lvr >>> hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of newsline, i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. >>> japanese economists have are given their outlook on the country's next gdp report. they predict data later this month will show an increase in a second straight quarter. still, they think that increase will be modest. analysts at ten research firms and financial institutions offer their estimates for the three months through march. they're all expected to see growth on the quarter. they think it will come in between two-tenths and half of a percent in real terms. that would translate to annualized growth of six tenths to 2.1%. the analysts say the negative impact of a consumption tax hike last april is receding, still they believe the pace of recovery remains modest. that i say consumers are not loosening their purse strings and business owners are cautious about spending money on facilities. >>> executives at toyota motors say the group's operating profit for fiscal 2014 hit a record high and they're forecasting a third straight record profit in fiscal 2015. toyota had an operating

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> members of soccer's world governing body fifa have re-elected sepp blatter as their president. they voted in the midst of a scandal over corruption that blatter's opponent had wanted to tackle. fifa members cast ballots in a presidential election they hold every four years. blatter had held the top job since 1988. he faced a challenge from jordan's prince ali bin al hussein. the vote was inconclusive. then prince ali withdrew. he had wanted to tackle corruption. u.s. authorities indicted nine fifa officials this week for allegedly taking kickbacks from media firms. blatter has come under fire for not cleaning up the organization's culture. >>> a volcano on an island in southern japan has erupted. officials with the meteorological agency described the explosion on kuchinoerabu island as powerful. they've issued the highest level warning and evacuated all the residents. nhk world's ayaka hatta has more. >> reporter: mount kuchinerabu erupted a little before

>>> hello and welcome back to this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. >>> delegates at a conference discussing how to implement the on how to implement the nuclear nonproliferation treaty have entered their final day of talks. it's still unclear whether they can come together to adopt an outcome document. the officials are in new york taking part in the four-week review conference at u.n. headquarters. but they've been divided over the wording of the document. the conference president taous feroukhi is trying to find a compromise. she presented a final draft early friday morning. the draft does not have a reference to a separate treaty to ban nuclear weapons. it is seen as one of the most contentious points between countries possessing nuclear weapons and those that do not. officials from nonnuclear weapons states have demanded the document mention the need for such a treaty. japanese delegates propose the draft include a call for world leaders to visit hiroshima and nagasaki. but their chinese counterparts opp

welcome to this hour's edition of "newsline".we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. >> a volcano on a southern japanese island is erupting. hot rocks and gases are reaching the shore and everyone has evacuated. >>> a diet committee debating security bills broke up on friday after lawmakers walked out. >>> a new survey shows people in japan and south korea realize the importance of the relationship between the two countries but still have negative views of each other. >> a volcano in southern japan has erupted. officials have issued the highest level warning and ordered all the residents to >> mt, shindake exploded a little before 10:00 a.m. friday local time. it sent up a 9,000 meter column of smoke. 140 people live on the island. one resident said he heard a huge explosion when the volcano erupted. officials say rapid flows of gases and rocks have reached the coast. >> translator: more strong and large scale explosions could happen. we want people where explosions could happen to follow directions issued by lo

welcome to this hour's "newsline."we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. >>> the chinese government has released its military strategy. the white paper criticizes countries outside the region for meddling in affairs in the south china sea. >>> american leaders say their surveillance missions over the disputed islands are needed to keep peace in the region. >>> and japanese experts are tapping into technologies developed overseas to help decommission the nuclear plant in fukushima. >>> chinese defense officials have asserted that they will never compromise on territorial claims in the south china sea. they released a white paper criticizing countries outside the area for interfering in regional disputes. >> translator: the chinese military will take necessary measures towards u.s. military aircraft that are conducting reconnaissance activities near china. in accordance with the law. >> the paper does not make direct reference to the united states, but it says some ex- external countries are meddling i

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline". i'm ross mihara in tokyo. taiwanese officials say they are checking food from japan much more closely. the japanese agricultural minister says they had no scientific grounds. taiwanese authorities banned food from parts of japan in 2011 because of the fukushima nuclear accident. but produce from those areas showed up a couple of months ago. that prompted consumer groups to call for tighter restrictions. all food imports from japan now have to carry certificates of origin. some have to be checked for radiation. japanese agriculture minister called the new rules extremely regrettable. >> translator: taiwan acted unilaterally without any scientific grounds. >> he said he'll urge the taiwanese to retract their new restrictions. he said he may file a complaint with the world trade organization unless they act. >>> chinese authorities have punished another citizen who called for more democracy. prosecutors indicted a prominent human rights lawyer they'd been holding for more than a year. they charged him with provok

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday may, 21st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> italian police say they have arrested a man suspected of being involved in a deadly attack in tunisia. they say he arrived in the country on a migrant boat. they describe him as a 22-year-old from morocco. they say the man crossed the mediterranean with migrants on a smuggler's boat in february. italian authorities say they ordered him to leave the country but don't know where he went after that. his arrest is getting criticism from groups. tunisia is hunting for several suspects on the attack on the bardo museum in due nis. 22 people were killed. >>> in other news, the foreign ministers of thailand, malaysia and indonesia, have held emergency talks on the thousands of migrants adrift off their coasts. most of the migrants are row hin ga migrants from myanmar. they have agreed to continue to shelter them. the thai foreign minister withheld a decision suggesting that a legal progress was needed. >> reporter: amid increasing international pressure,

>>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday may 5th i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> japanese officials are hoping that the country will soon have more sites on the unesco world cultural heritage list. the 23 sites in eight prefectures across the country date back to the industrial revolution in the late 19th century. they include the yahata iron works and nagasaki mitsubishi shipyard. the sites were inspected in september. the council placed the sites at the highest of four levels of recommendation. that paves the way for a formal decision at the meeting scheduled to start late june in germany. however, south korea one of the 21 countries on the committee opposed the nomination because korean people were forced to work at some of the facilities in world war ii. japan will explain the historic significance of these facilities as part of the effort to get them designated as world heritage sites. >>> japanese embassy officials are delivering 350 tents and 2,500 blankets to authorities in the capital kathmandu. >> thi

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> international rescue teams in nepal are gradually reaching isolated villages cut off by last saturday's massive earthquake. more than 6,200 have been confirmed dead in nepal. over 100 more in countries nearby. more than 13,000 people were injured. nhk world's yuichi tabata has details. >> reporter: about 2.8 million people are living in tents or temporary structures, anything to protect them from the elements. many are struggling with the physical or mental health problems. medical teams from japan's self-defense force has been examining survivors at the square in central kathmandu. the square has become a makeshift campsite. six days after the earthquake, many survivors are still too scared to stay indoors. people lined up to receive medical treatments. >> translator: it's been impossible to take my child to hospitals since the quake. but finally we saw a doctor. and i'm happy. >> translator: we're just the initial responders, so what we can do is limite

>>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, may 26th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> indians are suffering through a fatal heat wave. more than 500 people have died from the hot weather. temperatures soared to 47 agrees celsius in eastern parts of the country. people in the capital -- heatstroke and dehydration have caused most of the deaths. patients are flooding hospitals across the country but with frequent blackouts many arrive to find no air-conditioning or electric fans. officials are trying to set up stations to distribute water and dairy products. they are urging people to stay indoors. weather forecasters predict that the heat may last for a week. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe has instructed cabinet ministers to ensure they met in tokyo and issued a joint statement. in the statement the statement says the two countries will start talks towards signen an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technology. it will be the first time for japan to engage in such talks with an asean member. >> translator: pr

>>> hello, there, and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, may 14th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japanese investigators are learning more about what caused a south korean airliner to skid off the runway in hiroshima one month ago. they're closing in on what went on in the cockpit in the final minutes before the passenger jet touched down and they say the pilot may have failed a landing attempt. investigators say the asiana airlines airbus a-320 approached at an unusually low altitude. it clipped a communications antenna at the end of the tarmac before the pilot made a hard landing. the jet then veered off the runway before coming to a stop. more than 20 passengers were injured. officials with japan's transport safety board released their analysis of data from the flight recorder. they say the aircraft started to lose too much altitude after the pilot switched from automatic to manual control. they say that happened one minute before the accident, and they say the pilot then tried to lift the plane's nose about two seconds before touching down

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, may 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> police in japan have arrest lead the people on charges of illegally importing mushrooms from north korea. he was arrested at his residence on tuesday morning. his father is the chairman of the general association of korean residents in japan. police suspect he and two others imported nearly two tons of mushrooms from north korea in 2010. such an import would violent an embargo japan imposed on all north korean products in 2006. the ban was in response to the north's nuclear test. in march japanese police raided the man's father in connection with similar charges. the man has close ties with the country's leadership. north korea reacted sharply to the raid accusing japan of trying to destroy relations. >>> u.s. defense department officials have announced a plan to deploy a special operations squadron of aircraft in western tokyo. they will station osprey at the air base starting in 2017. it will be the first placement of the tilt-rotor aircraft out

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's friday, may 29th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> soccer's world governing body is trying to show it's business as usual amid allegations of corruption. fifa has opened its congress as scheduled. sepp balloter has failed to accept responsibility for the scandal. >> i cannot monitor everyone all of the time. >> balloter made his first appearance since u.s. authorities indicted nine high ranking officials including two vice presidents. authorities say the men took the money in exchange for swaying the outcome of the body's past presidential election, the selection of host nations for the world cup and broadcasting rights. balloter said he vowed to find a way to fix things. balloter is running for his fifth term in office. reactions are coming in from around the world. former brazil striker and current senator romario slammed the officials. >> translator: the most corrupt body in soccer is the brazilian federation and worldwide it's fifa. >> the president of uefa met with reporters ahead of the fifa

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it is friday, may 22nd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> islamic state militants have tightened their grip on the historic syrian city of palmyra, building a stronghold at unesco world heritage site and fears are mounting over the fate of one of the sites. the individual inling subjects overrall the city on thursday. government forces tried to find an opportunity to take back the city. they carried out air strikes on several targets. they have temples, tombs and columns dating back 2,000 years a spokesperson for a british-based monitoring group says militants are trying to use the ruins as shields from air strikes and shelling. he says the fighters think government forces will not target a world heritage site. unesco's chief says she's worried. >> i appeal to all parties in the conflict for an immediate cease-fire in and around palmyra. it is an extremely important world heritage site that belongs to the whole of humanity and we have the responsibility to protect and preserve it. i can't imagine that th

this is "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> thousands of shia milititiamen have gathered to try to retake ramadi from state militants. >>> stocks in china are hitting multiyear highs. young people are piling into the market, aiming for a piece of the action. >>> and a japanese sake maker is brewing up a new product to help a rice-growing community in italy. >>> iraqi leaders are preparing to make an attempt to take back the key city of ramadi from the islamic state militant group. they're getting help from several thousand shia militiamen to launch an offensive. but there are worries that could fuel sectarian violence in the predominantly sunni city. this footage purportedly showing ramadi was posted online on monday. the vice governor of anbar province told nhk the city has fallen into the hands of the militant group. he said all government troops have withdrawn. local media say islamic state fighters are searching for any remaining soldiers and setting their homes on

>>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, may 28th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> islamic state militants have been locked in a bloody battle with government forces and executed several people in a syrian city of palmyra in an effort to control the region. iraqi troops launched an offensive on tuesday. they are pushing toward ramadi in an effort to retake the western province of anbar. but islamic state militants exploded cars outside fallujah killing 17 soldiers. the city is 60 kilometers east of ramadi. in palmyra the militants have executed people in an unesco world heritage site. they executed the men in front of a crowd of people they gathered. syria's state-n tv reported the insurgents have killed more than 400 residents including women and children. >>> american authorities have indicted nine officials from football's world governing body in a massive corruption probe. they suspect the fifa members accepted bribes totaling $150 million. swiss police arrested seven of them in zurich at the request of u.s. judicial authori

welcome to this "newsline". here are the stories we're following this hour. medical rescue teams from across the globe are working around the clock in nepal to bring aid and looking for survivors. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe's speech to the u.s. congress sparked anger amongst opposition parties back home. >>> and a group of high school students from hiroshima are asking global leaders to push for a world without nuclear weapons. >>> hopes of finding survivors from last saturday's earthquake in nepal have received a boost after two people were pulled from the rubble. but the news still remains grim. more than 6300 people have been confirmed killed. thousands of others were injured. a massive effort is under way to get aid to the most seriously affected areas but many people are still living under difficult conditions. here's more. >> reporter: rescue teams have been working frantically to reach survivors trapped under collapsed buildings. crews from the u.s. and nepal pulled a teenage boy from underneath a destroyed seven-story hotel on thursday. >>

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." it is wednesday, may 13th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> a strong earthquake has hit northern japan. japan's meteorological agency say it is focus of the 6.8 magnitude quake was off miyagi prefer below the pacific ocean. the agency has not issued a tsunami warning. officials say the tremor was observed from the northeastern region of japan to northern hokkaido. so far, no major damage has been reported. the operator of fukushima daiichi nuclear plants says no issues have been found. the operator of the onagawa nuclear power plant says officials have not confirmed any trouble. railway operator shinkansen bullet train say they temporarily halted bullet trains in the region in order to confirm safety. officials at the meteorological agency say it was the first strong earthquake to hit the region since july 2011. an expert say it is tremor can be considered an aftershock of march 2011. he says in the past four years quakes measuring around magnitude 7 have been observed about once a year off northeast japan

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe's speech to the u.s. congress is not going over well with opposition parties back home. they remain divided on whether to support the use of the right to collective self-defense. abe told american lawmakers his nation is determined to enact new security legislation by this summer. this would include bills enabling japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. governing parties have shown understanding of abe's pledge but opposition groups remain critical and plan to question the prime minister's stance in diet deliberations. >> announcer: >> translator: japan's diet is not a subcontractor of the u.s. congress. >> edano said as a state representative, abe's remarks are inappropriate. japan innovation party leader eda says the prime minister is neglecting the public and the head of the japanese communist party secretariat says abe is disregarding japan's independence and sovereignty. the government and ruling pa

with that we conclude this hour's "newsline". stay tuned for newsroom tokyo live at the top of the hour. i'm james tengan in tokyo. thanks for watching. headlines. a breakthrough in southeast asia on the mike green -- on the migrant crisis. they will take in thousands of people stranded at sea, but not for longer than one year. the iraqi army says it has pushed back an attack by islamic state militants outside ramad i. the isp to go over that -- the i ask route took over that s week. the president in burundi postpones elections by a week. also coming

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, may 8th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> leaders of saudi arabia say they're prepared to introduce humanitarian cease-fire in yemen. they say the five-day period would allow workers to reach of aid. a saudi-led coalition of countries launched air strikes against houthi rebels sick weeks ago. a u.n. official has called for a truce. he said violence in the region has killed around 1400 people including civilians and injured 6,000. saudi foreign minister -- held a news conference with u.s. secretary of state john kerry in riyad. >> translator: the kingdom is thinking there could be a cease-fire for a period of five days in yemen. it would allow for the delivery of relief aid to the brothers in the country. if the houthis and their allies are committed to that. >> aid workers say fighting and a lack of fuel is hampering the delivery of daily necessities. the rebels had been demanding saudi halt air strikes as a condition for a cease-fire but it's they haven't officially responded to the prop

welcome to "newsline". we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. >>> the new u.s.commander for the asia-pacific region has tough words for china about the spratly islands. >>> japanese lawmakers are now engaged in heated debate in the diet over proposed new security legislation. >>> and american and swiss authorities have indicted several high ranking members of football's world governing body on suspicion of taking millions of dollars in bribes. >>> there's a neumann at the helm of u.s. military forces in the asia-pacific. admiral harry harris has shown he's prepared to deal with the flury of activity in the south china sea. [ applause ] >> reporter: harris was speaking at a change of command ceremony in hawaii. he said the u.s. base has no shortage of challenges but ready to meet them. [ applause ] >> from north korea with its quest for nuclear weapons and means to deliver them to china's claims and land reclamation in the south china sea. the u.s. will rebalance to the pacific. our joint force will work closely with our allies and friends and into the asia-pacif

>>> hello there, and welcome to "newsline." it is wednesday, may 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> french president francois hollande is urging countries to make a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases. he is preparing to host the u.n. climate change conference scheduled for december in paris. and he is encouraging participants to get their emissions targets in early. >> translator: we have 200 days before c.o.p. 21. the clock is ticking. >>> hollande said so far only about 40 countries have submitted targets to the u.n. and he stressed the need for financial support to help developing nations reach their targets. he spoke at a meeting in berlin to delegates from over 30 countries, including japan, the united states and china. they worked on a new framework to tackle global warming. the goal is to create a framework that the nearly 200 members of the u.n. conference in december can agree to. japan is one of the countries that have not yet handed in targets. environment minister yoshio mochizuki says he understands that some countries want jap

>>> hello there and welcome to "newsline" it's friday may 15th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe has moved closer to setting a new direction for japan's security policy. his cabinet has approved bills that would expand the role of the self-defense forces and allow the country to exercise its right to collective self-defense. the legislation would allow the sdf to use force to help countries that have close relationships with japan. this would apply only in situations that meet the government's three criteria for the use of force. these include when a closely related country comes under an armed attack that threatens japan's survival and poses a clear danger to the rights of its citizens. prime minister abe stated his case on the policy shift. >> translator: if the u.s. military is attacked in waters around japan, that situation could pose a danger to us. it is our own crisis, not somebody else's problem. we set three strict criterions on the use of the right to collective self-defense in the legislation. of

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, may 27th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> people in india are suffering through a fatal heat wave. officials say the extreme conditions have left more than 1100 people dead. and they expect the scorching weather to last for at least one more day. temperatures on tuesday rose to 46.4 degrees celsius in the capital new delhi and 47 degrees in the eastern parts of the country. authorities are reporting many deaths in the southern states. most of the dead are workers in poor farming areas. >> translator: it's very hot. it's too hot to work. >> translator: i feel so bad because of this weather. >> local government leaders are trying to assess the damage caused by the extreme heat. they're using tv stations to advise people to avoid going outside during the day. officials are also handing out medicine in villages. >>> officials with the u.n. children agency say the islamic militant group boko haram is carrying out cruel acts against young people. they say there's been an alarming rise in suicid

. >>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, may 7th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> u.s. government officials say they plan to sell osprey transport aircraft to japan's self-defense forces. they say the planes will boost japan's ability to work with the american military. the sale needs the approval of congress before it can go ahead. government officials told congress about the plan. the deal is worth an estimated $3 billion. japan's ground self-defense force hopes to take possession of 17 aircraft by 2019. the u.s. says the planes will enhance japan's ability to carry out humanitarian relief. the announcement comes after japan and the u.s. agreed on new defense cooperation guidelines. officials in tokyo and washington say the aim is to strengthen the alliance and enable japan to play a more active security role. >>> children in nepal could face another challenge after surviving last month's powerful earthquake. officials say the quake damaged or destroyed thousands of schools in the country. they say the prospect of many childr

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday may 19th. i'm catherine kobayashi. in tokyo. >>> european union leaders have been under pressure to solve a crisis on the mediterranean. they've seen a surge in the number of deaths of migrants trying to reach europe's shores. they've agreed to set up a naval mission to crack down on human traffickers at sea. foreign affairs and defense chiefs from 28 eu nations spoke in brussels. they want to dispatch navy personnel to intercept smugglers and destroy their boats. >> there is a clear sense of urgency in this respect also because we all know very well that june is the beginning of summer and in this operation, seasons are important. >> eu leaders want approval from the u.n. security council to enter libya's territorial waters where smugglers are concentrated. they've already announced plans to introduce refugee quotas for member nations and they've increased funding for rescue missions. >>> officials from across southeast asia are facing a similar problem. they say more than 2,000 refugees have landed in malaysia and in

. >>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, may, 21st. >>> italian police say they have arrested a man suspected of being involved in a deadly attack in tunisia. they say he arrived in the country on a migrant boat. they describe him as a 22-year-old from morocco. they say the man crossed the mediterranean with migrants on a smuggler's boat in february. italian authorities say they ordered him to leave the country but don't know where

. >>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, may 7th. kobayashi in tokyo. >>> u.s. government officials say they plan to sell osprey transport aircraft to japan's self-defense forces. they say the planes will boost japan's ability to work with the american military. the sale needs the approval of congress before it can go ahead. government officials told congress about the plan. the deal is worth an estimated $3 billion.

. ♪ ♪ >>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, may 28th.ashi in tokyo. >>> islamic state militants have been locked in a bloody battle with government forces and executed several people in a syrian city of palmyra in an effort to control the region. iraqi troops launched an offensive on tuesday. they are pushing toward ramadi in an effort to retake the western province of

. >>> hello, there, and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, may 14th.herine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japanese investigators are learning more about what caused a south korean airliner to skid off the runway in hiroshima one month ago. they're closing in on what went on in the cockpit in the final minutes before the passenger jet touched down and they say the pilot may have failed a landing attempt. investigators say the asiana airlines airbus a-320 approached at an unusually low altitude. it clipped a