♪qr hello. thank qof for joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm roger with the news from tokyo. japan's top court has found a vietnamese woman not guilty of abandoning the bodu;jrq) t(e1 stillborn twins.?nm the case shed light on fálp foreign trainees who concealed pregnancies out of feare1r

for being forced to leave japan1 supporters of le thixtue celebrated outside the couruk after the verdict was read on friday.t( her victory follows an ordealxd] ho is now 2 was wor under e1japan's technicalxñ tra■ program in kumamoto prefecture when she secretly gave birth to stillborn babies. she left their bodies in a cardboard box for over a day befohex authorities weher(sq)te, leading to charges. the case eventually made its way to the supreme courtçó and her legal team argued le did not intend to abandon the twins' remains and was preparing to çó bury them. in his ruling, the supreme courd justicexd sided with the defens. he said the way she scared for the bodies and the conditionslp she was under at the time shefá spoke virtually after the verdict.xd

to and alter her voice. >> i hope japanese society will change so that pregnant peoplef in my situation cançó consult wh others and give birth with peace of mind.qçó instead of being the society that arrests women like me and punishes us like we're criminals.ñr >> the casee1 garnered attentio among advocates for the rights a petition started by a support group collected more than 95,000 acquittal.xd now to north korea, which is raising tensions in and around the peninsula.e1 x2>ngyang says it's just wrapped up three days of testing an r underwater attack drone capableu korean central television says ■ the drone cruised for nearly 60 hours before detonating in the

sea of japan. the state broadcaster claims the weapon will be able tou infiltrate waters and create a radioactive tsunamie1 thate1xd destroy navalñi strike groups a enemy ports.çó north korea also reportedly test fired four strategic cruise missiles on wednesday from the country's east towards the sea of japan. now, the ruling workers party newspaper said thousands of young north koreans held anti-u.s. and south korean demonstrations in the capital.ñr a representative of the party's youth organization quoted as saying, both countries should pay a severe price after the countries are still conducting previous assault training scheduled to last through april 3rd. 1.4 million young people volunteere to join or rejoin the north korean military.i] it all comes after the u.s. and south korean militaries conclmm exercises in half a decade on thursday. s countries are still conductiná

amphibious assault trainingçó through april 3rd. soon after the test was reported south korea'st( president pledged to take a tougher stance against pyongyang. >> transl been steadily developing its nuclear weapons capabilities and launching missiles with i] requency. pyongyang will definitely pay for its reckless provocations.pq >> yoon was attending a memorial ceremony for soldiers killed in north korean military attacks. they included the bombardmentxof a south korean island and a a5■ torpedo strike that sank a warship in 2010. yoon is promising to bolster his country's missile defenses and boost security cooperation with hn. tiktok to watch, share and ñrr create bite-sized videos, but k■ that reach has lawmakers worried. they spent hours grilling

tiktok's ceo about the app's fá safety and security.ñiokt( shou zi chew says he wants to clear the misconceptions.e1e1 >> we are committing to transparency, and we are committing to third-party monitoring. we will give themñr access to keep us accountable to our e1 commitments we are making.xd >> lawmakers are worried about what happens to the data of ' the u.s. some want the chinese parent e2i company bytedance to sell the app to american owners.ñr'8yr(t% others want it banned. >> your trackers are embedded in sites across the west.t( tiktok surveils us all, and the chines■"ommunist party is i] able to use this as a tool to fq manipulate america as a whole.qr >> officials in the administrationx3oç offá joe bidn already ordered federal employees to delete the app from government devices. most state governments have partial or total bans, and e1 authorities across the globe have their own restrictions.fá

some lawmakers grilled chew for videoszod the platform that seemed to promote drugs, q self-harm and even suicide. he says his company is adopting measures to protect teenagers, r and it's very qqç+m outside, some protesters argued tiktok is a space for free t( speech protected by the ñr constitution. others supporting a ban say the app is the weapon. in other newsl■(ko■ taiwan is recalling its ambassador to honduras, 1 of 14 countries with which it has diplomatic ties. the central american nation is r u with beijing.2:■is castro had instructed her e1 ej ÷ñ■ eduardo enrique reina reportedl■ departed wednesday for china.t2u taiwan's foreign ministryvg recalled its ajossador in response4i@r(t&hjs40&hc% it said hondurasçt totallydk

china i'ááuáháaiwan is part of its 4'i$[ju+sfá[e1] beijing has been trying to e■ñöd bya 2 nations to sever diplomatic the honduran f=m#ign minister's taiwan visit comes days before é theñrii taiwan president sets■ for gun5tzala and belize. her trip will includk3stops in aáu'ited states.añrañi hundreds of thousands of :ñ n france have taken to e1p pension reforms. president emmanuel macron said i their retirement age from 62 to 64.i]u but protesters say the law needs to be withdrawn. organizers in paris said 800,000 people turned out for a rally in the capital.lp similar demonstrations have nb■ happened in other cities across the country. france's constitution allowed the government to force through 1émhe pension reform bill witho but protesters say it should

have been decided with a public referendum. >> translator: i came to protesr for my parents, too, who broke i their backs working for 30 years and are in their 50s and tired. they need to work with unions ñi and others to find consensus.w3 >> some of the rallies have turned violent with clashes çó between police and protesters. for those, city hall was engulfed in flames following the demonstration.par(t&háhp &hc% opposition parties and labor unions say they plan to continue protesting until the law is withdrawn.çót(t(e1 saudi arabia says it's in talks with syria to resume consular services.q re-establishment would mark the in moves by arab states to normalize ties with syria. saudi state-run televisionçó on thursday cited a government official as saying discussions a administration of syrianq president bashar al assad. the two sides have agre to p]"é.

the arab league suspended syria's membership inñi 2011 afr a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters there. arab countriesxde1 backed anti-government forces in the uprisi:b■xdñi assad's government now controls much of the country.a5■i] assad visited oman and the united arabñ emirates where he received a warm welcome. ties with syria could influence other arab nations. the holy month of ramadan for muslime world. that includes survivors of last in turkey and syria. muslims started fasting from sunrise to sunset on thursday.w3 many have been living in relief camps for weeks. j)áu)ibuted to families after dark when fasting concludes for the day. people say it's still a very difficult time. >> translator: of course,ok i fl

gloomy, it's notok like my hous easy. >> reporter: the quakes killed more than 50,000çó people in an estimated 2 million people there areq still living in tent. the government has only recently started constructing housing for survivors. japanese police are steppini up their investigation of a former lawmaker who firstfá gaid fame as a youtuber. he goes by the name ñiqgashi fa 5q■ ofq prominent figures. now, investigators have searched his family home. pa%%re5ájut in the westernjf prefecture. believed to be staying in the united arab emirates to avoid arrest accused of intimidating

and slanderingi]i] celebrities business people on his youtube channel 6bíá year stripped ofi] his status as an upper house lawmakers last week for failing to attend any sessions after being elected last gw■ajuly. the foreign ministry ordered him on thursday to surrender his passport by april 13th.ñiçóñiñi if he fails to comply it will make his overseas stay illegal. police believe he is unlikely to return. thg■ plan to ask interpol to seek his arrest by issuing anlp international notice to locate him. a third generation japanese-american researcher fá3 wants to bring more attention tk the story of a japanese man.ok he was killed att( ang internme camp in the united states durin] worláhái the big challenge is gathering information on his origins. nhk world reports that the investigation is inspiring people in his hometown to help.ñ >> are39 we there?

>> yes. ñi >> rep]yr: nancy ukai is a ■ california. she's looking for information o■ the man who, according to u.s. public records, was originally from this area, a remote town. >> we don't have anything very visual to think what hegayujád like. if we couldn't find a relative, perhaps there'skv finding a photograph of him. xdu >> reporter: in 1943, military q police shot and killed hatsuaki wakasa from a watchtower at theq ñlp more than 2,000 people attended his funeral. the guard who shot him claimed r h hatsuaki wasjhárying to escape the camp, but others said the 63-year-old was just on a daily walk with his dog.t(ñi ukai has been researching okçó

hatsuaki's life for eight years. she remembers hearing his name once from her mother. her parents and ten other relatives were also incarcerated there. records indicate that xd hatsuaki was born in 1880 and immigrated to the u.s.p in 1903. town officials took her to wheri many hatsuaki families used to % live. they also went through the list of people who graduated from the local elementary school in the 1890s.xd so far, no luck.xd >> nice to meet you. ñi >> nice to meet you.w3e1t( >> reporter: ukai's visit has xq become the talk of the town. learn more about her mission.fá1 >> i'm just very moved to be +$% here today, and i really thank you for coming.t( my grandfather could have been ]

at this funeral, and perhaps myd mother, too.qé@■ [ applause ]fáq >> translator: i was so touched that someone like her is researching about one of our ancestors. e1e1 break yet, but ukai is not leaving empty-handed.çó people made paper flowers, the same kind that were offered at wakasa's funeral because no fresh flowers were available. u meaning, and to take this to the desert of topaz next month, okç■ very, very powerful.c t's a message from ishikawa and from japan, and itd connects us.ñr v÷ display the flowers at the ñi memorial ceremony at topaz, q marking the 80th anniversary ofg wakasa's death.fá her investigation continues.ñi now, with the help from both

sides of the pacific.e1 nhk world, ishikawa. moving to the weather, people inñr parts of eastern spn have been forced tolp evacuate after aq8h massive wildfire rag across the çójfregion.ok our meteorologist jonathan oh explains in our world weather report. >> hello. we've been looking at wet weather across the northern!ó areas of europe, but down toward the south, it's been warm and also quite dry, as well, leading to some wildfires in portions of spain. here's lookt some video to give you an idea of the lp as wildfires forced hundreds ]fg residents in eastern portions of the country to evacuate thursday, authorities have set ] up a refuge for 600 people and a field hospital, as well. the fire has scorched over 1,00á hectares of land, and about 15 airplanes have been deployed, but some of the residents complained. as we go throughout the day on

friday in spain, the cold front swinging through is mainly focusing in places in germany into france as it moves eastward. we have another area of rain closer to moscow, and that's ront to be moving through.ñi so, again, it is going to be dry down toward the south.ñiçó madrid looking at a high of 21. 19 in rome. 21, athens.ym■çó from vienna and points northward on friday, you'll need your umbrellas becauseeiiu—q @r(t&há% looking at a wet day.oq@z cf1 o we'@e"loek toward the deep south as we go through friday. a low pressure system is moving through the southern plains.ç$ % as it lifts to the north and east, this unstable pattern caná lead to some serious concerns xd when it comes to severe weather. it is springtime, but, still, you need to be on the lookout wd f'n this, especially for those located down towardslpçó arkansas, louisiana and mississippi, you'll be the core focus of the possibiliu seeing severe wei(■( as we go through friday. looking into dry weather into los angeles with rain in the pacific northwest. thunderstorms from oklahoma city

the day.fá it's been wet across tokyo and also toward the western areas of japan.e1 a front is hovering near the south. it's going to be a lotvpñr cold for the weekend in high of 14 thursday, 13 on talking about sapporo seeing the possibility of flurries as /e]■ into monday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪jfp,■xd

thatw3 concludes thisjfçó e of nhk "newsline."t(e1qlp don't go away.çófái]qr ♪ñiw3e1 ♪fá this is newsline biz. i'm ramin mellegard. households can take comfortfá i households can take comfortfá i theok kotooshu inflation has been soaringe1 but in february the increase slowed.çó now, a major factor was government subsidies to bring down energy bills.lp the internal affairs

ministry says the consumer prici index roseñi 3.1% last month frm a year earlier. it slowedfá from a 41-year highf 4.2% in january. the drop reflects # government subsidies for household energy use which caused efeqi%%qe■ bills toñr fal by 5 1/2%.xd half of the increase recorded in january. ministry officials say that withouáu■ the-9■ subsidce$■ the inu kd8january.w3 a seriesok of priceñi hikes mea that shoppers paid 7.8% morew3 last month for lpfood, excludin fresh items than a year earlier. the rate of increase in the category is that the highest levain over 46 years.t( april in japançó means the stasú of the academic year and ■ in theirñr lives. a project atth$p university is making useñr of what graduating students leave behind.ñi

students of the nippon institute of technology nearfá tokyo have collected over 100 refrigerators,xd washing machin and other appliances and clean the items and give them to incoming students. now, they expect the efforts will be especially appreciated this year as prices soar. >> translator: we hope these items will lighten the financial burden for first year students.] >>çó the volunteers will postlp pictures on social media and çó display them on campus at the start of the academic year. now, supermarket sales in japan fell for the first time in eight months in february as rompted consumers to become more thrifty. the japan chainq stores association says sales at major stores total about 1 trillion month. that's 2% less in yen terms than a year earlier. for about 70% of the

total dropped 1.7%. plus, sales of clothing and cosmetics rose as people went out moreko■ñrksok the coronavir pandemic subsides. officials at the association sa shopping trip as they're becoming more cost conscious.ñid and the operator of japan's post offices has conducted a test delivery of a package with a drone. it was the first trial in the country using the most difficult level of drone flight. office in one town with a package weighing 1 kilogram and took five minutes to reach a house two kilometers away, what is calledçó a levele1 4 flight because the drone leaves thee1 operator's line of vision over a populated area. now, in december the government established national qualifications and certifications for drone ot1ápáors. the drone landed near the house

where the resident accepted the parcel. >> translatorv/ spks when they see unfamiliar objects flyi&wçó in the sky. we need the e1understanding of municipalities and their residents. >> japan's poá'■ plans toi] use them for deliveries e■$■ areas difficult to reach over land and hopes to alleviate shortages and reduce costs, drones are also beingg giant and sagiwa express. a newi] terminal building h opened onu earthquake that hit the region seven years ago. ♪ an opening ceremony for the new featuring ñikumamoto's prefectu popular mascot. ■ the quake caused the

to collapse. kd8in january this year.ñr the four-story building isçó almost 1 ñi1/2 times bigger tha the previous one with a total floor space of nearly 38,000 squarmeters.ñi now, farmersxd on the southweste -- a southwesternlp aisle has starte to pick the new crop of tea leaves thanks to the island's warm climate, harvestingt( come earlier than in other parts of the island where it typically happense1 from mid-april to ear may. it beganñi in plantations and t farming has been a major industry on the island for more than a century. the variety of tea is uniqm8 to the area. association say it has ab.■ swe flavor and afá distinctive milk aroma. island was filled with a faint sweet scent as the freshly picked leaves were steamed to

prevent oxidation.i] >> translator: for restrictions and easing they can enjoy theym cherry blossoms thisfá yearu would love them to drink our >> picking will continue until mid-aprilt ♪çóñiñi!u■ okay, let'se1 seeñi what's happeninge1 in the week ahead. have a look at the screen right next to me here. we start off withñr u.s. congressional hearingsçó on ban failures. the u.s. haws financialxd servis committee is scheduled to holdñ the first of several highly anticipated hearings on the collapses of silicon valley bank and signature bank onx$dwednesd. top federalñi banking regulator including federal depositsá insurance corporation chairman martin groupberg andçó michael barr, thelp federal reserve's ve chair for supervision areq set o testify. the panel will look into why and how the banks failed.

now, china will announce itsr latest index figures on friday. ac february grew at the s)test pace in more than a decade to well above 50 suggestingfá expansion. btkr'ess activity in china is showing signs ofxd recovery wit the end of the zero covid policy, production and demandñi are returning to normal as the footing. that hitting theñi gross targetf around 5% for this year won't be easy.fá some keyñi inflationp,■ dat next week. analysts and market participants will bejf closely watching thos numbers to see where monetaryp, policies arevpc 9 world. now, tokyo metropolitan area le u■ tren last month for the first time in more than ae1 year. consumer prices for everything except fresh food in the

country's capital rose by 3.3% from a year earlier. a sharp slowdown from january reflects the effects of government energy subsidies. now, a further drop in prices could reduce pleasurew3 from th toq make a speedy exit from the current ultra easing policy. officials in europe are also set to announce march inflation on the same date.t% prices across 20 euro area member statesj %re coming down from record levels, but remain very high.jfñi and this prompted the european inflation fight despite fear about a global banking crisis. another big rate hikelp of a ha oint. japan will take a step towardçó the future of self-drivingñr ca that's when highly autonomous some public roads. self-driving automation is classified into levelsfá of oneo five, a level five vehicle is a

fully autonomous car that can drive■,■itself anywhere under a conditions. now, from april 1st japan will allow level 4 automation, such vehicles can be driven without human intervention on designated routes. unmanned transit and delivery services in regions with fallinñ populations and fewer workers. okay,0l■ let's get a check the markets.q ♪v

♪fá that's it for ñinewslinerbiñ

nastasya: china's president says his country and russia are driving geopolitical changes globally. xi jinping has been in moscow in a show of support for vladimir putin. but what do those changes mean for the broader world order, and how does the west view xi's visit? this is "inside story." ♪ hello there, and welcome to the program. i'm nastasya tay. now, president xi jinping has concluded his visit to moscow, cementing his partnership with ad