Selfdefense force unit heading to south sudan will be allowed to protect civilians with weapons if necessary. And under investigation. Law enforcement officials in russia have detained the Economic Development minister on suspicion of accepting a bribe. Theres been a delay to a planned inquiry into south koreas president s connections to a corruption scandal. It was originally expected that park geunhye would sit down with prosecutors on wednesday, but thats not the case. Our reporter kim chanju joins us from seoul. Can you give us the latest . Reporter President Park got a lawyer on tuesday. His job will be to defend her against allegations that she has links to a scandal involving her long time friend and close aides. Parks lawyer held a News Conference and spoke about the delay. Translator i need to take considerable time to study the issues and prepare the defense. In principle, the prosecution should be carried out in written form. Reporter parks lawyer also pointed out that the investigation of a sitting president could paralyze state affairs. Prosecutors told reporters that a facetoface inquiry is necessary for a fact finding. Theyre now looking at the possibility of thursday. In the meantime, the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the scandal. The appointee will be independent from the government and would have higher investigative authorities than current prosecutors. If the special investigation starts, it will put even more pressure on President Park. Thanks very much. Thats kim chanju reporting from seoul. Japans cabinet has decided to grant expanded duties to a selfdefense force unit that will join a u. N. Peacekeeping mission in south sudan. Nhk worlds Tomoko Kamata reports on the unit and its unprecedented rule. Reporter japans sdf members have been part of the u. N. Mission in south sudan since 2011. The missions mandate is to protect people from the violence that broke out years ago as political turmoil gripped the country. Japans current unit is in charge of building facilities for refugees and u. N. Staff, but the time there is almost up. Government officials plan to dispatch a new unit this month, and it will have duties unlike any other in the sdfs history. The duties will include protecting civilians who request urgent help by using weapons if necessary. That wasnt allowed by law in the past. But its now possible because of National Security legislation that came into effect this year. The government sees that as a good thing. Translator now the sdf can rescue people related to the u. N. When they call for help that means we can contribute to the International Community even more. Reporter but its controversial for some people in japan. In tokyo, citizens protested the move. They say the new role for the sdf infringes the constitution, which renounces japans use of force. The defense minister points out fighting is unlikely because she will limit the units operation to the area around the capital. Translator ive been briefed by the u. N. That security is relativevely stable in juba. Its the west and north of south sudan where security is deteriorating. Reporter japanese officials admit the situation is severe. A u. N. Adviser warned last week theres a strong risk that violence could escalate into genocide. And the u. N. Refugee agency said last month an average of 3,500 people fled the country every day. That deteriorating situation could pose problems for the condition the new Mission Needs to meet. The law says any country the sdf members operate in must approve of them being there throughout the entire operation. In the case of south sudan, that approval could be considered lost if the current government loses power. But for now, the plan is for the sdf personnel to start their work around the middle of next month and continue until march. Japanese officials will keep a close eye on developments. Tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. Russian investigators have detained the countrys Economic Development minister on suspicion of taking a bribe. The news is causing concerns here in japan as officials here push for closer economic ties with russia. Russias Investigative Committee says he received more than 2 million from the countrys biggest oil producer. They suspect that in return, his ministry gave approval to the company to acquire a stake in another oil firm. Japans minister for trade w wi russia was scheduled to hold talks with him on the weekend in peruru. They were supposed to discuss an eightpoint Economic Cooperation plan that japan had pitched ahead of president Vladimir Putins visit in december. Translator honestly, im very surprised. The two governments have already agreed on the working plan for Economic Cooperation. Translator theres no change in our plan to develop japan russia relationships over broad fields such as the economy. We wilpushsh forwardrd Economic Cooperation with russia in a mutually beneficial way. He has been involved with russias economic policies for over two decades. Russian president Vladimir Putin has congratulated u. S. President elect donald trump in a phone call. The kremlin says the two men agreed to improve russia u. S. Relalations, which have sunk to their lowest point since the cold war. Russian Officials Say putin told trump hes ready to engage t th new u. S. Administration in a dialogue between partners. The Officials Say talks would be based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and noninterferencnce in each other domestic affairs. They say that trump and putin discussed mutual efforts to normalize relations and agreed to pursue constructive cooperation on the broadest possible range of issues. E two agreed to make plans for a facetoface meeting. They confirmed the need to Work Together in the struggle against International Terrorism and extremism, which they view ass their top common enemy. And they exchanged views related to solving the crisis in syria. Disagreements over the conflicts in syria and ukraine have been the main source of tension between russia and the u. S. Trumps Transition Team confirmed that trump told putin hes looking forward to building a strong and enduring relationship with russia. Meanwhile, u. S. President barack obama has suggested trump will be pragmatic in office. Given the president elects campaign rhetoric, that could come as a surprise to some. This office has a way of waking you up. And those aspects of his positions or predispositions that dont match up with real y reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick. O obama spoke in his first ns Conference Since the election and says he gave trump some advice in their recent meeting at the white house. He says he told him that campaigning is different from governing, adding he thinks trump recognizes that. Obama also says the president elect expressed great interest in maintaining countrys core strategic relationships. According to south korean media, seoul has confirmed it knew pyongyang sent a senior diplomat to meet with u. S. Experts in switzerland. The diplomat was spotted at an airport in beijing. Asked by reporteders where she was going, she said she was going to attend a meeting. Translator i will meet my old friends for a talk. Diplomatic sources say it is to find out the next policy planss for pyongyang. President barack obama has maintained a policy of having no direct talks with the north unless it takes concrete steps towards denuclearization. North korea says it will not negotiate if denuclearization is a precondition for talks. The two governments have not held official talks for more than 4 1 2 years. Japans Prime Minister will head to the u. S. This week to discuss bilateral issues with the president elect. High on the agenda will be the future of a massive free trade agreement. Lets go to gene otani from our business desk for all the business headlines. Prime minister shinzo abe is a keen supporter of the transpacific partnership, a deal that would bind 12 asia pacific countries, but president elect donald trump has repeatedly vowed to pull the u. S. Out of the pact before its ratified. Abe told lawmakers hell raise the matter with trump in new york. He said he trusts that trump understands the value of open trade as a key pillar of Republican Party policy. And he said if the tpp fails, the chinaled Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will be the new focus. Translator the United States is not part of the rcep negotiations, so china is the biggest gdp in the talks. Its necessary to establish an Economic Zone like the tpp that accounts for 40 of the world economy. It would benefit the economies in the region. Leaders of tpp Member States are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the apex summit that begins on saturday in peru. Abe s said he wants them to reaffirm their commitment to the deal. The first trial of a drone using a mobile phone has been carried out. They developed the system with a group of venture firms. It had a top speed of 50 kilolometers p per hour. Conventional wireless drones have an operational limit about one kilometer. Mobile phones allow operation from tens of kilometers away. Translator wind, rain, and other weather conditions will be tricky to deal with. We will do further trials to enable practical use. Engineers plan to test if e drdrone operation affects mobil phone communications on land. They aim to put the drone into practical use from 2018. Hitachi has developed Camera Technology that captured images without lenses. They promise cheaper and smaller lenses with applications in selfdriving cars and robots. They say that in place of lenses, the camera uses special imprinted film. They say that will make it possible to shrink cameras in smartphones to 0. 5 millimeteter ten times thinnerer than curren models. The special film captures images from a sensor. Its then analyzed by a computer, which reconstructs the originalal still or moving imag. Hitachi researchers say the Technology Allows the focus to be freely adjusted even after taking the image. They say by doing away with lenses, the cost of cameras can be reduced. Hitachi hopes to commercialize the technology in 2018. Insurance companies in japan are facing a tough business environment. A shrinking population means fewer customers and super low Interest Rates have translated into lower returns. Now a major u. S. Insurance company is pulling out of japan. Executives at aig say theyve agreed to sell all the shares of aig fuji Life Insurance to Pacific Century group. The japanese unit has more than a million life and Cancer Policy contracts. The executives say the buyer already takake thehese over. They also say the firm will focus on nonlife iurance in japan. The deal markrks the entntry fo japan i io the groroup heaeaded richard lee. E. The grgroup has bought Life Insurance businesses in asia in 2013. Its business has been expanding. Japans nikkei share average ended fractionally lower as investigators booked profits from sharp gains. Phoebe amoroso has the details from thehe stock exchange. We saw a bit of calm return to the markets as the postu. S. Election rally ran out of steam. Treasury yields and the dollar also eased a little. There was some correction there. Lets see the closing level with tuesday, november 15th. The nikkei 225 finished just a touch down at 17,668, but its still hovering around a ninemonth high. The broader topix rose 0. 2 . The dollar climbed to the 108 yen level, reaching a fivemonth high, on the back of expectations that President Donald Trump will increase government spending. Looking at individual stocks, the Financial Sector led the gains despite lower profits for the three major financial groups. In particular, we saw Mitsubishi Ufj farewell. It hit a tenmonth high. It ended up 4. 2 . Sumitomo mitsui also ended higher. So the postelection shock is ending in tokyo. Investigators are waiting on policy announcements to get a sense of how the u. S. Will proceed from here. Rising yields on u. S. Treasury notes are having an effect in japan. The yield on tenyear japanese government bonds briefly rose above 0 for the First Time Since september. Moving on to other markets in the asiapacific region, hong kong and malaysia snapped two days of losses. The philippines continue to suffer from fears of capital outflow. The shanghai composite edged down by 0. 11 after hitting a tenmonth high on monday. Profit taking dragged down construction and resourcerelated shares. Heres a look at some of the other business stories were following. An estimated 37,000 new condominiums have gone on sale in the tokyo area this year, the lowest figure in seven years. The Real Estate Economic Institute says 2900 new condos were put on the market in tokyo and its neighboring prefectures last month. Researchers say rising Construction Costs are driving up prices. The chinese yuan has lost ground against the u. S. Dollar for the eighth straight trading day. The peoples bank of china set its daily reference rate at 6. 8495 to the dollar. Thats the lowest rate since december 2008. Japanese Food Companies are promoting theirir products in saudi arabia. The companies showcased about 200 items at a food fair. Saudi arabia has seen growing interest in Healthy Foods amid a rise in obesity, which reportedly affects onethird of the population. Generations have grown up drinking milk, but for those allergic to dairy, thats not an option. One answer may be goat milk, as this next reportt showsws the dk is gaining attention in japan as a nutritious alternative. Reporter this farm is home to about 70 goats. This man began raising them after learning about their milk. People who are allergic to cows milk sometimes find goats milk easier to digest. One challenge to marketing goat milk is its strong smell. He developed a feed designed to reduce the odor. It contains rice and grass grown without pesticides. Translator our goats milk has to taste good above all else. If its also healthy and causes fewer allergies, trierrific. I can recommend our milk with confidence. I want everyone to try it. Reporter this scientists has analyzed the components of milk. He says one reason people with a dairy allergy can drink goats milk has to do with proteins. This experiment helps illustrate the difference. First, both types of milk are poured into centrifuges. About 15 minutes later, the proteins are extracted. Theyre dyed blue and placed in another machine to break them down further. Here are the results. The data on the left is from cows milk. The blue at the bottom signals the presence of a protein called alpha s1 casein. Its one of the substances that cause a milk allergy. The data on the right is from goats milk. Theres no blue at the bottom, so the allergycausing protein is absent. He says some people who arere allergic to alpha s1 caseinin n drink goats milk. T translator people with day allergies could make up for the nutritional shortfall by drinking goats milk. It has a very good potential to become a substitute for cows milk. Reporter a dairy farm thats been in business for nearly a century has begun selling milk from goats. It expects demand from people looking for an alternative to cows milk. The goat milk they sell is from his farm. It earned kudos from College Students who visited the factory. Translator the smell isnt so strong and its easy to drink. Translator it could be great if people with a milk allergy could enjoy this product. Translator there are so many people with milk sensitivities these days. We know because we sell cows milk. Well keep working h hard to se gogoats milk so lots of people with a dairy allergy can enjoy it. Reporter goats milk thats easy on the taste buds and the stomach. For some allergy sufferers, it could become the drink of choice. For those allergic to dairy product, they recommend getting a medical checkup before trying goats milk. You can catch our report again online with a full transcript. Look for nhk world and business wrap. Thats a look at business news. Im going to leave you with the markets. Officials in the japanese city of fukuoka have finished filling a giant sink hole. Theyve now reopened the road and lifted evacuation orders. Traffic resumed in front of the main train station early tuesday morning, just a week after the hole opened up, shocking residents. The cavein happened suddenly, cutting off powewer, water, and gas in parts of the city. But surprisingly, no one was hurt. City officials belelieve construction work to extend a subway line was the cause. Translator we think it is important to have a third party thoroughly investigate the cause as well. Crews workedd aroundd the clock, dumping wet cement and sand into the hole. It was supposed to be fixed by monday, but heavy rain slowed the work. Translator i was surprised the road was restored in just a week. Translator aim still a little worried that sink holes may emerge on other roads. City Officials Say they wont resume the subway project until theyre sure something similar will never happen again. Authorities in new zealand are carrying out rescue opererations after a powerful eartrthquake strucuck the count south island. The magnitude 7. 8 quake, which hit on monday, triggered landslides and cut off roads, leaving some small towns isolated. On tuesday, rescue operations began to evacuate hundreds of stranded tourists in a resort town about 60 kilometers from the epicenter. The tourists were flown by military helicopter to a town 150 kilometers away. They were then transported to an airport in the city of christchurch. On seasonably warm weather prevailed for us here in tokyo during the day on tuesday with highs around 19 degrees celsius, or 66 degrees fahrenheit. Sayaka mori updates us on World Weather starting with eastern europe. Yes, a blizzard hit parts of ukraine and romania on sunday. You can see a cloud moving over the black sea region. It caused a lot of heavy snowfall plus very strong wind. Lets go to video coming out of kiev. Heavy s snow has hit western ukraraine, i including the c ca city o of kiev. Heavy snow caused traffic disruptions, battered trees, and cut electricity. 430 settlements in nine regions remain without electricity. In kieiev, over 20 centimetersr snow fell and caused traffic accidents. Right now we have a highpressure system covering the area. It is a calm. Definitely good news. But across the north there is another potent low pressure system in front. The lines are clely y packed. That means powerful winds are blowing and ss causingng lotsf low temperurures. A lot of snow is falliling acro the scandinavian peninsula. And will move over central portions of europe causing heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures. Only 5 in berlin with Rainy Weather on tuesday. Good news its going to be warming up to ten degrees into wednesday. Negative 4 degrees in kiev in moscow and minus 1i degree expected in kiev with partly sunny conditions on your tuesday. Lets go to japan. Quite calm weather is happening across much of japan. Its actually quite warm today. But tomorrow is a different story. We are looking at a typical classic wintry weather pattern that means a low pressure system is located over the east and a High Pressure system is located overer the west. Whenever we e see this pattern e quite cooler air coming in. Snowfall across the north. Heavy snow plus strong winds in hokkaido and temperatures will be quite chilly. Could be 15 degrees on tuesday actually high was 15 degrees on tuesday. But down to 3 degrees on wednesday. So 12 degrees difference in just one someday. Tokyo about 20 degrees on tuesday, today, however, tomorrow is s going to be 16 degrees. Sunny weather will come back. Lets go to north america. A succession of lowpressure systems has been moving over the pacific northwest, bringing heavy rain for the coast and heavy snow for the mountainous locations. This systewillll cause h heavy rainfall a b breezy cocondition across seattle on your tuesday, and the system wilill likely mo towards ththe east. It is expected to cause the first significant snowfall of the season for many areas across the e western United States as go through wednesday and thursday. Then across theastst, ere e is a potential for heavy rain across the northeastern United States so watch out f for floodods. Rain is not expected foror the deep south, where dozens of wildfires are occurring. The rain is definitely needed, but no rain is expected, at least for the next couple days. Temperatures are going to be as follows. 19 degrees in atlanta. 14 degrees in washington, d. C. Quite chilly across the northeast as well. 11 degrees in new york city. Very warm across the central locations of the United States. 27 in houston. 24 in oklahoma city. Thats about five Degrees Higher than normal. And 15 Degrees Higher than average for this time of year in denver on your tuesday. All right. Thats it for me now. Heres your extended forecast. Be sure to watch newsroom tokyo at the top of the hour. Im james molly welcome to the france 24 newsroom. I am molly hall. Here is a look at the headlines. Barack obama arrives in greece for his the first leg of his final trip to europe as president. Courtternational criminal s chief Prosecutor Says american soldiers and the cia may have committed war crimes in afghanistan. Arriveeaders
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