nhk world. >>> time for a check of the weather. people in tokyo and surrounding areas are bundling up. cold out there, and some early morning commuters saw snow. meteorologist robert speta is one of them and joins us with the latest. >> yes, for those of you who were out here in the tokyo in the morning hours, you may have seen some of the snow on some of the cars, maybe on top of a roof. 2, 3:00 in the morning. i want to show you some video we have coming out of this area. you can see on the roadways for the early rising commuters, you probably didn't see too many delays, but it's piling up on the trees right there. they did have to clean off their cars. a little slow go. let's come back from the video and really, in fact, the video coming out of, three centimeters total snowfall accumulation, temperatures rising up to 8, 9 degrees here throughout the day on your thursday. now, as far as the forecast is concerned, along the sea of japan coastline, more snow is expected. typical for this time of year. general northerly winds contin

nhk world. >> and you can watch our series on trend-setters in japan's textile industry on the nhk website. just check the url at the bottom of the screen. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> officials at mitsubishi heavy industries have released more details to replace japan's mainstay space rocket. they'll take the h2a out of operation by 2023. they are developing a next generation rocket called the h3. 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

metalia, nhk world, jakarta. >>> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> people in japan are looking back 80 years to one of the closest coup d'etat's in the country's military history. the failed military rebellion ended with closed-door trials but today the whole picture of the incident has not been filled in. >> reporter: tokyo's tourist hub of shibua showed a different side as people gathered to remember and ask questions. . >> they stood where a prison of the now deif you want japanese imperial army once was and where leaders of an uprising were executed. >> translator: i'd really like to know the truth, why the officers and soldiers joined the incident. >> reporter: it was february 26, 1936 when a group of army officers led 1400 soldiers on a mission to seize tokyo. they wanted to abolish the government and military leadership and demanded the formation of a new cabinet. they killed several leading government figures, including two former prime ministers. but their uprising failed. and 21 of them were tried and

nhk world, moscow. >>> u.s. democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state, hillary clinton, is stepping up her opposition to the transpacific partnership. it's an apparent bid to win the support of labor unions in the contest about senator bernie sanders for democratic nomination. an article by clinton said it was necessary to set a high bar for any new trade agreement. she said the tpp won't create good jobs, raise wages, or advance u.s. national security. clinton also criticized china, japan and other asian countries. she said they kept their goods artificially cheap for years by holding down the value of their currencies. she said she'll keep fighting the pra practices that are unfair. meanwhile, senator sanders has opposed the tpp he called it a threat to u.s. jobs. clinton promoted the pact when she was secretary of state. but she is reversed course, apparently to prevent sanders from gaining the support of more workers. >>> representatives from labor unions in japan have begun tough negot

this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. nhk learned that china was not able to persuade north korea to drop plans on what was believed to be a missile launch. wu's visit followed the fourth nuclear test and told an institution about the launch plans the day he arrived. wu met the minster and first vice foreign minster. he urged them to have the plans dropped and sources say the talks ended without an agreement. the north koreans claimed the government plans to launch a satellite for the sake of scientific development and it has a peaceful purpose. they reiterated the desire for the peninsula. they said they won't give up the nuclear program until the u.s. abandons his hostile policy towards their government and concludes a peace treaty. the declared launch window begins monday. officials across japan are on alert for what they think will be a missile launch and they tested the system designed to give citizens an immediate warning. the southern prefecture of okinawa lies under the flight path. terminals for the j alert syste

manila, nhk world. >>> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm i'm in bangkok. >>> officials at tokyo elect power company are trying to deal with a problem. the clean up work at the nuclear plant causes daily waste accumulation. so the company will test a new way to tackle the issue. plant operator tepco, the plan is to burn waste, suits discarded by 7,000 workers at the ends of each shift, as well as metal sheets and lumbar. vast amount hasaccumulated, and could reduce waste by about 90%. officials say they'll monitor radioactivity in the exhaust fumes, if they pass environmental regulations. the ash from the incinerator will be more radioactive. they plan to store it in drums inside a radioactive proof building. >>> annual week long holiday in japan. they've already visited the big cities, so now they're looking further afield. >> these tourists are climbing the 785 stone steps to the shrine in western japan. they're on vacation for the lunar new year. >> translator: i wish for the safety and happiness of my family. >> they'll learn how to

some are at sea conducting training exercises, and nhk got access to one of them off the coast of okinawa. >> reporter: in an undisclosed location, we land on the ship. it's a base of operations for u.s. marines at sea. the troops are with the 31st marine expeditionary unit. amphibious assault is their specialty. when the conflict breaks out, they're the first to be sent n 2,000 marines are conducting exercises on three battleships. one of the drills involves a rescue mission on the flight deck. the work is critical for the troops who could be sent into rescue situations at a moment's notice. helicopters, jets, and osprey aircraft with vertical takeoff capabilities are on stand by. their power makes u.s. marines unique among u.s. forces. >> there you go. >> reporter: officials call this a routine mission, but the timing of this one happened to be just after the rocket launch by north korea. a time of raised tensions in the region. >> really, it's my job to maintain this force and be ready to respond if we are called to do so. it could be, you know, you mentioned, you know, tensions on the

hon hai's chairman gave an exclusive interview to nhk. he said the final decision will be made by the banks, not sharp. he eventually gained support from bank executives by stressing that hon hai's offer will also benefit the lenders. >> i guess the big question is will hon hai be able to turn around sharp. >> he claims that hon hai's investment will boost sharp's capability to make more competitive products. but the company faces strong rivals from china and south korea, not only on the lcd market but also in the field of mobile phones and home appliances. he says that one of sharp's most viable assets is its employees. it will be up to him to utilize their talents in order to engineer turn around for the struggling firm. >> thank you. >>> investors turned their attention to the group of 20 meetings starting in china. we go to mayu yoshida. wal walk us through the day. >> japanese shares recover the, but trading was rather thin as market players focussed on the g-20 meeting. but let's look at the closing levels here in tokyo for this thu

rosa sobrino, nhk world, new york. >>> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> austria says they will impose daily limits on the number of refugees and migrants entering the country. it could set off a domino effect in neighboring countries along the migrant trail. >> translator: everybody knows austria cannot cope with asylum seekers in numbers like 90,000 like we had last year. that's why we must set boundaries. we must slow down the stream, step by step. >> austrian officials say each day 80 asylum applications will be accepted, and up to 3200 people will be allowed to travel through the country. the measures take effect friday. last month, austria decided to slash the number of refugees the country will accept to 37,500 this year. other countries in the balkans are also imposing tougher measures. slovenia is limiting the flow of asylum seekers, and croatia reportedly sent some back to serbia. last year over a million refugees and migrants flowed into europe from the middle east, africa and elsewhere. one of the largest gr

nhk reports. >> reporter: the blast at killed 328 and injured dozens more. i'm near the site of the explosion. as you can see, police officials have everything sealed off. this is a normally busy area. the parliament is near here. so are many government offices and military facilities. >> translator: i want these terrorist attacks to end. the government needs to take tough ever measures. >> reporter: the turkish prime minister said a man linked to theyrian kurdi mility h be identied a theuicide bomber. >> transtor: tkey will track wn all those who are involved in the attack and bring them to justice. >> reporter: kurdish forces in syria have told nhk that they have absolutely no involvement in it. turkey had suffered a spate of terrorist attacks over the past months. some have been blamed on islamic state militant group. others on another kurdish group. this one, a separatist group had been fighting for independence. the kurds are a large ethnic group within their own country. they mainly live in arias strir straddling the borders of turkey, iraq and syria.

yuko fukushima, nhk world. >> that's it for business news.l leave you with the markets. >>> japanese police have arrested a former worker at a nursing care facility on suspicion of killing three of his residents. the cases left people shocked and concerned for the safety of loved ones who stay in care homes. nhk world has more. >> reporter: on monday, police arrested a 23-year-old man who was working at the facility when the three died. he reportedly admitted to throwing an 87-year-old man to his death. investigative sources say hayato imai has also admitted to killing two others. the news has rocked the local community. >> translator: i was shocked that such tragic incidents occurred so close to me. i will never feel at ease to receive services at the facility. >> reporter: this is a nursing facility where imai worked. his arrest shocked the families who are staying here. >> translator: i'm truly sorry for the matter. i've heard that imai was an ordinary man with no specific distinction. >> reporter: abuse toward the elderly is unfortunately

nhk world. >> all right, and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> health authorities around the world have been raising the alarm about the threat of the zika virus. now delegates at the u.n. headquarters in new york have discussed it for the first time. the delegates addressed the state of the outbreak and efforts to combat it. the world health organization has declared the spread of the disease an international health emergency. >> the zika virus has no nationality. we need to enlist support from across the globe, brazilians across the entire nation are fighting it vigorously with the support of international agencies and other member states. >> countries in south and central america have been hardest hit with brazil reporting the most cases. that has prompted worries about the summer olympic games scheduled to begin in rio de janeiro in august. >> since japan will be hosting the olympic games in the summer of 2020, we share the serious concerns. >> he warned the virus could spread in northern countries like ja

nhk world. moscow. >> and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> a recent inquiry is pointing to another problem over how the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant responded to the accident five years ago. the company failed to report that three reactors had likely suffered meltdowns, even though evidence suggests they could have known. the meltdowns occurred following the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami. but tokyo electric power company did not admit they happened until may that year. the utility claimed it lacked a criterion for judging a meltdown. but a recent inquiry found the company's in-housmanual gave the definition of dnl amage of more than 5% of its reactor core. it was found that 30% was damaged. in future, they will report on a meltdown in cases of less than 5% damage. >>> researchers are looking at ways to offer relief to allergy sufferers. nhk world's reporter tells about new technology that could nip hay fever in the bud. >> translator: my nose runs and my eyes become itchy. i always feel hazy

>>> this is the top of the hour in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. japan's government approved sanctions against north korea. the move is in response to a nuclear test and rocket launch. the cabinet endorsed the set of measures drawn up by the national security council and the measures include a ban on all port calls by north korean ships as well as other countries that have been to north korea. the minsters approved stronger restrictions, money transfers will be blocked and organizations and individuals involved in the nuclear missile programs will have assets frozen. >> translator: we are implementing measures based on the concepts of dialogue and pressure. and action for action. we are seeking comprehensive solutions with abductions and north korea's nuclear and missile programs. >> he also said the government will call on the un security council to implement sanctions. u.s. president barack obama has also signed legislation with sanctions against north do rhea. they will freeze the assets with business dealings or cyber crimes. the penalties incl

nhk word. >>> a court has decided a trial involving u.s. tech giant apple and a japanese subcontractor will continue in japan rather than the u.s. the decision has been made in spite of an agreement between the two companies to settle all dispute in the u.s. shinona filed for compensation from the court and will he r he duesed its orders shortly after the japanese firm invested in facilities and equipment to meet apple's request to meet production. the lawyers said the court found the settle the dispute too broad in the u.s. the expert says it's rare for that kind of agreement to be other turned. he says this could help japanese subcontractors of foreign firms of any trials abroad. officials the japan's nuclear authority put a high price tag on moth balling a troubled fast breeder plant. $2.6 billion. it has been revealed that the atomic energy said dismantling the reactor in central japan could cost two or three times what it cost to decommission a regular reactor. the plant is located in p. disassembling the reactor was about $1.1 billion

nhk world, christchurch. >>> a group of elderly japanese fishermen exposed to u.s.omb tests 60 years ago are demanding help from the government. they will seek work-related compensation. the u.s. conducted the hydrogen tests on the bikini atoll in 1954. over 1,000 japanese fishing boatwere in e area athe time of e tests. 23 fisrmen wershoweredith raation anone diedix mohs later othersay they were also exposed. a citizens group representing seven fishermen plans to apply fobenefitsn friday doctors who support the claims say their exposure to radiation caused cancer and other diseases. >> translator: i hope the government will approve our application and that others will also be compensated. >> if approved, the former fishermen and their bereaved families will receive back payments for the health cost as well as higher pensions. >>> we all know that hearing a favorite song can improve our mood or make us feel sentiment. scientists say there could be a medical benefit especially for people with did he minute that -- dementia. nhk explains how. >> reporter: this woman w

nhk world. >> it looks cold up there. the snow festival kicks off saturday and we hope you stop by if you are traveling. next here's the three-day outlook on the world's weather. >> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. from you will all of us, thanks for watching and have a good day, wherever you are. xnóx >> it is a blame game that the member states of the european union are playing when it comes to the refugee crisis. it's always the others that are to blame for everything that's going wrong. the refugee crisis is putting the european union to the test and may cause it to unravel entirely. time to look at the eu from a completely different perspective. welcome to this edition of "global 3000." here's what we have coming up for you. robots to the rescue. taking care of elderly japanese style. how going organic is opening up new markets for zanzibar's spices. and, how huge areas of rain

nhk world, niigata. >> and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> officials fr >>> officials from soccer's world governing body fifa are about to choose a new leader. they're hoping to give the organization a fresh start. outgoing president sepp blatter has been banned from football over allegations of corruption. more than 200 member associations will cast their votes in zurich. five candidates are vying for the top job, and two are considered front runners. one of them is sheikh ebrahim al khalifa from bahrain. he's the head of the asian football confederation. the 46-member confederation has promised him the votes. africa's coalition with 54 members is also backing him. >> so far, so good. so far, so good. there is little time left. >> the other main contender is gianni infantino from switzerland. 's the general secretary of uefa's governing body. the group of 53 members has pledged its numbers to him. >> i met many federations. i'm very confident, because i'm football. and everyone loves football. >> also in

in the meantime, stay with us here on nhk world. ; >> this is "france 24."ime for 60 minutes live around world. these are the headlines. the first votes are cast in new in the crucial presidential primary there. republican donald trump has pledged he will bounce back from democrat in iowa and hillary clinton is working to narrow the gap an bernie sanders. crash in germany leaves nine dead and 150 injured. ase two

nhk world. >>> nikkei trading lower this morning. i'y yitcheck on markets. >>> now let's turn to other news happening in asia. nike, excuse me, they've announced it has ended its sponsorship of manny pack kiekow. criticism after he said on tv that gay people are worst than animals. after fierce protests over his comments, he apologized tuesday, but said he remains opposed to same sex marriage, in a statement, nike said his comments from horrid. the company said it has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the lgbt community. >> translator: actually, nike made a decision, and i respect it. they sponsored my shirts for each fight. but our contract has ended. >> same sex marriage is not recognized by the country's mainstream church or by the state. more than 80 million of the country's citizens are roman catholic. >> translator: this is what i can say. since it did hurt us, then we're not ting for him. this is what other gays and lesbians can take from his comment. >> it's not right to compare people to animals.

rosa sabrina, nhk world, new york. >>> and that's the latseest in business. i'll leave you now with a check on oon markets. >>> now let's turn to other news happening in asia. government in pakistan have shot a wounded a polio worker just days into nationwide campaign to try to eradicate the disease. reuters -- the attack happened in the city of lahore. two men on a motorcycle opened fire on a vaccination team and fled. one health worker was hit in the leg. antipolio team have been targets in pakistan. they claim the program is a plot to spy on the muslims. ongoing campaign, pakistan and neighboring afghanistan where polio is still epidemic. >> japan's self-defense personnel have held an evacuation drill in try land. staged to prepare for emergencies abroad and safety japanese nationals. conducted with the cooperation of thai, american and malaysian troops as part of the asia's lashlgest military drill. workers and students participated. the evacuation was based on a scenario of a massive earthquake and deteriorating conditions. >> the exercise was held in a

keiko aso, nhk world. >> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. ♪ ♪ >>> the united states and russia have announced a cease-fire plan for syria that will take effect on saturday. the agreement comes after an earlier deal to end the fighting by last friday failed to stop the violence. the u.s. and russia released a joint statement that calls for an end to fighting between bashar al assad and opposition groups moscow backs assad while the u.s. backs the opposition. barack obama and vladimir putin discussed the issue on phone on monday. obama welcomed the agreement and said that the assad regimes have to faithfully implement the cease fire. >>> a syrian opposition group has laid out conditions for accepting the cease-fire. the head of the high negotiations committee says the conditions include a halt to air strikes and the shelling of civilians but the group expressed doubt that the syrian government and its backers, iran and russia, will end hoilities. theerms for the cease-fire exclude attacks against designated ter

nhk world reports. >> reporter: a motocross 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, shoji plays back the image on his tablet. using a special app, he can analyze a 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 following right behind my, but with this camera, i can check what happened later to see how i was passed. >> reporter: the all-seeing camera developed in the u.s. is ideal for sports. but that's not the only possibility. the camera's japanese distributor is busy testing other applications. one is as a driving recorder. installed in a car, it can capture the driver's view, what the driver's doing and everything happening around the car at the same time and with a single camera. the distributor is in talks with other companies to develop driver recording systems to sell to the public. >> translator: currently, the camera is used mostly for capturing action sports things.

nhk world. >>> japanese world of sume mow wrestling very difficult to enter. that's why dozens of school children were lucky to join a tournament for kids. it's hosted by the wrestling grand champions. he showed he is a big man with a big heart. nhk tito morita reports. >> i'm in the central sumo universe. it's not the taking stage. rather, it's children from different parts of the world. 30 children from mongolio face off. they can participate, even if they are new to the sport. many professional wresters joined into too. they gave tips and refereed the matches. it was a rare opportunity for the children to see their heros outside with the ground tournament. >> translator: so many people really motivated me. this is my first time to participate in this tournament. i got nervous and lost my match, but it was fun. >> the annual event was founded five years ago by yoko grand champion, hukao. >> a couple of days ahead of the contest, he invited six young americans to his training stable. the boys have been training intensively in the u.s. for the a past two month

nhk world, brazil. >>> time now for a check of the weather. people in parts of eastern canada and the united states are dealing with a blizzard. our meteorologist, robert speta, has been tracking the conditions for us and joins us with the latest. >> yes. this storm system definitely very potent. residents and travelers alike are impacted by this one. out on the highways we're seeing numerous closures, also at the airports, delays and cancellations, across parts of new england, nantucket just off of cape god, winds gusting up to 93 kilometers per hour here on your monday. it's starting to shift around newfound land. blizzard conditions. it is a rough one out there. in fact, we do have video coming out of new england. first out of massachusetts, when we say blizzard, this is really what we're talking about here. not only the snowfall, because that's what a lot of people think about, but also the gusty winds. you get those together, by definition, that is what we're talking about with a blizzard here. white jo whiteout conditions, bitter windchi

nhk world. >>> thanks. "newsline" comes to you live from tokyo.n oh joins us with this weather update, starting with northern japan. >> hello, yes. definitely looking intense. we're talking about loads of snow that came into the picture, create conditions that are hard to travel much less look in terms of the situation. look at the video. it may give you an idea of how serious it is because of a low pressure system that really decided to intensify during the past 24 hours. so very stormy, winter weather in northern japan. more than 50 centimeters of snow falling in just 24 hours in portions of hokkaido. and dozens of flights and trains have been canceled. and in the city of cue sheer owe, an accident occurred and one woman is unconscious due dot accident. it is looking very intense, with traffic coming to a halt. this is not the worst of it. the storm is expected to intensify as we go throughout the day tuesday. already seeing reports in other places of up to 64 centimeters and gusts up to 117 kilometers per hour. that combination makes it difficu

nhk world. >>> analysts at a british think tank say that the asia pacific is the only region to see an increase in defense spending. they are saying simmering tensions in the south china sea and other areas are driving up military budgets. in 2015, asia pacific countries poured $356 billion into defense. china accounted for the biggest share. it increased spending by roughly 11% from the previous year. the philippines boosted its defense budget by nearly as much. manila and beijing are locked in a territorial dispute over the spratly islands in the south china sea. it refers to a runway in the island chain. there is speculation that beijing may use the islands for military purposes. >>> financial markets are in turmoil as worries over the state of banks linger. stocks in tokyo adds to concern by falling to a key level. we good to our business desk where gene otani is. investors are getting out of riskier assets like stocks. the nikkei average fell below the key 16,000 mark this wednesday. it headed 2.31% at 15,713. all the shares were lower. banking shares continued their downward tren

marie yanaka, nhk world. >> print is also easy on the eyes, isn't it. thank you, marie, for that report. >>> japanese ski jumper sara takanashi has won her seventh straight world cup event. the 19-year-old took the lead in oberstdorf, germany, sunday by jumping 102.5 meters on her first try. on her second attempt, jumping in the rain, she marked 97 meters. it's takanashi's eighth win of the season. >>> people in her hometown of hokkaido are needless to say ecstatic. >>> time to get this hour's update on world weather starting with the u.s., jonathan? >>> a low pressureystem has mod onshore on the western portion of the united states down towards california producing a lot of rainfall. it's going to be the factory measure for what we're going to see in terms of snow as we go throughout the day on monday. if you look very closely you'll see a little spin of some clouds as it comes onshore for california. that is a low pressure system that's gathering a lot of moisture and it will continue to push toward the east as we go forward in time. as it continues t

yuko fukushima, nhk world. >>> thailand has also come out with gdp figures. they show growth for the last quarter of 2015 slowed a bit due to weaker exports, which account for two-thirds of the economy. gdp grew 2.8% for the october-to-december period from a year earlier. that is slightly lower than the 2.9% in the previous quarter. sluggish exports in the face of china's slowdown weighed on growth. that was despite fiscal stimulus measures. political unrest paralyzed the government. >>> that's the latest in business news. i'll leave you now with a check on markets. >>> a grammy won for the best recording for 2013 performance. asawa conducted in central japan. he said the performances were fruitful and enjoyable. he wants to share the joy with the performers. he said the music director of the boston symphony for nearly 30 years. he's won accolades for his performances with the berlin philharmonic and other leading orchestras. the 80-year-old conductor has been nominated for a grammy multiple times. this is his first time winning. >>> the foreign ministers of

nhk world, beijing. >>> china's rise brought wealth, power and problems. an income gap divides its people, pollution threatens their health and differences over territory strains relations with its neighbors. find out the challenges on newsline. >>> it is time now for a check of the weather. people in southern and eastern u.s. states are trying to recover after a severe winter storm hit, leaving widespread damage. robert speta joins us with more. >> tracking this storm system for several days now. it start started bringing it on tuesday night into wednesday, down towards louisiana, extending to mississippi. wednesday, tornadoes in western florida. recently here, heading into thursday morning, people waking up, seeing the devastation left behind by the storm system. now actually back towards the northeast now, pushing into parts of nova scotia, 90 kilometers per hour, even snow for those of you in parts of quebec. what i want to show you is some video coming out of pennsylvania. just north of washington, d.c. and about south of harrisburg, where a tornado r

nhk world. >>> suicide bombers have struck a refugee camp in nigeria. their attack hallmarks of islamic boca har rom. >> inn sure genesee, two women went into the crowd and blew themselves up. they disguised themselves as refugees. they launched the attack as revenge for military offenses. the group has launched a string of attacks in nigeria and neighbors countries. it abducts women and forces them to carry out suicide bombings. a woman who would have been a third tacker, sure rendered to authorities. she is quoted as saying she didn't blow herself up because her family was in the camp. >>> people in a town in eastern india had a terrifying wakeup and some had to run for their lives after a wild elephant strayed into an area and went on a rampage. it trampled property as it ran amuck for several hours. it felt panicked. authorities brought it down with tranquilizers. they hoisted it on to a truck and returned it to the forest. local immediate c media says no one was hurt. >>> it's time for world weather update. some people in countries are possible rou

tomoko kamata, nhk world. >> to think einstein didn't have today's tools available to him. thanks to are that report. >>> students in lithuania are learning about a japanese diplomat who saved thousands of jews in world war ii. they've been attending workshops on the life of sugihara. ♪ one group of students showed a video they made explaining how sugihara issued transit visas to help people get out of lithuania. he was working at a japanese consulate at the time and acting on his own initiative. sugihara is believed to have saved about 6,000 lives. >> translator: i think he was very kind. to make such a decision in those circumstances. it's really amazing. >> translator: i think it's great that students in lithuania are going to workshops where they study this kind of history. at the same time, they're learning about how to lead their own lives. >> reporter: 12 schools started running the workshops last september as part of their history curriculum. >>> it's overcast and about 11 degrees celsius or 52 degrees fahrenheit in tokyo. sayaka mori joins to us update the weather

keiko aso, nhk world. >>> that's the latest in business. it's back to catherine. >> maybe you can make my jackets. >>> time for a check of the weather. people in southeastern u.s. states are preparing for severe weather conditions. meteorologist robert speta has the details. >> yes. what we're seeing out here is this area of low pressure, really starting to develop as it pulls off to the east. with it is this increase in that severe weather threat. behind it, we are looking at that cold air, the warm air coming in from the south. every time we talk about this, the collision of the air mass. this is going to be no different with a chance of hail, even damaging winds. yes, also the potential of hail or two. especially across parts of mississippi, toward alabama, and also into western locations of florida. so if you have travel plans across that area, you do want to be ready for that threat. back to the north, other locations marked out here with a chance of heavy snow. even the threat of freezing rain. we talk about freezing rain, there is th

nhk world's ryo asami reports. >> reporter: this man has been waiting to go home for five years. his town of naraha is just 20 kilometers from fukushima's crippled nuclear plant. insufficient services have kept him in temporary housing nearby so he can keep getting medical care, but that's all about to change with the opening of a clinic within walking distance from his old home. >> translator: i've been looking forward to the opening. >> reporter: 7,300 people are registered as naha residents. but today only 6% of the population stays in their homes more than four days a week. many still rely on neighboring cities for shops and other services. some stay away over fears of radiation. but yamauchi is anxious for the return of life in naraha. he's one of the first to visit the clinic on the opening day. the clinic offers internal medicine and orthopedic surgery services. because of the opening of the clinic, yamauchi is now feeling positive about returning home. >> translator: the presence of doctors is very reassuring. i feel like staying in my old home nearby today. >> translator

nhk has learned that north korea could be planning to use a mobile launcher on the country's east coast. they have detected that the launcher has been moved. they are usually kept in buildings and under ground. in march 2014, the country fired two ballistic missiles from mobile launchers. 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 laun

. >>> nhk has done a poll looking at a range of political and economic issues. results suggest support for prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet remains stable. nhk conducted the telephone survey over the past weekend. about 1,000 people took part. the results show the support rate for the cabinet is 50%. that's up 4 percentage points from the previous survey. the disapproval rate was 34%. 40% of those who approved said it was because the cabinet seems better than other possibilities. 23% cited its ability to implement policies. 42% of those who didn't approve of the cabinet say it's because they don't expect much from the government's policies. respondents were also asked about the impact of the resignation of the former economic revitalization minister. akira amari was a key figure for abe's economic policy but stepped down last month over an allegation of mishandling political funding. 63% said his resignation has affected or will affect the cabinet. 31% said it has no impact. amari said his secretary allegedly received political funds from a company and used t