and the japan times has a special report on the country's young sports stars who are looking to set newecords at tokyo 2020 olympics. japan won 41 medals at rio games, but its young athletes are hoping to duplicate or even surpass last year's medal tally. what stories are sparking discussions online? a new desk top robot with multiple personalities is among the most watched videos online. the robot can play music and control other internet—connected devices as well as offer advice.

7 the japan times has this enormous fish and its flamboyant owner. shi restaurant owner nicknamed "tuna king" has paid over $600,000 for this 212 kilogram blue fin tuna. joining us is justin urquhart stewart, director of seven investment management. good morning. good morning. we will get onto fishy matters later. let's start with donald trump and his continued scepticism despite the fa ct continued scepticism despite the fact these intelligence people keep appearing to say they are quite sure something happened. this will be fascinating. disputes have to appear. they have to reveal what is going on. the comment was the chief spook, there is the difference between healthy scepticism and disparagement because they have done all this work and donald trump is disparaging them. in order to prove that they have to show what they have been doing. of course that is the last thing they want to be doing. they are fairly confident. it is from this clapham local. i don't think we have ever encountered an aggressive campaign to interfere in the process —— clapham

the front page of the japan times has a story about a south korean monk who set himself on fire. with japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves. the new york times is headlining the ongoing fallout to the us intelligence report into russian hacking. but their main story is this powerful image showing the graves of inmates, who were killed in prison riots earlier this week in brazil. and the business times leads on the first rental rebate for industrial properties in singapore since the global financial crisis in 2009. there is also a feature looking at singapore's economy. recommendations from the committee of the future economy are seen as a chance to re—ignite confidence in singapore's future, at a time when it is grappling with slower growth. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? the american marine park seaworld are giving their final orca show in san diego. the show which features orcas dancing and jumping with their trainers, has been under pressure since a documentary in 2013 criticised conditions and told the story of tillikum, who died earlier this week. m

for the first time in almost two decades, japan has a home—grown grand champion. e oscars shortlist is revealed, and the winner of the most nominations ever received is la la land. live from our studios in singapore and london. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london, and 9am in the morning in beijing where china has warned the united states that it won't back down over its territorial claims in the south china sea. on monday, donald trump's spokesman said the united states would protect its interests in the region, a shift from president obama's more neutral position. but a chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said china will safeguard its own rights. our china editor carrie gracie reports on the growing tensions. there are three key flashpoints between the new trump administration and beijing — trade, taiwan and the south china sea. the last two involve the risk of military confrontation between a fast—growing naval power and the world's superpower. china lays claim to most of the south china sea, of the one of the busiest comme

the japan times carries an interesting story about the future of emperor akihito, who's 83.ommend that the emperor should be allowed to stand down, as long as it doesn't set a constitutional precedent. finally the china daily has this striking picture on its front page. it shows a young visitor trying out a light sculpture at a lantern festival in london. fittingly the festival's theme is the silk road, the ancient trading route between china and the west. now, kasia, what stories are sparking discussions online? there is only one story. it is of course the inauguration of donald trump. we know he loves to tweak and we look at every single tweet, we watch his public judgingbgfihat happenedab- donald trump gestures for melania to approach the microphone. she shakes her head. but the president—elect is emphatic and waves her forward. clearly a man who gets what he wants. let's stay with the trump inauguration and those fears of a possible trade war with china. joining me now from beijing is our correspondent stephen mcdonell. 0bviously everyone has been watching the cemetery co

and the japan times has a special report on the country's young sports stars who are looking to set newduplicate or even surpass last year's medal tally. what stories are sparking discussions online? a new desk top robot with multiple personalities is among the most watched videos online. the robot can play music and control other internet—connected devices as well as offer advice. but the really interesting feature is that it develops a different personality for each user in a household. wakeup, wa keup, holly. wakeup, holly. ladies and gentlemen, lam ollie. wakeup, holly. ladies and gentlemen, i am ollie. wake up, ollie. hello, i am ollie, the first robot with a personality. now, to a dinosaur on the move. if you've ever been to london's natural history museum you can't miss dippy the diplodocus. it's been the centrepiece there since 1905 and even appeared in two hollywood blockbusters. well now dippy is going on a two year tour and a blue whale is taking its place. daniela relph reports. it is busy here most days apart for those queueing today there was a good buy to be had. the firs

and the japan times reports on thousands of young japanese women who mark their entry into adulthood held nationwide to remind 20—year—olds of their responsibilities after becoming old enough to legally drink and smoke. in just over 2a hours — president obama will deliver his farewell address in the city of chicago. it's where he claimed victory eight years ago in an historic election which put the first african american in the white house. but as his second term comes to a close what will his legacy be? our north america editorjon sopel looks at the domestic issues which have defined the obama presidency. cheering. it wasn't just the hope when barack obama came to office, it was the wild expectation, too. that the country's problems would be solved at a stroke, that the first african—american president would usher in a post—racial era. no more black america are all white america, just the united states of america. but the lingering vestiges of that dream disappeared in the summer of 2014, in clouds of tear gas, in a nondescript suburb of st louis, missouri, called ferguson. an unarm

the new us travel ban. good morning asia, hello, world. glad you could join us. in a few hours time, the governor of the bank ofjapan, hours time, the governor of the bank of japan,entral hours time, the governor of the bank ofjapan, the central bank, will be revealing its next monetary move. since the all directions of donald trump the yen has been strengthening and how much willjapan be impacted by trump's policies is unclear. the boj and massive bond buying programme largely considered to have faded. what else can the boj do to start the economy? we are seeing interest rates are ready at miners. banks buying government bonds and a sustainable base. there is nothing they can do more to stimulate the economy. what about changing their long—term interest rates charges? they could implement this today. long—term interest rates charges? they could implement this todaym might need to raise their long—term policy rate target, from 0.0 two 0.1. in orderto policy rate target, from 0.0 two 0.1. in order to keep the interest rates low the bank of japan will have to keep buying jdbc i think the japanese government needs to avoid that to avoid accusations that the japanese

and the japan times reports on prime minister shinzo abe and his upcoming visit to the us to hold talksrump. the newspaper says economics and security are expected to dominate the agenda of next month's summit in washington. that is the way the papers are. what stories are sparking discussions online? well, actually, i haven't got the action online, but i have thousands protesting against president trump's executive order on immigration. his supporters have been turning out on the street, saying authorities have been swift to enforce it. let's go back now to the us, where there have been protests in new york, boston, los angeles and washington, where we can speak to our correspondent david willis. david, before we talk to you about the protests, news coming in from the protests, news coming in from the secretary for homeland security, just to bring us up—to—date. the secretary for homeland security, just to bring us up-to-date. yes, john kelly raising the point that green card holders won't be barred from the us. people coming in from countries on the watchlist, as it were, those seven

the japan times carries an interesting story about the future of emperor akihito, who's 83.t panel will recommend that the emperor should be allowed to stand down, as long as it doesn't set a constitutional precedent. finally the china daily has this striking picture on its front page. it shows a young visitor trying out a light sculpture at a lantern festival in london. fittingly the festival's theme is the silk road — the ancient trading route between china and the west. now kasia, what stories are sparking discussions online? sharanjit we're getting used to every tweet and every public appearance made by donald trump being scrutinised. and that will be the same for america's incoming first lady. but it seems that melanie trump is a little shier than her husband, judging by what happened at thursday's reception for supporters. donald trump gestures for melania to approach the microphone. she shakes her head. joining me now from beijing is our correspondent stephen mcdonell. we know we had from president xi xin ping in davos. he said that no one will emerge as a winner in t

the japan times teachers politics. is that all on a general election is very unlikely. y, it has been ruled out as observers say it could cost the ruling coalition and its strong majority. finally we have gone to a picture story on the front of the new york times with a beautiful shot of the underwater world. a man who has turned from hunter to conservationists and now ta kes hunter to conservationists and now takes the endangered turtles to help keep track of their move on. that is it for the papers. and now stories sparking discussion online? the colourful rows parade has grabbed peoples attention. the great march through pasadena california just a few hours ago. horseback riders and 40 few hours ago. horseback riders and a0 ornately decorated floats made their way along the 80 kilometre route. spectators were also joined by more than 1000 security forces because security was to start for the 128th running of this parade. this particular float of polynesian catamaran was to celebrate organ donation. 2a transplant recipients we re donation. 2a transplant recipients were

the japan times leads with news about donald trump's choice for secretary of state, rex tillerson. hington's commitment to defend japan in the event of china trying to seize the japan—administered senkaku islands in the east china sea. 0nto the south china morning posts, which leads with the woman said to be beijing's choice as the new leader of hong kong. there she is — carrie lem cheng, who is promising to diversify the economy and she's also promising to reach out to young people, amonst other things. finally, the strait times focuses on eight indonesians who've been deported for alleged terror links. the singapore immigration officials say they found a photo of a shoe bomb on one of the group's mobile phones. now, rico, a really difficult story has got people talking online? that's right. 0n social media. we've seen some rattled chinese online users, looking and watching these very distressing images. they show a 92—year—old malnourished woman in a locked pigsty, where, according to the southern morning post, she had been living for years. how sad is that? the video was posted o

the japan times also leads on mr trump, this time on the possibility that as president, he may end theng dollar. the paper quotes mr trump saying us companies can't compete with china now because our currency is too strong. and, he says, it's "killing us." and the south china morning post continues its coverage of the battle for hong kong's top job. it says outgoing chief executive cy leung has announced a raft of new policies, in an effort to cement his legacy. now babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? mariko, take a look at what is popping up in museums around the world. yes, it's the donald trump waxwork. this one's been unveiled at the famous madame tussauds in london. standing imperiously in the oval office, it's all in place — the suit, the tan and of course that flowing hairstyle. grab that selfie now. the threat of global warming is getting ever more real. scientists say 2016 was the hottest year since records began over a century ago. temperatures are now 1.1 degrees higher than pre—industrial levels. the third consecutive year that record has been broken. scie

and donald trump is also dominating the front page of the japan times. ions against the new president, saying that more than a million people around the world took part in protests. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? trump, of course. a letter left on the desk of the oval office is being talked about online. the letter was of course written by barack obama for president trump. mr trump says he found it when he first went into the office, and that he will keep it, cherish it and never tell the press what's written in it. it seems only two american presidents will ever know what it says. a campaign to reinstate an australia day advert featuring two girls in hijabs has raised more than aus $100,000 in donations. the ad was taken down from a street in melbourne after threats were made to the billboard company. it was accused of being "propaganda" and not reflecting australian culture. campaigners have now raised funds to pay for "multiple billboards across australia". earlier i spoke with dee madigan a creative director who was behind

the japan times also leads on mr trump, this time on the possibility that, as president, he may end themp, saying us companies can't compete with china now because our currency is too strong. and, he says, it's killing us. and the south china morning post continues its coverage of the battle for hong kong's top job. it says outgoing chief executive cy leung has announced a raft of new policies, in an effort to cement his legacy. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? mariko, take a look at what is popping up in museums around the world. yes it's the donald trump waxwork. this one's been unveiled at the famous madame tussauds in london. standing tall in the oval office, it's all in place. the suit, the tan and of course that flowing hairstyle. grab that selfie now! ken wyatt has been in australian politics for a while but today he's getting a lot of attention because he's becoming the country first indigenous minister. it's not the first time mr wyatt has set a precedent. he was also the first indigenous lawmaker. a big moment for him and for australian politics and w

the japan times carries a picture of a pricey huge fish and its flamboyant owner. s paid over $600,000 for this 212kg bluefin tuna. that brings you up to date with the papers. now, kasia, what stories are sparking discussions online? baby animals are always popular online. a five—month—old baby elephant has been taking a dip in a swimming pool in thailand. it's part of a long rehabilitation process to heal her injured foot. ba by farjam's front left leg was caught in a trap in november, and although it healed, she refused to put any weight on it. it's hoped this treatment will prevent her from having to use a prosthetic leg. let's hope so. his days in office are numbered, and this week barack obama has been working hard to ensure his legacy. but for the outgoing president's half—sister, the end of his administration is as much about family as it policy. maya soetoro—ng grew up with mr obama in hawaii and tells us about their younger days, and what he'll do when he leaves the oval office. growing up, mum certainly gave us a wide range of tools to become the people wh

the japan times leads with news about donald trump's choice for secretary of state, rex tillerson. mmitment to defend japan in the event of china attempting to seize the japan—administered senkaku islands in the east china sea. the south china morning posts leads with the woman said to be beijing's choice as the new leader of hong kong. carrie lem cheng is promising to diversify the economy and reach out to young people. finally, the strait times focuses on eight indonesians who've been deported for alleged terror links. singapore immigration officers say they found a photo of a shoe bomb on one of the group's mobile phones. now rico a really distressing story has got people talking online. let's have a look at what's getting you talking and clicking on social media. these images have rattled chinese online users. they show a 92—year—old malnourished woman in a locked pigsty, where, according to the southern morning post, she had been living for years. the video was posted on the popular video service miaopai and many people voiced their outrage at her son and daughter—in—law for ke

the japan times features politics on its front page and the now unlikely general election.as been ruled out as observers say it would be anything but a success and could possibly cost the ruling coalition its strong majority. and we've gone for a picture story from the front of the new york times. it's the story of a fijian man who has turned from hunter to conservationist. he now tags the endangered turtles to help keep track of their movements. that is it for the papers. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? well, sharanjit, the colourful and lively rose parade has caught people's attention online. they marched through pasadena california just a few hours ago. marching bands, horseback riders and a0 ornately decorated floats made their way along the 8—kilometre route. spectators were joined by more than 1000 security officers, after security was beefed up for the 128th running of the parade. this flowery float of a polynesian catamaran was made to celebrate organ donation, with 2a transplant recipients riding the float. will it be going to the gym, drinking l

the japan times reports that shinzo abe could settle on negotiating their own trade deal with the unitede japanese prime minister has acknowledged a new path, following donald trump's assertion he will notjoin the trans—pacific partnership free trade deal. the south china morning post has a story on china's declining birth rate. even with a change to a two—child policy, the country is facing a shrinking labour force and rapidly ageing population. the front of the china daily looks at president xi jinping's message ahead of the lunar new year. the president called for people to love their family and friends, and for the country to roll up our sleeves and work harder. kasia, a tornado and a bathtub is sparking discussions online. yes, take a look at this woman's story. she was in inside her home when a tornado struck in texas. she had taken shelter in her bathtub, normally one of the safest places. but it lifted her right out through the roof. she was fine, but the moral might be that your bathtub isn't always the safest places to take cover when a tornado hits. most famous for her video f

and the japan times reports on prime minister shinzo abe and his upcoming visit to the us to hold talkssays economics and security are expected to dominate the agenda of next month's summit in washington. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? a story trending on the bbc website is about calls to stop president trump's state visit to the uk. in reaction to his migrant ban, there is a petition on the parliament website saying president trump should be denied the privilge of a state visit when he comes to the uk later this year because it would embarass the queen. in less than a day it has now gained more than 800,000 signatures meaning it could be considered for a debate in parliament. more now on our top story. rajini vaidyanathan has been speaking to protestors in washington — unhappy at president trump's executive order on immigration. the protesters organised that relatively make no test and they have been managed to get large crowds. what you think? it seems like it's happening in cities all across the country right now. i think it's moving, i think it's tragic. i think

and the japan times leads with prime minister shinzo abe's whirlwind tour of pacific rim nations. s and reaffirm the importance of free trade amid concerns that donald trump will shift to a more protectionist us trade policy. now, what stories are sparking discussions online? yes, this is a story that has gone viral on social media. we know donald trump is a prolific twitter user. well, one of his latest messages was meant to be in praise of his daughter, ivanka. this is the twitter feed of the president—elect‘s daughter. but because of a simple typing error by the author of the initial tweet, that was re—tweeted by donald trump, the president—elect ended up directing his 20 million followers to the twitter feed of a different ivanka, ivanka mayich, who lives in brighton, on the south coast of britain. the mistake attracted manyjokes, but also a piece of serious advice from the recipient. i thought it is one of those moments in life where you have an opportunity to say something that some people may read or listen to, and rather than, yes, you are absolutely right, my politics coul

the japan times says tokyo will not seek an alternative treaty, but instead will try to get presidentpicture on the front page shows mr trump holding up the document that marks the end of the us participation in the tpp deal. here in singapore, the straits times signals a completely different approach. it says the city will keep pursuing other free trade initiatives, including a possible implementation of the tpp, with or without america. china daily reports on beijing's reaction to comments by the white house press secretary, who on monday said the us will protect its interests in the south china sea. the title on the front page urges the us to be cautious. china says it is determined to protect its own territory and sovereignty. there are discussions online on the height of a famous peak. there is a row between india and nepal about measuring the height of mt everest. india has said it will send a team to the himalayas to find out whether the big earthquake two years ago affected the mountain's height. but now, kathmandu has said it wants to do the work instead. everest sits on the

the japan times reports that, as president trump was sworn in, prime minister shinzo abe expressed hisbe vowed to make what he called an unwavering japan—us alliance even stronger. the china daily writes that beijing is calling for the us to stick to the one china principle, and strictly limit its relationship with taiwan. but the paper says china's president, xijinping, also sent donald trump a message of congratulations. the straits times reports on mr trump's signing—off executive orders to withdraw from the tra ns—pacific partnership, the tpp trade pact. the newspaper carries trump's quote saying, "great thing for the american worker, what we just did." lots of discussions online on who might be the next chief executive in hong kong. she is considered beijing's top choice to be hong's chief executive, but carrie lam is the subject of mockery online. that is because she took a taxi to her former residence to fetch more toilet rolls. even more bizarre, she shared the details of her loo paper adventure to reporters over the weekend. we brought you news yesterday that two men had been

the war crimes trials. he was in prison when japan regained its sovereignty and 9052. at that time, he passed on his view, roughly what he first expressed in 1945, that the emperor should retire or beicate, and act that would viewed as an acceptance of war responsibility. the japanese prime minister rejected that you and hirohito did not oblige. the disposition of emperor your -- was ans never issue to the american public as well as allied nations. in a 1945 whole, 77% of the american people wanted hirohito severely punished. there is a resolution introduced in the senate a call for his trial as a war criminal. in the autumn of 1945, the state and navy core dating commission -- coordinating commission remain split on how to use the emperor. numerous allied nations produced statements demanding the ever be tried as a war criminal. macarthur had carried with him to japan an entire approach to emperor hirohito that he had developed with his psychological warfare experts. the most important of them came in 1944. from that time, his command had avoided direct attacks from the technicalt

the realities. i know many of you are already aware but in the time of protocol only japan and other developed countries meaning not only australia and others but also eastern european countries china, u.s. and india. times have changed a lot. and this is -- and the biggest one is china. it is about eight times more than ours and the u.s. is 5.5 times more than ours. then we have japan up there. those are the second countries with a lot of emissions. i want you to know the realities here. my main presentation is this. i think it is a very important thing to consider when you talk about the future. first of all, there were political elements. there was a sense of urgency and of france and germany played a very important role. i do respect the initiative there. they did quite a lot. as i understand it france spent about $100 million for the entire negotiations and the entire french government was working on this one including the president and foreign minister. and again, he said u.s. and china played an important role. that's what's very important. terrorism, as you might remember, on the 13th of novembe

the bloc. >>> tourism officials in japan are already celebrating one record, the arrival of 24 million foreign visitors last year. likely they have notched up another. they hit an all-time high. the officials estimate visitors to japan spent an increased. the decline was especially con speckous among chinese travelers. >>> here's a look at some of the other business stories we're follllowing. ♪ >>> media reports say general motors will invest $1 billion in u.s. factories. the move will generate more than 1,000 jobs. gm is expxpected to announce th plan shortly. president-elect donald trump had criticized the firm for making u.s. bound vehicles in mexico. >>> honda motor saiaid a a womas injured when a takata airbag ruptured. the woman sustained burns on h r thigh. she was awaware that her car wa subject to a recall for the airbag but had not taken it in for replacement. >>> germany is a world leader in promoting renewable energy. new service has been launched to encourage more people to solar power. nhk world's ivo tuchel explains. >> reporter: this village in southern germany. thomas pflugerer, an engineeeer lives here with his family. >> translator: we have 35 solar p

will engage in wide ranging consultation with the aim of resolving the issue of souring relations with japan but it will take some time to workout what to do about a statue symbolizing those known as comfort women. the prime minister is carrying out the duties of president park that has been impeached over a scandal. he commented on the statue installed in december by a civic group. some politicians plan to put up a similar figure on south korean concerned islands claimed by jap japan. >> it is difficult to interfere with actions taken by private citizens. he added it would take some time to resolve the matter. the placement of the statue runs counter to a 2015 bilateral agreement. they strive to solve the issue of a similar statue from the japanese embassy in seoul. the ambassador to south korea and the general have been recalled in protest. they will watch how seoul handles the issue before sending them back to their post. >> the big question in the world of business is what will happen to the economy under the new administration. >> trump's inauguration has put investors in a cautious mood. his announced plans to r

took in the mariana uc army tactical aviation the point napalm for the first time on a large-scale and you see the strategic bombing of japans well in the form of b-29 which base for the first time in the central pacific, really 1300 miles south of tokyo, just within range and the willingness to use these weapons against civilian publishing centers is practiced here. we have the bombing, the bombings that proceed from the mariana, target cities. there's a sense that-- here are the cliffs before you move along. what i wanted to get to was the words of fdr himself following this revelation, following the revelation in the hawaii planning session with macarthur had nimitz and then following the meetings in quÉbec city at the octagon conference. fdr to macarthur august 9, 1944, you have been doing a magnificent job and with great difficulties getting us by climate and certain human animals. september 16, 1944, falling octagon conference. this is a fairly staid recitation of the conclusion. we have official allied press communiquÉ which says in part: in a short space of time decisions reached on all points both with respect to t

japan. after the company released a video on the internet, people viewed it more than 100,000 times. it shows an experiment that recreates the shaking caused by major earthquakes in japan. even after it was repeated 60 times, the house showed no serious damage. the secret to the resilience was in the structure. it modified panels typically used in north american homes. the wood in this home is 6 inches wide, so it's thicker and stronger. other parts have also been fortified. the foundation contains twice the usual amount of reinforced steel and the roof has six inches wide composite panels. company officials say they will use data from the shaking experiment to make sturdier structures. the house required more wood than conventional methods but it was only $3,000 more than a typical home in part because it's made of standard cuts of wood. >> translator: we believe this type of technology can be applied anywhere. we want to use it to develop our business globally. >> reporter: in the earthquakes in april last year, strong jolts continued for weeks. it was difficult for the residents to

the amount of snow we have seen come down in a short period of time. a meter and a third there came down in 72 hour period. that is why even though japan's road clearing services out here with the snowfall is pretty good. still having a hard time with some of these areas. that combined with the high winds. some of these areas out here upwards of 91 kilometers per hour. you have snow drifts on top of that with white out conditions. definitely a hard time clearing up the roads out toward the west. the same section of highway seeing the same amount of snow and 1,000 cars were stranded at that time. it took about two days to clear up the road. this will be some time coming before all of the services back on some of the highways will be available again. this is one of the reasons. exceptionally cold. minus 33 reported out there this morning in hokkaido. more snowfall, 60 centimeters still possible. >> thanks very much. we'll have more in world weather. >>> onto business news now, u.s. president donald trump is getting his company out of a free trade deal. one that his predecessor worked hard to get into. get us up to date. what's happening he

the marianas you see army tactical aviation employing napalm for the fist time on a large scale, and we see this strategic bombing of japan in the form of these b-29s which are basing for the first time in the central pacific, really 1300 miles south of tokyo. just within range. the willingness to use these weapons against civilian population centers is practiced here. we have the bombing, the bombings that proceed from the marianas target cities. and there's a sense the signal -- here the cliffs of the point before we move along, but what i wanted to get to was the words of fdr himself following the revelation in the hawaii planning session with mac arthur or and nimitz -- mac arthur and mihm in its and following the meetings in quebec city. we see them august 9, 1944, you've been doing a really magnificence jobs -- magnificent jobs given us. september 16, 1944, the allied press communique following the octagon conference, this is a fairly staid recitation of the conclusions reached by the high command. we have an official press communique which says in a very short space of time they reached decision on all points now a

the globe. australia, new zealand, japan. the most famous celebration, possibly, in times square. and safety is top priority. >> we'll have one of the most well policed and safest venues in the world. >> officers are in the troud, on the rooftops, and new this year, 65 trublgs filled with stand to prevent similar attacks. >> over 500 plus antiterror officers. they appreciate the training they have gotten, and that they're on the front lines. >> the sadded security is what is keeping the city safe. >> the only time when new yorkers are nice to each other. >> it will be a fun experience. >> you come to new york and you're expecting crowds. >> fromball loans to confetti, but the true start of the show is the iconic new year's eve ball. >> there are 30,000 controll controlled leds in the ball. >> and like new york city police have done in years past, they have used trucks as barriers, but nothing on this large of a scale. the revelers here have been told to leave your big bags at home. that's just a few of the things confiscated. live in times quasquare, back t you. >> i understand so

last month, other warships sailed through the islands in southern japan and into the pacific for the first time. they were en route to the disputed south china sea. china's state-run tv aired footage of j-15s landing and taking off. they are wary of the president who does not accept the one-china policy. on saturday, she met with u.s. lawmakers on her way to central america and spoke directly with u.s. president-elect donald trump after the election. >>> the u.s. established diplomatic reasons with china in 1979 and severed ties with taiwan. japan's prime minister had a one on one with the head of the central bank. gene otani has details on that and other business headlines. >> prime minister shinzo abe and kuroda reviewed policies, including with the u.s. it was the first meeting in about four months. kuroda said it was no more than a regularly-scheduled briefing with the prime minister. he said there was no further discussion of u.s. president-elect donald trump. but the two exchanged views about the impact of higher u.s. interest rates since trump's election victory. >> translator: the u.s.

the bank of japan. what are we expecting? >> we are expecting the bank of japan to meet to give us their decision sometime after noon tokyo time 11:00f course would be hong kong time and about 10:00 in the evening in new york. i just finished speaking in the last hour with a former bank of japan policy member. she was there from 2011. she just left in march of last year. she agrees with our bloomberg survey of economists. no change in policy. althoughs with that, she does agree they will probably raise their assessment of the japanese economy just a little bit 2017. remain atare going to -0.1%. the 10-year note expected to be reconfirmed at 0% using the yield curve control tool. she says that with yield curve control, the bank of japan ultimately will have to make adjustments. they can't keep saying they will buy ¥80 trillion and keep it at 0%. they have to let go of one or the other. that's one of her criticisms. when it comes to exchange rates, everyone is watching what governor kuroda could say about that. she says the yen should not get much weaker. it is fairly valued around 1.10 to the dollar. she thinks this is one way

auto industry officials say sales of new vehicles in japan reached a low not seen in years shares fell below 5 million units for the f first time sinc the 2011 earthquake impacted production. officials of the japan's automobile dealers association say domestic new vehicle sales last year stood at 4.97 million units. they contribute to the decline in a 9% drop in vehicles. it follows a tax increase for that class of car. domestic new car sales have decreased by 36% since 1990. analysts cite japan's shrinking population and less young people driving. this week experts are giving us their outlook for the global economy. today a distinguished academic tells us about prospects for china. he is dean of the university's institute for contemporary and china studies. he also advises the chinese government on policy. he's one of the members that drafted the c countries fivive plan.. he told nhnhk world what kind o growth can be expected this yearar. >> measures are in place. it's the most important case when assessing the economy. >> we expect that china's economic growth rate for 2017 will be 6.5% or higher. most likely betweenen 6.5 an

the c-2 and c-1 are going to have a difficult time sold outside of japan. prime minister abe has taken on the role of defense market bd and he is the best business development person in japan right now. we saw he took a personal interest with prime minister abe in australia and took it through, unfortunately, unsuccessfully when mr. abbott lost his job but did a great effort trying to move it into australia and taken the personal initiative with inside indiana and trying to move the u.s. too even there's none before the u.s. 2 and come a long way and may sell u.s. 2. so it's not a good sign when your best bd guy is your prime minister. he's got other jobs and other responsibilities. it's time for japanese industry to take up the mantle. we've seen, this exists in any bureaucracy and any government and the japanese industry and japanese government have not had shocks to the system that the u.s. government has had that forced the u.s. government to breaking down those stove pipes and beginning to do cross departmental, cross agency cybersecurity requirements a

japan. the number employed by japanese companies alone has topped 1 million for the first time. the labor ministry found the number of foreign workers japanese firms have on their books was 1,080,000 as of the end of october. that's up nearly 20% from a year earlier. as more companies turn to foreigners with professional qualifications as well as international students. workers from china made up more than 30% followed by those from vietnam and the philippines. the manufacturing sector accounted for 30% of jobs. many foreigners also found work in the service sector and wholesale retail sector. >>> people around asia are ready to celebrate the lunar new year starting saturday and many chinese use the holiday period to travel. nhk world has a report on how japanese businesses are shifting gears to keep customers. >> reporter: at tokyo's hand da airport, chinese tourists have been arriving in droves. japan has been a population destination for them. almost 6.5 million visited japan last year. so catering to them is big business. the number of applications this year is higher than l

rain into the southwestern portrtion of japan. as we go forward in time the system will route to the north and east and spread across japan. that will bring the chance for rain into places like tokyo into the latter part of the weekend. looking at snow into beijing and harbin as we go through the weekend. i hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. >>> you can f8úxúa >> the youngest cotrtry in the world is heading for disaster. >> welcome to the france 24 newsroom. this is look at headlines. spy chiefs insist on russia's interference in the u.s. election. why donald trump's refusal to accept their decision. girl freedom from boko haram.

people will use railway services over 40 days around the holiday period. >>> and a lot of tourists from across asia flock to japan's ski resorts this time of year. sayaki mori joins us again for the forecast along japan's sea and northern japan. >> heavy snow and strong winds have been affecting northern japan since monday. over 24 hours, 60 centimeters have fallen in parts of tohoku region. heavy snow is common this time of year in the area, but this much snow in the few days is quite rare. very strong winds are affecting the coastal areas, especially gusts of nearly 80 kilometers per hour and we had the coldest air of the season blanketing most of the region. in fact the mercury down to minus 29.2 degrees in parts of hokkaido. which is the coldest of the season in the nation. now we will see more snowfall, an additional 90 centimeters of snowfall is on the menu for hokoriku region. and even the mountains in the kao r region will see somee snowfall nearly up to 60 centimers.s. and w we mayay see somome snono duringed weekend in the big cities like osakaka, a as wells nagoya. so a lot of snow is expected for many areas off japan. but to

at the same time, preparations were being made to have her based in japan. this was the firth. we'd never based a carrier in its battle grupe in a foreign home port before. so in 197 , the midway began what turned out to be an 18-year sow journ operating near tokyo in japan. even though the united states was no longer directly involved in the vietnam war, the war went on anyway and in 1975 north vietnamese forces were really making headway and sigen was about to fall. the midway was assigned a special mission to act as a special floating base for long-range and large air force helicopters to evacuate certain people from sigh gon before the communists took over. as it turned out not only were those people evacuated, but it was also turned into a humanitarian rescue mission whereas many south vietnamese citizens who could make it were able to be shuttled board the midway and other ships offshore in south vietnam. so operation frequent wind as it's called is a major milestone in the history. and what made this unique as well amongst other carriers was that midway being based in a