i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to nhk "newsline." we start off with a quick look at some of the stories we're following. >>> auto allies, two japanese carmakers set to discuss a plan to boost competitiveness by joining forces. >>> local election results in tokyo highlight the popularity of the city's governor but reflect political division. >>> and 1,000 years of deep faith and inspiration. an exhibition in tokyo shines light on the legacy of an ancient tribe. >>> in japan's southern prefecture of okinawa reclamation work begun in a long delayed and controversial move of an american marine base. the plan had been suspended pending legal challenges but was given the go ahead in december. >>> police have cleared the area of people protesting near the construction. the central government has been trying to relocate a usair station to the area. ships have brought in concrete blocks to be built into a sea barrier to contain muddy water from the work. locals called the u.s. marine corps futenma air station the most dangerous as it's in the

on a friday, i'm james tengan, welcome to nhk "newsline," we start with a quick look at some stories we're following. >>> new clues -- malaysian police say kim jong nam, the half-brother of north korea's leader was killed with a highly toxic chemical weapon known as vx nerve agent. >>> a u.s. think tank says china has nearly finished constructing buildings on artificial islands in the south china sea that are intended to house missile systems. >>> and premium premiere, japan's government and business community launch a campaign to get workers out of the office and in the mood to spend. >>> malaysia's police chief has made a major announcement in the investigation into the killing of kim jong nam. he says a toxic nerve agent was used to kill the half-brother of the north korean leader. >> we confirm it, it is the vx nerve agent. which is a chemical weapon. >> he said on friday that swabs taken from kim's eyes and face tested positive for the substance. vx is banned under international treaty. the police chief said investigators are trying to determine how the substance entered the cou

i'm james tengan. welcome to nhk "newsline." it seems we have to wait to find out the cause of the mysteriois of the half brother of north korea's leader. malaysian medical officials say they're awaiting the medical results on kim jong-nam's death. >> these are meant to confirm the identity of the deceased person and also the cause of death, both which are still pending at the moment. >> the official did say that there is no evidence of heart attack or puncture wounds. malaysian officials say they won't release the body until the family provides dna. there have been reports that kim jong-nam's son is now in kuala lumpur. local media say kim han sol flew in from macau to provide a dna sample. kim is reportedly in his early 20s and lives in macau with his family. a british tabloid says kim han sol decided not to study in the uk for fear of assassination. the "daily mail" says he was supposed to attend graduate school at oxford university in september, but the report says chinese authorities warned him of a plot by pyongyang and re

>>> live from our studios here in tokyo, i'm james tengan. we start with a quick look at some of the stories we're following. a war over words. japan's defense minister says the government shouldn't describe the situation? south sudan in any terms that might cause problems under the constitution. finding a way, japan will begin accepting young syrian refugees under scholarship. >>> one year to go. south korea is gearing up for the first winter games to be held in asia in two decades. >>> japan's defense minister has faced a grilling in the diet over her description of what's happening in south sudan, where south defense personnel are on a peace-keeping mission. an opposition law maker wanted to know if she avoided words that could cause problems tons constitution. she said the government shouldn't use terms for the world renouncing article of the constusion a. day later, she was on the defensive. >> do you avoid using the term fighting because it's problematic under articlet? do you confirm there are fighting takes place? >> there are clashes

i'm james tengan. >>> we start with a story that's been developing all day. intelligence officials in seoul have learned more information about the suspected death of the half brother of north korea's leader. they say he was assassinated in kuala lumpur and it's highly likely the attackers used poison. we'll bring in our reporter from seoul. >> national intelligence officials briefed lawmakers on what they've learned so far about kim jong nam's suspected death. one lawmaker told the media this. >> translator: according to national intelligence service, it's confirmed the person presumed to be kim jong nam was murdered in malaysia and the nis strongly believes it's an act of terror using poison. >> the inch is director also told lawmakers that pyongyang has been attempting to kill kim jong nam for the past five years. he added that in 2012, kim sent a letter to his younger half brother, north korea's current leader, kim jong-un. he asked him to spare the lives of him and his family members. >> do you have any update on the two women suspected of murdering kim?

i'm james tengan. we start off with a look at some of the stories we're following. >>> in his upcoming meeting with the american president, japan's prime minister hopes to build a strong bond. >>> a pitched battle. donald trump indicates he may take the growing legal case over his controversial travel ban to the supreme court. >>> and keeping it cool. people in northern japan are lining up to save for an all-white winter spectacle. the annual sapporo snow festival. >>> japan easiest prime minister says he hopes to build trust with donald trump when they meet friday and it seems the new mesh president feels the same way. the u.s. has officially announced shinzo abe is going to trump's private resort in florida. a spokesperson says it's sending a good signal. >> this is a testament to the importance the united states places on the bilateral relationship and the strength of our alliance and the deep economic ties between the united states and japan. >> trump and abe are slated to travel together on air fo

i'm james tengan. we begin this hour with the latest developments in the december of the north korean leader's half brother. malaysian police are pointing to more links to pyongyang in the killing of kim jong-nam. inspector general khalid abu bakkar says authorities are searching for three north koreans in connection with the case. he says they're all currently in malaysia. one of the men wanted for questioning is a 44-year-old second secretary at the north korean embassy in kuala lumpur. the second is a 37-year-old employee of north korea's state-owned airline. khalid says investigators do not yet know the occupation of the third man. kim jong-nam, the long-estranged half brother of the north korean leader, was attacked last week at the kuala lumpur international airport. so far, two women are in custody. one is from indonesia, the other is from vietnam. police have also detained one north korean man. one of the female suspects claims she thought they were caught up in a prank for a tv program. police

. >>> line from tokyo, this is nhk "newsline," i'm james tengan. >>> police looking into the suspected murder of half-brother of north korea's leader think his alleged attackers carried out a practice the day before. he died op the way to hospital. a south korean intelligence officials believe he was poisened. malaysian police is detained two women. an indonesian national and one with a vietnamese passport. they can be seen in surveillance footage recorded at the airport. a local media report says that imams taken the previous day show what appears to be a group rehearsing the attack. it says two women and four men can be seen spraying liquid at each other. the report says police suspect they were testing airport security. the detained women have reportedly told police they were asked to appear in a prank video. malaysian authorities have not released the results of an autopsy on kim's body and a police official says there's been no request from kim's family to hand over his remains. a japanese journalist who knew kim says he was critical of the way power is transferred in north korea.

on a friday, i'm james tengan, welcome to nhk "newsline." >>> u.s. president donald trump has taken a step to improve ties with china. in a phone conversation, he told president xi jinping he intends to acknowledge the one-china policy. the white house and chinese state media says trump spoke with xi thursday evening t. white house described call as extremely cordial. in the talks, the leaders offered invitations for the others to visit. china's state-run tv says it's admirable that trump decided to adhere to the policy and the policy is the basis for the relationship between the two countries. trump had previously ruffled china's feathers by taking a call friday taiwan's president after his election win. he questioned whether the u.s. would recognize the one-china principle. the policy recognizes taiwan as a part of china. the japanese prime minister is in washington ahead of a summit with trump. earlier we spoke with our reporter tomoko kamata. shinzo abe says he wants to strengthen the u.s.-japan alliance and deepen ties that benefit both countrie

i'm james tengan. >>> it was the u.s. president's first test involving north korea during the weekend. pyongyang chose a particular moment to fire a missile into the sea of japan while donald trump and japan's prime minister were having dinner. shinzo abe was visiting to try to forge stronger ties. nhk world's adam walsh gives us an inside look at what happened when the news broke. >> reporter: george lombardi is a real estatate investor whose friendship with the u.s. president goes back more than three decades. lombardi was near the dinner table of donald trump and japan's prime minister when news broke that north korea had tested a missile. lombardi says the cheerful mood suddenly changed. >> and at one point in the middle of the dinner, we saw a lot of aides, both americans and japanese, going to the table and coming back, and sometime actually almost running. some of our friends that were with us say something is going on. some of the aides brought some papers, and you saw president trump and prime minister abe actual

on a friday, i'm james tengan, welcome to nhk "newsline." >>> u.s.esident donald trump has taken a step to improve ties with china. in a phone conversation, he told president xi jinping he intends to acknowledge the one-china policy. the white house and chinese state media says trump spoke with xi thursday evening t. white house described call as extremely cordial. in the talks, the leaders

i'm james tengan. >>> we start with a story that's been developing all day.elligence officials in seoul have learned more information about the suspected death of the half brother of north korea's leader. they say he was assassinated in kuala lumpur and it'