kishida is expected to tell kerry how japan has stepped up its anti-terrorism measures after islamic state militants killed two japanese hostages. and they're expected to discuss speeding up negotiations on the trans-pacific partnership free trade agreement. >>> japanese authorities hope kerry's visit will lay the groundwork for prime minister shinzo abe to visit the u.s. in the next few months. >>> a wide swath of the u.s. is still shivering in freezing temperatures. our meteorologist saki mori joins us for the latest. sayaka? >> yes gene the coldest air of the season is still blanketing many parts of eastern canada and the united states. it's life-threatening level, and, in fact 85% of the great lakes are frozen. and you can see several icicles hanging from the roofs. it's like an ice curtain in boston. the cold air is also blanketing the southern areas and eastern areas of the united states. take a look at some video to show you how cold it is in the u.s. commuters across the u.s. south faced icy traveling conditions on tuesday. snow and ice blanketed roads, turning highways into

foreign minister fumio kishida says they'll consider overseas travel bans on a case by case basis. the officials confiscated the passport of a photographer on saturday after finding out he was planning to go to syria. >> translator: freedom of travel freedom of expression, and freedom of the press are all guaranteed by the constitution. so, we have to address this issue with prudence. i believe we need to consider each individual case with due deliberation, and discretion. >> kishida said officials confiscated the passport under extraordinary circumstances. he noted that islamic state militants claim to have killed two japanese nationals and are threatening to kill more. >>> the violent campaign being unleashed by militants with islamic state is overshadowing other conflicts. syria's nearly four year long civil war is raging on and creating an enormous demands for international aid organizations. we're joined in the studio now by someone who understands that. people in conflict zones endure peter moore is the president of the international committee of the red cross. welcome to the

kishida says state minister for foreign affairs nakayama will announce the measures later this week at a global security conference in washington. >>> world leaders are scrambling to come up with measures to deal with the militants. nhk world's chie yamagishi spoke with an expert on american politics to learn more about the u.s. response. >> reporter: u.s. forces have been leading a coalition fighting against the group. officials say they've carried out about 2400 air strikes over the past six months. and they say they've killed thousands of militants. president barack obama sent a resolution last week to congress. it calls for a limited ground operation. the president wants the power to authorize fighting under a specific set of conditions. the resolution rescue operations. obama's plan would limit the military campaign to three years and would not allow for continuous ground combat. a political analyst covering american politics says the u.s. isn't looking to start a long war. >> american people opinion on sending goods to isis has been changed a lot but i think over time to send som

fumio kishida said he needs to meet his counterparts for the sake are future oriented relationships. officials in tokyo hope the talks will pave the way for a trilateral summit. >>> a japanese journalist indicted for defaming president park has filed a lawsuit against the south korea government. he is demanding the authorities allow him to leave the country. kato is the former seoul bureau chief of the former chinese newspaper. he wrote an article in august questioning president park's whereabouts on the day of a deadly ferry accident. he quoted a south korean newspaper that referred to rumors of a relationship between park and a man. he said he had no intention of defaming the president. authorities hit him with a travel ban. he filed a suit on friday. he says freedom of movement and resident is a fundamental human right. he says he said suffering enormously. he says the justice minister is abusing his power by imposing the travel ban since there is no danger he will destroy evidence or run away. legal experts say a ruling on his case isn't likely for several more months. >>> offici

but they failed to determine the date of his trip as well as japanese foreign minister fumio kishida'sisit to russia. >>> well apart from the crisis in ukraine european leaders have been tackling another sticky issue, the greek debt crisis. let's hear more from our business reporter ai uchida. you've been folth greek crisis quite closely. what's going on? >> well the greeks are asking for new arrangements to be made to rescue its state finances. but as you know eu countries, they want athens to stick with its austerity measures, and they're saying that's a condition for giving it additional financial support. greek prime minister alexis tsipras made his first appearance at eu summit as a representative of the country's new austerity government. tsipras explained a set of bailout proposals based on reconsidering the current austerity measures. the prime minister considered offering a review. he he said greece needs fiscal breathing space. german chancellor angela merkel said the current bailout program must continue even after its term expires at the end of this month. germany has been

kishida says the trip to the philippines has made him even more determined to work with people who sufferedar experiences in other countries. he says he wants to make sure that their stories are passed on to future generations. daichi takahashi, nhk world. >>> it is time now for a check of the weather. people in many areas of western europe are digging out of heavy snow. meteorologist robert speta has all the details in world weather. >> yes. so what we are seeing out here is really one storm after another. it's been riding along this jet stream which has been skirting down through the mediterranean. at least at this time. high pressure has moved in overhead across western portions of europe. but that was not the case earlier this week and into the past weekend. let's actually go to some ridiovideo out of this area. first starting in northern spain where snow definitely came down. a very serious snowstorm trapped many people. officials were deployed here. you see them traveling by foot to deliver daily needs, medicine and livestock. also into austria many roads were -- well really created s

they're also expected to discuss japanese foreign minister fumio kishida's visit to russia, and the ukraine crisis. prime minister shinzo abe and putin agreed last year to arrange their russian president's trip. they also agreed to resume negotiations for peace treaty to help resolve territory issue for the northern territories. russia controls the islands, japan claims them. the japanese government maintains the island are an inherent part of japan's territory, says the islands are illegally occupied after world war ii. japan's supreme court has upheld the death sentence of a man who killed seven people in a busy tokyo shopping district seven years ago. 32-year-old tomohiro kato was charged with ramming a truck into a crowd in akihabara in june 2008 and indiscriminately stabbing passersby. seven people were killed and ten wounded. the top court rejected kato's appeal on monday upholding the death sentence handed down by district and high courts. justice ryuko sakurai said the defendant carefully planned and carried out atrocities. she added the impact of the incident on society is tremendo

foreign minister fumio kishida told reporters on tuesday that the assistance is part of the government'sanced diplomatic efforts in the region. he says the move follows the purported killings of two japanese nationals by the militants. >>> united nations officials are calling on countries around the world to stay committed to stopping the spread of ebola. they say it's still unclear when the outbreak will end. the number of new infections has declined dramatically but those fighting the disease argue they need to stay vigilant. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: people in this part of sierra leone's capital freetown are facing roadblocks and temperature checks. ebola cases spiked here much to the dismay of locals. >> we're going to god for ebola to be finished in sierra leone so we can be ourselves. >> reporter: it's the sign the fight against leeb is not over yet. since december 2013 there have been more than 23,000 cases worldwide. nearly 9,400 people have died. the vast majority of infections and deaths have happened in sierra leone and two other west african nations, libe