hitachi went higher. >>> thanks and to other markets in the region and then it was across the region and then the compensate revisited and then the two day losses. the additional property and it rose 1.4 percent in the week. they added nearly half a percent and it was the gains on nasdaq. here is a look at some of the other business news that we're following. >>> japanese officials say that the jobless rate went up in 23015. they say that the racial jobs was at 1.25 and that means 125 job openings for every job seek er. >>> japan says that the production increased seven and a half percent and it marks the second straight month and it's a gain to exports and mainly to the u.s. sales in japan fell due to the tax hike in april. >>> information technology is in and standing the environment of smart education. what's creating the new thing for i t companies. >> reporter: students have dropped the textbook for electronic teaching. nearly half of all elementary, middle and high school ers use high-tech devices like this. >> i can can share what i studied with others. that's cool. >> the app

hitachi metals, jfe holdings and toho zinc. and on the positive side we were following shares of toshiba on the back of news that it says it's going to seek a $2.5 billion credit line with its banks. that's for restructuring. that follows steep declines on the back of scandals. japanese office supply company one of the better performers, askul up almost 3% so far today on increased revenue as well as net income as it focuses on online business retail, both in japan as well as china. so with just a day left for trading, the nikkei looks to be ending the year on a positive note. back to you. >> that was ramin mellegard reporting from our nhk market studio. >>> world authorities suspended ivory trading 25 years ago. they've been unable to stop poachers and smugglers who serve a thriving black market in china. we lift the lid on the underground network. >> reporter: hong kong, a global hub for the ivory trade. there are more than 70 retail outlets. they are prohibited from selling restale stock. there are about ten ivory manufactur

construction machinery makers such as hitachi construction machinery were up on the day as well. shares of panasonic were focused as well. it gained following news over the weekend that it intends to manufacture car batteries in china, a deal worth close to $500 million. shares of sharp were also a focus. foxcom may buy the struggling company for around $2.5 billion. so a lot of focus on those shares. all in all, the nikkei finally snapping five-day losing streak and the nikkei and the topix ending well into the positive. that's all for me. back to you in the studio. >> that was mamin milligard reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> 12 countries taking part in the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal are trying to get the deal signed by february. they want it to take effect as early as possible. japan and other nations have begun negotiating a date for the signing of the pact. they're following up on a broad agreement reached in october. the possibility of signing an early february came as the u.s. government is expected to clear the necessary legal procedures by then.

hitachi expected to bid for the work.adecember's crash of toght 8501 came as a shock the agent airline industry. elizabeth failures led up to the crash. -- a litany of failures led up to the crash. >> it is in a state of disrepair. something the government has redoubled efforts to improve. we've had years of crew training falling short of infrastructure that has not been upgraded the way it should. and in traffic control system underfunded, understaffed. these elements came together and led to this crash last year just after the christmas holiday. it encountered a big storms but the back story according to this new report -- the weather wasn't involved at all apparently. the pilot took opposing action cockpit. one pushed down and another pulled back on the controls. that canceled out any benefit from the maneuver they were trying to make. the plane had a technical fault that hasn't been maintained properly. poor soldering on a circuit for it that was documented previously dozens of times led to an issue of directors and t