i'm gene otani.makers from japan's ruling parties have backed a number of tax reforms designed to kick start the economy and get businesses to become more environmentally friendly. they say the measures can offset the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and help japan hit its long-term goal of carbon neutrality. the liberal democratic party and coalition partner komeito have adopted a package for fiscal 2021 starting in april. it includes a freeze for tax hikes on land, including residential and commercial plots. it also extends tax breaks for eco-friendly vehicles for two years. the package includes a range of incentives for firms to work toward targets set by the administration of prime minister suga yoshihide. and cut japan's greenhouse gas emissions net zero by 2050. firms will be rewarded for embracing innovative and eco-friendly technology in production lines, and companies that go digital by using cloud services or other options will be eligible for tax benefits. the government plans to subm

i'm gene otani.'s president says his country will consider joining the transpacific partnership free trade pact. moon jae-in was speaking in seoul on tuesday in an annual trade day ceremony. >> translator: as the global economy recovers from coronavirus, countries will compete with each other to seize market share. we'll continue to consider joining the tpp. >> south korean media say this is the first time the president has spoken in a positive way about participating in the 11-country free trade deal. the asian nation is among the members that signed the regional comprehensive economic partnership last month. the deal includes 15 countries on the western side of the pacific, including japan and china. seoul is apparently taking another look at international free trade frameworks in an effort to reduce side effects resulting from the trade confli between the united states and china. the government compiled a stimulus package worth $700 billion to tackle the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the

. ♪ ♪ >>> this is "newsline biz," i'm gene otani. report shows japanese companies continue to be at the forefront of global tech innovation. it says they rank second in the world in patent applications in a.i. and other fields. the report by the european patent office is based on 2018 figur figures. it shows u.s. firms topped the list, seeking nearly 12,000 global patents. japan came second with more than 6,600. china was third. it's catching up fast. south korea was fourth. looking at the years spanning 2010 to 2018, sony and four other japanese companies were among the top 20 applicants. six u.s. firms made the list. the highest rank was chipmaker qualcomm. the two most prolific applicants were samsung electronics followed by lg. china's huawei was also among the top group. >>> japan is already looking beyond the 5g networks that are still being rolled out in many places. it's launching a body to promote its push into the next generation of communication systems. businesses around the world are competing to develop a new wave of te

i'm gene otani. for all of us here at "nhk newsline," thanks very much for joining us.

i'm gene otani.an's top business lobby co compiled a set of proposals for the government to meet its seethe roan greenhouse gas companies will play an active role in providing low-price carbon free energy and developing electric and fuel cell vehicles. f f fpz. >> translator: it's important that the government and the academic community work together to create a common approach. >> large-scale governments are needed to develop key technologies including those related to the use of hydrogen. it calls orphan the government invest in power systems based on renewable energy. the proposals say nuclear power is essential if the government is to meet its target for mission cuts. discussions on the use of nuclear energy should start as soon as possible. the chairman says it's important to create a mechanism for invest the thes that lead to innovation instead of reare lying sbar entirely on government support. >> it was hack ed from brazil late last month. the company says beta on the stores were startitarget

i'm gene otani. the latest figures from japan suggest capital investment is recovering. machinery orders logged their biggest increase since comparable data became available in 2005. they recei$8 billion. that's up 17% from september. the figure excludes ships and electric power generation, which tend to show wide fluctuations. officials say manufacturers placed four orders for processing ma scenery. not many more wanted the tums, but they upgraded the assessment. officials say machinery orders stopped falling. >>> tokyo's governor says the jap naez capital will ban the sale of new gasoline powered cars by 2030 in favor of hiybri or electric vehicles. the governor announced the ambitious goal on tuesday as part of the mega city's efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. >> translator: major cities must take the lead in promoting global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero. >> she said tokyo plans to end sales of new gasoline autos by 2030 and motorcycles by 2025. the capital's new target puts it five years ahead of a national plan. meanwhi