>> translator: first there were two holes then they became bigger and bigger. i felt real scared when the traffic light nearby fell into it. >> the sinkhole has grown past the 14 meter high road to swallow the sidewalk. there are no reports of injuries. the gas company has shut off supply because of the possibility of leaks. nearly 200 houses and businesses are without electricity, including part of fukuoka airport. officials say so far there are no flight cancelations. more on this as details come in. it's been a long and bumpy ride on the u.s. election campaign trail. there are now less than 24 hours to go before americans go to the polls to pick their next president. and the two main contenders have made their final pitches to voters in key states. democratic candidate hillary clinton campaigned in pennsylvania. >> let me just say the choice in this election could not be clearer. it really is between division or unity. between strong and steady leadership or a loose cannon. >> republican nominee donald trump made his final push in florida, criticizing his rival. >> hillary clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of the presidency of the united states. well, you know what you can do? go out and vote tomorrow, that's what you can do, i'll tell you. that's the only way. that's the way you beat the rigging, folks. >> the race has been tight. clinton regained some ground since last week. opinion polls released on monday suggest she has a three-point lead over trump. the u.s. presidential election has become a security concern in asia. south korea has ordered its military on high alert in case north korea begins provocative actions to coincide with election day. an official from the south korean joint chiefs of staff says actions could include a ballistic missile launch. another military official told nhk that recently there have been frequent movements of multiple mobile missile launchers in the north. pyongyang conducted two separate launches of what are believed to be musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles in october but boast tests appear to have failed. delegates from around the world are in the moroccan city of marrakesh for a unusual conference on climate change. they'll try to hammer out the details of a global climate agreement reached last year in paris. the paris agreement came into force last week. the deal calls for all nations to reduce emissions and green house gases. delegates of the cop-22 conference will try to work out specific rules needed to implement the agreement. one issue is how to assess reduction targets for each country. another is how to verify the efforts being made. they'll also discuss financial assistance for developing nations. those that have already ratified the paris agreement will also hold their first signatory meeting called cma 1 during the conference. japan has yet to ratify the agreement and will join the meeting only as an observer. let's turn to business headlines. markets are holding steady but investors are cautious ahead of the u.s. presidential election. ai uchida joins us with an update on the markets and other business headlines. >> tokyo markets opened higher. that tracks the gain wet saw on wall street after hillary clinton was cleared by the fbi over her e-mail use. market players do see her as the safer option as she's likely to keep the status quo but they are holding off from active trading ahead of the result. let's check on the nikkei, see where it's at now. it is in the positive right now briefly, it was in the negative earlier, currently up .1%. 17,195. the dollar holding its gains against the yen. now at the mid-104 yen levels. it jumped more than 1% after clinton was cleared of any wrongdoing on sunday. the rally in the dollar has seen the euro lose ground. it is currently trading at 1.10. the common currency is moving without clear direction against the yen. take a look at other markets open across the asia-pacific at this time. and we are seeing modest gains elsewhere as well. seoul and australia both trading higher by just about .2%. china markets will open in just under half an hour. russia and china have agreed to expand energy cooperation and reaffirm their commitment to jointly develop russia's far east region. wrugs prime minister dmitry medvedev welcomed chinese premier to st. petersburg for a conference on trade and investment. business leaders from both countries attended. during the meeting russia's major oil company agreed to sell a 20% stake in one of its subsidiaries to a chinese company for $1.1 billion. the subsidiary's oil field is expected to be a key source of russia's oil exports to the asia-pacific region. russia is seeking cooperation from japan in the energy sector and in developing its far east region. analysts say russia is aiming to obtain as much economic cooperation as possible from the two countries as its economy continues to be hampered due to sanctions from western nations over its actions in the ukraine. one of the world's largest petroleum and natural gas events has opened in the united arab emirates. the country called for investment in oil and gas in order to maintain a stable crude oil supply. more than 2,000 oil and natural gas-related companies and organizations from 120 countries are taking part in the exhibition at a time when crude oil prices remain low. uae energy ministerialal masrui mead a speech at the beginning of the event. >> the glut is almost gone from where it was one year ago. and this is a positive thing for us to think about. i think we are at the bottom of this cycle. >> the secretary-general of the organization of the petroleum exporting countries, opec, stressed that all member nations have confirmed their continued commitment to the agreement made in september to reduce output. japanese companies and organizations are also taking part, showcasing japan's cutting-edge technology. >> translator: we want to show how japan can help the uae with technology cooperation and >> japan is facing the challenge of renewing its rights to an offshore oil field in the uae. the contract expires in 2018. the japanese government plans to create a so-called information bank to tap the huge storage of personal data on the internet. that's in a bid to promote flne business. this comes amid the growing popularity of iot technology, the internet of things. in a proposal compiled by the industry ministry tax force, the bank is to serve as a data broker for people who agree to share personal information. the ministry group plans to design a data distribution mechanism and the legal framework. the members say the proposed bank would allow companies to develop new services, for instance, an automaker could share gps data on vehicle movement with an insurance firm, the insurer could use that information to provide policies tailored to the specific needs of individual motorists. some of the information can be quite personal in nature, including data on assets and health. the task force members say they will consider working with private sector firms to design a secure way of handling such information. a common misconception is that artificial intelligence is all about robots and cars. well, not anymore. as this next report shows, a.i. is entering the workplace and the impact could be profound. >> reporter: this firm has developed an ai-based computer system that has been adopted by more than 1,000 client firms. the system's task is to rate the faces of employees for stress and will to work. the a.i. program has a data bank of 20,000 faces, giving it the ability to distinguish subtle expressions. >> translator: the program checks how the edges of theize have gone down and the corners of the mouth have gone up. it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points.mou. it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points.of . it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points.up. it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points.of . it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points. >> reporter: the same worker can score vastly different points depending on his facial expression. the points are combined with the person's overtime and other irregular work data to comprehensively assess presumed stress and motivation levels. the idea is simple. the ai program alerts managers before workers take sick leave or quit. >> translator: managers can make a quicker initial response. there will be fewer cases in which they only realize their work erls are in serious trouble after being told. >> reporter: this restaurant introduced the system in september. staff members have their photos taken every day when they arrive and before they leave. twrns transit's fun. >> translator: it's different from just bunching time cards or writing down work logs. >> reporter: sakamot ochlo intrd the system. he works for the restaurant's parent firm. in japan's tight labor market he thought it would motivate workers and keep them on the job. sakamoto visited the restaurant's manager to check how the system is working. >> translator: how's it going? >> translator: i don't even need to interview workers. i just need a short, casual conversation to take care of them thanks to the face-reading program. >> reporter: it's been two months since the system was introduced, yet he feels it has already helped him improve his relationships with employees. >> translator: knowing more about workers helps retain them. and happier workers can help raise customer satisfaction. i feel everything is moving in the right direction. >> translator: workers communicate less because of the spread of workplace computers. artificial intelligence is helping to boost their motivation. as the technology expands in the office, it will bring enormous changes to how we work and interact with each other. >> and that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. the philippine coast guard has resumed patrols off the disputed scarborough shoal in the south china sea. the area has effectively been under chinese control since 2012 when china deployed a fleet to keep philippine ships away. philippine coast guard authorities say the operation resumed on saturday in waters around the shoal about 200 kilometers west of the island of luzon. they say they sent two vessels including a patrol ship supplied by japan. they'll observe how fishing boats are operating in the area. last month philippine president rodrigo duterte met with chinese president xi jinping and they agreed to mend ties. china then stopped blocking philippine ships from the waters. philippine government officials say by restarting the patrols they do not intend to heighten regional tensions. scandal-plagued south korean president park geun-hye is facing increasing pressure to leave the governing saenuri party. the disaffection is coming from within the party as well as across the country. former chairman of the party, kim moo-sung, called for her to step away at a news conference on monday. kim is among its key members distancing themselves from park. >> translator: president park must abandon her party membership to take responsibility for the scandals. >> park tried to appoint kim byong-joon, a well-respected politician, to the post of prime minister, but the opposition rejected the idea. it said the president should withdraw the proposal and leave her party. south korean prosecutors detained two of park's former aides on sunday, adding to the pressure on the leader. this follows the arrest of her confidant choi soon-sil. four of the five presidents the country has had since democratization in 1987 have withdrawn from their party due to scandal. it's been two years since it's been two years since joko widodo became president of indonesia. revitalizing the economy remains a top priority. people had high hopes for the businessman turned politician when he took power in 2014. nhk world looks at how effective joko's economic policies have been. >> reporter: this is the three hours in permit service. this is the president's new service that is intended to bring efficiency to indonesia. companies used to have to visit numerous government offices to get documents and permits. the whole process could take three months. but the new one-stop system supposedly takes just three hours and covers eight different procedures from company registration to tech setup. the service launched in january to support investment projects worth about $8 million or more or employing at least 1,000 indonesian nationals. >> for businessmen, time is money. licenses and things are done in a short time, we can focus on other things, which is really, really important. >> reporter: officials say about 130 domestic and foreign companies have used the service so far with combined investments worth over $21.8 billion. the government expects the program to boost gdp from next year. >> translator: i believe the fast-track permit system will attract many investors to indonesia. >> reporter: improving infrastructure is another of joko's economic priorities. a new container terminal opened in september in northern jakarta developed by a group, including a japanese trading firm. the new 850-meter pier is long enough to service massive container ships. it's equipped with six of the world's largest cranes and can handle up to 1.5 million containers a year. before, some ships had to moor offshore for up to a week waiting for an opening. that's been cut to about three days. >> translator: amid the fast-changing logistics, demand for ports will rise. we'll stay active in seeking to take part in any new port development projects. >> reporter: the president's approval rating is over 60% according to one poll. free medical and educational programs for the poor have helped. but dissatisfied voices are rising. on october 20th, joko's second anniversary in office, some 2,000 people took to the streets in front of the presidential office. >> translator: we workers are not benefiting from the president's policies. many of us have lost jobs. >> reporter: this woman took part in the demo. a 37-year-old migrant worker, she lost her job at a plastic factory last year. she lives in a jakarta suburb with her husband. even with his income, they struggle to support their 12-year-old son, who lives elsewhere. she blames foreign workers for taking local jobs. >> translator: president joke co's policies are not friendly to us, the poor. his predecessor was better. >> reporter: joko can point to eye-catching projects as evidence of economic progress since he took office, but many low-income indonesians are demanding better opportunities before they offer him their support. francisca renata, nhk world, jakarta. the leaders of japan and kazakhstan are united in striving for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. prime minister shinzo abe and president nursultan nazarbayev melt in tokyo on monday. nazarbayev is known for his consistent work toward denuclearization. he closed a former soviet nuclear site in kazakhstan which saw more than 450 tests. >> translator: japan highly values ties with kazakhstan which is located at the center of eurasia and possesses abundant energy resources. japan stresses the importance of bilateral cooperation in the united nations and in the field of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. >> the leaders issued a joint statement saying their countries will urge others to ratify the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty as soon as possible. they also called on north korea to immediately halt its nuclear-related activities. the loss of a loved one can push people to action, and such is the case with our next story of a japanese woman who lost her young son to tragedy. as nhk world jean-baptiste reports from ghana, she's making sure others aren't at the same risk. >> reporter: midori speaks about the importance of first aid at an event in the capital accra. >> translator: cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation can start suddenly. even with a hit in the chest by a baseball or soccer ball. >> reporter: her son died three years ago. he got into difficulties while surfing. he might have lived if only there had been the proper equipment at hand such as an automated external defibrillator or aed. an aed is a heart starter. a machine that uses electric shocks to revive the heart. after losing her son, she took an instructor's certificate in first aid. she then founded an npo. called the hiroya fund. one of her goals is to distribute as many aeds to ghana as possible. >> translator: i realized when i came to ghana that many people can't get the same level of medical care we have in japan. so i started this project to distribute aeds. >> reporter: the aed, which have been sent last year, is being used in this teaching hospital. she helped demonstrate the device along with some emergency resuscitation methods. >> translator: use this part and push hard. look over here. >> reporter: doctors say the donated aed has already saved lives. >> i think that every hospital in ghana should have to have it and be able to use it efficiently to save lives. >> translator: i feel reassured to see the hospital using the aed. and watching the students learning resuscitation methods, it makes me feel my son's death was not in vain. it pushes me to work hard to keep going with this project. >> reporter: the group raises money through its website and word of mouth. while nothing will bring her son back, the project in his name may help others to live. jean-baptiste niard, nhk world, cape coast. >> great story. let's get a check of the weather. people in tokyo are bundling up this morning. it is a chilly one out there. our meteorologist robert speta has the latest in world weather. >> we have this frontal area continuing to push in from the northwest. you can really see it on our satellite imagery. just come dominating most of japan. it will be setting up some additional snowfall, especially for areas back here towards the north across parts of hokkaido and northern honshu. now not just people being impacted by how about some of the animals. i'll show you video coming out of eastern hokkaido here in northern japan where the crane, actually a popular symbol of japan out here, about 50 of them were spotted here, a national protected species in eastern hokkaido. the temperature dropped down to about minus 8 degrees. pretty incredible images these birds. you get fairly luck can we if you actually get to see them out there. definitely starting to head south with more and more cool temps setting in out here. this front here going to be one of the coldest blasts of winter yet here this year. as this does continue to push off toward the east, first we'll be seeing rainfall across parts of honshu, maybe toward parts of hokkai hokkaido. that will change over toward snowfall, some areas 20 to 30 centimeters on top of an already above-average snow base around sapporo, extending through tohoku, niigata into nagano. it's not just the snow. there's going to be vastly lower temperatures. sapporo minus 2 for the morning low. tokyo 4, flirting with the zero-degree mark, some inland areas pushing the freezing point here on thursday admonishing. might be even seeing frost in some of the foothills around tokyo as well. let's talk about the election out here across the americas. because we have going on is really widespread precipitation expected in the central areas of the u.s. and whenever we're talking about undecided voters, maybe people that they look outside, not really determined on exactly going out and standing in line for several hours to vote in the rain, this is definitely a major impact that you could be seeing. it does look like some areas, especially from oklahoma toward chicago, maybe into the northeastern u.s., could be seeing some scattered showers here on election day, november 8th. maybe some thunderstorms down towards the south. also you do have to remember whenever we do see any severe weather, people do have to travel quite often to get to some of those polling stations. it does look like there's no major storms going on but definitely these nuisance showers continuing to take place. across the central u.s., over towards the rockies, partly cloudy skies. maybe even portland over towards seattle, you might see some passing showers here on tuesday as well. los angeles, beautiful spot on the map there, 31 for your high. some sunny skies in the forecast. i do also want to mention if you are traveling to the balkan peninsula here into europe, fairly potent storm system. over towards bulgaria, could be seeing winds topping 100 kilometers per hour along with some heavy rainfall as that does continue to drift off. back toward the north things are cooling down as well. we have a frontal area diving in. that's going to make for messy weather into low countries. berlin 5 only for your high. some scattered showers here on tuesday. all right, i'll leave you with your extended outlook. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. y >> euromaxx highlights. and now, here's your host, karin helmstaedt. karin: hello there, and a warm welcome to our highlights of the week, which have shaped up this time around with the following headline stories. back to basics. fighting for survival in the wild. edible materials, featuring artist nathan wyburn's unusual art. and taste of spain. la rioja is one of europe's leading wine-growing regions. to be at one with nature -- for many, it's an idealistic dream, and yet, if it happens unexpectedly and you're not