building up to a white house meeting betweenjoe biden and fumio kishida, america praises japan's decisioncrease its defence budget and military capabilities. and as more storms are forecast to hit california, we look at the human cost of the flooding. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in america where there are now two special counsels investigating whether two us presidents broke the law in their handling of classified records. after a second set of classified documents were found atjoe biden�*s home, the us attorney general has appointed robert hur to investigate whether any crimes have been committed. former president donald rrump is also facing a criminal investigation for taking classified papers to his mar a lago estate. here's our north america editor, sarah smith. after admitting he was keeping classified documents at his delaware home, stored in the garage alongside his vintage sports car, president biden has a lot of explaining to do. classified materials next to your corvette, what were you thinking? my corvette's in a locked

later today japan's prime minister, fumio kishida, will meet with uk prime minsiter rishi sunak in londons on a whistlestop tour of g7 nations ahead of the next summit in hiroshima in may. japan holds the presidency of the g7 this year. this week he has had talks with france's emmanuel macron and italy's giorgia meloni and is said to be on a trust—building mission to step up cooperation with western allies. at the end of this week, kishida will be in washington for talks with president biden. and pushing for a free and open indo—pacific, with concerns that china, like russia, is taking bold steps to change the current status quo of economic power. let's go live to japan and talk to seijiro takeshita, dean professor at the school of management and information at the university of shizuoka. japan is talking about pushing for a free and open indo pacific. what does that mean this week, as he does this whistlestop tour of g7 leaders? well, this is to fight off the aggression by authoritarian states like russia and particularly china, to basically secure the possibility of free world in this a

fumio kishida said russian aggression

fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere, including asia, and thatral challenge for both the us and japan. earlier, i spoke to our north america correspondent peter bowes. he told me about the importance of the meeting. i think it is very significant and, clearly, the major backdrop to this is what is happening in europe — the war in ukraine, russia's aggression, which the japanese prime minister suggests that it could lead to a dangerous new era in the world and that there could be similar acts elsewhere, and specifically asia. i mean, to put it bluntly, what he is suggesting is that asia could become the next ukraine and the concerns relate around aggression from china, obviously, directed at taiwan — which is of great significance to japan — but also, possible aggression from north korea as well. so, this is why the relationship — and it's been a long—term good relationship with the united states — this is why going forward, it is continuing to be very important, and perhaps crucial now, because japan is planning to spend more on the military, dou

. >> soon president biden will be welcoming japanese prime minister fumio kishida to the white house. this is his first visit since becoming prime minister. the pair plans to discuss the u.s. and japan alliance. we expect the pair to arrive shortly. while we wait, look at some of today's "washington journal." guest: first evolved, it repeals died dollars out of every $10 -- it repeals nine dollars out of every $10 passed last year. most importantly to give it the staff it needs to go after well three and corporate tax cheats. we lose 600 billion dollars a year in taxes that are legally owned. much of it because we do not have auditors at the irs to enforce the law to make sure people are complying with the law. this house bill, the first bill they voted on is to repeal most of that new funding to go after tax cheats and we think that is really wrong. host: grover norquist, your thoughts on the bill. guest: a lot of democrats have claimed this is to help you. only 20% of the time when people call into the irs are they likely to get them to pick up the phone. 53% of irs folks work at ho

fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere and china remained the centralhallenge for both the us and japan. now on bbc news, reporting iran: inside bbc persian. here we go in ten, nine, eight, seven, six... - hi — right, so you want me to... up sound next, up sound. phone line cuts off. give me a thumbs—up, l rana, that you can hear. phone line cuts off. thank you very much, everybody, thank you. lovely, good stuff, well done. that was the toughest interview of my entire career. we didn't know that we were going to get him. i had no idea that we might get him. so just literally five seconds before the interview, the producer shouted in my ear, saying that we have mahsa's father on the line. i just didn't know what to tell him. what do you tell someone who spent all his life, raising his daughter to the age of 22, and now she's gone? over, just for nothing. right, so we need to choreograph it a bit. so we are getting ready for our live at 12.30, which on normal days, i go downstairs to the bbc world studio. but today, because it's iran special, we're going

fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere, and china remained theentral challenge for both the us and japan. newswatch will be here in around ten minutes�* time, but first on bbc news, it's click. let's get 2023 started in style. welcome to las vegas, where there's lights, sounds and a whole lotta shakin�* going on. uh, not sure this is what they meant, though. did that make you feel better? trust me, it made me feel everything. yes, everyjanuary, the tech world heads to the massive consumer electronics show spread throughout the las vegas convention center and surrounding hotels. it's great to be here, back in our studio overlooking part of the show. yeah, only part, though, because this place is big. how big? very big. to give you an idea of how huge, i'll tell you what, should we give them a whistlestop tour? i'll go that way, you go that way, i'll meet you halfway around. deal. all of the halls have pretty spectacular stands in, and you even get a bit of a theme in each one. this is the north hall and i'm getting health care vibes from this plac

. >> really pleased the president biden and japanese prime minister fumio kishida met friday to discuss the future of japan's military pould modernize. you know what airlines is so long i believe that this be or or the the deterrent capability that and response capability up a line. both leaders are also concerned about other security threats coming out of the indo-pacific and russia. they will discuss china, russia, russia's war against ukraine and the dprk, these unlawful nuclear and missile programs since the end of world war, 2, japan made little investment in its military. >> u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin says their new commitment is a major shift. i strongly support. >> japan's updated national security policies, both biden and kishida agree their countries will have to play a greater role in protecting global democracy. economic ties was another important topic for both leaders as they also discussed what they could get done this year. reporting in washington. i'm basil, john. >> as bad their violent clashes in the streets of lima, peru have left at least 42 people dead. th

to japan now, where prime minister fumio kishida has given a stark warning about the nation's decliningputting the future of the country at risk. japan is estimated to have had fewer than 800,000 births last year. in the 19705, that figure was more than 2 million. earlier, i spoke with sarah harper, professor of gerontology at the university of oxford, who talked us through the importance of this warning. it was, but it was not at all unexpected. japan is known for many decades of child—bearing rates going down, and in the mid—90s, it was already trying to put in plans to encourage women to have more children. it is by no means the lowest in the world. seoul is it something like 0.6 and the whole of south korea is below one. italy and spain are about 1.2, below one. italy and spain are about1.2, and indeed, greece is the same as japan. so many, many low income —— high income countries have low child bearing. in a way, it was surprising that he decided to make such a dramatic announcement. what do you think of the factors behind it? this is a problem that's gone on for some time, but tal

fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere and china remained the centralhallenge for both the us and japan. now on bbc news: the travel show. this week on the travel show... mastering the tile with a style in morocco. you're doing a greatjob! am i doing a greatjob? well, i tried. 0k, down the hatch. nick tries out a 1,000—year—old delicacy in turkey. and we're talking tortoise on the coast of senegal. why is he called bill, can i ask? i because he arrived the month where bill clinton was elected. so you are named after a president! | hello, and welcome to morocco and the historic city that's sometimes known as the country's cultural capital, fez. from its medinas and mosques to its madrassas, fez is steeped in cultural heritage — so much so that the medina of fez is listed as a world heritage site. mind—blowing! absolutely incredible. this is the attarine madrasa. it goes back to the 14th century, and it is perhaps the best example of what they call zellij. zellij is a style of mosaic tile work made from individually hand—chiselled pieces that is found all

japan's prime minister fumio kishida is due to meet us presidentjoe biden later for talks where the twod the global economy. japan has already signed major defence deals with the us and the uk to counter, what they say, are rising threats from north korea and increasing aggressiveness from china. a little earlier, i spoke to michael wesley, who's the professor of politics at the university of melbourne. he told me whyjapan is increasing its defence spending. i think especially since the outbreak of the war in ukraine most countries are feeling less secure than they were a year ago. i think that russia's launch of a war in ukraine took a lot of people by surprise. many such as myself thought that it was completely irrational for russia to attack ukraine. and i think the big lesson coming out of russia's attack on ukraine is that we cannot rely on authoritarian regimes like russia simply to behave rationally. that we have to prepare for them to behave irrationally as well. i think that is why countries such as japan happened shoring up security ties other countries. this all coming agains

in a speech after meeting president biden at the white house, fumio kishida said russian aggression couldding asia — and that china remained the central challenge for both the us and japan. president biden voiced strong support forjapan's recent announcement that it would double defence spending over the next five years. you are watching bbc news — the headlines... russia claims a strategic victory in ukraine — saying its troops have captured the eastern town of soledar. at least seven people have been killed as dozens of tornadoes strike the southern united states. graceland will be the final resting place for lisa marie presley — the only child of rock'n'roll legend elvis presley. celebrities have been paying tribute to the singer since she died suddenly at the age of 5a after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in california. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson looks back at her life. a warning, there are flashing images from the start. lisa marie presley on the red carpet at the golden globes on tuesday evening, two days before she died. that night, austin butler won a bes

shortly after the full-scale invasion of ukraine, prime minister fumio-kishida reminded the russiansctually owns part of those islands, the five southern archipelagos and ridges, japan did not renounce its rights to these territories, but nevertheless, these islands were occupied the soviet union and the soviet union, in fact, annexed it contrary to the fact that these territories, well , actually, other states, uh, they recognized them as japan, soon russia may put forward its territorial claims, and little finland, against which the soviet union unleashed it in the 39th year, well, then he occupied several finnish cities that are now part of russia, bearing the name of choice and pechenga, not of the soviet union or the russian federation, that is, even at such a household level, there are thoughts about returning these lands to, well, you can say to finland but vytva has been claiming kaliningrad for a long time in accordance with the poznań treaty concluded after the second world war, the northern part of east prussia, i.e. the current leningrad oblast, was handed over to the uss

fumio kishida held talks with british prime minister rishi sunak in london and signed a defence agreemente uk and japan to deploy forces in one another�*s countries. downing street hailed it as the most important defence treaty between london and tokyo in more than a century. japan signed a similar accord with australia last january, and tokyo has recently overhauled its defence and security policy. well, to discuss the significance of the treaty between the uk and japan, i'm joined by simon chelton, associate fellow at security think—tank rusi and a former defence attache in tokyo. talk asked why this defence is so significant. talk asked why this defence is so siunificant. , , .., talk asked why this defence is so siunificant. , , .. ., significant. this is called a reciprocal _ significant. this is called a reciprocal access - significant. this is called a l reciprocal access agreement significant. this is called a - reciprocal access agreement which allows british forces operating in japan to be protected under british law and likewise japanese forces operating in the uk to operate un

building up to a white house meeting betweenjoe biden and fumio kishida, america praises japan's decisions more storms are forecast to hit california, we look at the human cost of the flooding.

the treaty, which rishi sunak and fumio kishida will sign, will make the uk the first european countryo have mutual access with japan . it's mutual access with japan. it's part of a foreign policy tilt towards the indo—pacific region, against a growing threat from china . tv online and the ap plus china. tv online and the ap plus radio. this is gb news. now back to . to. tom good morning. it's 934 and this is the briefing with me, tom harwood. on your tv and your radio. well, first this morning, our home and security editor mark weiss joins us in the studio for some breaking news from paris. mark, what's going on.7 this was a knife attack of the guardian or the international rail station in the heart of paris this morning at about 645, just as the station was very, very busy with people beginning to commute to wherever . an attacker wherever. an attacker brandishing a knife, attacked and stabbed six people. one of those in a critical condition, we're told, in hospital. the attacker himself was subdued by two off duty police officers who just finished a night shift were heading home. th

japanese prime minister fumio kishida declining to say whether his government will -- talks with presidenten with the white house over the weekend, he said he would deal with the semiconductor trade responsibly. they have been trying to get allies on board. uae blending to invest $30 billion in hydrogen products -- projects in south korea as seoul aims to meet climate goals. the announcement coming during the full state visit to the golf, the first by a korean leader since 1980. that's a look at your first word headlines. david: speaking of looking at historical numbers in the 1980's, doesn't quite go back that far, but in winnie -- but when you look at the bitcoin rally we are seeing, 13 straight days, if this remains the case monday, that's the second-longest winstreak pretty much on record. obviously the history does not go back too long, but still about 2010. is this the start maybe of this turn from this crypto winter that people were talking about late last year? let's get the views from a venture capitalist at raise capital, early backer of ftx. it seems as though the problems of cr

fumio kishida said russian aggression could cause similar acts, around asia especially, with presidentnnouncement for japan's recent announcement that forjapan�*s recent announcement that would double defence spending over the next five years. the anti—apartheid activist frene ginwala, who became the founding speaker of south africa's first democratically elected parliament, has died at the age of 90. during the 1960s and �*70s she lived in exile in mozambique from where she helped many prominent members of the banned african national congress escape abroad. president cyril ramaphosa said the country was mourning the passing of a formidable patriot. milton nkosi a senior research fellow at africa asia dialogues a think tank based in johannesburg, looks back at her legacy. freni ginwala was a struggle stalwart. she was born on the 25th of april in 1932, in a province which has since transformed now in post—apartheid south africa. but at the time the province was called transvaal. she was young, bright and feisty, and she came from an indian family background. her grandparents moved from

the risk, says pm fumio kishida.ey've got a real problem over there. it's actually the second highest proportion of people aged five and over in the world, the tiny state of monaco is number one. if anybody's going to enter a p0p if anybody's going to enter a pop quiz in the future from there no. so burst below 800,000 last year and they've been trying now for years to bring in these different policies helping parents, giving them, subsidies and whatnot. but it's a massive issue because of costs costs of living over there is very expensive as well and critics saying that they targeting people who've got kids really need to be focusing on young people giving the opportunities to have their own homes and properties. but the other thing , of course, that there's a huge amount of virgins in japan. wow yeah. they are not people who are very put off by very strange. i mean, there's all sorts cultural implications. and as face to this, obviously there's a there's a very famous fact about the japanese is longevity anyway. tr

prime minister rishi sunak and his japanese counterpart, fumio kishida, reached an agreement in londonould allow for larger, more complex joint military exercises. it comes as tokyo expands bilateral cooperation amid concerns about china's rise. u.s. authorities are working to determine what went wrong in an outage that prompted a nationwide flight stoppage yesterday. the federal aviation administration have confirmed an earlier bloomberg report, pinning the likely blame on a damaged database file, saying there is no evidence of a cyberattack. at one point, an estimated 9000 flights were delayed across the u.s. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and at bloomberg quicktake, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. tom: alice atkins in london, thank you. coming up, could it be a new threat to european manufacturing? policymakers are calling for countermeasures to counter u.s. subsidies. we are live in brussels for the details later this hour on this potential shield cleo -- potential geopolitical spat. stay with us. this is bloomb

prime minister rishi sunak and his japanese counterpart, fumio kishida, reached an agreement in londonch would allow for more complex joint military exercises. this comes as tokyo expands bilateral cooperation amid concerns about china's rise. in china, factory gate prices fell more since december as the end of covid zero stalled factory operations. initial ppi fell 0.7% from a year earlier. economists expected -- surveyed by bloomberg expected a 1.8% drop. consumer sentiment rose in line with expectations. u.s. authorities are working to determine what went wrong in an outage that prompted a nationwide flight stoppage yesterday paid the federal aviation administration confirmed earlier that it likely blamed it on a damaged database file, saying there is no evidence of a cyberattack. at one point, an estimated 9000 flights were delayed across the united states. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and at bloomberg quicktake, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. dani. dani: thanks so much. simone foxman in doha. coming up, we t

the risk, says pm fumio kishida.ey've got a real problem over there. it's actually the second highest proportion of people aged five and over in the world, the tiny state of monaco is number one. if anybody's going to enter a p0p if anybody's going to enter a pop quiz in the future from there no. so burst below 800,000 last year and they've been trying now for years to bring in these different policies helping parents, giving them, subsidies and whatnot. but it's a massive issue because of costs costs of living over there is very expensive as well and critics saying that they targeting people who've got kids really need to be focusing on young people giving the opportunities to have their own homes and properties. but the other thing , of course, that there's a huge amount of virgins in japan. wow yeah. they are not people who are very put off by very strange. i mean, there's all sorts cultural implications. and as face to this, obviously there's a there's a very famous fact about the japanese is longevity anyway. tr

to japan now, where prime minister fumio kishida has given a stark warning about the nation's decliningre of the country at risk. japan is estimated to have had fewer than 800,000 births last year. in the 19705, that figure was more than 2 million. for more, we can now speak to sarah harper, who's professor of gerontology at the university of oxford. it's wonderful to get you on the programme. in the first instance, how surprising did you find this assessment? it was quite dramatic to have a prime minister say something like this. it have a prime minister say something like this. ., , have a prime minister say something like this. . , , ., , ., ., like this. it was, but it was not at all unexpected. _ like this. it was, but it was not at all unexpected. japan _ like this. it was, but it was not at all unexpected. japan is - like this. it was, but it was not at all unexpected. japan is known . like this. it was, but it was not at| all unexpected. japan is known for many decades of child—bearing rate going down, and in the mid—90s, it was already trying to put in plans to encourage women

meanwhile, president biden is meing withapanese prime minister fumio kishida at the white house today as the two nations reinforce their military cooperation in an effort to counter china's strength. japan recently revised its long-standing pacifist position, building up its military capabilities amid increasing regional tensions, including expanding its military base near taiwan. china again warned this week against international interference in the issue of taiwanese independence. a warning to our audience, the following story contain graphic footage and descriptions of police violence. the los angeles police department has released video showing the violent arrest of keenan anderson, a 31-year-old black schoolteacher and father who died just hours after his encounter with police on january 3. the video shows officers tackling anderson to the pavement in the middle of an intersection as he begged for his life, saying, "they're trying to george floyd me." >> they're trying to george floyd me. they are trying to george floyd me. >> stop it or i am going to tase you. stop it or i'm goi

. >> reporter: the president welcoming japanese prime minister fumio kishida.e ignored questions about the special counsel now investigating his handling of classified documents after his time as vice president. his press secretary continued to deflect or decline to answer critical outstanding questions. >> i'm not going to go into any specifics from here. if you have any questions, anything further that's related to the review, i refer you to the department of justice or my colleagues over at the white house counsel's office. >> reporter: for biden who has maintained this -- >> people know i take classified documents and classified materials seriously. >> reporter: even as the scaled problem has mushroomed into a crisis in the past five days. >> we're cooperating fully with the justice department's review. >> reporter: the outward normalcy appearing to cover what's going on behind the scenes as they scramble to adjust to a new normal, all as new documents emerge after a biden affiliated think tank stored in biden's office. store plans show a small closet to th

. >> so japanese prime minister fume fume this week -- fumio kishida launched his tour. in the white house today. president biden said the two countries have never been closer and praised japan's shift on defense. this new policy was set forth by japan and i will be beneficial for the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance. >> and the u.s. is saturdaying its commitments. the u.s. n promises any attack in space would trigger a mutual defense provision. the u.s. will increase training on japan's southwest islands, some of which are 1200 miles from tokyo but just 100 miles from taiwan's capital and the u.s. will repurpose their regiment. dined to -- designed to be more mobile, better equipped for reconnaissance and fight from outward islands. >> the few, the proud, the marines. >> the marines portray themselves as the best the best. capable of responding quickly anywhere on the planet. including for the last 20 years fighting land-based counterinsurgencies. to focus now on china and maritime campaigns is what a current expander -- commander calledded a revolut

special counsel to jake bench -- and later, president biden welcoming japanese prime minister fumio kishida be up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book tv's podcast about book. with current nonfiction book releases, plus, bestseller list, as well as industry news and trends through insider interviews. you can find that on c-span now, our free mobile app. >> next, on a book tv's "after words". armstrong williams and ben crump share their concerns about the education system in america. they were interviewed by billy. afterwards, interviewing top nonfiction authors about their latest work. >> you so much for mac joining me today. i am excited to get into this discussion about "crisis in the classroom"

on, friday president biden hosted the japanese prime minister fumio kishida at the white house. an important visit meant to highlight the close relationship in the alliance between those two nations. among the many problems of the discussion, russia's war in ukraine, china, the constant escalating threat of north korea, and ways to make japan a greater military power. which is something the country has deliberately avoided. it's post-world war ii existence. by the way, speaking of russia's brutal war and can she does visit, russia's former president dimitri moore of has reacted publicly to this meeting. i don't want to show. said publicly stating that the shooter was showing complete subservience to the united states, and should ritually disembowel loop so. he's a bit harsh to be discussing on sunday morning. later in the show -- for minister under cause your joins me. but first, i want to go back to that brief history lesson that i promise you. because japan is interesting for another reason and a stark reminder to american lawmakers, about what happens when you play with fire

will be selected in a different area >>> and president biden has welcomed japanese prime minister fumio kishidahe white house. they're discussing increased security cooperation about provocative military actions by china and north ckorea. kelly, back to you. >> i'll see you soon thank you. >>> coming up, if it is friday, it is three buys and a bail. today, we're tracking stocks with activist involvement. three to buy and one to avoid in a very special edition next. we planned well for retirement, but i wish we had more cash. you think those two have any idea? that they can sell their life insurance policy for cash? so they're basically sitting on a goldmine? i don't think they have a clue. that's crazy! well, not everyone knows coventry's helped thousands of people sell their policies for cash. even term policies. i can't believe they're just sitting up there! sitting on all this cash. if you own a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more, you can sell all or part of it to coventry. even a term policy. for cash, or a combination of cash and coverage, with no future premiums. someone needs to t

. >>> well next hour, president biden set to welcome japanese prime minister fumio kishida to the whitepected to discussion climate change and technology and a newly strengthened military relationship. >> this is a big deal because with the threat of china, the u.s. and japan have been closer into military ties. correspondent m.j. lee, she is at the white house with more. m.j., what do we expect the leaders to be speaking about today and do we expect them to be explicit about the need to challenge china? >> reporter: yeah, jim and erica, keep in mind this is not the first time that president biden and japanese prime minister kishida are meeting. over the last year they had a by lateral meeting in tokyo and got some face-to-face time in cambodia on the sidelines of a summit there and it is coming at an interesting moment for japan in terms of security posture. remember that last month japan announced that it was going to be boosting its military as well as its defense spending, a change in posture that was significant coming after a long time of operating a certain way, of course. and th

kishida fumio has promised to address the birthrate now falling at a record pace. a draft of the speech underscores the scope of the issue. it says japan is now on the verge of losing a functional social support system. population changes have been a challenge for years. japan's rapidly ageing population combined with low births have created a shortage of workers contributing to social programs. and the cost of raising children is going up. critics have pressed kishida for concrete ideas to fund policies which he's vowing to provide. officials from relevant ministries met on thursday to discuss the plan for the first time. >> translator: supporting children and child rearing generations and resolving the declining birthrate is the most important investment that can be made to ensure the survival of japanese society. >> ogara says he wants to take drastic actions. that will mean breaking down ministerial borders and speeding up discussions. the panel will hear from experts before releasing a draft plan by the end of march. >>> it was a scene so cruel even the word h

president joe biden is set to meet with japanese prime minister kishida fumio in washington next weekthey're expected to discuss a number of asian issues, including north korea's nuclear threats and the tensions around taiwan. >>> next, a series of japanese cyber bullying cases have impacted two generations of the same family. a reality tv star killed herself after she received abusive comments. now tokyo prosecutors have taken up the case of a man suspected of directing abuse at her mother. she was a professional wrestler and took her own life in 2020 after being attacked on social media for what she did and said in a reality tv show. she was 22. her mother has since campaigned against cyber bullying in hopes of preventing similar tragedies. she, too, has become a target of online defamation. a criminal complaint led police to track down the poster and refer him to psecutors. the poster is the third to be referred to prosecutors on suspicion of defaming her online. >>> japan's weather agency has started a new web site on one of the country's deadliest quakes. it arrives ahead of the

on top of that, we are looking at fumio kishida, the prime minister will be commenting on a covid lastion. he'll be doing that at 11:45, company standard time. also, we have inflation out of the country as well. the cpi year on year, 4% up from 3.8% in november. that is the highest level from inflation or cpi, since 1981. a bit of positive. we have the nikkei flirting with the game line. let's get it to the markets now. annabelle: the big theme we are watching is what is happening in china. there is the new unit -- new lunar new year holiday. a lot of concern around what could be an explosion in covid places -- cases. traders are focusing on this pent-up demand. chinese consumers discretionary stocks are leading the gains for the region. but 90 minutes into the session, hong kong at in positive territory. in the commodities space, that is down from the optimism, with demand from china. oil is higher, iron ore, other metals, all in optimism. the other thing we're watching is what came through from the fed overnight. more officials now including the new york fed president, saying rates w

kishida fumio wants the reclassification to happen as early as this spring so japan can begin rollingack its strict restrictions. >> translator: in order to get back to a more peaceful time in japan, the government plans to gradually downgrade various policies and measures that have been taken while further promoting efforts to get the country back to normal. we will make concrete arrangements. >> but kishida says japan will keep up its all-out efforts to fight the current wave of infections as deaths rise. covid-19 is now ranked at a level almost equivalent to category 2. that's the second most severe tier on japan's classification system for infectious diseases. that lets authorities take strict measures to stop the virus spreading, including urging people to limit their movements. but in light of its impact on socioeconomic activity, the government will consider downgrading covid-19 to the lowest rank of category 5. the reclassification would mean more medical institutions could accept coronavirus patients. people would also no longer be requested to limit their activities. a gover

. >>> japanese prime minister kishida fumio has arrived in washington. i'll his first visit to the united states since taking office and his last stop on a week-long tour of five western powers. he's set to meet president joe biden at the white house friday morning. the leaders are expected to reaffirm unity on a range of issues including food, energy, and ukraine. it comes as japan is preparing to host the g7 summit in may. kishida is also expected to brief biden on a major shift in japan's security policy announced last month. they include a boost in defens spending and jap's ability to launch counterstrikes against attackers. the two are expected to discuss closer cooperation in developing cutting-edge technology as well, such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotech. >>> on thursday, the u.s. and japanese defense ministers held talks at the pentagon. they say the u.s. will strengthen its commitment to extended deterrence for japan, which could involve deterring potential attacks with nuclear weapons. >> with our shared goal of a new era of a

and they're focused on kishida fumio's push to boost spending to enhance defense capabilities. prime minister says neighboring countries are posing growing security challenges for japan. so last month his cabinet approved increasing defense spending to more than $330 billion over five years. it also approved acquiring counter strike capabilities under the security policy. tax hikes would cover part of the increased spending. the largest opposition party is against paying for it that way. the constitutional democratic party is also criticizing kishida for making changes to the policy without first holding discussions in the diet. the party argues gaining counter strike capabilities and the spending increase contradicts japan's defense oriented policy. kishida disagrees, he says counter strike capabilities are limited and will only be exercised for self-defense. and for a closer look at some of those issues at play, we earlier spoke with a professor who specializes in japanese politics and foreign policy. >> one of the challenges the kishida administration needs to overcome to ge

let's take a listen to what pm fumio kishida had to say. this is an urgent issue.obayashi is a divorced, single woman living in tokyo. she explained why many japanese women are choosing not to have children. every decision about having a child or not is very personal so i don't think my reasoning applies to everyone, but i do think there is a general reason, maybe i can think of three. one is a financial reason because tuition and after school costs a lot so having a child is financially burdensome for people. the second i would say as a career reason and that applies in a little bit to me as well because the prime time for women to have children, thus also the prime time to advance your career so you put off having children to advance your career. thirdly, and i think this is under investigated area, people today have many life priorities, so marriage is one of the priorities but not as high as before. having children is not as high before and there are many competing priorities for your time and if you cannot have a live—in nanny, if your husband is not helpful,

fumio kishida said russian aggression could encourage similar acts elsewhere, and china remained theentral challenge for both the us and japan. now on bbc news, global questions: sri lanka. welcome global questions: sri lanka. to global questions. from welcome to global questions. from the heart of sri lanka's capital, colombo. iam from the heart of sri lanka's capital, colombo. i am outside the presidential office, and todayis the presidential office, and today is pristine exterior is well guarded. but six months ago, angry and i government protesters firmed —— storm this building as well as the presidential palace, forcing the president to flee the country. they were angry at just how desperate their economic situation had become, and they blamed government corruption and mismanagement for it. sri lanka is saddled with heavy debt, soaring inflation and impossibly high food and fuel costs. and it has become something of a bellwether for other lower income countries. world leaders are looking to see whether sri lanka can overcome its worst economic crisis for more than 70 years, and

fumio, they like you. [laughs] prime minister kishida: thank you. president biden: well, mr. prime minister, it's great to see you again. welcome. welcome to such a close friend to the oval office again. and, you know, we meet at a remarkable moment in our alliance. i can honestly say -- more as a student of history than a participant -- that it's been -- i don't think there's ever been a time when we've been closer to japan in the united states. i'll stop so you can translate. last year in japan, you said to me, and i quote, “we are two nations that share fundamental values.” i couldn't agree with you more. we are. these shared democratic values are the source of our strength, the source of our alliance, and the source of our being able to deliver for all our people. we're modernizing our military alliance, building on japan's historic increase in defense spending and new national security strategy. let me be crystal clear, the united states is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance. and more importantly, to japan's defense, the defense of japan. we're worki

japan's prime minister, fumio ki kishida, just announced the country's biggest military build-up sincear ii. as for china, it's already at war. against covid-19, which exploded at the end of the year after the government abruptly ended mass testing and mandatory quarantines. now much from its own stability to the world's supply chains rests on how well it treats the sick and speed-vaccinates the elderly. as 2023 dawns, it's just too early to tell. >> elizabeth palmer reporting from tokyo. the "overnight news" is back in just two minutes. ♪ma ma ma ma♪ [clears throut] for fafast sore ththroat rel, try y vicks vapopocool ds with twowo times morere menthol p per drop*, anand the powewerful rush hf vickcks vapors f for fast-acg relilief you canan feel. vicks vavapocool drorops. fafast relief f you can fef. hey, i just got a text from my sister. vicks vavapocool drorops. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, w

the treaty, which rishi sunak and fumio kishida will sign, will make the uk the first european countryo have access with japan as part of a foreign policy tilt towards the indo—pacific region, against a growing threat from china. the government is calling it the most significant defence agreement between london and tokyo in more than a century. six people have been attacked at the garden nord train station in paris by a man with a knife, leaving one person with major injuries. police have secure the area following the incident which happened at around 645 local time this morning . local time this morning. officers have said the attacker was shot several times by police and taken to hospital with life threatening injuries. the motivation, though, is not yet known . and the charity claims . known. and the charity claims. at least 271,000 people were recorded as homeless in england last year. shelter says that figure includes people in temporary accommodation or hostels and those on the streets. it estimates 45% of those were children . london had those were children. london had the highe

japan's prime minister fumio kishida will be at the white house visiting president biden. the two leaders met last may in japan. today's summit aims to strengthen relations between the countries. the leaders are expected to talk about north korea's nuclear ambitions. china's access to advanced technology like semiconductors and strategies for ending russia's war in ukraine. japan also wants us help to build up its military. sam blankman freed the former ceo of the failed crypto currency exchange, ft. x spoke out for the first time after being arrested in a post on his blog. he said he did not steal. funds and he blames the hedge fund he founded alameda for failing to sufficiently hedge against the risk of an extreme market crashed right now. blankman freed is under house arrest at the home of his parents and palo alto. he pleaded not guilty to several counts of fraud and conspiracy. several new developments for bay area taxpayers as the irs free file program will open on this friday, allows people with an adjusted gross income of no more than $73,000 to electronically file

. >> soon president biden will be welcoming japanese prime minister fumio kishida to the white house. this is his first visit since becoming prime minister. the pair plans to discuss the u.s. and japan alliance. we expect the pair to arrive shortly. while we wait, look at some of today's "washington journal."