Reporter Chinese State television issuing a strong message to th u. S. A abo the region. The country senent out warships includuding its first Aircraft Carrier on military exercises in late december. The ships route included waters around the taiwan strait, and the disputed South China Sea. The reaction from the taiwanese . Reporter some of the drills coincided with taiwan president s tsai ingwens meeting with republican lawmakers in the United States. Tensions started to rise back in december. President elect donald trump took a phone call from prededent tsai after his election win. It was the first such phone call since 1979, the year the u. S. Switched diplomatic recognition from taiwan to china and started to follow the onechina principle. It acknowledges taiwan is part of china. An asiapacific region expert says chinas military drills show the country is concerned. Although the Aircraft Carrier cannot be used in the real operation, its a training ship. But china must set their fighting stance against the United States by the Aircraft Carrier. The Taiwan Program is very important to the chinese leadership and the chinese leadership cannot withdraw from this problem. So taiwan problem must be a good bargaining chip, if mr. Trump wants to try to get economic benefit from china. Reporter during his first News Conference as president elect trump questioned chinas relationship with the u. S. Russia and other countries, and other countries, including china, which has taken total advantage of us economically, totally advantage of us in the South China Sea by building their massive fortress. Earlier this week china issued a white paper concerning asiapacific security cooperation. It said china has no intention of compromising over its claims in the South China Sea, but it signaled a willingness to work with the new u. S. Administration. Translator the United States cannot maintain security in the asiapacific region its own. But that does not mean that china will take americas place. As for the future of u. S. China relations china understood that china cannot win the war with the United States. So china of course does not want to go into a war with the United States. Those the, they are very careful and they did not talk about mr. Trump directly too much. They are still watching the u. S. Real policy against china. That real policy starts on january 20th. When trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. The Incoming Trump administration is one of the agenda items for a summit between the leaders of japan and the philippines. Japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe is the first japanese Prime Minister to visit Rodrigo Dutertes residence in dabobo. Duterte suggested keeping up cooperation with the incoming president , the outspoken duterte has repeatedly criticized the administration of president barack obama. Abe responded by saying that u. S. Engagement is indispensable in securing peace and prosperity in asia. Japans selfdefense minister said shell work with the u. S. To insure that a plan to relocate thousands of marines goes smoothly she was in guam to inspect port facilities. Japan and the u. S. Have an agreement to transfer some of the u. S. Marines currently in okinawa. It will start in several years with around 4,000 being reassigned to the u. S. Territory. Japan will cover some of the costs. Translator this transfer will reduce okinawas burden in hosting u. S. Military facilities. That is one of the Top Priorities of Prime Minister abes government. I was able to see with my own eyes how the plan is progressing. I will see to it that japan cooperates with the u. S. To expedite things as much as possible. She also expected the u. S. Militarys advanced Missile Defense system called thaad. Inada says the Defense Ministry will study ways to bolster Missile Defense systems, including the possibility of implementing thaad. Residents in japan say they have concerns about osprey debris. An osprey crashlanded off the coast of okinawa last month. Nhk reporters took a look at the sea bed wildfire the osprey went down. Found it was strewn with objects thought to come from the accident. This resident along with friends and family havee taken it upon themselves to clean up debris. Translator we consider this place part of our home. All we want to do is help keep it clean. He says it may take months before cleanup is complete. U. S. Military personnel have since come to retrieve some of the debris. The crash of the controversial aircraft ignited protests in okinawa. There are concerns about the ospreys safety record. Therere have been calls for the to be removed from the prefecture. Many parts of the Northern Hemisphere are in the grips of a winter freeze and japan is no exception. Sigh sayaka mori has more. Snow is accumulating over japan. 50 centimeters of snow has fallen in 24 hours. 1. 5 meters of snow has fallen. To give you an idea how severe the situation is, we have some video coming out of northern japan. The coldest air of the season and strong winds are creating blowing snow or even blizzard conditions in parts of northern and western japan. Visibility is near zero, making hazardous conditions. Numerous Car Accidents were reported. A woman died when snow fell, snow from a roof fell on to her. Authorities are advising people to stay home. Year ago 200 cars were stranded in Niigata Prefecture and a similar situation may occur during the weekend. The snowfall depth has reached 2. 5 meters in parts of the tohoku region. The problem is that well see more snowfall during the weekend. More intense snowfall on saturday as well as sunday. Cold air is flowing in siberia, that is getting ample moisture over the sea of japan and a lot of snow clouds are forming along the northwestern side of the country. Theres a High Mountain range in the middle of the country. Typically dry across the pacific side. But this time winds are quite strong and we have the coldest air of the season blanketing the area. So even the pacific side like nagoya and sendai will see snow. Now we combine with gusty conditions. Visibility will be quite low making for hazardous drivingng conditions. Not just snow, thunderstorms and high waves are expected. The coldest air of the seesen is blanketing most of the station, so tokyo will stay dry, but its going to be quite chilly. The daytime high on the weekend is only six degrees and on sunday morning, the temperature is going to be minus 2 degrees, so stay warm. Back to you. South korean media are reporting that a special Prosecutors Team is considering an arrest warrant for the head of the countrys largest conglomerate, Samsung Group. The prosecutors spent all night questioning the vice chairman and he was only allowed to return home in the morning. Theyre focusing on payments samsung made to foundations controlled by a close friend of parkss. Choi soonsil reveaealed the scandal whehen iwas found t tha she exerteded improper influenc on the president. Samsung is also suspected of. An office supported a merger between Samsung Group companies. South koreas News Agency Reports the money from samsung was allegedly used to benefefit chois daughter in her training for equestrian competitions. With a week to go until donald trump becomes u. S. President , his comments are already making waves in the business world. Gene otani has details from our business desk. Japans finance minister taro aso is disputing the u. S. President elects claim that trade deals are a disaster for america. Aso says japan has invested heavily in the u. S. And created hundreds of thousands of jobs there. That response was triggered by Donald Trumps controversial comments to jouournalists on wednesday. Trump blamed unfaiair deals f f americas huge losses on trade with china, japan and mexico. Aso said he wasnt speaking for the government, but pointed out that about half of americas trade deficit is with china. And only about 10 is with japan. He said japanese businesses are investing heavily in the automotive and other industries, in creating jobs in america. He said japan should make more effort to make sure the Incoming Administration knows these facts. The imf is poised to largely revise down its forecast for mexicos Economic Growth this year. Amid uncertainty surrounding the incoming u. S. Administration. According to a source, the International Monetary fund plans to lower the previous estimate last october of plus 2. 3 , to less than 2 . The imf says the outlook for mexicos economy is darkening, since president elect donald trump began criticizing companies that plan to build factories in the country. Trump has pledged to keep jobs in the United States. Several companies have responded by canceling their plants in mexico. The imf says the peso is rapidly depreciating and there are growing concerns about a rise in Commodity Prices in mexico. Officials will watch the impact of trumps policies. He takes office in a week. Amazon says its going to hire more than 100,000 people over the next 18 months in the United States. The plan comes as u. S. President elect donald trump is urging companies to create more jobs for americans. Trump criticized i. T. Firms in his Election Campaign for failing to employ enough people. Officials at the online retailer say their n recruits will be fulltime and directly empled. Themazon Officials Say if their pla goes smoothly their u. S. Bas workfce willxceed 280,000, ming the compa one of americsargest emplers. Amazon ceo say hiscompans innovation hasreated hundrdreds of thousands of american jobs, not just in silicon valley, but also throughout the country. The Incoming White House press secretary announced amazons decision came in response to trumps request. He said trump was happy to play a part. Checking the markets, tokyo stocks ended higher on a weaker yen and some strong earnings reports. We have more from the tokyo stock exchange. The dollar has clawed back some ground against the yen. Following i its tumble after trumps News Conference on wednesday. That rebound helped boost sentiment here in tokyo. Lets take a look at the closing levels for this friday january the 13th. The nikkei 225 gained. 8 , closing at 19,287. But for the week, it fell nearly. 9 . The broader topix ended up. 6 . Lets take a look at some individual stocks. Shares of air bag maker takata gained to their daily limit. Investors were incouraged by reports it may be close to reaching a settlement with u. S. Authorities. 7eleven Convenience Store operator and uniqlo retailer showed strong gains. On the flip side, nintendo took a tumble. The retail price of its latest game console was set higher than analysts expected. Investors may be increasingly cautious aboutut the Incoming Trump administration, as the direction of policy remains uncertain. Im phoebe amaroso. The shanghai composite slid by. 2 to finish at 3112 after experts in december came in weaker than expected. Seouls kospi declined and samsung shares tumbled after investigators questioned the firms vice chairman in connection with the political Corruption Scandal in south korea. Singapore advance and sydney was down 0. 8 with financials leading the losses. Heres a look at some other business stories were following. Bank of japan Officials Say the amount of money in the nations ordinary savings accounts hit a new record high in december at over 5 trillion. The fourth straight monthly high and its up 10 in yen terms from the year before. The Officials Say the freedom and security of savings accounts has become more attractive to consumers as uncertainties in the Global Economy grow. Chinas total trade value dipped for the second Consecutive Year as the economy continues to struggle with weak demand abroad. Customs Officials Say the 3. 7 trillion figure for 2016 trade was down 6. 8 . From a year earlier. Exports declined 7. 7 . Especially sluggish were exports of clothing and cell phones, bound mainly to europe and southeast asiaia. Imports shrank 5. 5 . Blaming the slow trade in machinery and liquid crystal panels. Chinese officials will release the countrys Gross Domestic Product for 2016. The growth rate has been slowing during the last few years. And the previous figure hit a 25year low. Early this week the top chinese official said he expects the gdp for 2016 will come in even lower at around 6. 7 . My colleague talked to jackson wong, the social director at wao wong National Securities in hong kong. Im expecting 6. 7 , a little lower than the previous years 6. 9 . We all know the start of the 2016 china had a rough start and the the Consumer Spending and also the export were also sluggish. And the stock market crash in the first quarter, saw the government beefed up their spending and encouraged more lending in the second and the third quarter. And then actually had some effects. Because the markets were wrecked hard in the middle of the year and the Government Spending was huge, too. So thats why it kept the economy from sharply slowing down. What about this year . Some analysts say the economy could continue to slow. Yes. I do believe this is the trend and especially after the chihine leaders commented they would, they would like to have a more stable growth rather than a more faster economy. China economy was fuelled by public lending now theyre focusing to look down those factors. So i believe this year can slow down to 6. 3, to 6. 5 . A lot of analysts already revised down to 6. 5 . But from the trend that the cpi and pbi were picking up, i believe the industrial sectors will help the economy in this year. I see. Okay, so the trump administration, that starts next week, and most recently the president elect has said that china was one reason to blame for the u. S. Trade deficit. Now how do you think the relationship between the two countries will change under the new administration . They are so diverse in different important economic views. I believe you know, in the start, it will be still rough. And that will stir china to focus more on the peripheral countries such as emerging markets in asia or even in africa or south america. And that would, that would make china to focus more, to push the rmb and push more trades with those countries rather than just focus on the u. S. And tell us about what kind of impact that would have elsewhere in asia . The direction would that china would do more in trade in the Asian Countries, especially since the omb is in the sdr. Stronger u. S. Dollars would actually hammer the other Asian Countries so if china is going to do more trades with the other Asian Countries that would actually consolidate their regionss economy more and less ties with the u. S. Economy. So i think that would be the Going Forward impacts. However, whether donald trump would carry out all his who will pohlcys are still unknown. So i think a lot of expectations are still to be a little bit cautious right now. You can catch the report online together with a full transcript. Look for nhk world and business wrap. And thats a look at business news. Im going to leave you with the markets. Taking c care of elderly parents isnt easy, especially if they live far away. In japan the problem is creating demand for new kinds of Home Monitoring Services. Nhk World Reports on some of the countries trying to get their foot in the door. Reporter a gas man is making a delivery. Replaces the cylinders at this home every month. But today he and his colleagues have Something Else to do. They are testing the Health Monitoring service. Translator have you tried the new rice . Reporter 73yearold it itsu oshia lives with his wife, their daughter l lives in anoth town and shes concerned with them. The gas man asks him some basic questions to make sure hes okay. Temp terp th. T translator they asked me thinings like where i w went ear in the day. Im hapappy to have a conversation. Theres more t to this servi than monththly visits. I. T. Firm rok ten is coordinating the trial. Its goal is to provide aroundtheclock monitoring. Rock ten already has a tieup with this lp gas company. It monitors the electricity uses of customer households in realtime. That includes tracking how Home Appliance products are being used. It can detect anything unusual they can alert the gas company. Translator in remote areas or places with a high ratio of elderly people, people can benefit from the network weve established. Reporter rock ten has tied up with energyrelated companies around japan. Gas Companies Make ideal partners for emergency response. Their staff can reach a clients home within 30 minutes. They have brought gas suppliers have a strong motive to seek out new businesses. The government is deregulating the gas and electricity industries. And that creating new competitors. Translator all Gas Companies have to deal with the changing energy market. Rok ten plans to start operating the Home Monitoring Service nextxt riril. But it wont be alone. Tokyo electric powower compapans already announced plans to enter the business. And other utilities are following suit. New doors are opening in the energy market. For this established plplayers, Customer Relations may be their strongest advantage. Nhk world. The Lunar New Year is approaching and in china that means an exodus of people from major cities has begun. Many are Migrant Workers and students headed home for the weeklong holiday that begins this year on january 28th. Guang jo station was packed with travelers returning to rural home towns. Chinese officials have increased train, bus and other transport services to keep up with the flood of people. Translator it takes a whole day to get to my home town. I just want to relax when i get back. Translator i worked hard to earn some money so im heading home to get married. Im happy. Officials estimate more than 350 Million People will use Railway Services over 40 days around the holiday period. And a lot of tourists from across asia flock to japans ski resorts this time of year. Sayaki mori joins us again for the forecast along japans sea and northern japan. Heavy snow and strong winds have been affecting northern japan since monday. Over 24 hours, 60 centimeters have fallen in parts of tohoku region. Heavy snow is common this time of year in the area, but this much snow in the few days is quite rare. Very strong winds are affecting the coastal areas, especially gusts of nearly 80 Kilometers Per Hour and we had the coldest air of the season blanketing most of the region. In fact the mercury down to minus 29. 2 degrees in parts of hokkaido. Which is the coldest of the season in the nation. Now we will see more snowfall, an additional 90 centimeters of snowfall is on the menu for hokoriku region. And even the mountains in the kao r region will see somee snowfall nearly up to 60 centimers. S. And w we mayay see somome snono duringed weekend in the big cities like osakaka, a as wells nagoya. So a lot of snow is expected for many areas off japan. But tokyo will stay dry out towards the west it will be generally dryry across manyy pls ofof china. But rain is expected for the southern twothirds of the philippines and the northeasterly monsoonal flow will cause a lot of rainfall in vietnam. Temperatures are going to be 8 in shanghai and quite biting cold in seoul. Minus 5 despite sunny weather on your saturday. Lets go to eururope then. You can see clouds over the ocean, this means that cold air is flowing over the British Isles and in fact we have snowfall on thursday in london. And temperatures are quite chilly. Soso watch o out for icy roads. Now another disturbance will move into the west coast of the balkan peninsula. We may see some severe thunderstorms, gusty winds and temperatures are going to be as follows. Warming up across central and eastern europe. 2 degrees in warsaw, 2 degrees in berlin and out towards the west snow is expected on your last day of the business week in paris. Heres the extended forecast. Be sure to watch newsroom tokyo at the top of the hour and you can download the nhk app and follow us wherever you aanyxn what makes france and the french so unique . Focus, france 24, and france24. Com. Welcome. Im molly hall. It is 1 00 p. M. In the french capital. Fellowmpeo follows cabinet picks and disagrees with the president elect on key issues, including russia. Barack obama and special ends special immigration policy for cuba. Havana welcomes the move. West