but osaka officials now say the operator has withdrawn its application for the school. and the president will step down. he and the operator have been under fire for submitting different construction contracts to the central government and osaka's prefectural government. some say thatt they used different figures to make its management plan look good and it's been reported that the resumÉ s smitted byy the h head moritomo gakuen included false information. >>> opposition lawmakers have grilled prime minister shinzo abe over his wife being an honorary principal of the planned school. he said neither he nor his wife had anything to do with the land deal and he denied she received any money from the school operator. >>> now turning to business, stock prices in tokyo jumped to multi-month highs, gene otani brings us more on that and other business headlines. >> tokyo's stocks rallied to a 15-month high, investors were encouraged by the weaker yen on growing expectation of a u.s. interest rate hike. our business reporter john la dew has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >>

an osaka court has seized -- including a kindergarten. it says it is concerned about recovering the more than $9 million it is owed for building the school. the public is eager to hear what kagoike has to say about the scandal that has been making headlines for weeks. nhk world. >>> we also have more details on the defense ministry's suspected coverup of the daily logs of japanese peacekeepers serving in south sudan. the logs recorded deadly fighting by warring groups in the country. that led to questions in tokyo over whether the situation violated its strict criteria for peacekeeping operations. ministry sources tell nhk ground self-defense force officers were set to reveal they had found the documents, but were later ordered not to by bureaucrats. the ground self-defense unit is working with are the u.n. peace keeping mission in the volatile country. in december the ministry announced the gsdf had destroyed reports found in july when there were deadly armed clashes. the ministry later said the records were found at another department,

. >> there is intense action in osaka as the march grand sumo tournament approaches the halfway mark. let's turn things over to our resident sumo expert for the latest on the 15-day tournament. >> reporter: as almost anyone in osaka could tell you, the vibe around sumo is so different from usual. tickets for the whole 15-day contest sold out before the first even hit the klay. there is no question the main reason is newly promoted grand champion. luckily for fans, the 30-year-old is off to a fantastic start. he simply has the man handling his foes. he enters day five with a perfect record. his opponent scored an upset win on day four. he gets a deep left hand grip and advances. he keeps up the pressure. he shows his determination to stay in the ring. but the opponent shows no mercy and forces him out. he remains perfect and goes to 5-0. making the most of his promotion is none other than his stable mate. he is showing vast improvement thanks to his daily workout with a new partner. he fights at the third highest rank. he is undefeated in this tournament and motivated to make the secon

of the so-called golden route linking osaka, hokkaido has left less tourists. >>> more than 620,000 fake products were confiscated by japan's customs officers last year. finance ministry officials say computer-related products top the list with about 195,000 fake items, mainly ink cartridges. that's a 19-fold rise over the previous year. officials also seized 74,000 mobile phones and accessories and 39,000 pharmaceutical products. the total retail value of these products is $100 million. they warn products are becoming more sophisticated that requires professionals to decide on patents and other violations. the officials say they will not let up in the battle against counterfeiters. they also say all confiscated goods will be destroyed. >>> checking the markets. tokyo stocks ended lower after a three-day rally. a pause in the dollar's advance pulled down the nikkei average. our business reporter giang nguyen has more. >> reporter: investors took profits after a couple of days of strong gains. remember on thursday, tokyo's benchmark nikkei touched a 14-month high. the nikkei 225 lost

osaka getting dry and warmer as well. in north america, unstable weather for both ends of the united states. the rockies dealing with blizzard concerns into wyoming and we are looking at some strong winds wrapping around a low pressure area out of the rockies. be on the lookout for that. that will lead to the possibility of severe weather chances again for the central plains. be on the lookout for that. the other low pressure system that's had a track of causing severe weather continues to bring the threat for instability into the carolinas and into the midatlantic states. as this system continues to move north and east be on the lookout for very wet weather and thunderstorms as well, stretching from toronto, all the way down into miami. we're looking at rain and extending back to the west in chicago, oklahoma city and denver with raiain and snow int the rockies for friday. as you wrap things up with a look at europe, we are looking at relatively calmer conditions for the central areas of the continent. we do have a low p

tokyo topped the list with about 18 million stays, osaka prefecture followed with more than 10 million, hokkaido drew seven million. the popularity of the so-called golden route linking tokyo, osaka and kyoto left hotel rooms there scarcer than elsewhere. the officials plan to set up more tourist information centers with foreign language help outside the big cities to draw more travelers there. >>> more than 620,000 fake products were confiscated by customs officials or officers around japan last year. finance ministry officials say computer-related products top the list with about 195,000 fake products, mainly ink cartridges, a 19-fold rise over the previous year. officials also seized 74,000 mobile phones and accessories and 39,000 pharmaceutical products, the total retail value is $100 million. they warned that products are becoming more sophisticated, that requires professionals to decide on patent and other violations. the officials say they plan not to let up in the battle against counterfeiters and the fake products will be destroyed. >>> japan's public pension fund has posted a

. >> reporter: his mekon juice is now shipped to seven hotels in tokyo, osaka and other places. bookings at this luxury hotel start at around $800 per night. since it opened three years ago, his juice has been a fixture in the guest t rooms, cafe and restaurant. >> translator: great balance of sweetness and acidity. and the texture is wonderful. our guests enjoy it very much. >> reporter: there's another reason his product has won praise. he adjusts the flavor for each client. for hotels frequented by europeans and americans, he enhances the acidity. for those that cater mainly to southeast asian visitors, sweetness is the key. >> translalator: we askeked him test many, many blends. he is meticulous about the details. we enjoy working with him very much. >> reporter: his efforts have paid off. he sells about $700,000 worth of juice each year. >> translator: a product's true value lies in how much time and effort you put into it. there's muchch more i can do in terms of squeezing and heating the fruit. i only ship out products that i'm satisfied with. >> reporter: word about the

. >> reporter: a firm in osaka volunteered its services. first they tried a conveyor that showered the debris with water, but the process just took too long. they went through seven months of trial and error. then they came up with this machine. >> translator: imagine it's like using a washing machine put sideways. things inside have rotated in a centrifuge in water and it can even take salt out of wood fiber. >> reporter: each load took five minutes. with the machines they could clean 500 pounds per day. the day to restart the kiln finally arrived. >> translator: it was like a ritual to put a soul into the kiln. it was a ceremony where everybody that was present was feeling something special. >> reporter: a city lost became a city reborn. >> translator: i think everyone participated in the process because they wanted to rebuild their own city as soon as possible. >> reporter: last year another powerful earthquake struck southern japan. this factory is now using debris from that disaster to once again help people rebuild their lives. report

center of a controversy over a land deal has given up its plan to open a new elementary school in osakastern japan. there were questions raised about the purchase of state owned land and indicated the policies on education are supportive of the prime minister. moritomo gakuen bought the land last year at less than 20% of its appraised value. the application has been withdrawn for the school. the operator has been under fire for submitting contracts to the government and some suspect it used different fees to make the management plan look good. opposition lawmakers grilled prime minister abe. abe said neither he nor his wife had anything to do with the plan and denied she received any money. the chief moritomo gakuen said he will step down. >> translator: i can categorically state that i have never asked any lawmakers to help us acquire land and that the president nor his wife has done anything to help us. >> the parents of 20 students will have to look for an alternative school for them to attend in april. the government will consider buying the land back as stipulated in the contract.

. >> translator: it's possible some politicians asked about the osaka sale, but we don't have the records of the inquiries regarding the case. >> earlier this week a document was revealed showing the operator's president met a veteran lawmakers from the ruling party and sought a discount. that lawmakers admits he did meet the school president and his wife but says he refused an envelope that appeared to have money inside. the land was sold at 14% of its appraised value. the government says that was to account for the cost of cleaning up contamination. abe's wife was honorary principal but stepped down after reports emerged about the deal. >>> let's shift gears and take a a husband detain -- of the woman detained in china is speaking out. chinese security authorities detained sandy phan-gillis in march 2015 while she was in china. china alleges she spied for the fbi. her husband spoke at a c congressional hearing and proclaims his wife's innocence. >> sandy is not some secret agent for the fbi. she's a wife, mother and businesswoman. >> jeff said for the past two years his wife has not bee

regulations were eased for the school in osaka. the operator is building the school on land it purchased from the state. the deal has been under scrutiny because the price was a small fraction of the appraised value. allegations of special treatment led abe and his wife to sever ties. now it's emerged the corporate body hadn't met the criteria for opening the school and the rules were changed. the governor denies that was done as a favor. they are hoping to open the school this april but still need the prefecture's approval. >>> a crime of passion has resulted in a lengthy prison term for a stalker. a tokyo court has sentenced man to 14 and a half years in prison for stabbing an aspiring singer/songwriter. the judge said he must be ware of the seriousness of his crime that took away the victim's dreams. nhk has more. ♪ >> reporter: university student and a singer/songwriter mayo tomita was stabbed before a concert she was to perform last may. she went into coma after the stabbing. a man was accused of attempted murder. he attended

they're in osaka, japan. it's their last show in japan., ryan williams is known for his bmx stunt. the kid can do some pretty tremendous feats up in the air. >> one of the tricks that ryan has been tracking down for a long time is the triple front flip. >> he's tried it in practice, hasn't quite nailed it. on their last night in japan, ryan decided to reach up to a higher power. >> i love you and i miss you. >> aww. >> ryan's grandmother recently passed away. so he thought if i'm ever going to do it, it's now, and i'm asking for help, grandpa. let's see if he can do it. >> here it is, one, two, three. >> whoa! >> lands it and rides it out. the team is so incredibly stoked for him. the godfather of the nitro circuit is there as well. >> how did you do that? >> congratulations to ryan. really, really remarkable feat. >> his grandpa came through. >>> trouble is brewing for a bunch of guys near a bar. >> because suddenly, bang, the one-two punch that left him floored. >>> and four photographers take the challenge for best picture. same model,

members of the osaka prefectural assembly are seeking to summon the institution's head as an unsworn witness. >> translator: we have confirmed kago ike's will to appear before the assembly. he said he will talk to us and tell us how he feels about the matter. >> but hours later he told the assembly he couldn't attend. >>> japan's prime minister says his government spent half a year to end a peace keeping mission in south sudan. last friday abe announced japan will not send another south defense force to replace the current one. >> translator: the national security council has been discussing the matter since last september. we decided to end the mission of the engineering unit around the end of may when it completes its main work. >> they will sepds sond some pel to the u.n. headquarters. they will continue to provide humanitarian assistance adding his government is making final arrangements to provide support worth $6 million. japan started sending peace keepers in 2012 to help restore the nearly established nation that's grappled with violence. personnel have constructed roads, bri

they also want to summon seven other people including the governor of osaka, from whom kagoike was seeking a school license. but the ldp says the government has given sufficient explanation on the matter. ayumi chikaraishi, nhk world, tokyo. >>> japan's defense minister has ordered ground self defense personnel to withdraw from u.n. peacekeeping activities in south sudan by the end of may. the country gained independence in 2011 and deployment started the following year. we met with senior defense officials for discussions. >> translator: ending the mission without any trouble is the most important challenge and also the most difficult. we must work together. >> she said the unit's efforts have been commended by the u.n. and south sudan's government. the defense ministry plans to send additional personnel and transport aircraft to the capital juba to assist with the withdrawal. about 350 personnel will head home in stages starting with those who completed road paving and other duties. the situation in the capital is relatively calm but could once again become unstable. >>> the controversia

tokyo, osaka, and nagoya saw a rise of half a percent.ces of commercial land were up for the second straight year. they rose an average 1.4%. commercial land prices in the three major cities increased more than 3%. the most expensive plot of land in japan was again in tokyo's ginza district. its price surged more than 25% in yen terms to nearly half a million dollars a square meter. >>> japanese finance minister taro aso says the group of 20 economies hasn't given up on free trade. his comment comes after it released a joint statement that left out a pledge to resist protectionism. >> translator: g20 members agreed on the importance of free trade. >> t the statement sayss thehe countries are working to strengthen the contribution of trade to their economies. it dropped a long-standining positionon on freee tradede a a u.s. pushed for more emphasis on fair trade. that's in line with the greater protectiononism said to be favod by donald trump. aso insisted on using the word fair to describe balanced trade. china wanted to use the term free

last year his organization purchased state-owned land in osaka for less than 20% of its appraised valueand there are suspicioions it also received a state subsidy based on false documents. opposition parties earlier demanded his testimony, but the ruling coalition rejected the call, saying the sale was conducted properly. now they say the situation has changed. he said this week he received a donation from the prime minister, and his claim dominated a diet session. >> translator: there are many questions to be asked, includidg what the truth is. we havee to closely examine the issues in doubt. >> the head of the opposition party took it a a step further. >> translator: we continue to demand summoning also the finance minister official in charge of the sale. >> chief cabinet secretary sue -- suga says the government should explain the matter. >>> we have more on the japan self-defense force logs. the gsdf unit working as part of a u.n. peacekeeping mission keeps a daily record of its activities and the situation in south sudan. in december, the ministry announced that the ground self-def

the group made headlines when it was revealed that it purchased state-owned land in osaka for a fraction of its estimated value. the opposition cried foul and alleged political interference. the government says the price was appropriate. it was also revealed that abe was the honorary principal for a new school being built on the controversial land. she has since stepped down. what's more, they had planned to name the school after the prime minister. the prime minister even staked his job on the fact he had nothing to do with the land sale. >> translator: if i or my wife were involved, i'd clearly say i'd step down as prime minister and end my career as a politician. >> reporter: abe may have thought the comment was enough to put the scandal behind them, but then kogoike claimed he received a donation from the abes. that led him to being summonedd to the diet to answer questions about the donation and the land sale. >> translator: i believe there was political involvement concerning this matter. >> reporter: a recent nhk poll indicates abe's cabinet has seen a drop in its support rate. wh

. >> reporter: with just days to go before the next sumo tournament in osaka the wrestlers are training intensely is. none has more to prove than newly promoted yokozuna grand champion. kisenosato is 30 years old. he likes to attack from the get-go with powerful thrusting and once he grabbed his owe uponent's belt, he turns on the power. congratulations to your promotion to yokozuna. >> thank you. >> translator: you're often said to be straightforward like the reikihi from the old days. how would you describe yourself? kisenosato joined the ranks of professional sumo at the age of 15 after graduating from junior high school. the stable he joined was famous for its rigorous training regimen. the stablemaster naruto, former, talked kisenosato to move forward with so much power he would demolish his opponent. >> translator: thanks to his instructions, i've never had a major injury so far, but it has taken me many years to gain this level of strength and power. >> reporter: kisenosato first came attention to 2010 when he upset hakuho to snap the grand champi champion's remarkable winning st

police used gps tracking devices to follow a 45-year-old defendant in osaka accused of theft and other charges. they installed them on about 20 vehicles, including those of his friends and associates without their knowledge. police did not obtain a court warrant to do that. in question is whether use of such devices requires a warrant. in the ruling on wednesday, the court said using gps to track suspects without a warrant violates the right to privacy guaranteed by the constitution. it called for new legislation if police want to use these devices in the future. in response, the national police agency instructed police headquarters around the country to stop using tracking devices in their investigations. >>> with the tokyo olympics and paralympics just three years down the track, the subway in japan's capital is speeding up safety efforts. all trains on the network will be fitted with security cameras. tokyo metro operates nine lines in tokyo. it says it will install cameras above the doors in all its cars. it will post a sign telling passengers that the inside of the train is being

now the governor of osaka is suggesting the central government played a role in securing the deal. ichiro matsui said government officials asked the prefecture to make recommendations in favor of the school's operator. the officials reportedly said it is a necessary move to present the deal to the central government. >> translator: central government officials have often visited our prefecture's officials in charge of private school affairs. so we said we could accept an application if the government is selling the land. >> two years ago, a prefectural panel made recommendations backing moritomo mogaku's bid for an elementary school. matsui suggested the recommendation was in response to the government's request. moritomo planned to open the elementary school in april, but it withdrew its application last week after multiple cost estimates for construction were submitted. nhk took the public's temperature on the matter surveying about 1,000 people over the weekend. and results suggest 80% are not convinced by the government's explanation on the land deal. the opposition bloc now wa

osaka and number five. singapore and hong kong retain the top two spots and seoul, the sixth.l news, 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am in a melendez. this is bloomberg. ♪ >> looking at how the asian markets are shaping up. let us get to sophie kamaruddin with the market board. wonderingonne, we are if we are going to see the risk off frenzy. still wondering if we are going to see the risk off frenzy extending to the asian session. we did see the rally in emerging markets stopped in its tracks. new zealand sliding for a second day this week. australia, the essex down hundred -- the asx down. u.s. stocks fell by the most since jumped election. the question of whether we are going to see a truck correction, like rock saying the reflation trade is down but not out. we have haven assets on the rise. moree seeing the dollar lots of those. cannot seem to find a bottom. no sign of a rebound for oil prices, trading at the lowest since november, and we do have copper falling as the freeport mine continues operations. ther

high-speed trains are a natural solution for tokyo to osaka. the rest of the world, france, spain, have gone tens of billions of dollars in debt because of them, and they're not providing satisfactory transportation in those areas. >> two quick points. there's been numerous sore in the "wall street journal" about what boondoggle a lot of the chinese infrastructure projects, including high speed trains are. randall has an excellent essay on exactly those issues that you raise. >> man down the middle here. >> -- extremely interesting but because this is not my topic, digital technology and a lot of data but in all the -- the cost i see in that environmental costs included any calculations and it's a very -- a lot of question. do we have numbers whether, for example, massive increase in autonomous car environment'llly less costly than trains or planes. >> the environmental impact. >> we do have a lot of numbers on that and what we know is that with 85% of all our travel is by car, and maybe one percent of travel is by rail. counting both urban rai

a natural trains are solution from tokyo to osaka. the rest of the world, france, spain, hundreds of billions or tens of billions in debt because of them. they are not providing satisfactory transportation. >> there have been numerous stories about a lot of the chinese infrastructure project. essayl has an excellent on exactly those issues. maybe down the middle here? >> thank you very much. dangerous.tremely a lot of data to process. are the the -- costs included? it is a loaded question. numbers where the and thomas costs environmentally will be -- >> so the environmental impact? >> we do have a lot of numbers on that and what we know is 85% of all of our travel is by car rail.ybe 1% by intercity if we could double that rail, ,ail uses maybe 20% less energy 20% less pollution than cars may be. rail,hope we could double reducing pollution emissions by a fraction of a percent. effective to go for 85% and get more people to drive pre-assist and electric cars. get a smalle to percentage of people to change their. inknow that works becau

the osaka high court removed an injunction that has prevented an takahama.ompany in opposition amongtrong following the disaster of 2011. north korea has launched a new flight to china, taking a number of foreign invest -- destinations to five. it is roughly a 50 minute flight from pyongyang. they also go to beijing and others. headlines when they were awarded just one star, the only carrier in the world at that level. global news 24 hours a day powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. nina, this is bloomberg. yvonne: let's see how the asian markets are shaping up this wednesday morning. >> we did see stocks on wall street up for a second time in nine sessions. that rally expected to continue into asia. stocks in wellington up for a second day. australia testing the year to date high. 58, 59 level we last saw in may 2015. the dollar rising for this first day in three. we see the dollar-yen pushback over 111. kiwi,ds, the aussie and the fed chair said two more rate hikes could be about right. in the commodity space we see gold steady near a one-mo

he was driven to osaka and put on a high-speed boat. restrained with weights, kim expected to be tossed into the sea. instead, habib made forceful appeals to south kern government to save his life. -- the south korean government to save his life. in seoulse occurred five days later. inib intervened personally his usual forceful way and pointed out the damage that any retribution on kim would do to u.s. republic of korea and relations. korea.-republic of relations. habib made a representation to the korean government saying it is your own agency that has done this and you better keep them alive or it will do huge damage to our relations. habib and the west country director for korea quickly mobilized an effective campaign that was outside the normal chain of command at the state department. i beat continued to lobby the south korean government on human rights. his freelancing did not go unnoticed in washington. according to donald bernard, henry kissinger admonished habib treaties to the south korean government -- habib returned to washi

high speed trains are a natural solution for tokyo to osaka. the rest of the world france, spain, other countries have gone hundreds of billions of dollars or tens of billions of dollars in debt because of them and they're thot providing satisfactory transportation in those areas. >> two quick points. there's been numerous stories about what boondoggles a lot f the chinese infrastructure including high speed trains. randal has an excellent website on those issues you raised. down the middle here. >> this was extremely interesting, but because this is not my topic of digital technology, there was a lot of data to process and i michiga d missed it, but the cost i've seen that our environmental cost include ng the calculations, it's a very honest and -- logic question. do we have numbers fr for examp massive inkrecrease in autonomo cars will be less costly in the long-term, using trains or planes or any other transportation. >> the environmental impact. >> we have a lot of numbers on that and what we know is that with 85% of all our travel is by c

cities or expand this to best practices in other pacific rim high density cities such as tokyo or osaka that have similar experiences and similar situations even though they're not dealing with california building code? >> up to now we haven't reached across the pacific to our other jurisdictions. i mean it's something we may consider but certainly we reached out to those on the west coast and los angeles which has this process. >> and finally a great deal of the report was really talking about proscriptive versus code compliant, and while you're right the numbers are never going to be big for high rises to the total construction of that it will dominate over the proscriptive there is uptick in proscriptive and just as a layman that is always skeptical of everything on computers when i am reading this my first thing is almost gut reaction if it's code compliant it's based on our real experience and it's sort of tested and has evolved over time and we have great conviction behind it. therefore if you're meeting the minimal standard on code compliant you know we ought to feel a fair degre

she finished fourth in the ten thousand metres in osaka, but turkey‘s elvan abey—legesse who won the she came from behind to beat third seed simona halep. the romanian took the first set 6—3 but konta recovered to level the match on a tie—break. konta took complete control in the deciding set, winning 6—2 to earn a place in the last four after two and a half hours on court. konta will now face venus williams after she produced an upset, knocking out the world number one angelique kerber. williams who‘s 36 beat her in straight sets to book her place in the last four. in the men‘s draw, rafa nadal is through to the semi finals. arsenal forward alexis sanchez says he wants to play in a team that is ‘winning things‘ and has a ‘winning mentality‘. his comments while at a promotional event in chile will add to speculation that he could leave in the summer. with 15 months left on his current deal, he‘s yet to sign a new contract with the club. manchester city‘s women will need to book a flight for the semifinals this evening. they take a lead into the quarter—finals this morning. it is the

the city should be paint booths houston to produce the celebration in osaka make it work.he world knows and trusts him. the letter embarrasses us all. with its alternative fax mendacious ad hominem and it sounds like something coming out of today's white house. this is the kind of event park and recreation and sanitation district should annually budget for. this free-the world looks in fact to san francisco summer of love free 50th as [inaudible] not a profit center but for inadequate planning. this is not [inaudible] it's not outside lands. massive revenues this is people singing in the people's project is not a subaru commercial. this is the real thing a cultural is a goal celebration of the power of love. former mayor brown reminded the world that 50 years ago we produce huge concerts in the park. without [inaudible] collusion damage or neighborhood impact. without permits. coming from the greatest generation we were the us generation which waged peace against the wrong ravages of the war machine the permit is for enjoyment and meaning to the world. presented by us we s

high speed trains are a natural solution for tokyo to osaka. the rest of the world, france, spain, other countries have gone hundreds of billions of dollars or tens of billions of dollars in debt because of them and they're not providing satisfactory transportation in those areas. >> two quick points. there's been numerous stories in "wall street journal" and elsewhere about what boondoggles the chinese project including high speed trains are. randall has an excellent essay the kaydoe site on exactly those issues you raised. maybe down at the middle here? >> thank you very much. from the european union to the u.s. and this is not my topic but a lot of data to process so maybe i missed it in advance but in all the calculation for the cost, i've seen our costs in the calculation, it's a very honest and not biassed question. do we have numbers whether, for example, massive increase or autonomous cars or less costly in the long-term than using trains or planes or any other modes of transportation? >> the environmental impact. we have a lot of numbe