>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm minori takao with the latest at this hour. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is in hawaii to remember some of the victims of japan's surprise attack on pearl harbor. the strike on a u.s. naval base 75 years ago pulled the americans into the second world war. shinzo abe paid tribute monday to american war dead at the national memorial cemetery of the pacific. several japanese prime ministers have visited the site since world war ii. abe then visited the u.s. marine corps air station. he paid tribute to a fighter pilolot of the former japapanes imperial navy, who died there during the attack on pearl harbor. abe also visited a memorial to a japanese fishery training vessel that sank off hawaii in 2001. it was accidently hit by a u.s. submarine. nine people died, including high school students. on tuesday, abe and the u.s. president will hold their last meeting before barack obama's term ends. they will also offer flowers and deliver remarks a at the site oa sunken u.s. battleship. the uss arizona is where nearly half of all pea

nhk world, tokyo. >>> nhk has learned that a second u.s. military osprey aircraft reported mechanical issues during flight. the aircraft was forced to return to futenma air station on the same night as the crash landing. video taken by an nhk reporter shows u.s. service personnel and vehicles surrounding the aircraft at the base. a u.s. military official said the crew took steps to correct the problem, and the aircraft landed safely at futenma. the official said no one was injured, and there was no damage to the aircraft. the u.s. military said the second osprey had been monitoring the site where the first one came down, and the two incidents are unrelated. >>> japanese lawmakers have voted in favor of legalizing casinos. the controversial bill was passed on thursday despite resist sfra resiststance. the japanese government wants to promote the construction of what it calls integrated resorts that include casinos. it said the resorts will create jobs and bring many more tourists. >> translator: integrated resorts will help make japanese cit

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. managed to extingish a blaze 30 hours after it broke out. they are assessing the scene of the fire to determine how it started. the blaze broke out in a chinese restaurant in niigata city on thursday morning. it eventually destroyed about 150 buildings, including houses and shshops. two residents and eight firefighters suffered injuries. city officials sayay the fire raged througugh an area and 744 opople and 3 363 households hahe been advdvised not to return to ththeir homes just yet. the restaurant owner says he discovered the fire had broken out after he returned from a short absence. residents say the blaze was at first restricted to the area around the restaurant. but after about 90 minutes, strong winds sent sparks into the air and helped fan the flames. >> translator: sparks flew all over the place, and the fire roared up. the flames suddenly spread as far as the shore. >> firefighters say the narrow streets in the neighborhood made it difficult to fight the blaze and keep it f

>>> hello and welcome back to nhk "newsline". i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. >>> the national assembly is expected to vote friday. they met on friday to discuss their plan. they have the signatures of more than half of the lawmakers. that's enough to go ahead, so they handed the motion to the assembly. two-thirds of lawmakers must back the impeachment for it to succeed. at least 28 members of the ruling party must come on board. if they do, park's presidency would be suspended immediately. the prime minister would then take over her duties. the last and only south korean president to be impeached was in 2004. >>> thailand's new king has given its people the first glimpse of him presiding over royal duties as their monarch. our team in bangkok has the details. >> his father king bhumibol died in october and was revered as a unified figure through seven turbulent decades. here's the report on the mood in the capital one day after the historic moment. >> reporter: the 64-year-old new king led a buddhist prayer ritual to

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. when the leaders of japan and russia meet next week, they're expected to discuss joint economic activity on four disputed islands controlled by russia. japan claims that it calls them northern territories and maintains they're an inherent part of its territory. it says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. >>> shinzo abe and vladimir putin discussed the matter in peru next month. next week's meetings will take place in western japan and tokyo. the leaders plan to reaffirm agreements on an economic cooperation proposal presented by japan earlier this year, including joint ventures and freedom of movement. >> translator: the japanese government is sticking to its position that the joint economic activity should be conducted on the premise that it will not infringe on japan's legal position. >> russia had previously proposed economic cooperation but it didn't materialize because of those concerns. >>> germany's top court has ordered the government to pay compensation to

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. there's been angry reaction to the japanese defene minister's visit to a shrine . it was her first official visit since assuming the defense portfolio and it came a day after she accompanied the prime minister on his trip to pearl harbor. >> traranslator: u.s. president barack obama visited the atomic bomb city of hiroshima earlier thisis year and the jajapanese e minister has paid tribute to the war dead in n waii's peaearl harbor. i visit here looking to the future with hopes of building peace for japan and the world. >> visits to the shrine by japanese officials spark criticism from neighboring countries. south korea's government was quick to react. >> translator: seoul cannot condone the visit by a japanese politician in a responsible position to the shrine. it glorifies japan's colonel rule and war of aggression. >> he says japan can only win the trust of its neighbors by facing its history. she was asked ahead of time about expected a angry reaction by south korea and china. she

>>> it's the top of the hour, and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> south korea's president has been stripped of her duties. the country's parliament approved a motion to impeach her over a long simmering political scandal. after the news broke, park geun-hye appeared at a cabinet meeting to apologize. >> translator: i am so sorry to all the people that i created such chaos with my carelessness when our country is facing challenges in its security and economy. >> park asked her ministers to make sure that people's lives will not be affected. the impeachment motion was submitted by three opposition parties, but some of the ruling party members supported it. 234 lawmakers voted in favor, 56 voted against. park is now suspended from office and the prime minister temporarily takes over the presidential duties. the constitutional court in seoul has to rule on the legality of the impeachment. the process could take up to six months. park has been dogged for weeks by an influence peddling scandal involving her longtime friend an

>>> hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it's friday december 9, 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. lawmakers are expected to vote on a motion friday afternoon to impeach president park. the motion was submitted by three opposition parties and fights to influence the fraud scandal. it says park disrupted the market system by forcing companies to donate funds to park and others. the ones who are either opposed to or have kept political distance from park. the opposition needs 28 of them to support the motion to pass. the leader of the main opposition parties joined lawmakers and supporters in an overnight sit in at the entrance to parliament. they expressed determination to ensure the motion passes. people demanding park's impeachment or resignation also held a rally nearby. if impeached, prime minister park will retire from her duties. >> radiation levels have remained high since the 2011 nuclear disaster. the plant's operator is currently paying for the cleanup. but it won't ask tepco furnish any money. the cleanup is part of the government's effort to eventually rebuild so people

>>> hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is thursday, december 1st, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the u.n. security council has adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions against north korea. the new measures are the latest response to pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. the resolution was adopted unanimously. it sets a ceiling on north korea's coal exports at 7.5 million tons, or $400 million, whichever is lower. that means a 38% cut in coal exports. china is a major buyer. the resolution also bans the north from exporting copper, nickel, silver and other minerals. the assets of north korea's ambassador to egypt have been frozen in response to alleged involvement in illegal commercial activities to earn foreign currency. the resolution also calls on member states to reduce the number of north korean diplomats staying in their countries. diplomatic sources say once fully implemented, the new sanctions will likely cut north korea's trade revenue by $800 million or nearly 25%. the question remains just how much impact these steps will

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is thursday, december 22nd, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> first a milestone in the decades-long alliance between japan and the united states on okinawa. the u.s. on thursday returned to japan about 4,000 hectares or more than half of the northern training area. it is largest ever parcel of land to be returned since okinawa's reversion since u.s. administration in 197 2. it is the largest u.s. military training site in the southern prefecture. the governments of japan and the united states agreed on the return in 1996. it came after the construction of six new helipads were finished. the new helipads are racing safety concerns among nearby residents as the u.s. military is planning to use them for flight training for osprey tilt rotor transport aircraft. an osprey ditched in shallow water off the coach of the prefecture, nago city, on december 13th. the government says the return will reduce the prefecture's burden of hosting u.s. military bases. it will hold a ceremony in nago on thursday to commemorate

>>> thank you for joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. a memorial service has been held at pearl harbor that pulled the united states into world war ii. [ bell tolling ] ♪ >> around 3,800 american veterans and their relatives gathered on a pier overlooking pearl harbor on wednesday. the attack on december 7, 1941, killed more than 2,400 people. at the memorial the head of the u.s. pacific command spoke to the crowd about moving past old battles. >> today, we work with allies and partners across the globe to protect those hard-won freedoms including our staunch ally japan. reconciliation turned once-bitter enemies into the closest of friends. >> u.s. president barack obama underlined that, saying in a statement he looks forward to meeting japan's prime minister at pearl harbor later this month. obama also said he and his wife michelle joined the american people in remembering those who gave their lives on that day. president-elect donald trump also expressed his condolences. in a statement he says the sacrifice of victims reminds americans

>>> hello there, glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." it's wednesday, december 14th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. an emergency water landing of a u.s. osprey aircraft has japanese officials asking questions about safety. five crew members were rescued on tuesday night after the osprey ditched off the coast of okinawa. an nhk cameraman sent this video from the site of the incident on wednesday morning. >> reporter: from the air, i can see that the osprey is broken apart. most of the debris can be seen just under the surface of the shallow water. i can even see the cockpit. further away, i can see more debris and the wing of the aircraft. >> the character belongs to the futenma air station. japan defense minister is calling for u.s. forces in the country to suspend operations of the aircraft. >> reporter: the accident was very disappointing as the japanese people have been concerned about the safety of the osprey. >> prime minister shinzo abe also commented. >> translator: i think the first priority is ensuring the safety o

midori anoki, nhk world. >>> okay. we now turn to the business and financial fronts. a survey shows s s some of the largest japanese companies are expecting better days ahead. the details on that and all the other top business headlines. >> business sentiment has improved at japan's large manufacturers. the bank of japan reports a weaker yen lifted confidence in the board rooms of major exporters including automakers and electronics firms. it represents the business of those who say it's good and those who say it's bad. the sentiment for major monmanufactuturers was unchange atat 18 points. the survey shows the outlook is positive, but not as strong for the coming quarter. the index for large manufacturers is expected to be down two poioints at plus eight. sentiments among nonmanufacturers is expected to worsen by two points to 16. >>> checking the markets little change in tokyo stocks with the nikkei average extending its gains. trading volume was thin ahead of the policy decision. >> caution gripped the tokyo market in the lead-up to the fed's big announcement. most

police in chile told nhk the man has repatriated. they are now searching for him. >>> low lying bangladesh is one of the asian countries most at risk from climate change, it's also one of the region's poorest nations, lacking adequate funds to protect its lands. thousands of people lose their homes to water lands every year. >> reporter: the village of singapore is nearly 200 kilometers from the sea, but even here, climate change is a growing over the past five years, land about 200 meters from the original river bank has been eroded. over 100 houses and fields have been swept away, forcing 2,000 villages to leave. a school building swamped as the rising river has worn away its foundation, it's too dangerous for children to study here anymore. the water is forcing waves of residents from their homes. this 46-year-old former farmer lives with his wife and 1-month-old baby girl. >> we won't be able to live here if more land is eroded. in that case, we'll have to leave this village. >> reporter: they already had to move once four years

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> antonio guterres has been sworn in as the next u.n.-secretary general. >> our humanitarian efforts would be insignificant without the active involvement of member states and the contributions of civil society. >> his five-year term will begin on january 1st. guterres previously served as the u.n. high commissioner for refugees. his swearing in came as the general assembly pays tribute to the outgoing secretary-general ban ki-moon, who's stepping down after ten years in office. south korean media are reporting that ban is eyeing the presidency in his home country. guterres will be t taking on a full plate when he assumes his duties. observers say h he'll he a hard time with s some issues because the next u.s. president appears to be taking a hard line stance on immigration and global warming. >> i believe it is with truth that i need to engage with all governments in the world and of course also w with the next government of the united states, showi

nhk world. >>> and you're watching nhk newsline. tokyo had a considerably warm day today. highs in the mid-teen celsius or around 60 degrees fahrenheit. here with this weather wrap up is jonathan oh. >> if you like warm weather and you classify that as nice, yes, we will continue to see some of that nice, warm conditions as we go forward in time. albeit as we go towards late wednesday and thursday, you'll need the umbrella here in central portions of japan as we see moisture heading in our didirection. we saw some temperatures that we haven't seseen, npding on where you are anywhere six days to almost two weeks in terms of seeing these temperatures return back into the picture. i mean, look at some of these highs as we went throughout the day on monday. a hihigh of 17.6 degrgrees and in tokyo, we saw recorded high of 15.7 degrees. we haven't seen that temperature in about a week or so. and i think we're going to see these warm conditions continue forward because we have a high pressure system that is nearby and as the southerly flow associated with this system continues, t

this is nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> nhk has learned that the u.s. military has told japan's government it wants to resume midair refueling training in early january. the drills were suspended after a crash landing in southern japan involving a u.s. osprey aircraft earlier this month. the tilt-rotor aircraft was badly damaged in shallow waters off the coast of okinawa prefecture. on december 13th. the military says the crash landing was caused by a hose from an air tanker hitting one of the osprey's propellers during an aerial refueling drill. it restarted frights of ospreys six days later, saying the aircraft, itself, had no problem. the u.s. military had told the japanese government it would resume refueling training after completing re-education of osprey pilots, checking training procedures, and conducting flight simulation exercises. the government had asked the u.s. side to provide information on safety measures to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents before restarting aerial refueling. >>> a strong earthquake hit ibaraki prefecture north

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline. i'm kanako sachno. japan's prime minister abe has visited pearl harbor with barack obama. shinzo abe became the first japanese leader to stand with an american president at the site of the surprise japanese attack 75 years ago. the two honored the victims and others who died in war at the uss arizona memorial. they later underscored the reconciliation between their two countries. >> translalator: we must neveve repeat the horrors of war again. we, the people of japan, will continue to o uphold this unwavering principle, while harboring quiet pride in the path we've walked as a peace-loving nation over the past 70 years since the war ended. >> abe said the countries that were once enemies are now working together for world peace and stability. >> translator: japan and the united states, which have eradicated hatred and cultivated friendship a and trust on the basis of common values, are now, and especially now, taking responsibility for appealing to the world about the importance of tolerance and the pow

from all of us at nhk world, thanks for watching.nne: this week, "global 3000" heads to japan, the country with the world's oldest population. we meet an entrepreneur who runs affordable retirement homes. in the u.s., donald trump has older voters to thank for his election victory, leaving many young people in shock. another brexit? we ask a demographics expert about the generation gap. but first, we go to mexico where thousands of migrants remain dead set on crossing the border into the u.s. what does the future hold for them? the border between the u.s. and mexico is over 3000 kilometers long and one of the most patrolled in the world. getting across is already pretty

>>> live from our studios here in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline" i'm james tengan. we start out with some of the quick stories we're following this hour. >>> searching for survivors. rescue work is under way in indonesia's aceh province after a powerful earthquake rocked the region. >> i just want to thank you very much. thank you very much. >>> making deals. the head of a japanese telecom and internet giant meets with president-elect donald trump. and promises billions of dollars in investments. >>> global test results. while japanese students are doing well in mathematics and science, they dropped in reading >>> setting sail around the globe. auat a yachtman in japan becomes the latest in a race. >>> 52 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured. the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 6.5 quake struck around 5:00 wednesday morning. strong jolts went on for 15 seconds. they destroyed dozens of buildings near pidie near the epicenter. >> translator: i received reports about the quake this morning and have instructed agencies to take action accordin

>>> hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is thursday december 8th, 10:00 a.m., i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a memorial service has been held at pearl harbor to remember the victim of a surprise japanese attack that pulled the united states into world war ii. [ bells ] ♪ around 3,800 american veterans and their relatives gathered on a pier overlooking pearl harbor on wednesday. the attack on december 7th, 1941, killed more than 2,400 memorial. at the memorial, the commander of the u.s. pacific command spoke to the crowd about moving past old battles. >> today, we work with allies and partners across the globe to protect those hard-won freedoms including our staunch ally, japan. reconciliation push turned once bitter enemies into the closest of friends. >> u.s. president obama underlined that saying in a statement he looks forward to meeting japan's prime minister at pearl harbor later this month. he said he an his wife, michelle, join the american people in remembering those who gave their lives on that day. president

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm minori takao with the latest at this hour. >>> u.s. president barack obama has ordered the expulsion of dozens of russian officials and slapped sanctions on russian intelligence agents. it's a response to cyber attacks he says interfered with last month's presidential election. obama said all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions and he suggested russian president vladimir putin was involved. saying the activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of government. in october, washington accused russian n authorities of t tryio influence the ououtcome ofof th election. the white house said hackers targeted democratic party computers and leaked party leaders e-mail. the obama administration has put sanctions on russian intelligence services, officers and three companies that supported the cyber operations. the white house also expelled 35 rurussian officicials, includid diplomatats. it gave them 72 hours to leave the country. it says the memeasure is in n response to the harassment of u.s. diplomats in russia. >

>>> nhk "newsline" comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. >>> police in berlin say terrorism was probably behind monday night's truck attack, which claimed at least 12 lives. the truck rammed into people gathered around wooden huts serving wine and sausages. at least 48 people were injured. some of the christmas shoppers narrowly escaped the incident. >> it went just past me, past my girlfriend. i think it missed me by three meters, missed her by five. came into the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers and then carried on past us. >> translator: when we arrived at the scene, the whole situation was shocking, even for our people. it was very hard, because everyone needed help. >> police have arrested a suspect they believe was the driver. another man was found dead in the truck. >> translator: we're now investigating why the truck was driven into this christmas market. how could this have happened? in this context, one suspect is being interrogated who is likely the truck driver. >> the police say the truck belonged to a polish transport company. the firm had lost contact w

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> japanese personnel taking part in an african peace keeping mission will receive a pay bump. the e self-defense forces unit south sudan is permitted to use weapons if it's tasked to rescue u.n. personnel. team members now earn about $140 a day on top of their salary. they'll get an extra $70 a day when ordered to do additional missions.. >> translator: we made the change in light of south sudan's environment anand the special nature of the duty. the risk was not a factor in the decision because all sdf duties involve risk. >> the unit will join the mission from monday. >>> a japanese seismologist has warned that last month's earthquake that triggered a tsunamami off the coast of fukushima could have been much more powerfuful, and he's calli on authoritieies to improve the way they estimate the risk. this professor says a 30-kilometer stretch of the fault shifted during the magnitude 7.4 quake. he says he believes if the entire fault had shifted, the

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, december 20th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> police in berlin suspect it was a deliberate attack after a truck driver plowed through a busy christmas market. at least nine people are dead and many more are injured. it happened monday night in the center of the german capital. this man was part of the crowd who gathered for food and christmas goods and describes his close call. >> it went just past me, past my girlfriend. i think it missed me by three meters, missed her by five. it came in through the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers, then carried on past us. >> police have arrested a suspect they say was driving the truck. another suspect reportedly died at the scene. german news agency dpa say police believe terrorists were involved. authorities are urging people to stay home and remain alert. a similar attack happened in july in the french city of nice. a truck driver killed more than 80 people who had gathered for a celebration. >>> the leaders of russia and turkey say they'll step

look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. >>> many religions throughout history have been persecuted. it was no different in feudal japan when christianity was banned and believers were forced to go underground. over the years practices of these so-called hidden christians transformed into a faith and a community. but as nhk world reports, the 400-year-oldld religious minori is gradually disappearing. >> reporter: every year, people attend a mass held in the woods of this district in the western city of nagasaki. many of the gatherers are the descendants of hidden christians. until about four centuries ago, christianity was strictly prohibited. the equality under one god were unacceptable to the feudal government. violators faced torture and even death. even after p persecution ended, some lived in fear of possible retaliation and ultimately did not return to the catholic church. this is home to 4,000 people. there are around 60 hidden christians in this area. this 67-year-old can trac

kurando tago, nhk world, tokyo. >>> nhk newsline comes to you live from tokyo. let's now turn to weather with wildfires in the u.s. >> its large wildfirires are engulfing two famous tourist spots in eastern tennessee, including gatlinburg. yes, we did have some rainfafal but the amount was not enough so conditions are still quite severe. let's go to some video. devastating fires in the great smoky mountains have left seven people dead and damaging 100 homes so far this week. thousands of people fled gatlinburg due to powerful wildfires that spread quickly to strong winds and extremely dry conditions. rainy weather did help the firefighters, but downed power lines and fallen trees stopped several smaller fires in the area. about 12,000 homes and businesses are left without power. the weather has been extremely dry and, in fact, 99% of tennessee is under severe to exceptional drought. much of the southeastern u.s. has been having dry weather. yesterday we had some rainfall, but the severe weathermaker is pushing away. it's dry lat at least into saturday. dry weath

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, december 13th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> syrian government forces say they've seized near-total control of the northern city of aleppo. syria's russia-backed military stepped up its offensive to retake the city from opposition forces in november. the syrian observatory for human rights says some 97% of areas once held by opposition forces have been seized. a resident of a besieged area told nhk via online message that government forces are closing in on his neighborhood. >> russian defense officials say more than 2,200 opposition fighters have laid down their arms. the fight for aleppo appears to be in its final stages. the u.s. has strongly condemned russia, which backs the regime of president bashar al assad. >> despite our best diplomatic efforts to reduce the violence and increase the flow of humanitarian assistance, the assad government, backed by the russians, continues to try to bomb innocent civilians. >> he emphasized the u.s. will continue to make diplomatic efforts but added h

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm minori takao in with the latest in this hour. >>> in the philippines, a powerful storm has made landfall. typhoon nock-ten forcing about 400,000 people to evacuate from their homes. they have been taking refuge in schools and churches. three people have e been killed. hundreds of flights are grounded and seaports are closed. let's get more detailsls from o meteorologist sayaka mori. what areas have been affected? and what should people be bracing for? >> the typhoon affect the the northern areas of the philippines. the typhoons are not too rare but it was the strongest typhoon on record to hit the philippines on record. but it moved over the south of luzon on christmas day as a very strong tide, the second high highest category on a typhoon scale. the system moved toward the west, and it was near manila today. it has weakened slightly packing winds of 180 kilometers per hour. the good news is the system is starting to pull away from the country but still strong winds are blowing o

the official told nhk that the u.s. confirmed during its monitoring activities that north korea had tested the slbm at an experimental facility pl the test was aimed at developing a way to fire missiles using pressurizedd gas or air without igniting fuel inside a submarine. this is known as cold launch technology. north korea test fired slbms in april, july, and august. the missile in august traveled about 500 kilometers. u.s. military officials have been increasing surveillance operations as they believe that north korea's development of cold launch technology would put it a step closer to deploying slbms. >>> nhk has learned that a second u.s. military osprey has reported mechanical issues in flight. the aircraft was returned to futenma the same night as a crash landing of an osprey off japan's coast. >> reporter: nhk video footage shows personnel and vehicles surrounding the aircraft at the base. they took steps to correct the problem and the osprey landed safely at futenma. the officials say no one was injured and t

welcome to nhk "newsline." japan's prime minister will visit pearl harbor late this month. shinzo abe will join president barack obama on december 26th and 27th to pay tribute to victims of the attack. we'll bring you more details as they come in. >>> defense officials in seoul say they're closely monitoring north korea for possible provocative acts following the adoption of fresh yooup sanks against pyongyang. >>> slapping stricter sanctions on pyongyang. the move came in response to the north's latest nuclear test in september. they have also announced their new measures. state-run media has been reported on kim jung un's units. officials in seoul are on the alert saying there could be another provocation from the reclusive nation. >> north korea may consider sanctions and a good opportunity to engage in provocation. >> the spokesperson issued a warning of retaliation. acts that sharply raise tensions would result in the north's leadership. >>> north korea will mark several five-year anniversaries this month, including the death of former leader kim jung il on the 17th an

♪ >>> welcome to nhk "newsline," it's wednesday, december 21st, 10:00 a.m., i'm catherine kobayashi inokyo. >>> a huge explosion has ripped through a fireworks market in mexico. there are reports that 27 people have died and dozens more are injured. the blast occurred at an open air market north of mexico city, sending people fleeing and plumes of smoke high into the air. firefighters and rescue workers are now combing through the rubble and ashes. details of the cause are not yet known, but the same market was ungulfed by fire in 2005. many in mexico celebrate christmas with fireworks. it's a major industry there. >>> the evacuation of the syrian city of aleppo could be completed on wednesday. the international committee of the red cross says about 25,000 people have already left. civilians trapped in battle areas are evacuating, and insurgents are withdrawing after the opposition forlss agreed to given up the remains areas under their control. the syrian observatory for human rights said the number of people waiting to evacuate had dropped to around 3,000 as of tuesday afternoon. rus

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, december 6th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> shinzo abe will soon become the first sitting japanese prime minister to visit pearl harbor. he'll honor victims of a deadly attack in world war ii that prompted the united states to join the war. he'll arrive in hawaii on december 26th and be joined by u.s. president barack obama on the following day in honolulu. abe will offer flowers at the "uss arizona" memorial. he'll also hold talks with obama. >> translator: i want to reaffirm with president obama what we have done over the past four years. i also want to use the opportunity to convey to the world the significance of further strengthening our alliance. the ravages of war should never be repeated. i want to express my resolve toward the future. >> in december 1941, the now-defunct japanese imperial navy attacked u.s. military bases in hawaii. abe says his visit will symbolize the reconciliation between the two countries. >>> thailand's new king has led a ceremony observing the birthday of hi

this is nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> nhk has learned that the u.s. military has told japan's government it wants to resume midair refueling training in early january. the drills were suspended after a crash landing in southern japan involving a u.s. osprey aircraft earlier this month. the tilt-rotor aircraft was badly damaged in shallow waters off the coast of okinawa prefecture. on december 13th. the military says the crash landing was caused by a hose from an air tanker hitting one of the osprey's propellers during an aerial refueling drill. it restarted frights of ospreys six days later, saying the

>>> hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. >>> japan's prime minister has started a three-day visit to hawaii. he will remember the victims of japan's surprise attack on pearl harbor 75 years ago error the strike on the u.s. naval base pulled the americans into the second world war. shinzo abe is paying tribute to american war dead at the national memorial cemetery of the pacific. about 50,000 people are buried at the cemetery, including u.s. military personnel who died in the pacific and vietnam wars. several japanese prime ministers have visited the site since world war ii. abe has also visited a memorial to a japanese fishery training vessel that sank off hawaii in 2001. it was hit accidentally by a u.s. submarine, killing nine people, including high school students. on tuesday, abe is scheduled to hold his last meeting with barack obama. the president's term ends next month. the leaders will also visit the "uss arizona" memorial where they will offer flowers and deliver remarks. ahead of the vis