14 wins and one loss for his first ever tournament title. An Advisory Panel unanimously decided on monday to recommend to the association that he be promoted. The association is to officially decide on the promotion anand inform him of the results on wednesday. [ speaking foreign language. He would be the 72nd yokozuna. The last japan born to become yokozuna was promoted in 1998. South koreas acting president says he will engage in wide ranging consultation with the aim of resolving the issue of souring relations with japan but it will take some time to workout what to do about a statue symbolizing those known as comfort women. The Prime Minister is carrying out the duties of President Park that has been impeached over a scandal. He commented on the statue installed in december by a civic group. Some politicians plan to put up a similar figure on south korean concerned islands claimed by jap japan. It is difficult to interfere with actions taken by private citizens. He added it would take some time to resolve the matter. The placement of the statue runs counter to a 2015 bilateral agreement. They strive to solve the issue of a similar statue from the Japanese Embassy in seoul. The ambassador to south korea and the general have been recalled in protest. They will watch how seoul handles the issue before sending them back to their post. The big question in the world of business is what will happen to the economy under the new administration. Trumps inauguration has put investors in a cautious mood. His announced plans to renegotiate major trade deals left investors worried that protectionism could rise and hurt the u. S. And global economies. More from the tokyo stock exchange. Investors are unwinding some of the bets made on tax cuts and other stimulus measures so we saw the stronger general dragging down in tokyo. Lets look at the closing levels for this monday january 23rd. The broader top ix also fell more than 1 toyota down 1. 6 and mazda down 2. 3 . Nec also ended lower. On a brighter note toshiba rose 9 . Encouraged by media reports that it may have as much as 1. 8 million. Theyre waiting on more details as trump begins his first full week in office. Meanwhile stocks and currencies may fluctuate as some investors take a more cautious one. Many benchmarks ended higher. Shanghai was 0. 4 and ending at a one month low. Taiwan taiex closing at the highest since june 2015. Tech Companies Lead the rally. Shares rose after the company said its thinking about building a factory in the United States. Shares in singapore rose. 4 to close at 3,025. Thats after Consumer Prices in december for the first time in more than two years. President trump is taking immediate action to renegotiate u. S. Trade arrangements. He is planning talks to overhaul the north American Free trade agreement trump spoke about nafta at a swearing in ceremony at the white house. Were going to start negotiations having to do with naftta. Well have a good result for mexico and the United States and everybody involved. Its very important. Trump says his team is going to do in his words some great things over the next 8 years. He is urging members of the administration to devote themselves to the National Good and not their own interests. The nafta talks could have big implications for firms in their country too. The chairman of the Japan Business federation says they may need to rethink their strategy. Japanesese firms shohould ke close eye on the nafta negotiatatns. The uniteted states should maintain a free and open trade system. Up until the fall well continue to press for a good working relationship. Nafta isnt the only trade deal. Hes vowing to pull the u. S. Out of the Transpacific Partnership free trade agreement. Japanese l leaders are h hoping change his mind. Well keep a close eye on the Trump Administration policies and their impact on japanese firms. We want to see greater prosperity for the two countries. Its economically foror alll memember countntries including u. S. It will bring prosperity to the region. Its o only been in offffice suggesting its too early to say ifif japan would pursue a deal with the us. For now japan will continue to urge member nations to ratify the agreement as soon as possible. Some japanese farmers worry they will miss out on lucrative opportunity ifs the ttp unravels. Farmers produce one of the most sought after brands. They exported 29 tons in fiscal 2015 mainly to southeast asia. The head of the market is keen to push only to new parts of the world. Its essential that the Transpacific Partnership continues to move forward. Theyll get access to open markets a broad. Produces more fruit than any other region. Some farmers there see the ttp as a big opportunity to expand their market. Getting ready to increase exports t t countries s sh as te u. S. And canada. We were just dp gearing up to ship our products to the u. S. Im hopinin theres a way to moe forwarard without too many bubu h he says farmers tend to mi out if the deal falls through. And for more insight on how the new american administrations decisions might impact japan and other Asian Countries, my colleague earlier asked the professor, director of the institute of asia pacific studies. First of all, japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe previously said that the ttp is meaningless without u. S. Participation. What can japan and the ten other member nations do. Yes. Japan and other nations can unite and form ttp without the United States and keep telling mr. Trump the benefits of joining ttp. And also they can approach those countries that show interest in joining ttp and invite them to join them in ttp and three or four countries such as south korea. Indonesia, thailand and i also hope that the sector that will benefit a lot from joining ttp to successfully persuade mr. Trump to join ttp. Now this sounds like its not going to happen overnight. Is there ig else that japan can do . Japan has to accelerate other trade negotiations which include negotiations to the eu which is the final stage of negotiation and also regional and comprehensive Economic Partnership which includes 16 east Asian Countries and that will put pressure on the Trump Administration. What is important is to keep this negotiation moving. Now trump said he will renegotiate nafta and thats raising concerns among companies here in japan and elsewhere. What will be the consequences of that and what will be the impact on asia. First of all, those Companies Operating in mexico will have to make adjustments which is very costly. They have been operating there for about 20 years and making adjustment is very costdy and thats why theres a renegotiation. Its japan and south korea and seoul and thats a very important point we have to remember and also the objective of renegotiations with nafta is to protect u. S. Workers and there will be minimum impacts of such action on the u. S. Economy and u. S. Employment and will reduce consumption in the u. S. And reduce reduction and employment. This is very important to remember. That may trigger trade wars which is more prediction policies and this is exactly what happened which lead to reduction in output and lead to reduction of employment, growing unemployment and we know the consequences of this action is world war ii and countries have to avoid another war and that is a verery important pointnt to remember. Theres another delay for a much anticipated japanese passenger plane. The first to be produced domestically in half a century. The maker of the regional jet confirmed its postponing delivery of the jets again this time by two years to mid 202020 officiaials say the plane nes a new design review. They say thehere may be glitche in somee off the electronics equipment. The firmm will deliver t the je sooner. Possibly by the e end of 2019. W were g going to do everyt we c can to have the mrj in th airr by the year of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and paraolympics. The developer of the mrj has received orders for 447 claims from airlines in japan, the u. S. And other countries. Its the fifth time the firm has postponed delivery as a result theres growing speculation. Thats a look at business news. Im going to leave you with the markets. They are released a report summarizing deliberations. It points out many challenges indicating it would be better to make changes just in this case. Panel members compiled the report at their 9th round of meetings on monday. Prime minister shinzo abe attended. The options laid out in the report include a one time provision that would apply only to the current emperor or a permanent arrangement for future abdications. The report points out many challenges for putting a permanent arrangement in place. It says no one c can predict ho Society Might change in the futu future. I expect the report will help People Better understand the issue. It will be necessary to realize the emperors apparent wish as there are no Legal Provisions for abdication. They plan to release their own views on the matter by mid march. They plan to closely monitor Public Opinion and deliberations before issuing its final report. Theyre to help japanese visit their hometowns on russian held islands. Russia controlols the islaland. Japan claims them as the nonorthern territories. S. Primime minister s shinzoo a ab Vladimir Putin met for a bilateral summit last month. They agreed to ease the burden of travel for the islands former residents as many of them are elderly. Currently theyre only allowed visa free entry to visit by ship. Japan plans to ask russia to allow faster year round visits by plane. Traveling by ship is only possible from may through october when the seas are relatively calm. Japanese Officials Say they also plan to propose allowing visitors to get entry procedures done on the islands in addition. The japanese government hopes to make progress with these plans by the next summit. Abe has said he intends to visit russia early this year. Japans Welfare Ministry says its cracking down on rising fraud. The number of cases during the last fiscal year was at a record high. Ministry Officials Say the numbers of unlawful cases nationwide was nearly 44,000. Up more than 900 from the previous year. 46 involved people not declaring their income. While 19 failed to declare their pensions another 13 are found to have underreported their incomes. Total benefits unlawfully paid out amount to 150 million. Thats a drop of 4. 2 million from the previous year. Officials say thats because local governments scrutinize pay out and found more irregularities at an early stage. Theyll continue to work closely with local municipalities to properly manage the welfare system. A japanese trailblazer in the world of electronic music explored the theme of space until he passed away last year. He had been trying to finish a competition to realize the dream of a latee rocket scientist. As nhnhk w World Reports his co r colaborators made sure it happened. A young scientist dreams of flying into space. A mysterious girl from another worldcoms to help him achieve his ambition. It is a space ballet symphony in which the two characters transcend space and time. Isao tomita died in may of 2016. Even at the age of 84, he was still discovering new soundnd ad delivering surprises. In the 1970s h he increased listeners with a revolutionary album that used what is then new technology. A synthesizer. Throughoutisis life heas drawn to o the theme of space a its infinite vastness. Japans actual Space Exploration began soon after world war ii under the leadership of an engineer. Even when i was building rockets i was more passionate about unraveling the mysteries of the universe. E t thoht of him a a hero. They met in a a unexcted plac he srted studying balle in his 6s. He dance ontage t theusic of the anets. Ken fromnef tomitas albums. He said some day i want to dance with a Holiday Travel graham. He died in 1999. But 11 years later his memory was invoked when the space probe returned to earth. It brought back fragments of an asteroid named in his honor. Afterwards tomita said he would make the holographic dream a reality. Even in ill health he continued to work on the project. He was planning the performance right up to his death. He completed most of the plot and the music but some things remain to be done. The day of the performance. Reach out to one another dancing happily in space. At the end of the story he goes traveling in search of unknown worlds. And t the space prorobe a alone space. Once again he encounters heher. By reaching for the stars, he finds hope. Nhk world. Brings us up to speed onn World Weather starting off. There are over 30 reports of tornadoes and there w were an additionalal 10 tornado reports and we have some coming out of mississippi as well as georgia. Tornadoes have killed at least 19 people and injured at least 23 others in the southeastern United States. Severe weather over the weekend brought powerful storms and tornadoes intoo georgia, mississippi, alabama and florida. The storms caused Severe Damage and cars and frees. A state of emergency was declared in parts of georgia. The Severe Weather makerer is me agoway frorom the u. S. But sti theres a lowow p pressuree sys the storm syste w will likelely move up toward the north. The northeastern United States will see strong winds and heavy noefl into your tuesday. That could cause traffic disruptions and across the side of the United States the strongest storm in years hit california on the weekend. Record breaking heavy rainfall and in los angeles well see Rainy Weather into your Tuesday Morning. Now temperatures expected to be 14 in l. A. On your monday and 7 degrees in vancouver as well as seattle and across the east. Rainy weather in the u. S. Capitol on your monday. And lets go to japan. Heavy snow and strong winds are still effecting the northern portions of japan as well as parts of the w west and that caused very Hazardous Conditions and also traffic disruptions. We have some video from the airport in the region. A winter storm is causing heavy snowfall in northwestern portions of japan continuously and 50 centimeters on sunday but 140 flights were cancelled on sunday due to heavy snow but 400 passengegers were stranded in t airport from sunday to monday morning and still more snow to come and, in fact, the heaviest snowfall fell in the west about 80 centimeters has fallen over the past 24 hours and more snow is on the way. Were still looking at quite cold air coming in from the continent and its 80 centimemer snowow that could fall into you Tuesday Morning and up to 70 centntimeters andnd en overr th west cldld see upwards of 60 centimeters of snowfall and more snow is expected into your tuesday but across the opposite side of japan. Its going to be sunny and temperatures are going to be quite seasonal 8 degrees for the high. Temperatures are going to be 12 degrees so its going to be warming up. But as for osaka snow on tuesday and sunny weather will come back on wednesday and temperatures expected to go up into the weekend. Heres your extended forecast. Q] genie this is france 24. Time for 60 minutes live around the world. Im genie godula. These are the headlines. New peace talks on syria kickoff and dan in classi kazakhstan. It is now a twoman race for the president ial nominee of france by socialist party. In the runoff, manuel valls will face