welcome to nhk world "newsline." japanese foreign ministry officials are demanding answers from russia following an incident in the air. defense ministry officials say two russian war planes violated the country's air space on thursday. they say it happened just before 3:00 p.m. southwest of rishiri island off hokkaido. air self defense force commander scrambled four fighter jets. the russian aircraft left japanese air space after about a minute. officials immediately launched a protest with the russian embassy in tokyo. they are calling for an

investigation. russian authorities say they will confirm the details. foreign ministry spokespersons say this is the first time in five years russian aircraft have violated japanese air space. the head of the all-japan judo federation wants to clear the air. he will brief officials on a scandal that's tarnished a sport that started in japan. coaches physically abused members of the women's national team. 15 team members filed a complaint with the japanese olympic committee. they said coaches engaged in violent behavior in training, such as slapping wrestlers in the face. the head coach and the director of technical development have resigned. uemura headed to paris, where he'll appear before the international judo federation. >> translator: it is my responsibility to explain what happened, because we have inconvenienced everyone in judo around the world.

>> uemura says he wants to prevent the scandal from affecting tokyo's bid to host the 2020 olympics. >> judo has deep roots in japan and fans expect success. the head coach says he was under pressure to win. now people in the japanese sporting world are worried about what they could lose. nhk world reports. >> reporter: he took over as head coach as the national women's judo team in november 2008. people praised him for his enthusiastic and theoretical instruction. he trained wrestlers for the 2012 olympics, then led them to london. they won three medals, gold, silver, and bronze. but that was less than the team brought home from the 2008 summer games. he lost some of his shine. then the abuse allegations

surfaced. he admitted he was lofty to women and was only trying to get the best out of them. >> translator: in judo, you compete at the olympic games to win medals. and i believe that is our mission. i admit that i felt pressure to make the athletes strong in a short period of time. >> reporter: sports figures have criticized sonoda's win-at-all-costs attitude. >> translator: i imagined he felt a lot of pressure to win at the games, but his passion took a wrong turn. >> reporter: international judo federation spokespersons say sonoda's actions do not reflect the spirit and few rosty of their sport. they say judo should enhance physical and mental abilities.

anything that goes against that principle has no place. the fact that modern judo was developed in japan is another reason the scandal is getting so much attention. but japanese government leaders are also worried about the widespread impact. >> translator: with tokyo campaigning to hold the 2020 olympic games, we want the japan olympic committee to deal with this issue quickly before the international olympic committee visits tokyo next month for a survey. >> reporter: the athletes launched the complaint and are looking ahead to the 2020 games. in a statement, they said they are not satisfied with sonoda's resignation alone and want the joc to do more. >> translator: we strongly hope sporting culture in this country

can change so japan can qualify to hold the olympic games in 2020. we hope all athletes can compete in a peaceful environment. >> reporter: the former head coach of japan's national judo team agrees. the 1984 gold medal winner said in a statement that judo can educate people. he noted that when he coached the team, he tried to build supreme athletes, not just the strongest ones. he's urging judo coaches to go back to basics. ciaki ishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. japanese defense officials want to resume talks with the chinese to avoid maritime accidents. they say such discussions are necessary following an incident involving a chinese naval vessel. the crew locked its weapons radar on a japanese self defense force ship. the senior defense ministry official met with members of the

ruling liberal democrat party. masonori nishi say they must have more safety nets. they say setting up emergency hotlines. the country's defense officials met three times in the last five years to discuss safety measures, but the talks stalled last year after japan's leaders nationalized the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the islands, china and taiwan claims them. he said the crew directed its weapons radar at a japanese destroyer, but they did not train artillery at the ship, said it's not clear if the chinese crew had removed the safety device on the artillery. north korea appears to be preparing for a third nuclear test in defiance of international condemnation across the border in south korea, president-elect park kun-le has rallied to warn

pyongyang to not go ahead with its plans. >> translator: now is the time for both ruling and opposition parties to unite and call on north korea to stop its reckless behavior. >> park met with a senior member of the largest opposition democratic united party and ahead of the ruling party. the incoming president said any further tests could hurt efforts by the south's new government to rebuild the trust with the north. park and the two lawmakers agreed to work closely to protect south korea's national security during the transition to the new government. she'll be sworn in on february 25th. imagine having cutting-edge computer chip technology, but unable to make it because the margins are too small. oftentimes, the end result is cutting jobs. ron matteson has the latest

situation on foou jeet sue. ron? >> some electronics makers are still struggling. it may be a case of too little, too late for fujitsu. it's planning to cut 5,000 jobs here in japan, as well as overseas, to turn itself around. company executives say the measure is part of efforts to streamline semiconductor operations and other slumping businesses. they reported an operating loss of $43 million. they say the loss is due to weak sales of personal computers and semikublgt tors. the executors also revised down their earnings estimates through march. they expect to show a net loss of over $1 billion. now, another way for fujitsu to streamline productions is merge with some other company. fujitsu and panasonic have announced they'll merge to reduce their pricing power in the global market. fujitsu's president said the two companies had agreed to launch a

joint venture by fiscal 2013. the new company will design and develop semiconductors as a key component in consumer electronics. >> translator: we at fujitsu and panasonic will concentrate our corporate resources on our mutual strengths. that will make the company more competitive in the global market. >> the state-backed development bank of japan is planning to provide several hundreds of millions of dollars to the new entity. another company had also been in the merger talks, but it failed to research an agreement with fujitsu and panasonic. sony has reported its consolidated results through december. the electronics giant left its profit forecast unchanged. executives at the firm put the operating profit projection for the fiscal year through march at nearly $1.4 billion, that is the same level as its previous forecast. a weaker yen led to an

improvement derived from exports, but it will be offset by poor sales of mobile phones and personal computers. well, many japanese auto makers are revising upward their profit forecast due to the weak yen. suzuki is no exception here. they are more optimistic about their earnings for the current year. the operating profit through march is expected to be right around $1.4 billion. that's a gain of more than 8% from its previous projection. the company says the upgrade is due to the weakening yen yens the dollar, euro, and the rupi. suzuki has the largest presence in india. an executive says the yen has weakened over the past couple of months but has stayed strong over the last three years. they'll keep their plan intact to boost productions in growth markets. let's move on to markets now. european indexes are slightly

mixed. we have some investors sidelining today. awaiting policy decision by the european central bank, which is due out later today. a bit of a mixed picture. london is up by about .2 of a percent. gains for the frankfurt market about a half percent higher. see how asia did today. stock prices here were mostly lower. that's just before the markets closed for the lunar new year holidays. it declined just about a percent today as the yen was just a bit stronger. the sheng high composite also down almost .7 of a percent. that snapped an eight-day winning streak on uncertainties about european debt. also a drag on the hze. let's see what's going on in

currencies now. we've got the dollar trading slightly higher against the yen after falling to the lower 93 yen level. analyst says the yen is buying back the zlar before the ecb meeting. yen right now at 93.87. euro is also a bit higher against the yen. euro/yen at 127.36. well, on the economic front today, japan's manufacturing activity increased in december. orders for machinery rose for a third straight month. that's because of a weaker yen and also signs of a global economic recovery. these factors encourage companies to encrease their spending on plants and equipment. domestic firms placed orders worth about $8 billion. this does exchose orders for ships and power utilities. 2.8% from the previous month when calculated in yen. orders from manufacturers grew by 3%. the increase was mainly due by

more orders from the metal product tele com and construction efforts. january through march is expected to increase by 0.8% from the previous quarter. japan's economy showed notable signs of improvement in december. a key indicator rose for the first time in nine months. the cabinet office says the index rose 2.5 points from november to 92.7. that's the third largest gain on record. the rise here is mainly due to increased shipments of automobiles and machinery. a big demand for electricity was also a help here. another important economic gauge also rose in december. the leading index is a forecast of the economy in the short term. it was up to 93.4. the rise here due to gains in the stock market and also improved conditions at smaller companies. a cabinet office official says risks from the global economic slowdown are still very real, despite these positive figures. all right, that's going to

wrap it up for biz tonight. i'm going to pass it over now to gene. >> thanks for that. the operator of japan's damaged nuclear plant is accused of trying to obstruct an investigation. a diet panel released a 600-page report last year detailing what went wrong at fukushima daiichi following the earthquake and tsunami. a former panel member submitted a document on thursday to the leaders of both chambers of diet. he wants them to investigate the matter. he says last february, that is, tokyo electric power company wouldn't let the panel access the buildings housing reactor one at fukushima. he said tepco representatives told the panel it was covered by sheeting and pitch dark inside. he maintains they said entering would be dangerous. tanaka said that's why the panel

abandoned the idea of an on-site examination. the video depicts the interior of the reactor building. they explained the images were shot before the installation of the cover. but tanaka says that turned out to be false. he says the images were shot after the installation and he says the inside of the reactor building wasn't pitch dark, despite the cover. tanaka argues tepco's explanation constitutes a serious obstruction of the panel's business. he's demanding the diet look into these developments and conduct an on-site investigation. tepco spokespersons refute the allegation. they say the officials in charge made a mistake in dating the footage. from earthquakes to tsunami, when it comes to disasters, people in japan know just how unforgiving nature can be. since 1997, just two years after the great earthquake, an annual exhibition of emergency equipment has featured hundreds of products to help save lives in a catastrophe.

organizers expect this year's show to attract a record number of people. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: 226 companies and organizations are taking part in the event in yokohama. nearly two years have passed since the earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. since then, designers have been turning out more and more life-saving products. one example is a moving shelter for fleeing from a tsunami. this huge object is actually an emergency shelter with an engine. the shelter can hold as many as 25 people. it can move at a speed of ten kilometers an hour for up to 100 kilometers. >> translator: we've had many

calls from people interested in bouts for escaping from tsunami. we developed this product to meet the demand. >> translator: other products are for people who lost their home. this jacket has 44 pockets that can hold almost everything needed in an emergency. including food, water, and blankets. arrange of back-up water and power supplies is also on display. this device can purify two liters of water in just five minutes. there's also a portable solar panel with two wheels. it is small enough to carry around and set up anywhere and can charge 50 cell phones or light up a room for more than 24 hours. in the past, most businesses did

exhibition work involved in public safety, but organizers say now more people from the private sector are coming to the show. managers are looking for ways to improve disaster preparedness and protect their employees. many remember the events of 2011 when companies struggled to provide food and shelter to their workers. >> translator: we're trying to be fully prepared for various types of disasters. we're here today to learn more about what we can do. >> reporter: disasters teach us lessons. and there's plenty to learn in disaster-prone japan. events like this one, more people are learning how they can prepare themselves for the worst.

iku tanaka, nhk world, okahama. many tourists head to the northern japanese island of hokkaido. some go to see what's been described as a world of whiteness. nhk world's rino nakana has a look of one of the world's spectacles. >> reporter: we are back outside for another cold day. 9 degrees below zero. that's the temperature here. you won't hear any waves crashing here. everything you see behind me is ice. it's called drift ice, they are pieces of ice drifting on the surface of the water. you might be wondering what is so special about pieces of ice floating around. well, in huge quantities, it's actually quite a spectacle. so much so that every january to february many tourists book drift ice boat tours and cruises just to get a glimpse of the

site. now, drift ice comes from up to 1,000 kilometers away from the amura river in russia. there have even been instances of white-tailed eagles and red foxes drifting along on the ice from as far north as siberia. the wind and currents carry the ice towards japan and by the end of january, japan's waters also start to freeze. now, the newly frozen pieces of ice from japan and the ice from russia collide to create the sparkling drift ice. now, just a few minutes ago, our team grabbed some of that drift ice and put it in this little wine glass. they say you can use it as regular ice cubes to chill your favorite drinks. we put some orange juice in here. people might be wondering, won't it be salty. actually, they say because drift ice is made out of a cluster of ice crystals that contain only a sixth of the amount of sodium as regular sea water, well, even if

you drink it, it won't be salty at all. and a lot of people come here to try that. now, the reason this area is so tourist friendly around this season is because the sea is actually closed for commercial fishing, so -- but that doesn't worry the local fishermen. in fact, they say it's a vacation with a purpose. now, during this period, many little species like plankton and these little guys right over here, these sea angels, actually thrive under the drift ice. well, people come over here, check out the drift ice, and they are also able to scoop these little guys up and keep them as pets. so as long as they refrigerate them, they will live for a long tile. as for the ones left under the drift ice, they are going to be eaten by fish around the sea. that calls for some great fishing. now aside from looking and tasting the sparkling drift ice and spotting some of these rare creatures, tourists can also

enjoy the sounds of the pieces of drift ice clashing towards one another. so, if you kind of listen closely, you might be able to hear some of the melodic hissing, as well as some popping, and you can only hear that when you're very, very up close and listen carefully. so, come while it's still here. the drift ice will be melting away by early spring. so come on down before it all goes away. i'm rina nakano, nhk world. >> on friday, rina will finish off her hokkaido series from a village made entirely of ice. stay tuned. a strong storm is bringing heavy now in northern japan. robert spet that is here with how long it will last. robert? >> we're seeing this next system come. in you can see on the satellite it's really deepening quite rapidly. that big swirl in the low pressure is indicating just a sfrengtenning strom storm and

it's already bringing gusty winds off portions of hokkaido here. also, that heavy snowfall, some places in hokkaido could see about 50 centimeters of the white stuff. i want to show you a video coming out of here actually into central hokkaido with this heavy snowfall continuing to come down due to this strong low pressure area. it's already causing some traffic problems and officials have cautioned at the possibility of a traffic accidents, not to mention power outages in some areas here. not just due to that wet and heavy snow accumulating on some of the power lines and the trees, but also due to these winds. one report here upwards of 108-kilometer-per-hour winds coming on shore along the west coast. not just those conditions, but also because of that wind, we're seeing these northerly cold air come down towards the south. into tokyo, temperatures getting up into the teens here on your thursday, but that is going to be dropping right off down to near the freezing mark going

into friday and on the weekend. farther towards the west, we're also seeing high pressure dominate here, keeping things cooler in northeastern china, but that's mixing in with this stationary boundary down here towards the southeast. what that's creating is messy precipitation. shanghai, a mix of wind and snow, even accumulation occurring here. down towards taipei, hong kong, rain mixed in as well. nice monsoon is just dominating the tropics, keeping things absolutely quiet down here. now as you look on to the americas, the big topic today, really, is the setting up of this nor'easter that's going to be pushing in through the weekend. we do have a storm system lingering off the pacific northwest. this is bringing rain and snow, but it's farther back towards the east where all the action is. we have one system down here along the gulf coast. that's bringing some wet weather with it. also some severe isolated storms even popping up near the coastlines. also, this system pushing across the great lakes.

that's creating lake-effect snow in this area, then this high pressure off here towards the north. what's going to be happening, is going into friday, all of these systems are going to clash together and just create a bomb of a storm. on friday and going into friday evening, this is going to rapidly deepen, blow all these winds onshore, accompanied by some very heavy snowfall. about 30 to 60 centimeters is going to be piling up here, accompanied by 120 mile per hour wind gusts. that's going to be creating absolutely rough and hazardous traveling weather. flights going out of new england, tread carefully. check in on your flights ahead of time here. let's look at europe. the big topic here is this system over towards italy, over towards the balkans. wind report s 80 or 90 kilometers. wet weather. even snowfall farther north. as the system pushes up here, it's going to be bringing up some cold air, and that's going to be adding snow in places like

poland, even off towards western russia here. take a look at temperatures, though, temperatures in the single digits across most of europe. only a few areas getting up into the teens, including athens, rome, and brisbane. that's your weather. here's your forecast. once again, our lead story,

japanese foreign ministry officials are demanding answers from russia following an incident in the air. defense ministry officials say two russian war planes violated the country's air space on thursday. they say it happened just before 3:00 p.m. southwest of rishiri island off hokkaido. air self defense force commanders scrambled four fighter jets. the russian aircraft left japanese air space after about a minute. foreign ministry officials immediately launched a protest with the russian embassy in tokyo. russian authorities say they will confirm the details. foreign ministry spokespersons say this is the first time in five years russian aircraft have violated japanese air space. we're back in 30 minutes with more of the latest. i'm gene otani here in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.