>>> hello you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe is preparing to sit down with an opponent. he will meet face to face on friday with okinawa governor central and prefectural government officials remain divided over the move. onaga requested a meeting ahead of a summit with u.s. president barack obama later this month. the prime minister is expected to seek approval for the central government's plan to relocate futenma air station within okinawa. abe is likely to stress the transfer is the only way to maintain deterrence under the japan-u.s. alliance and remove dangers posed by the airfield. he will also convey his intention to reduce okinawa's burden of hosting american bases and introduce economic stimulus for the region. the prefecture is home to 70% of u.s. military facilities in japan. the governor is determined no it to have futenma relocated in okinawa. >> translator: i will tell the prime minister that the new base cannot be built. i also want to convey to him the feelings of the people of okinawa so he can relay t

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's friday april 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the operator of the crippled nuclear plant in northeastern japan is employing some high-tech help for the decommissioning. officials with tokyo electric power company want to see inside a fukushima daiichi reactor, but it's too dangerous. so they're sending in a robot instead. three of the plant's reactors melted down after the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami. workers haven't been able to determine the extent of damage or find molten fuel. high levels of radiation are keeping them away. tepco officials plan to put a remote-controlled robot into the number one reactor containment vessel. they'll be able to steer the snake-like machine around obstacles. they'll measure radiation and temperature levels and the robot's camera will allow them to see the damage. until now, they've used computer simulations to try to understand what's inside. they've gathered results indicating the nuclear fuel has melted and fallen to the bottom of the vessel. tepco officials say they hope the robot will help

hello there, and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, april 16th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> transport ministry officials say they're learning more about what caused an accident at an airport in western japan. they say thes ian that airlines plane was flying at a normal altitude until one minute before landing in hiroshima. they are trying to figure out what caused an aircraft to drop suddenly. the aircraft, the accident occurred on tuesday evening local time. the airbus a320 hit a communications structure as it was coming in. when it finally touched down, the jet veered off the runway before coming to a stop. the aircraft's wing and left side engine were severely damaged and 25 people were injured. authorities say the plane was at an altitude of 900 meters, two minutes before landing, at around 600 meters one minute before landing but then suddenly dropped to six meters. japan transport safety board officials have taken the flight and voice recorders from the plane as part of their investigation. they'll analyze data to find out why the south korean jet descended rapidl

♪ >>> hello and welcome to "newsline." it's friday, april 3rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> a decisive step a historic understanding. western leaders praised an interim deal reached for a comprehensive framework on iran's nuclear program. they also cautioned much work remains over the next three months to reach a final agreement. >> we have reached solutions on key parameters of a joint comprehensive plan of action. the political determination, the good will and the hard work of all parties made it possible. >> mogherini and iranian foreign minister mohammad javad zarif spoke. the statement says iran will restrict its uranium enrichment over the next decade but the nation will continue the activity. all its nuclear facilities will stay online. western countries will lift their sanctions if a final deal is reached and the international atomic energy agency certifies iran is adhearing to the nuclear restrictions. >> our political understanding arrived at today opens the door for a long-term resolution to the international community's concerns about iran's nuclear program.

airport just outside of tokyo have their own place to go. the third terminal has been launched for the exclusive use of uccs. >> operations got underway from 3:30 a.m. wednesday as the first passengers entered the building it's norida's first new terminal in 23 years. >> i wanted to be here on this landmark day when the terminal opened for the first time. i think i'm going to have more chances to fly now. the operator tried to minimize construction costs so that it could cut landing fees to half of that charge in other terminals. the firm hopes the move will attract other budget carriers. around 680 domestic and international no frills flights will be taking off or landing at the new terminal every week that's roughly 80% of all flights at norida. they fly to 12 cities in japan and 7 abroad. >>> working for a big company in japan was once a ticket to lifelong employment. but no longer workers in their 40s and 50s are increasingly being asked to consider early retirement as companies restructure. many still have mortgages to pay, and kids to raise. so a training school is helping th

nasdaq down .2%. let's go to ramin mellegard. from the tokyo stock exchange. what are you seeing this morning. >> you mentioned retail sales in the u.s. and a little bit less than spectacular, to put it that way. and we did see a slight drop in the dollar as well. let's see how that is effecting the nikkei and topix for wednesday april 15th. both down the negative of a a .25%. and the nikkei ended flat on tuesday, pretty similar to trading monday as well. investors really seem to be reluctant to take that next step after the recent record gains we've seen. exporters also may be in for a little bit of a negative sentiment as we've seen the dollar falling against the yen. it is now at the mid to lower 119 yen levels. retail sales and imf cut in growth forecast for the u.s. economy that you also mentioned ai, also pushing the dollar lower. the euro edged up against the dollar despite concerns about greece and the yen from two year lows marked yesterday. the singapore dollar interestingly rose against the u.s. dollar as the monetary authority in singapore kept its policy steady yesterday.

tokyo. >>> japan's emperor and empress are about to begin the second day of their visit to the pacific island nation of palau by remembering a tragic moment in history. they're going to fly to a nearby island, site of one of the fiercest battles during world war ii. emperor akihito and empress michiko began their first visit to palau on wednesday. they attended a banquet that was hosted by the country's president, tommy remenghesau, and his wife debbie. the presidents and first ladies of micronesia and the marshall islands were among the dignitaries. >>> the second day of their visit will take them to the world war ii battlefield on the island of peleliu. more than 10,000 japanese soldiers and u.s. soldiers died in that battle. they will also visit a memorial for u.s. troops. the couple will later immediate islanders, many of them of japanese descent, before returning home thursday night. >>> the defense chiefs of japan and u.s. sat down for face to face talks on the security alliance. they've agreed to speed up a review of defense cooperation guidelines and they've also found

tokyo. >>> european union leaders say they're taking action on a crisis in the mediterranean sea. they're holding an emergency summit following the mass drowning of migrants and they are vowing to deal strictly with traffickers and illegal immigrantings. they issued a joint statement on their plans. they agreed to triple funding for coastal patrols and rescue missions and they say they'll strengthen efforts to capture smugglers and take their boats. they also agreed to tighten controls on the flow of illegal immigrants by sending them back to their countries. the eu is asking members to swiftly implement the new measures. leaders will discuss progress at their june summit. >>> u.s. president barack obama has revealed what he calls a terrible tragedy in a drone strike on al qaeda in pakistan. he says an american and italian hostage were killed. and he apologized to the families of the victims. obama called an unscheduled news conference on thursday at the white house. he revealed details of the january attack on a border region between afghanistan and pakistan. it's where a u.s. a

>>> hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, april 2nd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >> thailand's interim prime minister lifted martial law after 11 months. but he's invoked a new security clause that means the military will retain broad powers. he made the announcement in a televised address. the military imposed martial law last may just before it took control of the country in a coup. he issue ad new order which retains significant powers for the military. it bans political gatherings of more than five people and the military would be able to detain people without charge. he says the new order is based on an interim constitution in order to maintain security. observers say the lifting of martial law is design to diffuse internal criticism of human rights violations and eliminating concerns about the effects on the economy, especially the tourism industry. >>> negotiators from iran and six world powers have extended their marathon round of talks for a second day. they are hoping to reach a deal on demands from iron. the negotiations between iran and the five perma

. i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> foreign and defense chiefs from japan and the united states have made new guidelines for defense cooperation. it is the first time they have revised the guidelines in 18 years. foreign minister fumio kishida and defense men minister gen nakatani met with john kerry and ash carter. they say the revisions are men to improve cooperation in the face of an increasingly complicated international security environment. the new guidelines say the two countries are securing their seamless and effective coordination under normal circumstances and in the event of contingencies. the guidelines call for bilateral cooperation if countries other than japan are attacked. this reflects japan's changed legislation over its right to collective self-defense. other areas of cooperation include international mine sweeping operations and response to ballistic missile launches. >> today we mark the establishment of japan's capacity to defend not just its own territory but also the united states and other partners as needed. this is an historic meeting and historic transiti

catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> members of an international migration watchdog have released a grim statistic. they say more than 1,700 people have died this year trying to cross the mediterranean to europe. they say the number is a 30-fold increase over the same period last year. spokesperson for the international organization for migration commented after the capsizing of a boat off the coast of italy. more than 800 people including children are feared drowned. 28 have been rescued. italian prosecutors say 15 people have been detained on suspicion of human trafficking. they say they're part of a smuggling ring from africa. the group is suspected of smuggling more than 5,000 people since last year. the iom says tackling trafficking rings is a pressing task. >> the difficulty in the past is we have only caught those small smugglers who are running the boats but not the big fish who are behind the operation, and we need a break-through in that and to do that we need to organize ourselves to go after these gangs. >> eu ministers agreed at an emergency meeting to step up measures again

kobayashi in tokyo. >>> ministers of the european union have agreed to step up measures in response to a migration crisis. they are seeing an influgs of people from africa and the middle east to europe. ministers from 28 eu member states held emergency talks in lux um borg to discuss how to respond to the crisis. they proposed a set of measures. they also agreed to broaden search and rescue operations by an eu mission and they proposed to share the burden of dealing with incoming refugees. >> finally give the idea of a new sense of urgency, a new sense of political will from the european union side to tackle the issue of migration and the trafficking and smuggling of people across the mediterranean. >> but there are differences of opinion over the scale and range of the proposed measures. italian authorities are continuing their search for survivors and bodies from saturday's deadly ship wreck in the mediterranean. a boat containing 700 people capsized off the coast of italy. prosecutors say some rescued were from somalia, nigeria and jips. the boat left egypt and stopped at a port

tokyo. >>> people in nigeria are coming together the mark nor than one year since 200 female students were kidnapped by the islamic extremist group boko haram. they gathered on monday to demonstrate in the nigeriian capital. many put tape on their mouths as a show of salolidarity with the victims. >> i want them back healthy and alive with no trauma, with no heart ache. >> extremists kidnapped the girls from a school last year. they said they would sell all the girls as slaves. pakistani nobel peace prize laureate malala use receive subsidy is calling on authority to do more to free the girls. she has travelled to nigeria to offer her support to the families. >> we cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured but please know this we will never forget you. we will always stand with you. >> boko haram members have escalated their acts of violence against nigeriians since the mass kidnapping. nay have also taken more children. boy are reportedly made to become soldiers and girls are forced into marriage. some of the girls are believed to have been sexual abused. officia

kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japan's imperial couple is about to make a journey to pay respect to the past and look to the future. they'll travel to the pacific island nation of palau to a major battleground of world war ii. the official visit comes ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war and is aimed at bringing the two countries even closer together. emperor akito and empress michiko's two-day tour begins wednesday. their schedule includes a visit to peleliu to pay their respects to the war dead. the island was the site of a fierce battle between japanese and u.s. soldiers during world war ii. palau's president, tommy hemengesau, says residents are looking forward to their arrival. >> we are very honored and very appreciative of the now planned visit of the emperor and the empress to visit palau as we remember the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. >> remengesau says palau and japan must console the spirits of the dead. he says the anniversary is an important occasion to mourn those who died and to pray for peace. palau was under japanese control for about three dec

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. japanese police say a man has taken responsibility for landing a drone on the prime minister's office. they say he showed up far away from the capital and turned himself in. the man appeared at police station in fukui prefecture. the man is in his 40s and lives in the region. he told police he landed the drone on the prime minister's office as an anti-nuclear protest. investigators are trying to confirm whether he actually flew it. the drone was found earlier this week. it was carrying a plastic bottle containing traces of radioactive cesium. engineers with the company that produced the drone have been examining the equipment fitted to the device. they say it was likely flown by someone who had considerable knowledge and experience. the engineers say a high-definition footage from the camera could be sent up to 1.2 kilometers with a transmitter. they demonstrated a flight using a similar system and they say attaching the extra devices would make it more difficult to operate. the color of the m

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe says he will continue to push north korea for information on citizens who were abducted decades ago. north korea formed an investigative committee last year but has not reported any findings. now, pyongyang says it is not possible to meet for talks citing a police raid on the tokyo home of a leader of a pro-pyongyang group. abe criticized the notification from pyongyang when he met with families of the abductees. >> translator: the notification is totally unacceptable. the japanese government will be resolute in dealing with this situation. >> the leader of the families group urged the japanese government to do all it can as the abductees and families are reaching their limits physically and mentally. >> translator: we want the government to take decisive action to resolve the issue under any circumstances. we want officials to work with utmost patience to bring the abductees back home. >> the japanese government has filed an official complaint against north korea. >>> chin

>>> hello, and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradham in tokyo. >>> engineers at the crippled nuclear plant in northeastern japan are using some advanced decommissioning technology. they want to see inside the reactors at fukushima daiichi but it's too dangerous for humans. so for first time they've sent a robot into one of the containment vessels. three of the reactors suffered a meltdown after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. they haven't determined the extent of damage or located the melted fuel. high levels of radiation are hampering efforts. a remote controlled robot was inserted into the number one reactor containment vessel through a pipe. the snake-like machine is designed to move around obstacles. they were unable to move the robot after it traveled ten meters. they suspect the remote control cable is stuck or the drive belts are not functioning properly. but they say they were able to conduct checks on 14 of 18 areas inside the reactors and the engineers say they've been able to receive images and radiation data gathered by the robot. u

>>> hello. this is "newsline." i'm keiko quite gau what in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe and u.s. president obama have held talks in washington. the two leaders reaffirmed that the alliance between japan and the u.s. will play a crucial role in bringing peace to the world and carve out a path to a new era. >> translator: today we open a new page in the history of the japan/u.s. alliance that has lasted more than half a century. it's an alliance that is essential to the world. our two countries are partners that share basic values such as freedom, democracy, basic human rights and the rule of law. our alliance is forged with that bond. it is now an indispensable alliance for the peace and stability of the asia-pacific region as well as the world. >> across seven decades, our nations have become not just allies but true partners and friends, and that mutual afence will be on show tomorrow when shinzo abe becomes the first japanese prime minister to address a joint meeting of congress. and we are partners who stand together for dignity around the world, opposing r

financial sector which weighed on the shanghai composite which ended flat. here in tokyo earnings will remain a big focus. we're going to have sony and nomura among the big names who will release earnings today. i'll have a morning wrap of how those shares trade and some of the asian indexes. back to you. >> ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange where the nikkei and the topix are trading in the negative this morning. >>> small communities without high profile attractions often find it hard to draw attention from tourists from people in bungotakada are trying to change that in an unconventional way. they are focusing on foreign visitors by turning back the clock. nhk world's keiko aso reports. >> reporter: a delegation from south korea is value visiting bungotakada. they came to study the city, which has been remodelled to look like a town during the economic boom of the 1950s. the visitors are experiencing how japanese lived and played in the post-war years. residents in bungotakada have worked hard to recreate this period of history. as part of the town remodelling, owners of

. "newsline." it's thursday, april 23rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> leaders from asian and african nations are calling for better coordination in fighting terrorism and poverty. they're gathered in indonesia's capital for the asian african summit. japan's prime minister shinzo abe is among the attendants and he gave hints about a speech he plans to deliver to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. nhk world's mayaki ambe reports. >> reporter: in a speech, abe referred to the remorse for the country's actions during world war ii. abe says he upholds this recognition outlined by previous administrations. but unlike his predecessor, junichiro koizumi who spoke at the same conference ten years ago, he did not express an apology. abe's speech focused on the future. >> translator: japan's resolve is to turn growth in asia and africa into an enduring and not ephemeral event. >> reporter: on the sidelines of the summit, abe met with chinese president xi jinping. he later told reporters that their talks were very substantial. he said he hoped to hold further such

has more. >> reporter: this electronics shop in tokyo has a section just for drones. sales of devices have doubled since autumn last year. they are designed to capture high definition images. they cost about $100. >> translator: the drones initially attracted photography buffs. but now, the customer range has widened considerably to include teenagers. >> reporter: drones can fly at very low altitudes, much lower than helicopters. that makes them useful tools in disaster recover efforts. they can beam back images that can help responders assess damage quickly. many businesses have also embraced drone technology. a u.s. e-commerce giant has announced plans to start using drones to deliver goods to customers more quickly. the tokyo metropolitan police department unveiled a security drone on tuesday. the department is considering using drones as part of its security arsenal when tokyo hosts the olympic and paralympic games in 2020. analysts predict that drone sales will reach nearly $80 billion over the next decade in the united states alone. drone technology is expected to yield

containment vessel. the video clearly shows there is water at the bottom of the vessel. last friday tokyo electric power company sent its first remote controlled survey robot into the number one reactor which underwent a meltdown in 2011. the robot came to a halt inside the reactor. on wednesday, the utility sent in a second one. the second robot moved along a passageway around the inner wall of the containment vessel in a clockwise direction, it recorded the damage and measured radiation levels. this video taken by the robot. the camera looks down through slits in the floor of the passageway. the black section is the water. it's reflecting light from the robot. judging from the reflection, the water surface appears to be 2.8 meters above the bottom of the vessel. this tallies with the results of past readings. the footage shows severe deterioration to the exterior of various equipment. the surface of the passageway is badly rusted. tepco officials say the coating on the metal surfaces may have peeled off due to extreme heat when the meltdown occurred. >> top trade negotiators from gentle

>>> welcome to newsline it is wednesday april 1st, i'm katherine catherine kobayashi in tokyo. representatives of iran and the six world powers have agreed to spend their talks on tehran's nuclear program. they sent tuesday as their deadline to reach a deal. they'll push their negotiations into wednesday. the session is being held in switzerland. the negotiators include iran's foreign minister and his counterparts from the five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany, the group is trying to decide how long the restrictions on iran's nuclear program remain in effect. they're discussing how the sanctions would be lifted. leaders want them to be lifts as quickly as possible. american and western nations are trying to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons. they couldn't hammer out a deal. u.s. state department spokesperson marie heart said in a statement that enough progress has been made in the last days to merit an extension. but she said there are several difficult issues still on the table. voters in nigeria have chosen a ruler to leave the ruling pa

merge. ♪ ♪ . "newsline." it's thursday, april 23rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> leaders from asian and african nations are calling for better coordination in fighting terrorism and poverty. they're gathered in indonesia's capital for the asian african summit. japan's prime minister shinzo abe is among the attendants and he gave hints about a speech he plans to deliver to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. nhk world's mayaki ambe reports. >> reporter: in a speech, abe referred to the remorse for the country's actions during world war ii.

in tokyo. >>> transport ministry officials say they're learning more about what caused an accident at an airport in western japan. they say thes ian that airlines plane was flying at a normal altitude until one minute before landing in hiroshima. they are trying to figure out what caused an aircraft to drop suddenly. the aircraft, the accident occurred on tuesday evening local time. the airbus a32

." it's thursday april 9th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japan's emperor and empress are about to begin the second day of their visit to the pacific island nation of palau by remembering a tragic moment in history. they're going to fly to a nearby island, site of one of the fiercest battles during world war ii. emperor akihito and empress michiko began their first visit to palau on wednesday. they attended a banquet that was hosted by the country's president, tommy

tokyo and nagoya, making the 300 kilometer journey in just 40 minutes. get ready to blow out some candles among the world monarchs -- she is the oldest. queen elizabeth ii, today is her 89th birthday. anchor: cavalry officers fired a 41 gun salute in honor of the queen in london. elizabeth ascended to the throne at the age of 25 in -- and in september, she may break queen victoria's record as longest-serving monarch. they will celebrate a little more, but not until her official birthday in june. anchor: i sent her a card but i have not heard back from her. thanks for watching, everybody. our highlights of the past week which includes these and other stories. brave new world. a famous frankfurt museum revamps its digital profile. saving the world. why bicycles from sustainable materials are all the rage. surreal world. the spectacular images of photographer pierre winther. it was in 1815 that johann friedrich stadel -- a frankfurt banker and merchant -- made a key stipulation in his will. his considerable art collection was to be housed in a museum that was open to all citizens of

felt like a stranger. right from the second day, whether in delhi, tokyo, or new york. i've always felt at home. thank you for your interest in my home. until the next time! i hope we'll see each other again in cuba. >> the little west african country of benin is a regular paradise for bird watchers and birds themselves, of course. in contrast to neighboring nigeria, where oil extraction has destroyed many natural habitats, benin's countryside remains largely untouched. that's good news for these two french orenthal jilses or bird experts, if you prefer, who have made it their medication to track down a rare and tiny bird that in nigeria is threatened with ex-tinges. >> julien gonin is traveling in southern benin. he's an ornithologist just like his father. this is the second time he's come to benin, which features an especially rich bird population. in this part of the country, much of life takes place on water. along with his colleague, fabien mercier, julian is looking for a particular species of bird, the very shy and rare anambra wax bill, a type of finch. >> we're going to th

past two years, tokyo has been pushing for a return to nuclear energy despite fierce resistance. now for the second time in less than here, the government has -- the court ruled another power plant may not restart attack -- restart its reactors due to ongoing safety concerns. anchor: these activists could rdly wait to share the verdict with the public. one plant had wanted to resume opations at its plant. theyeceid the approval of national regulators but a judge that the reactors are not earthquake proof and pozen imminent danger to local residents. for the activists, the decision is a victory, but it does not go far enough. >> we need to look at the reality of the fukushima crisis and demand not only this reactor but all nuclear plants are stopped. reporter: pulls show that most japanese have turned against nuclear power. >> this decision was made in part because of the sacrifices of the victims at fukushima. for those suffering there, i hope this reaches you and i hope you listen. is was made possible because of you. reporter: the government said setbacks would not halt its pl

14th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> people in nigeria are coming together the mark nor than one year since 200 female students were kidnapped by the islamic extremist group boko haram. they gathered on monday to demonstrate in the nigeriian capital. many put tape on their mouths as a show of