on a wednesday here in japan. i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." >>> japanese leaders have decided to tighten their own sanctions on north korea. north korea fired rockets despite warnings from a number of countries. pyongyang says they put a satellite in or by the orbit. shinzo abe held a meeting on wednesday to discuss the response. they include banning all north korea an ships, even humanitarian vessels from entering japanese ports. there will be tighter control on money transfers to the north and more organizations and individuals will have their assets frozen. the sanctions could also affect nonjapanese nuclear engineers visiting japan. if they visit north korea they could be prohibited from returning. prime minister abe earlier conveyed his plans in separate phone calls with his counterparts in the u.s. and south korea. >>> south korean leaders are taking a tough stand first time ever. they have shut down all activities in the kaesong industrial park. the manufacturing zone serves as a base for south korean firm. they e

tokyo is japan's largest city. as the capital, it is the focus of most legal, political, and economic activities in the nation. most large corporations have their headquarters here. everything tends to concentrate in tokyo. 32 million people, or one out of every four japanese live within a 30-mile radius. while tokyo casts a large shadow, it covers only three percent of the total land mass of japan. land prices here have skyrocketed. a booming economy in the 1980s and early 1990s saw profits go into real estate speculation, contributing to a bubble of inflated values. affordable housing was in short supply. more and more people began moving out to the suburbs to fulfill their dream of owning a home. by the mid-90s, japan hit an economic slump and the asian economic crisis of 1997 hit. the bubble burst and land prices began to decline, but not by much. housing prices in tokyo are falling, but they're still at very high levels compared to the u.s. the average cost of housing in the greater tokyo metropolitan area is

along with the japan aerospace exploration agency. the goal is improve launch capability and reduce costs. they hope to start test flights in 2020. the h2a has been used with a success rate of 96%. for 29 launches. it has sent into orbit, daiichi ii. each launch costs about $82 million. officials hope to cut that amount in half. >>> in world weather, winter storms are wreaking havoc in the u.s. as jonathan oh tells us in this update. >> let me show you the satellite perspective. to give you an idea of what's been taking place, notice the clouds here and how they billow up. it seems very calm. all of a sudden it just kind of spreads out. at's hapning is lot of stable a is beintriggere byhe push that co air, and we're seeing not only severe thunderstorms, but even multiple tornado warnings taking place, and this system has a history of problems for the past few days. in fact, let's rewind the time back and look at some video to give you an idea of a different weather pattern takes place from the same system over in iowa. you may have he

the made in japan chocolates will arrive on store shelves in two years. >> translator: japan has the agriculture technology and skills to create something really delicate. i want to bring these together, and country ate a chocolate that can win recognition around the world. >> japanese ate less chocolate than people in many other developed countries, but that all changes on valentine's day. tempted by creativity, sweet lovers just can't get enough. nhk world. >>> researchers in japan have made a potentially high value mineral discovery on the seafloor easternmost island. rare earth metals and used. how defined is raising hopes in the country. >> this deep sea exploration vessel is on the mission to find rare earth metals, on the japan's ocean floor, 5,500 meters bebelow the surface. deeper than ever before. brings back samples and scientists say there is a lot more than where they came from. >> translator: we hope to make japan a golden country. >> one of the metals vessel found is cobalt. it is in high demand, lithium batteries, smartphones and electric vehicle motors. skbr japan im

from japan, finance minister and bank of japan governor will be attending. the global economy will be at the top of the agenda. participants expected to discuss the global risks behind the turmoil in the markets this year. they include volatility in stock and currency markets. china said to be the major risk factor and discussions may focus on the real estate of it's con me, along with structural problems, including excess capacity and bad loans. they're expected to talk about how the u.s. central bank will proceed with its key interest rate hikes, a major impact on the global financial market. likely to be discussions on the impact of low crude oil prices on each country's economy. >>> china announced it will allocate 100 billion yen, or $153 billion to assist workers being laid off, the move comes as the government tries to tackle industry over capacity which is hurting the country's economy. >> translator: the government needs to support and encourage the reemployment of workers being laid off. otherwise, resolving excess production capacity would lead to

in japan we saw very warm air in place. and now we're seeing the cold air, the winter pressure pattern coming back into the picture, so we're dealing once again with sea-effect snow to the northern portions of the country. back to the west, much drier looking and sun eye conditions from beijing to shanghai, and down to taipei, a high of 9 degrees. now rapidly, a look at europe. we have a trough. you may notice the clouds moving to the north and east, that is what we call a trough. southerly flow on the eastern side, that's going to push up temperatures. and then single digit highs from london, paris, down to madrid. all the way into moscow, as we go throughout the day on monday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. >>> koga in western japan is famous for its ninja tradition. officials there are trying to boost tourism by dressing up as the secret agents who worked for feudal warlords. one city official came to work on his bicycle in full ninja regalia. he said his costume is a breath of f

across japan, we have a low pressure area pulling through the sea of japan. that's going to bring some snowfall across parts of hokkaido, into tohoku on tuesday into wednesday. tokyo remaining on the dry side. we have dry air advisories in place. it will stay that way through the next several days. by the end of the week, things will be changing up. we have another low that will develop back towards the west. for now, though, china, high pressure continuing to dominate. webout haze across this area because of the stagnant air continuing to settling in. taipei with a high of 21. shanghai getting up to 16 here on your tuesday. all right. here's your extended outlook. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. xxxx >> euromax highlights. host: hi there and welcome to our highlights edition. two steps forward one step back. in a figurative sense that just about describes our top stories for today. zooming in. the time-lapse videos of geoff tompkinson staying afloat. european architects design living spa

one possible location is on an island claimed by japan. possible location, an island in the disputed northern territories. the plan is a major sticking point between moscow and tokyo. nhk world recently visited the russian controlled territory and has this report. >> reporter: concerns over ongoing population decline, president vladimir putin is putting the far east region at the top of his priority list. he wants to set up special economic zones at more than ten locations. etorofu island is considered a location, an island also claimed by japan. once granted the status, the businesses will be in for corporate tax breaks and simplified red tape. several russian firms have already announced to start operations in etorofu. among them is a company dealing in sightseeing in the northern territories. the company's president plans to build a hotel there with an investment of about $7 million. she is seeking investment from businesses from not only russia but also china, south korea, and japan. >> translator: we are looking for partners throughou

is part of japan's -- japan china -- mcdonnell japan's turnaround. out and cutclose jobs after safeties gambles including foreign objects found in food. >> we believe that we have made good progress rebuilding our foundation, our customers are noticing and they are responding. and 2016 is to build on this foundation, accelerate our recovery and complete our business turnaround. the yang continues to trade near its strongest that we've seen in a year. let us get to eugene macklemore nakamura.e monday, markets and hr mostly monday was ok. yesterday we came in selling big. byterday move was really led concerns about deutsche bank. that weighed on japanese investors. mr. b she industries down. it is wiped out more than $30 billion in value. that was a big move for financial firms. the yen broke through 116 per dollar. that was a very strong support level. it held in january, now a broke through the 116 level. at 114. trip -- trading it is very bad for japan. exporters are getting killed. today market continues to fall. it is really, yesterday's move was

japan's population as a whole is getting older. that outweighed the population growth by an increase in foreign residents. out of 47 prefectures only eight saw an increase. osaka saw a decline for the first time in decades. three prefectures which were severely affected by the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami experienced a decline in the people living there as well. fukushima saw the largest drop of 115,000 people. >>> the leaders of two japanese opposition parties have officially agreed to merge next month. they aim to better compete with the ruling coalition in the upper house election this summer. the democratic party is the biggest opposition group. the japan innovation party is the third largest. their leaders decided to launch a working group to discuss the name and platform of a united party. >> translator: our party will respond to the voices of people who have various concerns and questions about the policies of prime minister shinzo abe. we will be an alternative to the government. >> translator: we will stop wasting tax

you are in centerline banks to lend outside of japan, not in japan. incentivize people to take money out of japan. in most cases, it does not really work. policy.her does qe if neither of them are delivering inflation or growth, wages, what do you do next? the answer is there is nothing else in the toolbox. the only thing left in the toolbox is fiscal policy. that is why everybody is shifting towards fiscal. that is what we need to do going forward. , that is fiscal policy nationalizing capital markets. nobody calls it that, but essentially, that is what it is. central banks will be directly financing government spending, consumption, and investment. that implies the private sector will be deployed arrived -- deprived of any capacity. essentially. it is not just in japan, coincidentally. the same applies to everybody else. when the highway bill in the u.s. was debated in september, was that then treasury should accumulate all investprofits to directly into infrastructure. angie: isn't that called texas? >> it is a tax on someone, the financial system.

now across japan, snow is pretty heavy across northern japan. in just 24 hours, over 30 centimeters of snow has fallen in niigata prefecture and more snow is on the way. because very cold air is still gripping much of japan, lowering temperatures and causing quite moist air from the north. now temperatures at night will be below freezing in sapporo, continuing into the weekend. minus 9 degrees expected on friday morning. and as for tokyo, we saw light snowfall earlier this morning, but things will be looking up today, and temperatures will be up to 4 degrees on sunday morning. now according to the japan meteorological agency, the spring is going to be warmer than normal. and then according to the japan weather association, cherry blossoms will be expected to come out around march 25th in the tokyo area. let's look forward to the colorful season. here's your extended forecast. >>> for an in depth look at the day's news and special >> hello and welcome to life from paris. i'm claire pryde. justice ministers meet in brussels to discuss the migrant

creative ways to save. >> japan's population is apparent in this city. every year, it spends more than $80 million on health and nursing care for the elderly. the municipal government has been investigating ways to control the costs. >> translator: we need to consider different options to best utilize our modest tax revenue, and scant financial resources. >> the longer people stay healthy, the less the government has to spend on care. with that in mind, the city offers health maintenance programs for seniors, such as exercise classes. the national government is also trying to reign next pen tures. it recently lost a pilot project social impact bond, sib. creative projects are outsourced. funds is comes from investors. if improvements in physical and mental strength reduce the number of seniors needing care, costs should go down. as a result, the people putting up the money should see a return on investment. >> good morning. >> a project underway involves a private school. seniors are given easy calculations to make and children stories to read out loud.

let's look at what's going on across japan. i know the past weekend, we saw some near record-breaking warmth in many areas. tokyo pushing upwards of 20, 24 degrees at times. but it is definitely back to normal. now, we have the strong northwesterly winds continuing to come across the sea of japan, as the open cell cumulus as you can see on the satellite picture, and that means a lot of snow. in niigata, about 50 centimeters reported in the last 24 hours. if you're a skier, anybody who likes to get out in the snow, the classic sea-effect snow machine will continue to bring much more snowfall. tokyo, i do want to note, dry conditions out here. also toward eastern china, high pressure continuing to dominate. temperatures in shanghai with a high of 10. taipei getting up to 15 there on your tuesday. all right. here's your extended outlook. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for joining us. xxxx x0 >> hello, and welcome to "euromaxx highlights" where we round up the best bits of the w

space researchers are in japan are set to a new astronomical satellite. the astro h, which scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the universe. launch scheduled for just before 6:00 p.m. local time wednesday. the rocket carrying the satelli satellite transported to the space senor it southwestern japan. observatory in space, it's capable of detecting x-rays that cannot be observed from earth because the planet's atmosphere absorbs most of the rays. it's up to 100 times more sensitive to such rays than a conventional satellite. it uses the rays to observe activity around black holes that cannot be seen by eye. >>> it is time to tack a look at the latest of business news. the latest indicator of business sediment shows an uptick. >> quarterly contraction in gross domestic product and that was way down by weak consumer spending. this morning, we're seeing company managers are more optimistic in investing in new equipment and facilities. machinery orders for december increased the officials at the cabinet office say the orders were worth nearly $71 bil

on a monday here in japan. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." >>> north korean officials have notified u.n. authorities they've closed the window on a planned rocket launch and state media is praising it as a success. but world leaders are condemning the move as a missile test and representatives from japan, south korea, and the u.s. are pressing for stiffer sanctions against the reclusive country. >> reporter: just hours after sunday's launch, members of the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting. the council chair said the launch could lead to the development of technology for carrying nuclear weapons. >> the members of the security council strongly condemn this launch. the members of the security council underscore that this launch is in serious violation of the security council resolution. >> reporter: north korean state media reported the rocket blasted off from the western part of the country. the launch was tracked by japan, south korea, and the u.s. >> we have to take this issue very seriously. it is not o

hong hi is in japan for final negotiations. shop executives plan to carefully analyze the proposals. they want to clarify the possibility whether the taiwaneze. liquid crystal is not leaked overseas and employees are protected. sharp executives say these points for now are not a matter of concern, but say negotiations could break off if the hone hai makes unreasonable changes. they'll keep their option to gho negotiate with the japanese fund. >>> advances in-camera technology pushing the boundaries of what people can see and record. adventurers and athletes among the first to explore 306 degree lenses, now they're seeing the light. yang yun reports. >> a motor cross race, one rider has eyes in the back of his head. before every race, he mounts a camera to his bike. it's fitted with a fish eye lens. afterwards, he plays the imagine on his tablet. using a special app, he can analyze 360 degree field of view. the track in front, his posture, and what's going on to the right, left and behind. >> translator: i can't see someone foll

japan's embassy there will issue the entry visa. team will take part in a regional qualifying tournament. the winners will play at the olympic games later this year in rio de janeiro. >>> japan airlines says that smoke has forced one of its plane to cancel a takeoff in hokkaido. it happened around 3:00 p.m. at an airport in hokkaido. everyone onboard evacuated. the local fire department says three female passengers suffered minor injuries in the process. the plane was supposed to fly to western japan. 159 passengers and six crew members were on board. one of nhk's staff was on the plane. he says it was on stand-by waiting for the weather to improve. he smelled something burning and saw the smoke coming from the plane's right side engine. officials are investigating the cause. >>> japan will donate $1.2 million to taiwan after an earthquake earlier this month. the money will be donated to the red cross. it will be used for medical assistance and to help those who evacuated their homes. the funding follows a previous aid package sent

he is now recuperating at a hospital in japan. the 56-year-old had been due to reprice his leading role as the king of siam on broadway on march 1st. he was treated for leukemia. his career has flourished. songs performed by other cast members of the king and i has been nominated for a grammy award. he said in a statement that he is resting and preparing to return to the stage. >>> a deep sea survey in the pacific ocean has paid off for japanese researchers. rare metals near a corral reef near tokyo. cobalt in the essential industrial products. it's been found before, but at a shallower depth. researchers from marine technology went deeper. and they found rocks containing rare metals in wide areas near the island chain. they brought some some of the samples to examine. they say rocks from deeper water tend to have higher densities in rare metals. he says his team was surprised at the amount of rocks containing rare metals at a previously untapped depth. >> translator: our team hopes to help japan become a resource rich country. th

as i mentioned, snow will continue across northern japan and hokkaido to the western portions of japan. some areas may see quite a lot of heavy snowfall at times. now your temperatures will continue in sapporo, as you can see, minus 9 degrees. as for tokyo, we may see some light snowfall tonight going into early tomorrow morning. across north america, deadly tornados affected the southern areas of the united states. we had 22 reports of tornados on tuesday in louisiana, mississippi, alabama as well as florida. and in fact, three people have been killed due to tornados. now this system is also dragging cold air from the north behind this cold front. heavy snow is falling. this system is moving to the east. so the risk of severe weather will shift from the east coast from florida to virginia. the heaviest will be in north carolina. so more storms will happen, and to the north, torrential snowfall. and to the north, freezing rain is expected. this could cause icy roads, making for extremely hazardous driving conditions. and then towards quebec towards arkansas, heavy snow is expected. so

the concept of equal pay for equal work is relatively new in japan. temporary and non-regular employees earn less than their full-time colleagues. they also enjoy less job security. >>> almost 20 million foreign tourists visited japan last year. that's a record with tokyo and kyoto as top destinations. but tour operators are hoping to lure more visitors off the beaten track by showing them life and culture rarely found in the standard sightseeing courses. nhk reports. >> reporter: this district in western japan is encircled by steep mountains. about 3,000 people live here. a party of 30 americans is visiting the district. foreign tourists suddenly began to come here in increasing numbers over two years ago. they are here to see scarecrows. these scarecrows were made by a female resident to liven up the community. tourists' interest in the district was triggered when a young german visitor uploaded a video on the internet. hundreds of people began joining tourists annually to see the scarecrows. >> this is such a wonderful treasure that we have never s

here in japan a stronger yen is scaring company managers. an unexpected stronger yen could affect corporate earnings for exporters. investors reacted rapidly. they cashed out their stocks one after another to avoid losses. this in turn caused nikkei stock prices to plunge. investors were then in search of a safe place to put their money. so they decided to buy japanese government bonds. but here's what happened. the price of the bonds rose because so many investors bought them. the prices actually went so high, investors will not be able to get a return on their investments. all this caused the rate for long-term government bonds to drop below zero. >> translator: investors fear another slowdown of the global economy. the biggest problem here is that there is no attractive place to invest money. >> reporter: uncertainties over the world economy are driving investors to avoid taking risks. economists say now that there's no crystal ball for predicting the future of the global market. kyoko fujita, nhk world. >>> the effects of the risk-averse

and japan must take steps in accordance with the current situation. we must come up with concrete measures through discussions in the diet. such measures will be included in the budget. >> the former economic revitalization minister, akira amari, resigned thursday, saying his secretaries had mishandled funds. he admitted to personally receiving cash from a construction company, but he said the money had been registered as political funds. a senior member of the main opposition party says he wants to discuss a wide range of topics during the budget talks, including the allegations. >> translator: mr. amari needs to explain and clarify what happened, because the issue occurred while he was a cabinet minister. one way is for him to speak at the budget committee. >>> taiwan's new government took control of the legislature monday, after winning a majority of seats in january's election. a senior member of the dpp was elected speaker. the first time an official from the party has assumed the post. the dpp's leader tsai ing-wen won the presidential election

leaders appear to be rallying counterparts in japan. they halted the fate of japanese citizens missing including abductees. this follows the decision for new sanctions over a nuclear test and a rocket launch. north korean leaders used state media to announce disbanding the committee with the whereabouts of missing japanese. they threaten stronger counter measures and say the government in tokyo must bear responsibility for the consequences. the japanese government said north korean agents abducted at least 17 citizens for the 70s and 80s. what happened to 12 of them is not clear. the north koreans promised to investigate with the agreement. the foreign ministry told the leaders they had no intention of cancelling the agreement. they called the announcement regrettable and said they will keep urging the north koreans to take action. a relative of a japanese abductee said he expected the north koreans to suspend the investigation since japan decided on new sanctions. he wants officials to push forward in a new framework to get the abducte

japan, we are seeing that foreign investors are fleeing japan for six straight weeks. black rock is among the asset managers, one of the biggest ones, that are overweight on japan. they think the boj adopting negative rates is going to be the main thing that pushes things back up. that and the stimulus measures will keep a lid on the yen. i want to end on the yen. we see a little bit of weakness today. year-to-date, the last month or so, it has climbed 0.6%. last week, third straight weekly advance. we are seeing honda and mazda saying that these currency losses are magnifying the situation in terms of earnings. debtad: china's ratio of to the size of economy is expected to climb. work to prevent a deeper slowdown. shery ahn is all over this. what is going on? shery: the ever-present specter of china's debt overhang is expected to keep getting worse. seven out of 12 economist see the debt to gdp ratio increasing through 2019. at 283%ect debt to peek of gdp. policymakers are facing the delicate balancing act between keeping credit flowing to ensure average economic grow

let's go to japan.avy snow in the next 24 hours,ut rightow high pressureystem isausing clear conditions, but things are getting wet across the wes espeally kyuu. rain wilmove intthe shiku regi as well some swers expted in t tokyo region starting tonight going into tuesday, but not going in too heavy. now as for temperatures in sapporo, temperatures at 2 degrees on tuesday with snow expected, but starting on your wednesday, it will continuing into friday. and as for tokyo, it's going to be a perfect day for going out on wednesday. 12 degrees for a high with partly sunny skies. let's go to the other area of asia. calm conditionacross t northernalf of cna, including beijing, but rain is falling heavily across mainland china and rain will be expected across taiwan. we have aid wind advisory posted in the island. wind advisory po in the island. now as for temperatures on your tuesday, 9 degrees expected in shanghai, 4 degrees in seoul and right on target in beijing, 4 degrees for the high, and minus 11 in ul

look at japan, look at europe.ook where rates already are. >> we'll find out what yellen has to say on that. i'm sure central bankers think there's something else they can do. realistically, what did even draghi get from the qe and the two rate cuts in 2014. monetary policy is supposed to improve financial market conditions. they got that. stocks went up in germany. now they're right back down to square one. i mean, central banks have been very activist. i think bank of japan's move a week ago scared people about negative rates. now they're saying, could we have negative rates here in the u.s.? >> could we? >> don't do it. i think it would scare the american public. >> i agree. >> is that what's happening in banks? what is the action, the relentless and brutal selling in u.s. banks and global banks telling you? >> yeah, i'm not sure. i'm not an expert on that sector, even though i work at a bank. i think people, in addition to concerns about whether they can pay their debt, like what happened with deutsche yesterda

the japan innovation party is the third largest. their leaders decided to launch a working group discuss the name and platform of the united party. >> translator: our party will respond to the voices of people who have various concerns and questions about the policies of prime minister his is. we will be an alternative to the government. >> translator: we will stop wasting tax money which the governing liberal democratic party is unable to do. we will drastically reform the administration and prevent taxes from rising. >> katsuya okada and yorihisa matsuno agreed to hold a vote to choose a leader after the upper house election. they say they'll call on other political groups to join forces with them. >>> five opposition parties have been discussing ways to work together in the coming election. that includes fielding only one candidate in single-seat constituencies. they hope that will improve their chances against ldp and komeito coalition. it holds a majority in the upper house and over two-thirds of the seats in the more powerful

japan is robot coury. it was several hundred years ago that the first mechanical dolls were manufactured there. decades ago, robots were put to use in industry, and these days, they provide support in shopping centers, hospitals, and as of recently, also at schools. with his cute face and moveable body, this robot called nao has a somewhat human look that has helped him to conquer japan's schools and universities. the little white plastic creature speaks several different languages, and although it comes at a steep price, nao is a big seller in japan. yet, he is not the only robot used in everyday situations in japan. here in our western culture, we may find technical gadgets with a human look and feel a bit creepy, but in japan, that is very different. >> welme, says the woman at the reception desk in japan's first robot hotel. shtells guts how tregister with their credit cards and name -- not very different from the automatic check-in at the airport. the female robot just looks on. but the guests seem en

devastated the plant in northeastern japan. tokyo power company has required workers decommissioning the facility to wear protective gear and two pairs of gloves. this can hinder movement, and prevent precision work from being performed. nhk has learned that the measure will be introduced early next month for about 90% of the plant. tepco will gradually increase the number of workers allowed to wear regular work clothings. radiation in the ground in these areas were five micro receivers per hour, which is considered safe. tepco removed contaminated soil and put down pavement at the plant. >>> top japanese and u.s. security officials are preparing for an exchange of views over shared concerns. nhk has learned the two sides are planning to meet next week, including chien in and north korea. the chief of japan's national secreta secretary will meet in washington, susan rice. he plans to discuss stiffer sanctions against north korea. the penalties would be in response to the north's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. the launch

and japan committed $350 million.er countries, such as britain, france, and australia also promised to contribute. >> today has been and is a day of hope, a day about saving lives, a day about building futures. >> the aid will be delivered by 2020. it also will be directed to jordan, lebanon, turkey and other nations that have been accepting syrian refugees. >>> a woman who tipped off police to the location of the mastermind of the paris attacks is speaking out. her testimony has shed light on how abdel abaaoud slipped into france with extremists from syria. a french tv station aired an interview with the woman whose information led police to his hide-out. she killed him five days after the attack in november. she's a friend of his cousin, and she says she spoke with abaaoud after the attack. he said he was planning attacks against commercial facilities, a police station and a nursing school near paris. she also quoted him as saying that many of the other extremists loyal to the islamic state group were still in and a

japan is rising. ante, breaking the silence and saying that there is no basis for the continuing depreciation. assessing and not much -- abenomics, three years in, has the programs finally failed? you can let us know by following me on twitter and do not forget to include the #. the chinese and hong kong markets get underway and singapore, taiwan, and malaysia and they remember that's. this is the past couple of would have the withgs of a recovery rally 1% in the open. region,he rest of the it was the worst rout that we had seen. and a veryedible low different feature today. andre seeing the gold gains and energy resources named in new zealand. it is a big gainer, in terms of delivery. crude coming a little bit in this session. mind the gains are in the u.s. and will carry through in asia. 22. a look at there is a rally ahead of now. the numbers are going well and and weexpecting exports are looking forward to the opening in 30 minutes or so. say they have catch-up to do to meet the rest of the market

they travel about 650 kilometers and landed in the sea of japan. >>> meanwhile japan is taking action to protect itself. on one front, it's stepping up diplomatic efforts and on the other it's preparing for the worst. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida met with u.s. ambassador caroline kennedy on wednesday. >> translator: we agreed that we will work closely to urge pyongyang to exercise restraint in cooperation with south korea and other related nations. >> the vice foreign minister held separate talks with the ambassadors of china and russia. they agree their countries will coordinate a response at the u.n. security council. state minister for foreign affairs is meeting ambassadors with nine nonpermanent members of the u.n. security council. defense ministry officials believe if a missile is launched, the path would be similar to the north's launch in 2012. in preparation, the ministry is deploying two destroyers with advanced radar systems and intercepters to the east china sea. it's also sending additional air defense missiles to the area near the planned flight path. and it h

are some of the most important routes for japan. so i'm very pleased with the result. >> he said the increase will help to meet growing demand from the business and tourism sectors. airlines are expected to use the extra slots to fly to east coast of u.s. cities such as new york and washington. >>> government officials want to smooth the way for the extra arriva arrivals. they plan to open a hotel and tourism complex at haneda in time for the 2020 olympics. land minister officials have earmarked a 4-hectar plot. they are taking bids in firms that want to be involved, and they expect to make decisions in june. >>> checking the markets, tokyo stocks rallied on thursday. we go over to our miss reporter, mayu yoshida at the tokyo stock exchange. >> market sentiment seems to have improved. one analyst told me there are three factors helping the mood for now. the u.s. federal reserve, china and oil. but let's see how the markets ended on thursday. the nikkei rose 2.2% and closed at 16,196. this is the highest level in more than a week. an

or japan. will that continue? >> it's highly likely that china's stance will remain on the cautious side. but there have been some new developments. the foreign minister has publicly criticized pyongyang. >> translator: the nuclear tests and satellite launch both violate the u.n. security council resolutions. north korea should pay the price. >> the tone in the chinese media is also changing. this newspaper is affiliated with the chinese communist party. so it likely lists the views of authorities. one cites that with regard to the nuclear test, many consider them a bad neighbor. rather than a friendly partner. another article can be taken as a warning, saying that china should prepare for a worst-case scenario on the korean peninsula. i asked an expert about his take. he sees ties between north korea and china beginning to crumble. >> more chinese public consider north koreans not of strategic asset but a strategic liability. i think our clear influence on pyongyang weakened quite a lot in the past three years. t

nara has the lowest overnight guests in japan. most come on day trips. the problem gets worst in wintertime. >> translator: it's quite cold in january and february, so that's when we have the fewest number of overnight guests. we decided to hold the festival through the evening and night, to encourage visitors to stay. >> officials in nara are doing other things to give tourism a boost. they've spent about $1 million to offer victositors discounts. hotel operators already reaping the benefits. >> business was really slow in wintertime, but this year, our guest numbers are up by 20%. >> organizers rest mate more than 50,000 people attended the festival over its five day run. the event highlighted traditions from all over nara, including dances and acrobatic feets. visitors had the chance for local seasonal specialties, steaming bowls of japanese stew. >> translator: we didn't expect this many visitors would come. we're delighted.e goingohi fest again next year and in the future. >> organizers already started planning that the festival will coincide with t

they're visitg amallity west of japan. they welcome them with dried sweet potatoes and other treats. entertainment is organized by local volunteers. the visitors are attracted to everyday life in the japanese countryside. >> translator: it's lots of fun spending time here. >> i live in a city cooped up inside most of the time. i love visiting farming villages. having a relaxing time should be the main purpose of traveling. >> the city believes these rural trips could be a tourism niche. it invited ten travel agencies for their first business meeting. this is a municipal worker. as a volunteer, he has spent sometime showing chinese visitors around and finding farmers, willing to host them. he has confidence in the value of regional culture as a tourism asset. the city proposed a tour that covers a variety of local attractions, from leading tourists spots to regional cuisine and lesser known fruit picking orchards. >> translator: it's good that we can experience something new. like picking mikan oranges and going fishing. >>

the japan meteorological agency said in western japan they erupted and the agency called on people who lived in the surrounding area to be on the alert. local police say there no reports of damage or injuries at this point. agency officials say eruptions happened just before 7:00 local time. a nearby observatory said smoke is rising over two kilometers into the sky. the officials have also raised the alert level that means people should stay clear of the volca volcano. >> translator: we raised the alert level to three because large volcanic rocks were thrown 1300 to 1800 meters away from the crater. the volcanic eruption could intensify further. >> the officials are warping people within two kilometers to watch out for falling rocks and ash streams. in august, earthquakes below the volcano led to a partial evacuation advisory and the last major eruption was in mid-september. between january and september of last year, it erupted more than 700 times. >> authorities in hong kong are eager to see a group of people being held in mainland china and asked people to set up a meeting with five