i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. egyptian president has agreed to >>> pakistans have seen one of their bloodiest days in years. they wounded more than 250. a suicide bomber detonated his explosiv explosives. police arrived at the scene. then a car bomb exploded. police say 56 people were killed. 116 wounded. a militant group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. a roadside bomb exploded earlier in the day. it killed at least 12 people. in separatist group claims responsible saying they were targeting security forces. a bomb killed 23 people at a religious gathering in the swat valley. the motives are not clear. government officials say 40,000 people have been killed in terrorist attacks over the last ten years. >>> egyptian president morsi has agreed to cooperate with iran to call on syria's government and opposition forces to halt fighting. morsi met iranian foreign minister in cairo on thursday. like the united states and gulf nations egyptian is urging assad to resign and supports the oppositi

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. politicians and pundits have warned for months of the dangers as the united states pushed closer to the fiscal cliff. they warned simultaneous tax increases and spending cuts would push the economy back into recession. members of the senate passed a bill aimed at steering the country away from the edge. but lawmakers in the house of representatives say they don't like the deal. the senate sent the bill to the republican-dominated house early on tuesday. it would raise taxes on people who made $400,000 or more and couples that earn $450,000 or more. it maintains tax cuts for the middle class. the bill postpones by two months major spending cuts scheduled to start on wednesday. house democratic leader nancy pelosi called for a bipartisan agreement to head quickly to a vote. but house speaker john boehner said many republicans are unhappy and want to rework the bill. they're calling for more cuts to social security. that could set up a showdown with the senate and risk turmoil on financi

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> legislators in the u.s. have filed to meet the year end deadline to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. members of the senate agreed to extend tax cuts for middle income earners and raise taxes on the wealthy but the house of representatives decided not to vote on the bill on new year's eve. the house is expected to resume talks quickly in the new year to avert a serious impact from tax hikes. president barack obama gave a conference earlier on new year's eve. he said he was optimistic that senators could reach a compromise. >> now today it appears that an agreement to prevent this new year's tax hike is within sight. but it's not done. there are still issues left to resolve, but we're hopeful that congress can get it done. >> senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said the two parties had reached an agreement on taxes. they are believed to have agreed to extend tax cuts for middle income earners. people earning more than $450,000 per year will see their taxes go up. that's far higher than obama's original p

i'm gene otani in tokyo. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

on monday we saw very heavy snow in tokyo. because we are not used to heavy snow, people are having trouble walking on icy roads. let's take a look at some video from tokyo. people on japan's pacific coast woke up to frigid temperatures today. tokyo's snow was melting. but when temperatures plummeted the slush froze. icy roads are making it difficult for people to commute. and the cold isn't helping. tokyo's snow is still four centimeters deep. so quite dangerous situation out here. snow is affecting northern japan, but that's easing. however, the next disturbance is moving into the same locations, bringing a new mixture of snow and rain once again. out toward the west a big high pressure system is keeping things dry and settled across mongolia, china, as well as the korean peninsula. we are still -- we have still dense fog alert posted for some locations in china, but as this high pressure system descends down conditions will finally ease tomorrow this afternoon. down toward the south this low pressure system is dumping torre

today he's departing from from osaka to tokyo. the automatic control system set as maximum speed, depending on the spacing between trains. but the computer can't determine the optimum speed to stay on schedule. that is still in the hands of the driver. >> translator: 54 minutes 15 seconds on time. in order to be on schedule i calculate the speed by subtracting the distance to the next station from the distance to tokyo station. >> reporter: that number 163 is the distance in kilometers from tokyo station. he uses this number to figure out the exact speed needed to arrive at the next stop on time. no computers for this calculation. it's all done in his head. so far he has stopped at two stations and passed two others. on time to the second. but then -- >> translator: departing 15 seconds late. >> reporter: it took time getting the passengers on and off. he accelerates. he wants to make up for the delay but he has to be careful. if he goes too fast he'll trigger the automatic brakes, nudging the shifter that he keeps just inside the

i'm gene otani in tokyo.

>> you're absolutely right, we could see the first snowfall in tokyo on saturday. good news for those of you living near the sea of japan. behind me looking very dry. that very heavy snow will be settling down. good news for those of you living there. behind me, looking very dry, in fact. but there's plenty of frigid air in place. that is bringing temperatures down. in seoul, your forecast high on saturday is going to be minus two with a low of about minus 11 into beijing. one degree for the high. north korea is also suffering under this frigid cold. it's not all bad news, though. we have some advantages. we go to the city of harvin to show you some of those advantages. what a beautiful sight here. this is the ice festival, takes place in january every year, lasts the whole of the month. since 1963, tourists have been coming here to look at 2,000 ice sculptures, and the highlight is a crystal palace, the world's tallest ice sculpture. people in charge of the event making provisions for children and adults to enjoy theme park style rides, including ice biking and bu

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. indian military commanders have successfully test fired a submarine missile. they moved closer to being able to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea. the development organization announced the launch in the bay of bengal. the mission has a range of 145 kilometres. they are preparing to put a launch in service. last year they tested the ballistic missile. it's capable of reaching most regions in asia and part of europe. commanders have been trying to improve their missile capability in the face of competition from pakistan and china. chinese authorities have tested out a jumbo cargo plane made in china. it runs 47 metres long. it can fly nonstop for 7,800 kilometers. it can carry more than 60 kinds of cargo. state-runneme media says the airplane runs better than the jumbo model currently in use. the report says it's on par with a cargo plane used by the u.s. military, the c-17 globemaster. china is the fourth nation to develop a jumbo cargo plane after the u.s., russia and the

tokyo shares are much higher. yen weakness is prompting traders to buy a wide range of stocks including export related ones. the nikkei gained on expectations that it will take further action to pull out of prolonged inflation. the dollar is trading at a two and a half year low amid 89 yen. at 89.55 to 59. market participants say it's due to stronger expectations that japan central bank will take full action in coming months. let's take a look at the euro because earlier this tokyo it hit the highest level. let's take a look at other markets in the asia pacific. the kospi is trading down at 1,998. australia is trading higher at 4,728. u.s. president barack obama says republicans have to do what he calls the right thing on raising the debt ceiling. he says if they don't the u.s. faces a federal default and confusion in financial markets. >> the republicans can act responsibly and y amica' bills or put america through another economic crisis. >> obama says raising the debt limit is necessary for the government to me

i'm gene it is otani in tokyo. for all of us here at nhk, have for all of us here at nhk, have a great day where you are. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> you're absolutely right, we could see the first snowfall in tokyo on saturday. good news for those of you living near the sea of japan. behind me looking very dry. but there's plenty of frigid air in place. that is bringing temperatures down. in sewing, your forecast high on saturday is going to be minus two with a low of about minus 11 into beijing. one degree for the high. north korea is also suffering under this frigid cold. it's not all bad news, though. we have some advantages. we go to the city of harvin to show you some of those advantages. what a beautiful sight here. this is the ice festival, takes place in january every year, lasts a whole lot. since 1963, tourists have been coming here to look at 2,000 ice sculptures, and the highlight is a crystal palace, the world's tallest ice sculpture. people in charge of the event making provisions for children and adults to enjoy theme park style rides, including ice biking and bumper cars. and japan also has its own ice festival in hokkaido. that happens in february. head now to the americas. and it is a very

ever since 2006 when american airlines stopped flying direct to tokyo. travelers have been forced to drive up the peninsula and fly out of sfo if they wanted a direct flight to tokyo. by keeping the travelers down here. the silicon valley leadership group estimates that these new flights could inject $77 million a year into the south bay economy. >> happy to go back and speak to your travel agents, that they put tokyo at the top of the list when you're going to tokyo, that this is on the top of the list of flights to take. it's convenient, fly with an airline that has one of the best on time records. >> this flight is great. i'm talking a lot. that why did we cancel american in the first place. and need to get something back in. so it took a while. >> the dreamliner arriving at manetta san jose international airport. it's interesting, because the transportation department in the meantime has ordered a comprehensive review of the dreamliner itself. scott mcgrew joins us with more coverage. they're particularly interested in the electrical systems, we unde

this man works for a tokyo corporation, a japanese company head quartered in tokyo. next to vietnam's largest city, ho chi minh. he's trying to sell a business model that helped japan during its own period of economic growth. >> translator: industry in the area is already booming. we hope to contribute to developing not only industry but housing and services, too. >> reporter: private japanese railway companies create an important role helping other areas along cities like tokyo. without master plan, cities have concentric circles of mix residential and commercial areas. the farther the suburb, the more inconvenient it is to get to the city center. downtown traffic congestion only gets worse. but japan's private railway companies use a different model. first, they build railways into the suburbs and then large residential areas. they provide quality housing at reasonable prices. people living along the railway could easily reach the city. they also include supermarkets and amusement parks. as consumer incomes grew, the companies made money. tokyo hopes to adopt this

tokyo stock prices are trading higher. an overnight rise in new york is raising expectations for a u.s. economic recovery. the nikkei average at 10,952 at the moment, up .8%. many investors are buying export-related shares. they're anticipating a further decline in the yen against other currencies. well, let's take a look. on the tokyo foreign exchange the dollar is moving in a narrow range against the yen. many market players are waiting for the outcome of the u.s. fed policy meeting later in the day. now, the pair is changing hands at 90.84-87. the euro, meanwhile, is trading higher against other currencies. market participants say that's because worries over euro debt issues are receding somewhat. the euro/yen, 122.51-56 at mont. and in other asian markets we are seeing a loss of over .1% on the kospi. 1,952 over in seoul. let's see what's happening in australia. the benchmark index is trading higher by a fourth of a percent. 4,900. well, that is going to do it in business for this hour. i'm going to leave you with a lo

the gathering happened in tokyo at the imperial palace. the emperor said in his message that he prays for the prosperity of the nation and the happiness of its people. the imperial couple received greetings from the prime minister abe and speakers of both chambers of the diet in the morning and their spouses in the afternoon. the public will be invited to greet the emperor and the empress and family members on wednesday at the imperial palace. >>> north korea's state run television ushered in the new year by praising the achievements of leader kim jung-un. korean central television aired a fireworks display. a commentator described kim jong-un's political achievements including the launch of a rocket. analysts believe it was a test of long-range missile technology. north korean tv usually broadcasts simple greetings. it's rare for it to broadcast fireworks displays. kim jong-un has delivered the first years speech by a north korean leader in 19 years. he said the country should put a priority or healing the rift with south korea. state run

i'm gene otani in tokyo. have a great day wherever you are joining us and happy holidays. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

the latest emergency in the bay area travelers planted in tokyo. good evening i'm liz beth cook. >> and i'm ken. this is not good news for one bay area airport. cbs 5 reporter juliette goodrich is at san jose. . >> ana terminal is empty that.'s because that non-stop flight that everyone was celebrating last week has been grounded from san jose to tokyo. in fact, all ana japan airline 787s have been grounded, this after major problems especially happening tonight. we'll show you the video. just imagine those san jose travelers in tokyo right now. they were suppose today return tomorrow. they were scrambling to find another way home. >> airways flight 692 with 129 passengers on board made an emergency landing at airport in japan. those on board reported a burning smell a battery problem triggered a cockpit air forcing pilots to land the plane. tonight ana announced it has grounded all of its 17 dream liners this following a series of problems the past four months from oil leaks to fuel leaks to engine cracks and damaged cockpit windows and now an eme

. >>> tokyo has bid to host the 2017 olympics. the city says that with the legacy of the summer games it hosted in 1964, it's eager to hold a new type of future oriented olympics. bid committee managing director turned in a file at ioc headquarters in switzerland. the document sets out detailed plans in 14 categories, including vision for the games, venues, financing and safety. tokyo plans features, compact organization with about 85% of venues within an 8 kilometer radius. the city says it would use its national stadium as the main venue. the city says it will spend roughly $1.4 billion on refurbishing the stadium and increasing seating capacity to 80,000. istanbul, turkey, and madrid, spain, are also submitting bids to host the games. the ioc plans to pick the host city at its annual meeting in buenos aires, argentina, in september. >>> japanese government leaders are back in high gear after a long year and new year holiday break. prime minister shinzo abe and his cabinet ministers are getting ready to hammer out measures for r

i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

tokyo traders are seeing a halt in the yen's gain. this follows recent cautious remarks from cabinet ministers about a weak yen. the euro is higher against the yen. tokyo share prices are higher today. the nikkei average is at 106,872 106,872. market participants say the yen's pull back prompted investors to buy up export related issues. taking a look at other markets. south korea's kospi trading higher up 1,979. in australia the benchmark is trading higher by three-fourths of a percent. the euro zone credit crisis is taking a heavy toll for passenger cars. car sales plunged to a 17 year low. new car saechles stood at 12 million units. it's the lowest since germany saw a decline of 3%. all u.s. european and japanese makers suffered declines. germany's volkswagen lost 1.6%. south korean makers were strong. kia motors saw a jump of 14%. that's the latest in business for this hour. here is a check on other markets. >>> japanese prime minister says he opposes any use. he's visiting vietnam on his first tour aboard. abe prime minister disc

we've already had 40 centimeters of snow and eightcentimeters in tokyo. tokyo is looking dry today but there's a lot of leftover snow on roads. watch out when driving or walking. out west dry across much of china and the indian peninsula. all right. in north america heavy rain, snow showers ongoing across the south eastern part of the u.s. we have winter storm warnings and advisories still posted across the appalachians and an additional 30 centimeters of snow is likely. snow is affecting the eastern half of the great lakes region. out towards the west looking dry. lots of sunshine and temperatures are still on the warmer side in l.a. 24 degrees. 13 degrees in denver. minus 8 in winnipeg which is quite warmer than yesterday. all right. moving into europe then. severe weather is still going across the eastern half of the mediterranean. about 150 millimeters of rain has fallen which is double the amount that we see for the entire month of january. lots of thunderstorms and gusts have been reported in many areas. to the north of this low pressure system heav

she is expected to ask tokyo to support her cause. aung san suu kyi told an nhk reporter at the parliament in the capital on friday that she received an invitation from the japanese government. the visit would be her first to japan in 27 years. she stayed in japan from 1985 to 1986 as a guest researcher at the center for southeast asian studies of kyoto university. aung san suu kyi won the nobel peace prize in 1991 for promoting democracy and human rights. she spent many years under house arrest during myanmar's former military government. and last april she was elected to the lower house of parliament in an election. since then she has visited various countries, including the united states. she used those visits to seek international support for reform in myanmar. >>> afghanistan's president hamid karzai is meeting barack obama at the white house on friday. it will be a critical meeting to negotiate the scale of any long-term u.s. military presence in the war-torn country. ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta

she is expected to ask tokyo to support her cause. aung san suu kyi told an nhk reporter at the parliament in the capital on friday that she received an invitation from the japanese government. the visit would be her first to japan in 27 years. she stayed in japan from 1985 to 1986 as a guest researcher at the center for southeast asian studies of kyoto university. aung san suu kyi won the nobel peace prize in 1991 for promoting democracy and human rights. she spent many years under house arrest during myanmar's former military government. and last april she was elected to the lower house of parliament in an election. since then she has visited various countries, including the united states. she used those visits to seek international support for reform in myanmar. >>> afghanistan's president hamid karzai is meeting barack obama at the white house on friday. it will be a critical meeting to negotiate the scale of any long-term u.s. military presence in the war-torn country. ahead of those talks karzai on thursday met with leon panetta

the grand champion attended the festival near tokyo. they wished residents a happy new year and tossed about 6,000 rice cakes to them. some consider the wrestlers symbol of strength and help. >> translator: we can be strong and grand champions after eating these rice cakes. >> translator: i cake here today to wish for good health. i'm happy to get the cakes. >> translator: i was tossing the rice cakes praying for everyone's best wishes this year. >> he wants to impress his fans at tournament in 2013. >>> some adults have to get used to electronic gadgets such as smart phones but many children are taking to them naturally. they are using smart phones and the educational apps designed for them to get smarter. >> reporter: the 31-year-old and her daughter live in tokyo. she's just a year and ten months old but already he's preoccupied with mom's smartphone. this app is favorite. she touches a drawing of an animal. a photo pops up on screen and then it makes a sound. the apps maker made it to advance the intellect of young children. she sta

keiko abe, nhk world, tokyo. >>> japan's aviation authorities are preparing to strip down a defective boeing 727 battery that forced pilots to make an emergency landing last week. it landed in western japan after smoke was detected inside the cabin. they suspect the lithium battery overheated and affected the plane's electrical system. the dreamliners' flight recorder has already revealed that the battery's voltage began to plunge around the same time smoke was detected, but investigators say they found no they've asked the manufacturer to dismantle the battery. the investigators want to take a closer look. >>> afghan security forces will soon take the lead in combat operations in their own country. while nato led forces move to a support role. military commanders are sending some soldiers back to school for a lesson in culture tolerance. nhk world's hideki yui reports. >> reporter: a somber mood takes over at the headquarters of international forces in kabul every sunday during a weekly ceremony to remember troops killed in afghanistan. >> we should know that the heroes we honor toda

i'm gene otani in tokyo. have a great day wherever you're joining us and happy holidays.

tokyo we're looking at 10 degrees. heading over to the north american continent, this is the system that we have been tracking. severe weather. the bad weather lies here pp and the chances are still as -- tornadic activity cannot be ruled out due to the heavy downpours. flash floods can also be the possibility. houston at 21. this warmth is making that battle zone of bad weather. and los angeles 19 degrees. but we're -- excuse me. washington, d.c. and atlanta both in the double digits. here's our extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

tokyo at 8 deers for you're high. for our high, i could he -- in the 30s in much of the tropic regions. if you can take a look at this satellite picture, the thinking of the told air is plunging. . it would be two centimeters into wednesday, you new englanders reaching this as well. new york, dc, foebl. you're look snow-liar. i'll leave you now about with your extended forecast. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. please stay with us.