. >>> next, we go to patchari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> myanmar's opposition leader aung san suu kyi registered to compete in a parliamentary bielection scheduled for april. aung san suu kyi visited the election committee on wednesday to register her candidacy in the lower house bielection. a total of 48 seats are up for grabs in the upper and lower houses of parliament and in local assemblies. aung san suu kyi is running for a seat in western yangon, home to some of the city's lowest income households. the nobel laureate picked the area herself. after registering, she asked people who had gathered in front of the building for support. her national lead for democracy party will challenge every one of the 48 seats. the party's candidates are all expected to receive strong support, but perhaps none more than aung san suu kyi. observers say her participation is a crucial part of the government's efforts to demonstrate the progress it's making towards democratization and ultimately to convince the west to lift economic sanctions. >>> asia's two emerging

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> smartphones are used everywhere in japan these days. now they're being given a traditional japanese flavor, thanks to a master craftsman. nhk world yoshihiro tuchia has more. >> reporter: a smartphone case that is elegant and traditional. with layers of lacquer applied carefully by hand, it is sturdy, but soft to the touch. the kawatsura area is famous for its traditional lacquer ware. the smartphone cases is the work of yuko kato. he's become a lacquer ware craftsman for 40 years. lacquer ware is known for its glossiness from the many coats of lacquer. kato's work caught the eye of a businessman in tokyo who asked him to make a smartphone case. >> translator: young people rarely come into contact with lacquer ware. i think that making lacquer-coated cases for smartphones is a good way to introduce them to our tradition. >> reporter: plastic is never used as a base for traditional lacquer ware, so the cases need special preparation with an adhesive primer to get the lacquer to stick. the primer surface can crack easily with even small c

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> some stormy weather is churning through waters off australia. let's go to sayaka mori for the latest world weather picture. >>> hello. welcome back to your weather update. let's first talk about australia. we are monitoring tropical cyclone iggy approaching western australia. it's now a category 1 system packing wind gusts of 120 kilometers per hour. it's moving very slowly towards the south-southeast. it could become a category 3 system within the next 72 hours. parts of the northwest coast willtart to see intense showers today and also gale force winds on saturday. watch out for flooding. we'll keep you posted on the progress. as we pull back, we've got a tropical low right here that's been bringing damaging winds and substantial rain to much of the eastern areas. so if you are near the coast, watch out for abnormally high tide and as well as destructive waves. as the system moves southeastward, rain in queensland and new south wales will become even heavier. flooding and landslides have been reported here. so any ongoing rain -- additional ra

from bangkok, i'm patchari raksawong. >>> now let's look at the market figures. >>> there's little yelling at one restaurant in tokyo. the people who run it can't hear. >> reporter: in late december, a restaurant with a difference opened in tokyo. all the staff working here are deaf. they communicate with customers with sign language or by writing down their words. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the owner is 39 years old. he's been deaf since birth. for past two years, it's been his aim to open a restaurant with a welcoming atmosphere where other deaf people can feel at home. the idea evolved from his own personal experience. he's found that very few people working in restaurants can understand sign language. >> translator: in a restaurant, usually you have to say what you want to order. you can't just point at the menu. that's hard for me. >> reporter: there's another reason why he opened this restaurant. he used to work as a job adviser for the disabled. he realized there are very few rewarding jobs for people with disabilities. he contacted several large restaurant companies about opening a