Well tell you all about his amazing triumph. Militants with the Group Islamic state confirm they have executed one of their japanese hostages. A spokesperson says Haruna Yukawa was killed as they had warned. The announcement was made through their Internet Radio station. The report did not mention the reason or Details Behind the killing of yukawa. And there was no explanation why the Group Demands the release of sagida al rishawi. She has been on death row in jordan for her involvement in a series of bomb attacks in ayman in 2005. Prime minister shinzo abe has instructed his ministers to do their utmost to bring freelance journalist kenji goto back home. Abe says he is fully aware of the unbearable pain and sorrow that yukawas family must be experiencing. Yoshihide suga said the government suspects the men were captured by Islamic State militants. He said the government based its assumption on a variety of information. Translator the government continues to use all available channels for the release of goto. With cooperation from jordan and other countries, and groups. We duly recognize that the top priority is human life. Suga said there has been no contact from Islamic State. Moves by the jordanian government are in focus at this new stage in the crisis with the militants demanding an exchange of captives. Nhk worlds takafumi terui has more. Reporter jordans Government Spokesperson says they are cooperating closely with their japanese counterparts. But officials on both sides are not providing details. Al rishawi is in prison for her involvement in a series of bomb attacks in amman in 2005. The attacks killed more than 50 people. An Iraqi Security expert says al rishawi is an important symbol for Islamic State. Translator al rishawi can play an Important Role for the militant group in raising the spirits of its members. She was directed by the former leader abu musab al dark which. She was the first woman in the group to join the suicide attacks. Reporter middle Eastern Media has reported that jordanian officials were considering releasing rishawi in exchange for a Jordanian Air force pilot. Islamic state captured him last month. He was participating in air raids against the group. Many jordanians are pressing for the pilots release. Even queen rannia has joined a social Media Campaign posting a message saying we are all muath. A former state official says freeing al rishawi in exchange for goto may be difficult. But he says jordan could agree to swap two prisoners in exchange for both goto and the pilot. A lawmaker close to the jordanian government says its important to understand the real intentions behind Islamic States demand. Translator Islamic State might be trying to undermine relations between jordan and japan by getting jordan involved in the hostage crisis. They a terrorist group. So we need to carefully examine the true intentions behind their demand. Reporter the u. S. Government has insisted that japan should not yield to the demand for ransom. But the u. S. Has engaged in prisoner exchanges. An american soldier in afghanistan was freed last may in exchange for five taliban members. Many jordanians also are opposed to releasing a terrorist. That puts the government in a tight spot as they try to help japan manage the crisis. Takafumi terui, nhk world. Media in jordan say King Abdullah has indicated that top priority should be placed on securing the release of the air force pilot. The king spoke to the chief editors of major newspapers. He told them the pilot is a son of jordan and its military. The reports do not mention whether he spoke about the remaining japanese hostage. Some jordanians insist the government should exchain the prisoner for the pilot. Japans defense minister earlier explained to nhk worlds senior political commentator Masayo Nakajima about the steps his government is taking. Mr. Nakatani thank you very much for joining us today. First, how do you view the hostage taking of the japanese nationals by Islamic State as defense minister . It is unacceptable to use human life as a shield to threaten others. Both the International Community and the United Nations have strongly condemned that violence and hatred must be eradicated. In this case the japanese government has been putting utmost priority on the lives of the hostages and has been making efforts using all possible diplomatic channels and means for their release. But a photo of a slain body believed to be mr. Yukawa posted on the internet indicates that a terrorist act had taken place. This is outrageous and unforgivable and i feel strong anger. From here on we will strongly demand not to harm the other hostage, mr. Goto and his Immediate Release. And the government will make allout efforts for his release. At the same time the japanese government will continue not to succumb to terrorism, and with International Community we will act to make contributions to the global peace and stability. For the Immediate Release of mr. Goto we are now working with other countries, including jordan utilizing all available channels and routes at a maximum. All relevant countries agree that such terrorist acts should never be allowed. So we are right now making all possible efforts to find a path for solution within the International Community. The packages of assistance that we have placed are for nonmilitary areas such as aid for refugees and displaced people and humanitarian fields. We are only continuing what the japanese government has been doing for years. They are nothing to be criticized of by the terrorist group. The citizens of greece have voted against economic austerity. The leading Opposition Party swept sundays general election on a promise to review the terms of an international bailout. Alexis tsipras, leader of the coalition of the radical left for syriza declared victory. Translator greece is turning a page. Greece is leaving behind five years of humiliation and pain. The Election Committee official said with about 96 of the ballots counted, syriza had won 36 of the vote. Thats nearly nine points more than the center right new Democracy Party led by Prime Minister antonis samaras. Under greeces electoral system the party that wins the most votes is awarded 50 bonus seats in parliament. That would give syriza 149 or nearly half of the seats. Translator i can see hope. Translator the Greek Economy cant get any worse. It will have to become better. Tsipras said greece will hold talks with the European Union to reduce the countrys debt. His party is opposed to bailout conditions imposed by the eu and the International Monetary fund. Investors and government officials in other countries are waiting to see how greeces next government will handle the negotiations. And negotiations over pay are under way between japans biggest labor union and the countrys largest business federation. Ron madison is here with the latest on this story. Ron . Thats right, gene. Business and labor leaders could be heading into some pretty tough bargaining. Theyre staking out their positions now for the upcoming round of nationwide Wage Negotiations during two days of talks in tokyo. The head of japans biggest Business Organization says private Companies Need to set in motion a positive Economic Cycle. I hope that Companies Making a profit will consider raising wages, whether in the form of larger bonuses, increased benefits, or whatever. The head of the countrys biggest labor body says that in real terms, wages have fallen year on year for 17 straight months. Translator in order to overcome declags, higher wage hikes than last year are needed. We will demand an increase of more than 2 in base monthly salaries. Well most labor unions will present their formal wage demands to management next month. Major companies will respond in midmarch. So will managers accept unions demands for higher wages . Were joined now by Daisuke Azuma to talk more about this. Big negotiations set to be under way. Whats going to be the main point this year . Well Labor Ministry survey shows that last year major firms raised wages by an average of more than 2 . It was the highest increase in 15 years. Its not clear whether the trend will pick up this year. Most of last years increases come from the biggest bonuses, and hikes in the base wage accounted for just 0. 4 of the total pay increase. But wage offset the consumption tax hike and inflation. Japans Gross Domestic Product has now shrunk for two straight quarters. People have been holding onto their money since the tax hike. The result of the Wage Negotiations could affect personal consumption. It accounts for 60 of gdp. Okay daisuke, whats really the outlook now for the talks . Most analysts think more companies will raise wages this year. Officials at the keidanren have expressed awillingness to raise pay. They are Encouraging Companies with higher earnings to boost base wages. The government is also pressing for pay hikes. Prime minister shinzo abe delivered that message when he met management and labor representatives ahead of wage talks. Political leaders are cutting corporate taxes. Now they Want Companies to do their part by raising wages. Nhk surveyed 100 major firms. 71 of them say they are considering pay raises. Most of those firms say they are considering larger regular wage increases. And 25 Companies Say they were discussing the possibility of raising bonuses. The big change from last years survey is that more firms are looking at raising base wages. Managers of 23 firms say they may hike base pay for all employees. 17 Companies Say they may do so for young workers, and other categories of employees. In last years survey only Nine Companies said they were considering base pay raises. And inquiries an increase in the base wage has big impact on workers total income. Its used when calculating bonus and overtime payments. Raising base pay will boost consumption and the overall economy. Sounds like its pretty good news for fulltime workers. But will all workers actually benefit . Well thats a key point. Theyre demanding a 2 raise in base wages instead of a onetime bonus increase. But its hurting firms that depend on imports of raw materials. Japans commercial industry recently surveyed more than 3,000 small and midsize firms. Only about a third of those Companies Say they plan to offer raises. Just 20 of those firms expected to raise base wages. And they say gross and corporate profit s profits show a lot during the Current Business year. Translator i think its possible that Companies May raise wages at a higher rate than last year. But im not sure how many wager companies will do that or by how much they will raise pay. Some small and midsize firms are also thinking about hiking pay. Its also hard to predict what will happen in this part of the economy. Wage negotiations of Major Companies will peak in midmarch. Many people will be keeping a close watch on the outcome. It could determine the future course of the japanese economy. Thank you very much for that. All right lets move on to the markets now. Investors are reacting cautiously to the victory of a radical Left Wing Party in the greek parliamentary election. Heres how european markets are looking at this hour. We are still seeing a fairly checkered performance with the majors there. London is down while we are seeing gains for both frankfurt and paris. Now some traders are worried about Political Uncertainty in greece. But analysts say the Third Straight monthly rise in germanys Business Climate index is boosting Investor Sentiment to some extent. Taking a look now at asian markets here in tokyo the nikkei closed down a quarter percent, 17,468. Some Market Players are saying expectations of strong corporate earnings helped the nikkei recover most of the losses seen earlier. The shanghai kols it edged up nearly a percent today but the gains were capped by selling and Financials Due to fear about instability in europe. The hang seng index closing up a quarter percent, as you can see there weve got some holidays going on in both sydney and mumbai. Turning to currencies now the euro slipped to an 11year low against the dollar. The pair is now at roughly 1. 1247. Analysts say the greek election result is the second blow to the single currency after the European Central bank decided to launch a monetary easing program last week. Meanwhile weve got the euro at one point hitting a 16month low against the yen at 130. The pair now at 132. 89. Some traders are buying back the euro following excessive trading against the yen. Well japans finance minister taro aso has urged lawmakers to swiftly enact an extra budget of more than 26 billion. Aso said that the money was needed to make sure japans economy finally pulls out of its slowdown caused by deflation. Translator the measures featured in the budget focus on weak spots in the economy. We plan to act swiftly to ensure that a positive Economic Cycle takes hold with benefits spreading quickly to all regions. Aso said the economy remains on a moderate recovery track. But he said some weaknesses remain in personal consumption and economic recovery is uneven among regions. Well toyota motor has, for the first time built a selfparking system into its vehicles. Ed automaker has added the feature to new versions of popular minivans. They come with cameras and sensors that monitor whats around them. The system parks the minivans automatically. The vehicles also have rear sensors that apply brakes if the driver happens to step on the gas pedal by mistake. Competition in developing such safety features is really heating up now among the automakers. All right. Thats going to do it for biz tonight. Ill leave you with the markets. The new year grand sumo tournament wrapped up its 15day competition on sunday in tokyo and people in the stands saw history being made. Our sumo reporter hiro morita explains. On day 13 on friday yokozuna grand champion hakuho set out to clinch the championship and if he succeeded he would become the sumo wrestler with the most titles ever. Going in to friday hakuho was tied with a former great for most championships. Hakuho went up against ozeki who still hoped to win his first title. Their bout ended with the judges deciding it was too close to call. So they ordered the two combatants to go at it again. The yokozuna takes him to the edge kisenosato goes after him relentlessly and puts him away. No ifs, ands or buts this time hakuho wins and captured his 33rd title. A feat no other sumo wrestler has ever achieved. Congratulations to hakuho for his stunning achievement. Now, lets look back on the 29yearold mongolians road to success. He made his debut in 2001 when he was 15 years old. He weighed only 65 kilos when he first came to japan, exceptionally light for a sumo wrestler. But he quickly got bigger and stronger and moved up to the second highest rank of ozeki in just five years. In 2007 he won his third title at the may tournament by going undefeated. He was promoted to the top rank yokozuna grand champion. His fellow countrymen became his arch rival. The two yokozuna from mongolia defined their generation. He retired from sumo only three years later leading hakuho as the solo yokozuna. Since then his aim has been to surpass the record set by the legendary yokozuna taiho who had won 32 championships. In the following five years hakuho dominated the sport winning 22 out of 30 tourneys and last friday he finally became the man with the most championships of all time. Hakuho turns 30 in march. But he is by far the best and strongest of the pack. I expect him to keep on piling up championships. His next chance comes in the spring tournament in march. So see you then. A winter wallop in the form of a brutal blizzard is on the way for the northeastern u. S. Our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the latest on the storm. Jonathan . Yes, gene we are talking about a pretty significant Winter Weather situation. In some aspects potentially historic. We just have to wait and see how much snow and how much potential this could actually turn into. But at this point, it looks like this is going to be a pretty serious weather situation. Weve been talking about a low pressure system that was moving out of texas. Later half of last week and now it is picks up all this moisture moving along the Appalachian Mountains and picking up this cold air and wrapping itself around. And thats where the punch is really coming in is that cold air combination with the windy conditions, almost a onetwo punch coming with that. So in the process were looking at a winter storm warning situation, and a blizzard situation. Simply put the criteria in general terms is when you have really strong winds to where it visibility drops and you have this heavy amount of snowfall falling thats where you have a blizzard. Along with the winter storm conditions from maine into new york. This is going to be a bit of a problem. Hopefully you had your preparations in line because we have been talking about this for awhile. Winds up to 126 kill somer ifs per hour and within a short period of time were talking about in a 24 hour period 75 centimeters of snow could possibly fall with whiteout conditions and this windchill is really going to be a concern, because talk about 126 kilometer per hour winds. These are daytime highs in the next three days. Negative 3 for the high in new york city. In philadelphia at freezing negative 3 in boston and were looking at the Winter Weather to continue through tuesday into wednesday with a blustery day for new york on wednesday. Overnight lows dropping even further down. Please make sure that you are prepared and get ready to hunker down for a period of time. From new york into d. C. Were looking at the winter storm setup. Snow in chicago. Very warm air back toward the west. 21 in denver. 20 for the high coming up on monday for oklahoma city. Now we are looking at some stormy conditions down toward the south as we go into europe. The low pressure system still stuck down toward italy. It is slowly moving toward the east. But bringing some more stormy conditions, even into places like athens. Meanwhile, back toward the north and west a cold front is also sweeping in so some snow and some rain showers are part of the mix. Stockholm will see some snow. Berlin you may see some snow and some rain mixed in. And over into paris you may see some showers but then over toward the mountains get ready to see some snow fall. Temperatures topping off at 8 in paris, again, snow for stockholm at 1. 16 in athens with a chance for thunderstorms and snow for moscow and kiev. We go over now to east asia. China looking relatively dry and over the weekend, japan stayed relatively dry. But now we have a couple of low pressure systems coming onshore. Thats going to bring rain and some snow for the northern portions of the country as we progress through the next few days. So, yes, wet and Stormy Weather returns. Sapporo rain tuesday, changing over to snow by wednesday and thursday. And looking at some wet weather for tokyo before cooling off significantly by wednesday. Were talking about the central portions of japan, let me take you over into saitama prefecture where a beautiful display is taking place. This was this ice wall here brought to life with vibrant colors, cool colors too, using l. E. D. Lights spring water trickling from rocks on a mountain cliff naturally freeze at 400 meters above ground during the coldest time of winter. Visitors are enjoying the magnificent view of the ice 30 meters wide and 8 meters tall. The illumination can be enjoyed until mid february. Hope you have a good day wherever you are. Heres your extended outlook. Thats newsline for this hour. Im 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
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