Mongolia are getting some healthy advice from a handbook thats been helping japanese mothers for more than 70 years. Members of japans ruling parties have settled on a key issue as they move to expand the role of the countrys selfdefense forces. Theyve agreed in principle that prior approval would always be needed from the diet before sdf units are sent to provide Logistical Support for foreign troops. Lawmakers with the liberal Democratic Party and its Coalition Partner komeito want to create a permanent law so that the sdf can be dispatched quickly to assist foreign troops fighting for global peace. Until now, the government has sought special legislation each time it has wanted to dispatch sdf units for that purpose. Komeito officials have insisted that under a new law, prior approval would be necessary without exception. They say that would prevent the arbitrary sdf dispatch. But ldp Officials Say exceptions should be allowed to ensure that the sdf can be dispatched quickly. On tuesday, they agreed not to allow any exceptions even when the diet is out of session or the lower house has been dissolved. They agreed that both the upper and lower houses must aim to vote on whether to approve a dispatch within seven days of the Prime Ministers request. Translator government officials have failed to convince us about which kinds of cases the requirement of prior approval could impair a quick dispatch. So we should put more weight on securing democratic control. Translator the government would have to present a basic dispatch plan and seek approval of the diet. That procedure would guarantee democratic control. The ruling parties aim to approve a set of security bills by midmay. Japans Prime Minister has been giving thought to a statement hell make for the anniversary of the end of world war ii. Some of his predecessors used the occasion to apologize and express remorse. Shinzo abe has suggested he wont be repeating the same wording. Abe made the remark on a televised news program referring to the statement hell issue to mark 70 years since the war. On the 50th anniversary, thenPrime Minister murayama expressed remorse and offered a heartfelt apology. On the 60th, thenPrime Minister junichiro coykoizumi used some of his he text. Abe said hell use the past ideas on historical perceptions. He said because hes succeeding them, theres no need to write the phrases down again. He said he intends to mention that japan has built up a pacifist nation while feeding remorse regarding world war ii. He said he plans to express to further contribute to peace in the region and the world. Prime minister abe has sent an offering to the shrine in tokyo to mark the start of its spring festival. Yasukuni shrine honors japans war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. Chinese and south korean leaders have criticized their Japanese Counterparts for visiting the shrine. Abe offered a potted plant under his name and title of Prime Minister. Hes unlikely to visit the shrine in person during the threeday festival. Abe also offered plans last year for the shrines spring and autumn festivals. And on august 15th, the day japan commemorates the end of world war ii he made a private cash offering under his name as president of the governing liberal Democratic Party. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant says radioactive rainwater is leaking from the facilitys port. Workers installed pumps to prevent its escape but they say the effort didnt work. In february Tokyo Electric Power company Officials Say they discovered water on the roof of the plants number 2 reactor building. They say it was leaking through a drainage channel. Crews blocked the channel. They installed eight pumps to reroute the contaminated water so it would not seep into the pacific ocean. Workers started the pumps last friday. On tuesday, the crew found they stopped working, and the water was flowing into the sea. Officials say they dont know the amount or radioactivity level of the water. They believe the level was extremely low. They note that the pumps were working when checked on monday. And they say they dont know what caused the problem. A bribery scandal in south korea threatens to deal a fresh blow to President Park geunhyes government. The Prime Minister has been implicated. He denies any wrongdoing but hes offered to resign. He has notified park of his intention to step down. Park has called for a thorough investigation. Authorities suspect he and seven other officials illegally accepted generous funds from a businessman. The accused include aides to the president. He had been under investigation and committed suicide this month. Reports have said over the past year sung and the Prime Minister exchanged more than 200 phone calls. Members of both the ruling and opposition parties have demanded that he resign. The scandal could further tarnish parks popularity. Support for her government has fallen since the deadly ferry accident a year ago. He is a veteran politician. Park appointed him to the Prime Ministers post in february in a bid to strengthen her administration. After the bribery allegations against him came to light, the president s support rate fell below 40 . The leaders of china and pakistan have agreed to build new a new route to strengthen ties between their economies. They have signed a deal worth 28 billion on energy and infrastructure projects. Chinese president xi jinping and pakistani Prime Minister sharif said they will cooperate on building a china Pakistan Economic corridor. Translator the two sides agreed to elevate china pakistan relations to an allweather strategic, cooperative partnership to strengthen our common goal. This corridor will benefit all provinces and areas in pakistan and transform our country into a regional hub for commerce and investment. The network of roads, railways and pipelines would link pakistans southern gwadar to chinas autonomous region. The projects would serve as a shortcut to import oil from the middle east and africa. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation to counterterrorism and defense. Italian prosecutors have reportedly arrested the captain of a boat that capsized with unhads of migrants on board. The boat sank over the weekend off italys coast. Just 28 passengers survived. Italian media reports say prosecutors also arrested one of the boats crew. They charged the captain and the crew member with Human Trafficking and homicide. A coast guard vessel brought the survivors to sicily. Prosecutors believe hundreds of people were locked inside the ship. They say when it capsized, the passengers couldnt escape. Officials estimate about 700 people from the middle east and africa were on board. Top negotiators between japan and the u. S. Have finished their latest round of talks on free trade. And boy, did they go on for a long time. Gene otani is here with more. Its been going on from the weekend. Nothing conclusive yet. Ministers from japan and the United States are closer to agreeing on a major free trade deal. The officials have wrapped up their latest round of talks on the transpacific partnership, but japans ays challenges remain. He says the two sides will keep working to find common ground. Amari met with u. S. Trade representative Michael Froman into the early hours on tuesday. The u. S. Is calling on japan to import more american rice. Japan wants the u. S. To remove tariffs on Japanese Cars and auto parts. Translator weve seen some progress on issues in overall negotiations. In fact, we have managed to narrow our differences. But we still havent achieved a complete resolution. Amari says the two countries would continue with their workinglevel talks. He says he will meet again with froman, if necessary. He added the possibility of concluding a tpp deal by year end is higher now. The u. S. Has also issued some positive signs assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs, Daniel Russell says an agreement is within reach. I think every leader and every trade minister among the 12 is determined to close on this deal this year. Chief workinglevel negotiators are set to meet again on thursday for four days of talks in the u. S. Translator there are 12 member countries involved in these tpp talks. We have discussed a very wide range of field ss. Issues in some fields still need to be addressed. Deleges will work on rules for intellectual Property Rights including the duration of drug patent protections. Shinzo abe and barack obama are hoping to confirm progress in the negotiations at their summit next week. Checking the markets, tokyo stocks have your honor ss have turned positive recovering. The nikkei average was up 1. 4 closing at 19,909. Investors snapped up financial stocks encouraged by stronger earnings reports from u. S. Banks. A weaker yen also boosted exporters. Moving on to australia, the s p asx 200 index ended up 0. 67 at 5872 after policymakers at the central Bank Released the minutes from their last meeting. They showed the bank is open to further steps for monetary easing including an Interest Rate cut. Mining shares led todays market rise with many people expecting a pickup in iron ore prices. Investors took profits in seoul. The kospi ended almost flat down 0. 09 at 2,144. That followed a sevenday rally. In other asian markets, the shanghai composite bounced back from mondays decline. The index climbed 1. 82 , hitting a fresh sevenyear closing high. Hong kong also rebounded. The hang seng index was up nearly 2. 8 amid growing investment from mainland china. Japanese Ship Builders are seeing a recovery. They say orders last year returned to levels before the 2008 Global Financial crisis mainly due to the weaker yen. Officials of the Ship Builders association say Japanese Companies took new orders in 2014 totalling 19. 3 million gross tons. Thats up almost 40 from the previous year. The rise has recovered after the financial crisis. The weaker yen has also helped japanese ships regain their price competitiveness. But Association Officials warn orders are likely to fall again because demand for ships will decline as crude oil prices drop. They say japanese Ship Builders should boost their strength through business cooperation and the creation of hightech fleets. Train engineers in japan have broken their own world record for speed. They say their bullet train exceeded 600 kilomets per hour. The train uses Magnetic Levitation Technology to reach high speeds. The team used a test track in central japan. The train reached 603 kilometers per hour. It passed the world record by 13 kilometers. Company officials are planning to launch service between tokyo and nagoya in 2027. Those trains will run a little slower at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour. The engineers plan to use tuesdays test to determine the safety of the train at high speeds. Foreign tourists to january often complain it can be difficult to find free wifi hotspots. The japanese government aims to change that with a plan to drastically increase the number of Public Places where visitors can connect their devices. The goal is to expand access nationwide even to rural places. Officials at the Communications Ministry say they are aiming to create 27,000 free wifi spots in tourist locations and other places by the time tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. They say no more than 10 of japans public museums and municipal offices now have free wifi, much lower than in other industrialized countries. The officials estimate the additional hotspots could help attract another 1. 5 million foreign tourists. That translates to an economic boost of around 1. 8 billion. Japanese people have worn kimono for generations, but the tradition is fading. 30 years ago, the market for traditional japanese clothing was worth more than 10 billion. Today, its about onesixth of that. So kimono makers are trying to win a new generation of customers. Nhk worlds akiko kamoto reports. Reporter three kimonoclad young women are in downtown tokyo. They wore the dresses to make their weekend gettogether a bit more special. Kimonos are pricey. So these women use a unique rental service. This major retailer offers 60 kimonos in different colors and designs. Shoes and other accessories come with the deal. Customers pick the dress of their choice and the sales clerk dressed them up. The entire Service Costs just 40. Translator i always thought kimonos were expensive and uncomfortable, but theyre not. I hope to wear one more often. Reporter the outfit is easy on the wallet because these are polyester kimonos. Customers must return the accessories, but they can keep the kimono. This girl is a College Student from taiwan visiting tokyo with friends. Translator i actually came here to see the Cherry Blossoms. I like the Cherry Blossom prints on the kimono. Reporter an official with the store says sales are up 13 since the service began. Translator we want to attract people who feel kimono isnt for them by making it fun and perhaps boost the kimonowearing population. Reporter a Department Store is also trying to expand the kimono market for men. This Department Store sells shirts and beach sandals made by a popular hawaiian brand. Whats special about these products is the designs. Theyre based on 100yearold kimonos. The designs come from a 460yearold kimono retailer. It lends its designs to hawaiian clothing companies. One of the most popular patterns is flower baskets. This one shows sea waves. And this one, a waiting bird called a plover. Many customers are attracted by the traditional patterns. Translator its a wonderful idea to combine kimono design with these products. The patterns show the refinement of japanese traditions. Reporter kimono designing is highly skilled. The retailers designers are based in kyoto. Some have 50 years of experience. The retailer has a design archive dating back 300 years. This is the original design for the shirt and beach sandal. The design and color are tweaked to better fit the summer image of the products. There are over 36,000 designs archived here. The companys director hopes that archive can be tapped for other projects. Translator the designs reflect how japanese people think and feel. We hope to deliver that message to as many people as we can. To attract renewed interest in kimono. Reporter the managers want to collaborate with more International Brands to attract foreign customers. Retailers hope these strategies will once again make kimonos a musthave item. Akiko okamoto, nhk world, tokyo. Thats it for business news. Im going to hand it back to you, james. Thanks gene for those updates. Mongolian officials are turning to japan to help reverse a troubling trend among expectant mothers in the country. Nearly 3 million newborns die worldwide mostly in developing nations every year. So theyre using a japanese handbook that provides material on child care to improve the health of pregnant women. Nhk worlds noriko okada explains. Reporter this is the maternal and Child Health Handbook issued in mongolia. Its also called the pink book. Its designed for recording pregnancyrelated data such as body weight, result of urine tests, and information on child development. Its based on the handbook thats been issued in japan for more than 70 years. The government uses it to manage the health of pregnant women and newborns. It has become an effective tool for enhancing communication with care providers, raising health awareness, identifying complications earlier in pregnancy, and promoting prenatal care. Other countries have also adopted the handbook in recent years to address the need for effective intervention to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. Providing Effective Health care for mothers and babies is still a big challenge in mongolia. The countrys Maternal Mortality rate is 89 per 100,000 live births in contrast with 7 in japan. The figure for newborns is 14 per 1,000 births in mongolia in contrast with 1 in japan. This is a handbook in mongolia. Reporter this doctor is a member of a Japanese Team working to promote and do research on the pink book in mongolia with the countrys government. We need to consider the implement in the handbook in mongolia because its needed and that can be tested where it has an impact upon sort of the pregnant women and newborn babies health. Thats quite important for the global arena as well as in japan. Reporter the team conducted a study in 2009 and 10. They divided 18 villages into two groups. One side used the handbook. The other didnt. And they monitored about 250 expectant mothers from each group. 82 of women who used the book received prenatal care more than six times. Among those who did not use the book, the figure was 71 . The study also showed that pregnancyrelated complations ch as hypertension and diabetes were 2. 5 times more likely to be detected among women using the book. It also found out how expectant mothers family members stopped smoking at home to reduce the harm of passive smoking. Mori says using the book has a huge impact on pregnant womens awareness. Recordkeeping itself is a big intervention, actually. And in the mongolian situation, sort of the not many people or pregnant women actually keep the recording their life. Their pregnant wives. So its quite important to have that in the handbook you can see at any time. Reporter based on the results, use of the maternal and Child Health Handbook has become a National Policy in mongolia. Mori says he expects the work to help mothers and children in developing countries lead healthier lives. Noriko okada, nhk world. Thanks noriko for that report. Sayaka mori starts off with one of the worlds hotspots for severe conditions. Sayaka. Severe weather has been happening over the United States since last thursday. We are talking about tornadoes, damaging winds and also widespread flooding. I want to take you to several areas in the eastern United States to show you the damage done by the Severe Weather. Storms that damaged homes and toppled trees through the u. S. Southeast and midwest on sunday. A woman was killed when winds blew onto her home in atlanta, georgia. Powerful winds also knocked down trees and power lines in other parts of the state. In ohio a woman died after a large tree uprooted and unexpectedly fell onto her car. Now, the Severe Weather maker has widely shifted east. So Severe Weather is still happening over the New England States into thursday noon. And back behind it frigid air is coming in. So widespread lateseason snow is falling over eastern canada. Some areas may see an additional 40 centimeters into thursday. And then across the south, very different story happening over miami. Brush fires are happening. Take a look at this video. A bush fire in miamidade county, florida, is expanding and causing problems for residents in the area. More than 400 hectares have burned near west kendall. The fire is only 50 contained as of monday evening. But strong winds and high temperatures are making it difficult for officials to bring the blaze under control. Power was shut down to nearly 200 residents as a precaution. But there is some good news because of the Severe Weather maker and the tail end of the cold front heavy rain is happening over the miami area. And that will continue into your thursday. So hopefully that will improve the fire situation. Now, talking about bush fires, a couple of fires are happening over california due to days of dry weather. In fact, 99. 9 of the state is under drought in california. So they really need rainfall. In fact, many places are missing one to two years worth of rainfall in california. Now, temperatures in l. A. On tuesday, 21 degrees for the high. Same number for you in washington, d. C. 22 with plenty of sunshine. Now, lets go to the southern hemisphere. Severe weather is happening over australia. A cyclonelike powerful storm is buffeting New South Wales bringing extremely Severe Weather. A months worth of rain fell in just several hours, and strong wind gusts of 135 kilometers reported in the east coast. More could happen into tonight. So watch out for Severe Weather. And in fact, more stormy conditions. Wet conditions into wednesday in newcastle. The temperatures will be on the increasing side and also drier conditions will happen over as we go into the rest of the workweek in australia. Now, clear skies and heat is taking place over the indochina peninsula as well as india. Take a look. 44 degrees in india. Extremely high temperatures. Please watch out for heat stroke. In japan, as opposed to yesterday, dry conditions for many parts of the country, and temperatures are on the rise. Tokyo, 20 on wednesday. And 24 degrees on friday. All right. Heres the extended forecast around the globe. And with that we conclude this hours edition of newsline. From all of us here on the show, thanks for watching. Ning us. The Italian Authority charged to people in the mediterraneans worst ever migrant boat disaster. Europe put together an action plan over its approach. Egypts former president Mohamed Morsi is sentenced to 20 years in jail. It could be the last trial of its kind. A german court examines charges into a former nazi accused of complicity and hundreds of thousands of deaths at auschwitz
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