and seoul are easing. japan welcomed south korea's minister in charge of unification with the north. it is the first time it happd in almost two decades and comes a week after ae1xdt( visit by

presidentryoon suk-yeol. >> i'd like to express my deepx resp%h h#or the leadership.ñifá >> japan is our closest nghbor. i also believe it haz become more important to develop ties m we nee, %o deepen those ties.w3ó >> the talks also come as pyongyang has wrapped up missile launchesnd expanded its nuclear program. the two ministers sayok it is a threat not just to their region, but the entire world. and theyxd pledge to work close to combat it. taiwan is holding drills meant to counter an amphibious invasion amid growing pressure from the chinese military. the antilanding exercises were held thursday near a fishing sport in the northern citylpt(tf

taoyuan.t(w3 taiwanese forces encircled and repelled troops.e1 china has been stepping up military pressure on taiwan by conducting sea and air drills near the region. it is considered a key landing spot to protect in the event of anw3e1 invasion. turning now to ukraine, where russian forces have launched another wave of missile strikes. ukrainianxd president volodymyr zelenskyy condemned the attack and vowed the russians will face justice and the rest of the country will be liberated. ukrainian officials say apartment buildings in the southern city ofe1 zaporizhzhia were hit on wednesday. they said at least one personñr was killed, and more than 30 in a video recorded near the eastern front lines, zelenskyy said it was painful to seat disrupts4y buok added seeing

krainians flags flying inñr ar tha were taken by russia >> we'll doy1 everything possib toe1 bring liberati underhe color blue and yellow. and bring life back to normal acrossur land. from donetsk to t rder, we'll respond to everye1 attack made on our city by the occup occupier. >> zelenskyy says he visited bakhmut where the fighting has been intense. he said heok was able to thank s soldiers for theirq bravery and present awards. as ukraine reels from russia's latestw3i@ñattack, moscow says s reinforcing its own skies, striking its air bases. the russian defense minister said on wednesday efforts to mdírnize the antiairñii] capabilities would be completed by the end of the year. ñi a grand jury looking into

possible indictment againstçó !çt wednesday. but u.s. media are reporting th thursday. trump islp facing criminal chars over alleged hush money. prosecutors in manhattan have beenfá investigating trump's involvement in payments to a porn star who claimed she had ad affair with him. if % )1!e theu president to face criminal charges in at( court. law enforcement officials are stepping up security as some of his supporters rallied in manhattan. >> indict a potato. indictments are nothing. you can give anyone an indictment. >> last week trump posted on social media he was likely to be arrested on tuesday and called on his supporters to protest. in other news,ñiçó campaign has begun fort( gubernatorial elections in nine prefectures acoysvw■japan. it is the start ofxd nationwide local elections held every four years.

new comerse1 and incumbents fil (5?uzvernor races in hokkaido,ç osaka, nara, and six other ñr prefectures. thee1 elections will beñi held april 9th. key campaign issues include policies to support children and child raising amid theçó fallin birth rate. candidates are also expected to focus on the revitalization of regional economies. the second roundñr of local elections will take place on april 23rd, when voters choose mayors and assembly members in smaller municipalities. bielections to fill vacancies in five lower and upper house seats will also be held that day.xdu a former japanese clawmaker could be one step closer to being in custody. police have an arrest warrantñr fort!5■ and now the foreign ministry hasxd ordered him to surrender his passport.xd higashitani yoshikazu goes by the name gaasyy. tokyo police allege he repeatedly intimidated and slandered celebrities and business people last year on his

youtubehannel. seat in the upper house of the diet last5a■k-qq)h#or failing t attend a single session. he said he was living in the united arab emirates. he said last week he would soon be moving but did not say where. the japanese foreign ministry has ordered gaasyy to surrender his passportxd by april 13th. officials say he'll then become invalid so he can't stay overseas legally. they say they want to prompt him to return to japan.5a■!u■ a prefecture near)vz has agreed to pay a settlement to the family of a vietnamese man who died after being detained 2■ police five years ago. the man who was 57 at the time was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of indecent assault and indicted. while in custody, he had been complaining of stomach pain and other symptoms. he later died. his family accused police of failing to provide him with proper medical care.

they sued the saitama prefectural government for damages. on thursday, the prefecture agreed to pay about $61,000 in ( next, lgbtq campaigners in japan are banning together to/s to the group of seven nations summit in hiroshima. they say japan needs to do more to protect them. three human rights groups founded pride seven. they say japan has been slow to enact antidiscriminatione1 laws and they face similar groups from other nations will soon join them to discuss the situation elsewhere. >> translator: i believe pride seven is aimed at clarifying the rule the p,■g-7 should play in addressing issues related to sexual orientation and gendere1■ identity. >> they'll hold a summit to discuss the issues next thursday in tokyo. from there, theok group aims to

draft specific policy proposals to present to world leaders. over;j■ a year has passed se russia invaded ukraine. enough time-9■ for some toe1 fld return. uk memories of a peaceful japan ar9 that expresses her enduring love for her homeland. nhk world tells us how.e1e1e1 painting portrays zaporizhzhia in southeastern e1ukraine. inspired by the artist's prewar memories, it depicts a tranquil sunset. last e1august, maria louisa filatova fled her home in zaporizhzhia, which is close to a nuclear power plant. she relocated to shiga prefecture in japan for a short

timet] for nearly three months, she joined an internationale1 artis and residence program where she focused on expanding her artist ic outcome. last november, after completing her seventh landscape painting, she returned to quk4!9ñ she felt unable to continue living inq the safety of japan while others in her ho faced relentless suffering. we interviewed her about the work shefáe1 has painted since return to her e1war-ravaged homela homeland. >> i now continue my work for making bigq paintings. when i was in japan painting, it

was for, like, what gave mey feelingi] of peaceful, which i really miss. >> reporter: before the war, sh1 predominantly drew monochrome portraits, but her style dramatically shifted after the invasion. in japan, she painted colorfulf landscapes, something she had always aspiredi] totycreate. no longer certain what the next daye1 would bring, she wanted t capture the moment through this new form of self-expression. during her time in japan, she painted the scenic rice fields eminded her ofxd c ññ#■ i remember when evening wh i wente1 for a walk, it was the sunset, very dark, and it was the time when ie1e1fá really fet

life is good. so, okyes, something very speci and something vrye1 magic. it influenced me and it definitely influenced my way of painting. she hasw3 experienced many drasc lifee1 changes. and her memories of shiga as a place where she experienced peace, beauty, and gratitude will no vowbt travel with her as she continues her artistic journey. u shiga. now, it is peak cherrye1 blossom season here in tokyo. and even with spring showers on thursday, parks saw plenty of people come out to seeewthe sakura bloom. earlier we reported from a park

saying for the first time since the pandemic began, people can enjoy the annual custom the traditional way. >> reporter: with hundreds of cherry blossom trees, this park is one of japan's most popular places to visit. people are still coming out. it gets so busy, this area is divided into one-way paths. park officialse1 are still encouraging people to take precautions to preventrthe spread of the coronavirus. but the metropolitan government is allowing what is known as picnics in public parks this year. we went to seeq how people are celebratingxd this week. these gatherings arejf an essential part of japanese culture. people meet up with e1friends, thmily or co-workers to enjoy being able to do it again comes as a big relief for many. >> translator: it has been such a long time since i've hung out with my friends without wearing a mask and ate outside.i]

>> translator: it is my first hanami in about four years. this is veryu >> reporter: the return ofe1 the gatherings is also a bigt( reli ûn reeling from covid's impacts.fk they are expecting a major economic boost. the park is attracting a lot of foreign tourists. >> look up at the skyehbnd see the dark blue d;k with the cherry blossoms in front of it, it is very peaceful,q very beautiful. >> reporter: cherryq blossoms represent the beginning of a new season. this year seeing them and being able to enjoy the tradition again feels like a return to normal. nhk world.

♪w3e1e1e1 moving now to the weather, people inw3 and around los anges witnessed a rare tornado ravage the area, bringing structural damage. our meteorologist jonathan oh world weather report.

>> hello. we have been dealing withi] stoy not months, for those located in california. and we're talking about yet another system that rolled on through wednesday and ended up bringing a rare tornado being caught on camera. here is a look at the video. yes, that is what is being captured here, a rare tornado hitting montebello, 13 kilometers east of downtowhlos angeles wednesday with aok twisr damaging multiple commercial buildings and breaking car windows. the video captured a rooftop or a warehouse spreading through the parking lot. california has been battered by the 12th atmosphere river pattern since last december. yes, it hasn't stopped. and the storyjf has not ended x. we're talking about yet another cold frontlpok pushing on throu. we're talking about more rain in especially northern california up to the pacific northwest as we go through the dayi] on

thursday. and, so, we're not going to see relief anytime soon, the best way to put it at the moment. we goe1 sa$u$e east side and rain as well. we have a low pressure system up toward ontario and eastern areas of canada and the cold front extends to another low. as we see this cold front swinging on through, we're looking at the possibility of ■ also down towarde1 places like the southern plains where we talk about severe possibilities when it comes to thunderstorms. be on the lookout for that. rain in chicago with the high of 10. showers along the west coast as we go through qthursday. see a cold front along with a low pressure system rolling through the country and so for those of you who are saying i want to check out the cherry blossoms, the weather is not going to be very helpful as we into the picture here. tokyo looking at rain, colder temperatures coming up as we go into the weekend. and we'ree1 starting to see som

full blossoms taking place in portions of japan going forward. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪xd ♪jf ♪e1xd ♪

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. ♪w3r this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. now, u.s. federal reserve policymakers haveq pushed aside fears that a further interest %■ system that is already inxdó[■ they have managed to slow inflation through a series of increases and the latest one is a quarter of a percentage point, bringing the8■ target range to ■

we spoke with a senior economist about how heu the numbe2■p one priority has beetoxd lower inflation close to their 2% target, and chair powell has been verye1 clear abt this for the past ei1■ months ore1 a year. however, it was a surprise for me today they are taking into account the current turmoil as the rise in credit costs pretty strongly. but the fed will conm hike the rates until may or maybe june and stay there for the rest of the year. >> some had predicted the recent loss of confidence in the banking sector would force 1 fed to hold off on any ratee1 increases for now. we first saw the collapse of two

mid-sized banks in the u.s., and in europe there is talk of an emergency takeover of investment banking giant credite1 suisse. in combination, the situation is making both bankers and depositors nervous.e1t( but, he says the situation is nothing like the 2008 global financiale1 crisis. >> the current banking turmoil won't lead to anything like a crisis because the private sector's balancee1 seet is much healthier than it was during the last gse. and households and private business seors leverage is low and we think that the major anks, capital level and the liquidity are at this point sufficient. and so, what matters going forward is how much wexd need t see the rise in credit costs or

the many risk premiums and that would eventuallyxd affect the corporate demand on investment. >> he says the fed's rate hike policy islp too extreme ande1 is been steadily hurting the u.s. economy. >> i think that's grnjt to,fá q again, be a big burden to the investment activities and the consume frgs tption from the ho. is that the u.s. economy is going to turn into a mild recession at some point later this year? like fourth quarter this year or maybe next year, beginning of next year? >> but with inflation in the u.s. remaining sticky, he says the fed cannot lower interest rates or ease monetary policy until it drops to the stated 2%ñ target. all of which adds up to a tricky situation for the fed going

forward. a california-based bank says on 20% since theq of last e1year, amid fears of a banking sector crisis. the parent company of pacific western bank said on wednesday deposits totaled $27.1xd billio as of march 20th. now,e1 that's down by $6.8 billn from the figure on december 31st. pacific western says it has secured ( boler i liquidty.t firm te1 it als borrowd $2. billn in a new prram le by the feral reserve to provide additional funds to financial institutions. now, another california-based bank fijzc republic has also seen massive withdrawals. 11 major lenders, depositors total of $30e1fá billion earlie this month as a support measure in an attempt to curb the accelerating outflow of funds.

sources say struggli japanese conglomerate toshiba accepted a buyout offer from an investment fund that aims to take the company private. the proposal was made by japan industrial part for a full takeover. this will be done through a combination of financing from a group of japanesee1 firms and loans from major banks.xd toshiba's management has been i1 turmoil since 2015 when it was rocked by an accounting scandal. the firm has had a series of company presidents resign. it accepted investment from activist shareholders e1oversea in a bid to rebuild its finances. the effort to delist toshiba is aimed at xdremoving the influen of those investors. has written draft guidelines for using flying cars for transportation bye around. now, the panel compo■ the blueprint includes government

officials, independent experts and company representatives. they anticipate the vehicles wille1 gain wide use includingxr emergencies. the experts define flying cars ase1 typically automated electr vehicles that take off and land vertically. ■ for flyinge1 vehicles under the blueprint. some specific rules for the 6=9m%iq%=99ñ dedicated roofs for flyinge1 ca will start from the latter half of the 2020s under the plan. it also says such vehicles will% be fullye1 autonomous by around the 2030s. the panel is scheduled to formally endorse the draft next week.fá telecom giant ntt is joining efforts to fight telephone scams by offering free caller identification to households with older members. the pushlpw3 comes as swindlers retenses have emerged as

a growing social problem. ntt east and ntt weste1 say the will offer caller i.d. display and anonymousçó call rejection services without(c[arge nationwide from may. households that include a person aged 70 or older can apply for the freexd services.w3 caller i.d. display enables subscribers to know who is making a call before answering the phone.e1 onymo call rejectiñr used as

says phone scammers swindle about $275e1 million in 17,500 phone cases in çó2022. the number of reported phone scams hase1 increased two yearsn a row. lx■anae1 holdings says it wi resume flights between tokyo and mainland china one1 april 1st after a lapse of aboutfá three years. this comes as the governments of international travel restrictions.e1 the japanesee1 airline operator had suspended regular flightsxd connecting toky4■w3 haneda with beijing and shanghai since march 2020 due to the pandemic. they say they plan seven round trips a week between÷n haneda a each of hongqiao and pudong airports in shanghai. it also says itt( will start flights to han'

ana rival japan airlines resumed flights connecting haneda and pudong this month following suspension of about three years. japan airlines says it will increase the number of flights between haneda and beijing on sunday. okay, let's get a check on ♪e1 ♪ ♪e1q ♪ ♪

♪lp ♪e1 and that's it for "newsline biz" fz7@ñ tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard.ññq day,

ordinary afghans are paying the price. >> on al jazeera. more hardship ahead, after months of protests and tough debt negotiations, the sri lankan government has secured a near $3 billion loan from the imf. but can it bail the country out in its worst economic crisis since its independence. this is inside story. ♪