i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.>> japanese government leaders on a race against time. they are using all resources available to try to have two nationals believed to be captured by islamic state released. and they're promising the militant group that millions of military aid promised to the middle east is solely for humanitarian purposes. >> translator: we will use the trust and all the channels cultivated in the middle east. we will try every means available. >> the video released shows two men who are believed to be freelance journalists. kenji goto and harunai yakua. a purported islamic state member threatens to kill them unless the japanese government pays a ransom of $200 million within 72 hours. officials in tokyo assume the deadline is around 2:50 p.m. japan time on friday. state minister for foreign affairs yasuhide nakayama is taking charge of a task force based at the japanese embassy in jordan. he met on wednesday with king abdullah. the king gave assurances of his readiness to cooperate fully. japan's fo

tokyo investors are in a risk off mode.he nikkei index opened lower, it is trading lower by 7/10 of a% from tuesday's close, below the 17,000 level. investors are selling shares of major exporters as the yen is stronger against major currencies. traders are buying the yen as they consider it a relatively safer asset. the dollar yen trading well below the 118 yen level at the moment. analysts say another reason for the weaker dollar is a lower yield on u.s. treasury notes. the yield on the ten-year treasury fell to the lowest level in three months. in other markets in the asia pacific region south korea's costb is trading higher by just about 3/10%, but in australia the benchmark index is down a tenth of a%. a bit of a mixed picture this morning. officials at the tokyo metropolitan government have decided to set up a hydrogen fund worth about $340 million and will be used to promote hydrogen as a source of energy. >>> the officials have set a goal of achieving what they call a hydrogen powered society ahead of the tokyo summ

i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. first a look at the headlines. >>> president barack obama has proposed new cybersecurity measures calling the hackings of sony pictures and the u.s. central command an urgent and growing danger. >>> editors at "charlie hebdo" are publishing another cartoon of the prophet muhammad in defiance of last week's violence. >>> and the world's biggest economy is moving to tighten its monetary policy this year. we hear from an expert about the timing and its impact. >>> u.s. president barack obama is making a move to try to counter cyberattacks. he's announced new security measures following the recent hacking of sony pictures and the u.s. central command. he says the incidents are reminders of serious threats facing the country. >> we saw the hack of a military twitter account and youtube channel. no military operations were impacted. so far it appears that no classified information was released, but the investigation is ongoing and it's a reminder that cyber threats are an urgent and growing

tokyo area. has been over 60 flights canceled. trains still look like they're running on time. but it's going to be a slick day out there on the roads for people that are driving in to work during your morning hours. big question is how long is this going to be lasting? i don't think it actually is going to be a day-long event if you are in the metro area. what's happening is you have your low coming in from the southwest. that's pushing off toward the northeast. but a warm front is pushing through. so still in central tokyo up to five centimeters could be seen but by the afternoon hours it's going to be change over to rain. so any snow that's on the ground will be turning into akind of a slushy mixture before this pulls away toward the northeast. still in the higher elevations it will continue to pile up across ports of tohoku into hokkaido. you could see as much as 30 centimeters of snowfall. i think eastern hokkaido that's going to be combined with the winds. we're looking at some blizzard con

the tokyo market leads the way. and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight here on "newsline." >>> makers of electronic gadgets are gathering in las vegas. they're rolling out their latest projects at the international consumer electronics show. the biggest names in televisions are showing how they put a new spin on a familiar device. here's our report. >> reporter: asian manufacturers dominate the global market for tvs. many of them have come to see the show armed with tvs that contain new features and technologies. sharp of japan has unveiled a high-definition 4k model. it has four times as many pixels as current high-definition tvs. company representatives say the set even makes recording images look better. it does that by showing the images at the equivalent of 8k resol

i'm gene o tanny in tokyo. still he said the government in seoul should first stop holding military exercises with other countries. >>> kim went on national tv to share policies for the coming year and said he can no longer tolerate the tragedy of a divided korean people. he wants a turn around provided leaders in seoul stop causing tension. leaders in seoul proposed talks three days ago. they want to speak mainly about reuniting families separated by the war. they urged officials to take steps toward a peaceful reunion of nations. >>> a new year's celebration in shanghai ended in disaster. more than 30 people died in a stampede. people gathered in a popular tourist spot by the river to watch a light show on nearby buildings. so many packed into the streets, they brought traffic to a stand still. then the crowd surged. roiters reports at least 36 people died. city officials say 50 others got taken to the hospital. they're trying to figure out what caused the accident. >> translator: when i was climbing up the s

they joined the tokyo fire department's hyper rescue team. the drill ended with fire boats spraying water tinted with the five colors of the olympic rings in anticipation of the 2020 tokyo games. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada. on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us. >>> good evening from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with oscar winner anjelica huston about her latest thome "watch me: a memoir," about her childhood. a where theh last left off. a candid look at her career in l.a. and much publicized romance with jack nicholson and relationship with robert graham. we're glad you joined us. a conversation with oscar winner anjelica huston coming up right now. ♪

approximately 5 millimeters of snow could occur in tokyo. it's not the accumulation but we may see some and some snow could cause traffic disturbances in tokyo and could affect our morning commute. >> is on the menu for western japan. you may get up to 20 centimeters. it is not a big issue friday but during the weekend, snow is likely to come back. across the north western portions of the university you saw nearly 90 meters of snow in just two days like in massachusetts. and people are still digging out. i want to take you to eastern massachusetts to show how conditions are still severe out there. people trying to pick up the pieces after a powerful snowfall slammed into the area causing significant damage including flattened trees and garbage cans. it froze over vehicles because of the cold temperatures. two homes had to be condemned after a 24 meter seawall collapsed. it's totally frozen up there. good news snow has let up in the northeastern portions of the united states, however we're expecting to see snowfall once again as we go to frid

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. officials from japan and china have resumed talks over a maritime hotline to try to prevent accidental clashes at sea or in the air. >>> supporters of an islamic militant group are thought to be responsible for a cyber attack that targeted the u.s. military. >>> thousands of haitians are still living in shelters. five years after a powerful earthquake leveled their homes. >>> taiwanese aviation authorities have criticized china for creating new commercial air routes over the taiwan strait. they say the routes could be a threat to flight safety. chinese authorities on monday announced four routes that will pass near the mainland's southeast coast. the head of taiwan's civil aeronautics administration says it's unacceptable for china to make that decision without formal consultations. authorities in beijing say the new routes are necessary because those over the mainland have become too crowded. they say they'll start using

i'm gene otani in tokyo. llion copies of the first edition selling out within hours showing the prophet mohammed on it front page. charlie hebdo roles of the printing press a week to the day from the attack. al qaeda in yemen is claiming the possibility for the attack on charlie hebdo. and the italian president resigns, cutting short his second term, and opening the way for election of a new state. also coming

the tokyo market leads the way.arkets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day, here on "newsline." >>> north korean leader kim jong un is reportedly ready to make his first trip overseas since taking power. russian officials say he's going to attend a ceremony in moscow in may. interfax news agency quotes kremlin spokesperson dimitri peskov saying his government has confirmed kim will attend an event on may 9th. the occasion will be the 70th anniversary of the soviet union's victory over nazi germany in world war ii. north korea has been seeking to strengthen relations with russia. its political ties with its closest ally china have recently soured. in november the secretary of the workers party visited russia as kim's special envoy. he held talks with president vladimir pu

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. authorities in belgium say they have foiled a terror attack. police raided a town near brussels as part of an investigation into extremists returning from syria. they shot dead two suspects and arrested a third. >> during the investigation we found that this group was about to commit terrorist attacks in belgium. >> prosecutors say raids were carried out in vervies and the capital. they say the suspects were planning to launch a large-scale attack targeting police officers. officers evacuated a police station in brussels out of fear explosives may have been planted. authorities have not yet confirmed whether the three suspects had links to last week's attacks in france. at least 150 people from belgium are said to have gone to syria as fighters after being inspired by extreme ideology. this has raised concern that they may carry out acts of terrorism on home soil. >>> japan's prime minister has left for a tour to the middle east. shinzo abe will travel to four countries and territorie

it fell below 117 during tokyo trading hours. official at the reserve bank of india have cut the key interest rate for the first time in a year and say inflation shows signs of slowing and global oil prices are plunging. the bank cut its main lending rate by.25 percentage points to 7.75%. officials kept the rate at 8% since last january. the india economy has been growing because price ss and spend ing are problems. bankers decided to cut the interest rate ahead of their policy meeting next month. the governor indicated more rate cuts may be in store. officials in india are calling for lower interest rates as a way of stimulating the economy. >>> officials at the bank are keeping a close eye on economic activity around the country. they say all nine regions are recovering or recovering moderately. saying in their quarterly assessment hokkaido is showing signs of slowing activity but kept the overall assessments unchanged. they downgraded assessment for factory output in hokkaido and raised it on semiconductors and other goods. th

temperatures in tokyo up to 8 degrees during the daytime hours. now moisture and low temperatures are resulting in snowfall in inland locations of china. probably up to 15 centimeters in hunan province. now temperatures in shanghai at 6 degrees during the daytime hours. know is on the menu. so at the freezing point despite sunny weather and again tokyo 8 degrees for the high on wednesday. now finally over europe very unstable weather is continuing over the mediterranean countries. over the south of italy and the balkan peninsula and parts of turkey there's a chance of thunderstorms, and even hail for the coastal locations, and inland snow for the mountainous locations. patches of snow for central europe, but temperatures actually warmer than average. zero degrees for the high moscow minus 3 degrees, just a couple of degrees higher than normal. zero degrees in kiev with snow on the menu. but across the west in the teens in madrid as well as lisbon on tuesday. that's all for now. here's your extended forecast. >>> that's "newsline" for this hour, i'

so tokyo and shanghai underperforming somewhat and that's all for me. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that update. >>> president barack obama has called on congress to finalize the transpacific partnership free trade deal. he made the appeal in the state of the union address. >> china wants to write the rules for the world's fastest growing region. that would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage. why would we let that happen? we should write those rules. we should level the playing field. that's why i'm asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect american workers with strong new trade deals from asia to europe that aren't just free but are also fair. >> u.s. trade representative michael froman spoke in washington the day after obama's speech. >> we look to congress to pass bipartisan trade authority. it's clear that administration and congress are on the same page in negotiating high standards in our trade agreements. >> froman said this conclusion of the deal is now in sight. he said that other participating cou

i'm keikichi hanada in tokyo. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. >>> japanese government officials are working to get two men believed to be hostages of islamic state freed. >>> a representative of islamic state has effectively admitted the group is holding the japanese hostages for ransom. >>> and the number of tourists visiting japan has been growing. that's good for the country's economy but the nation's airport is struggling to keep up with the crowd. >>> the japanese government is using all available channels to gather information to help free two men believed to have been captured by islamic state militants. government officials say family members have confirmed that the man in the video are -- and --. a purported islamic state member appears with the two hostages in an online video and threatens to kill them unless japan pays a ransom within 72 hours. a foreign ministry official says the video is highly likely to be authentic. but a senior government official says the militant group ha

tokyo at 60 degrees for the high. a quick look here across the states. snow will be traveling from chicago all the way into new england states and probably affecting the big cities such as new york and d.c. into the evening hours on your wednesday. possibly disturbing your commuting. 20 centimeters will snowfall will be piling up in and around the four corners as well as northwestern texas. summer like temperatures are prevailing in los angeles at 22 degrees. i'll leave you now for our extended forecast. >>> that's all for this edition of newsline i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo, thanks for staying with us. x ' global agenda. welcome to "global 3000." i'm michaela kuefner and here's what we have coming up for you during the next half hour. how a west african inventor turned electronic junk into a 3d printer . meet the kenyan boy who came up with an effective way to keep lions out of his village and the struggles indigenous peoples face criminal paraguay. -- phase in paraguay. for millions of africans the internet has opened up a new world of opportuniti

i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to this hour's "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> mcdonald's japan plans to run safety checks on all its outlets after customers found various foreign objects in their food. >>> officials from japan and china are negotiating the details of their next round of talks on maritime issues. >>> and top of the mountain. a young athlete in south korea is looking to climb to the highest position in her sport. >>> officials at mcdonald's japan are taking steps they hope clean up the company's outlets and reputation. they plan to check how sanitation is managed at all their restaurants nationwide. this follows a series of scandals involving foreign objects found in mcdonald's food. the officials say an external food safety company will check the more than 3,000 outlets. the sanitary workers will inspect how cook utensils and equipment are kept. they'll also check how able mcdonald's workers are to detect objects that don't belong in food. earlier this month, a customer found a piece of

tokyo stock prices opened higher. investors are hunting for bargain shares after the nikkea fell more than 2% earlier this week. now, export-related issues like car makers they are higher on a relatively weaker yen, so let's see where currencies are trading. the dollar bouncing back this morning. earlier it had hit a one-month low at nearly 116 yen. it is now in the mid 117 yen levels. now, analysts say traders have somewhat regained their risk appetite as crude oil prices were slightly higher over in new york. the euro remains low against major currencies. traders are speculating the european bank may take further easing measures such as bond buying. >>> the yield on the benchmark went down to 0.245%. it has posted a record low in a three days in a row. >>> other markets, mix picture. south korea trading slightly higher but in australia, it's lower than more than half a percent. we'll see where it takes us throughout the day. i'll be back in the next hour with more updates. here's a look at some other markets. >>> mo

he's trying to do that in time for the 2020 olympic and paraolympic games in tokyo. nhk world has more. >> reporter: dozens of people turned out for the tradition of the kimono. this piece represents south africa, lithuania, buton, bavalu, brazil and qatar. yoshii produced the show. many kimono makers are old. they will start retiring in a few years. without handing down their know-how to younger people. >> translator: i really think it's urgent we do something now. otherwise we'll lose this culture. >> reporter: takakura wanted to give veteran kimono makers a chance to show off their skills. he hopes the exhibition will inspire people to contribute to his project. he plans to offer financial help to young people who are learning the craft. takakura invited the best kimono makers from around japan to join him. more than 50 agreed to contribute. this is the kimono dedicated for lithuania, the motifs come from the world heritage church nearby the baltic sea. this sash is weaved by one of the most established textile makers in kyoto. they make the textile for the imperi

temperatures in tokyo, not bad at 15 degrees. very mild conditions but on wednesday, it could drop to possibly single digits. seoul looking at that arctic chill at minus 1 degree for your why on tuesday. of knews line. thank very much for joining us. >> hello, and thanks for tuning in to the show. we have a festive start to the program today so let's find out what is on the way. la fete de lumieres lights up lyon. leap of faith. the daredevil stunts of scottish trials biker danny macaskill. ancient world -- we visit the roman town ruins of herculaneum. the 8th of december marks a french, lyonnaise tradition that has become known as the festival of lights. back in the 17th century, when the city was struck by the plague, residents promised to pay tribute to mary, the mother of jesus, if the town was spared. and so, for centuries, locals held an annual candlelit procession in her honor which in

the year tokyo hosts the olympic games. but some students and parents can't wait for that long, so they've chosen schools other than the public ones. one example is an indian school in tokyo that's becoming increasingly popular. >> one, two, three. >> this school is not in new delhi, but in downtown tokyo. the day begins with yoga. it's supposed to boost energy as well as concentration. advanced math classes are common in india. they start learning multiplication from 4 years old. in most japanese schools that starts from 8. show shin is a seventh grader. he transferred from a local japanese school three years ago. at fist, he spoke little english, but today, he doesn't have a problem communicating with his classmates. >> b or a or discount or something. >> i.t. classes are compulsory here from kindergarten. at the age of 12, they start learning visual basics a subject often taught at the high school level in japan and by graduation they can manage to program. the global indian international school tokyo was founded in 2006

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline" i'm gene otani in tokyo. rescue teams in indonesia are facing more setbacks looking for the missing airasia passenger jet. they're dealing with strong winds and heavy seas. and they've been forced to temporarily call off their search. airasia qz8501 went down on sunday in waters near the kalimantan islands with 162 passengers and crew on board. searchers have been scouring the floor of the java sea for the fuselage and the black boxes. they've so far recovered ten bodies near the suspected crash site and they're now getting more assistance. a team of accident investigation experts from france arrived on friday in indonesia. they'll use state-of-the-art equipment to try to detect pings from the black boxes in order to retrieve them. >>> people in western japan are starting the new year under a winter weather warning. meteorologists say intense snowfall and strong winds could cause transport disruptions. they say a cold air mass and winter weather pattern are bringing heavy snow to some areas. up to 60 centimet

honey, i'm bringing a robot home from tokyo. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm cecilia vega in tokyo.y have lost brad to angelina but jennifer aniston is wning with the role of a lifetime in "cake." she opens up about the drama offscreen. >> what do we do? (coughing) coughing disrupts everyone's life. that's why so many people are turning to delsym for longer lasting cough relief. delsym has an advanced time release formula that helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. up to twice as long as other cough liquids. all night... or all day. >>> breaking up is hard to do. but if you're a celebrity married to another celebrity who leaves you for angelina jolie, that's in a league all its own. tonight one of the world's most famous jilted lovers opens up about leaving the drama to the movies. between wowing on red carpets, starring in the critically acclaimed film "cake," and cuddling up with justin theroux, it's no wonder jennifer aniston has no time to feud with angelina jolie over brad pitt, a love triangle that's provided tabloid fodder for years. the 45-year-old opened up to entertainm

honey, i'm bringing a robot home from tokyo. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm cecilia vega in tokyo.y have lost brad to angelina but jennifer aniston is winning with the role of a lifetime in "cake." she opens up about the drama offscreen. >> what do we do? (coughing) coughing disrupts everyone's life. that's why so many people are turning to delsym for longer lasting cough relief. delsym has an advanced time release formula that helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. up to twice as long as other cough liquids. all night... or all day. hey, cal. snap out of it buddy. sorry. just day dreaming. about a classic truck with flames? yeah! custom chrome... right! and one more to complete the collection. (laughing) alright. how'd you know? you've got the new instant game from the pennsylvania lottery. yeah. $1,000,000 super cash, with top prizes of $1 million. (male announcer) want to see your dreams come to life? you could scratch your way to instant winning. the pennsylvania lottery. bring your dreams to life. >>> breaking up is hard to do. but if you're a celebrity married to another c

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> waiting for word. people are calling for the two captives to be freed as leaders in jordan negotiate with islamic state militants. >>> toyota motor is returning to one of the planet's top racing events. the world rally championship for the first time in almost two decades. >>> and business owners in china are finding a futuristic solution for labor shortages, and soaring wages. >>> concern is growing over the status of captives held by islamic extremists. there's been no word on the condition of the japanese freelance journalist or the jordanian pilot since deadline set by the militants expired on thursday. they demanded exchanging kenji goto for a death row inmate in jordan. but leaders in amman want islamic state to prove their pilot is alive and release him. the air force pilot moaz kasasbeh was captured last month after his jet went down during an air raid. jordanian officials immediately started negotiations with

honey, i'm bringing a robot home from tokyo. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm cecilia vega in tokyo. lost brad to angelina but jennifer aniston is winning with the role of a lifetime in "cake." she opens up about the drama offscreen. >> what do we do? (coughing) coughing disrupts everyone's life. that's why so many people are turning to delsym for longer lasting cough relief. delsym has an advanced time release formula that helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. up to twice as long as other cough liquids. all night... or all day. ring ring!... progresso! it's ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. it's our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. apology accepted. i'm watching you soup people. make it progresso or make it yourself you say avocado old el paso says... zesty chicken and avocado tacos in our stand 'n stuff tortillas . (record scratch) you say stand n' stuff tortillas old el paso says... start somewhere fresh ooooh... i can hear that sizzle. getting louder! and louder! philly cheesesteak and egg sizzling with prime rib and gooey cheese. i better (jus

tokyo, seoul and sydney all extending gains. shanghai underperforming the pack shedding 1.4% on profit taking. mumbai was pretty much flat after its benchmark hit a record high on tuesday. moving on to currencies now, the dollar is locked in a narrow range against the yen. it is currently trading at let's see dollar/yen is at 117.69. traders are holding back from major bets. they're focusing on whether the fed will announce a significant change in its policy outlook in light of plunging oil prices. the euro is trading at the 1.13 dollar level. edging up from 11-year lows earlier this week. meanwhile euro/yen is at 133.75. >>> well sony executives plan to cut another 1,000 jobs from their mobile division. the company is struggling to maintain a foothold in the smartphone business. the latest cuts are mainly in asia and europe. they follow a cut of 1,000 jobs last year in the mobile unit. this was mainly in china. sony's expected to report an operating loss of more than $1.7 billion in its mobile business in the fiscal year throug

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.apanese government officials are dealing with a new stage in the hostage crisis. they're trying to secure the release of the remaining at that pointive under terms dictated by extremists purported to be with the group islamic state. and those terms now involve another country. a message posted online saturday contains an audio recording of a man claiming to be freelance journalist kenji goto. and there's a still shot of him holding a photo of what appears to be the body of the other hostage, haruna yukawa. the man says his captors want a prisoner swap. in return for releasing him they want jordan to free sajida al-rishawi. she's a convicted terrorist on death row. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has directed his administration to make an all-out effort to secure goto's release. he sent his state minister for foreign affairs to jordan to set up a task force last week. yasuhide nakayama spoke to reporters on monday in amman. >> translator: i want jordan and japan to closely cooperate

here in tokyo, markets open ed lower following the trend. the benchmark nikkei is down a little bit more than a third of a percent. many investors are selling shares to take profits from recentre krent recent gains. yesterday the nikkei hit a one-month high. the dollar is trading lower. traders became skeptle call about an early rate hike by the federal reserve after the weak data on the u.s. economy and lack luster corporate earnings. the dollar is weaker against the euro, too. the single currency is trading higher against the yen. euro-yen. looking at other markets south korea's kospi down by .2% in the negative and we are seeing a similar picture in australia. the benchmark indegs down .2% as well. the top u.s. trade official says negotiators of the trans pacific partnership free trade deal made important progress. he says the contours of the final agreement are coming into focus. u.s. trade representative michael froman was with testifying on u.s. trade policy before house and senate committees. >> we think everyone is focused on trying

i'm gene otani in tokyo. çñ?♪ e of the union address saying the crisis has passed. his a dress more aimed at the battle to succeed him -- address seemed more aimed at the battle to succeed him. new anti-terror measures aimed at curbing the threat of attacks in france. a palestinian man

i'm gene otani in tokyo. çñ? ' arch -- suffers from social and ethnic apartheid. this following the worst terrorist attacks in decades. shinzo abe thousand not to give in to terrorism after the islamic state threatens to kill to japanese hostages unless it pays a $209 ransom with knee two hours. -- within 72 hours. and a u.n. member is objected in the central african r

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. indonesian searchers say they found the tail of the missing airasia passenger jet which may hold the black box flight recorders. >>> a top executive of mcdonald's japan has apologized for a series of incidents involving foreign objects found in their food. >>> candidates looking to lead japan's largest opposition party have officially entered the race and are hitting the campaign trail. >>> and the u.s. congress has convened with republicanss controlling both chambers for the first time in eight years. >>> indonesian searchers say they found the tail of an airasia passenger jet that disappeared with 162 people on board. they say the section could house the crucial black box flight recorders. >> translator: i can confirm that we've found the tail. that's been our main target today. >> the head of the search and rescue agency said searchers located the wreckage off the coast of kalimantan. divers were able to identify it fr

i'm ross mihara in tokyo. there has been no word from purported islamic state militants who are holding two japanese hostages. they imposed a ransom deadline which has now expired but japanese government officials say they continue to work to secure the safe release of the men. a masked jihadist demanded $200 million from the japanese government and threatened to kill kenji goto and haruna yukawa unless the ransom was paid within 72 hours. the deadline is believed to have passed at around 3:00 p.m. on friday japan time. japan's chief cabinet secretary says the extremist group has made no contact with his government. >> translator: this matter remains tense. we are still doing all we can to secure the release of the captives. we are using every available channel to seek cooperation. >> an adviser to the prime minister said the government is trying to get information from multiple sources. >> translator: we have received information indirectly, but we have not been able to confirm whether the hostages are safe.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.s for staying with us. q ouses are being rebuilt in the devastated areas at a rapid pace. in this situation, a project was launched to build affordable houses using locally produced timber. driving this project is the kamaishi local forestry association. five of the central figures including the president and the accountants perished in the tsunami and the cooperative was in danger of closing down. however, as part of its efforts to revive, it launched a

i'm gene otani in tokyo. k prime minister. the syriza party won backing from a right wing party that also wants to stop austerity. two sons of the deposed egyptian president hosni mubarak are freed pending their retrial. a day after 15 are killed in antigovernment protests. boko haram seizes new