both to the public inside of japan as well as the outside of japan. >> i want there to be no understanding during the transition in washington that we stand firmly 100% shoulder to shoulder with you and the japanese people, mr. prime minister. >> mattis said the two allies are facing a number of challenges, such as the threat posed by north korea. further details of the conversation are not known yet. it's likely that they've discussed a number of regional security issues, including pyongyang's nuclear program and its repeated firing of missiles. china's military build-up in the disputed south china sea was expected to be part of the discussion. on saturday, mattis is scheduled to have a meeting with his counterpart tomodi inada. he met with south korean counterparts earlier in the day. he delivered a stern warning to the north korean leadership. met the south korean defense minister in seoul. >> any attack on the united states or on our allies will be defeated and any use of nuclear weapons will be met with a response that will be effective and overwhelming. >> han said the bilateral talks will send the strongest possible message to pyongyang. >> translator: secretary mattis' visit to south korea and our meeting show our strong determination to respond to north korea's nuclear and missile threats. >> south korea says the defense chief reaffirmed the commitment to defending the south and making use of all deterrents, including a nuclear umbrella. officials say they've agreed to deploy a u.s. missile defense system by the end of the year in south korea. earlier on friday, pyongyang issued a statement saying the system is driving the korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war. pyongyang insisted that the military exercises be canceled. warning unless the exercises are canceled pyongyang will enhance its nuclear capabilities. the new defense secretary is a decorated veteran, whose reputation has earned his respect with colleagues overseas. nhk world has more. >> we are going to appoint mad dog mattis as our secretary of defense. >> trump has poised mattis as a man of devotion and a man of action. mattis' career in the marines spans four decades. he fought in the gulf war, the afghanistan war, and the second iraq war. his final job in the military was as commander of the u.s. central command, which overseas operations in the middle east. he retired in 2013. japan's defense minister is a retired japan self-defense force lieutenant general. he's an expert of national security and japan-u.s. relation and has met mattis. he says mattis' nickname "mad dog" is somebody that tackles his mission. it's not an insult. >> based on my background as a member of japan's defense force, i would say that james mattis is an excellent military man. there is no doubt that mattis has the qualities of a fine leader. >> he said mattis is an intellectual man, is known for moving his library with him has been referred to as a warrior munk, because of his focus in life on military study itself and he has never married. here's what mattis had to say a month ago about threats to the u.s. and world order. >> i think it's under the biggest attack since world war ii, sir, that's from russia, from terrorist groups and with what china is doing in the south china sea. >> yamaguchi says mattis chose korea and japan for his first overseas trip as u.s. defense secretary to make a statement about the region. >> translator: mattis' visit shows that the u.s. still values its allies and that japan and south korea can look to the u.s. for support. it's a wise move, especially given the current threat from north korea and the difficulty of predicting how china will behave. >> yamaguchi expects the visit will be a good chance to reconfirm the importance of the japan/u.s. alliance. >> the alliance between japan and the u.s. isn't just important for the security of the korean peninsula, it's significant for the stability of asia as a whole. that's why the relationship between the u.s. and japan has been described as the cornerstone of asian stability. i hope mattis' visit will cement this idea and make us conscious with our relationship with the u.s. >> after mattis's visit, it will new president's turn to meet with the region. prime minister abe will visit washington for a summit with trump next friday. nhk world, tokyo. officials in south korea say it appears that the head of north korea's secret police has been purged for corruption and abuse of power. >> translator: the dismissal is expected to instill fear in senior officials and weaken the government's g grip off citizen it's likely to further destabilize the regime. >> the officials say kim wan han was likely removed from the post of state security minister in january. they believe most of his senior staff was executed. kim was a close aide to the country's leader. he's believed to be behind the investigation, detention and special military trial that led to the execution of kim jong-un's uncle in 2013. kim last appeared when he accompanied the leader on a new year's day on a visit to a mausoleum. a special prosecutor in south korea investigating the influence-pend p.e.d.ling scandal of president park geun-hye has tried to investigate her offices but the search was prevted. theyey received a seaearch and seizure warranant. the team has been preparing to question the president in person, and the aim of the raid was likely to gather more data. it would have been the first raid since the special team was formed. but they say the presidential office refused to grant them access to the compound, citing security concerns. under the country's law, military facilities and other areas that handle confidential information cannot be searched without approval from the person in charge of the location. a spokesperson for the special prosecutor says it's regrettable ththe presidentntial office did cooperate. prosecutors have already indicted park's long-time friend, choi soon-sil, and her close aides. u.s. president trump's travel ban is spurring japan's top i.t. firm to take steps to protect its employees, gene otani has the details on that and other business headlines. >> japan's leading i.t. firm, has advised employee who is might be subject to trump's executive order to refrain from traveling to the united states. thee order temporary bars trave to the u.s. for peoplee from several countries. rarakuten employs peoeoe from across the world. itits executives say they wilil help workers affected by the ban to relocate outside america with their families. the company's chairman and ceo says he very much regrets what's happening in the u.s. he says his firm will continue to support diversity. more u.s. firms have been speaking out against president trump's immigration ban as protests and criticism grows. one of the latest business leaders to join the opposition is the head of ride-sharing company, uber. travis kalanick says he's quitting trump's advisory councicil. the ceo disclosed his decision in a an email to staff. he wrote that the travel ban is hurting many people in the united states. and there's growing concern, there's growing fear that the u.s. is no longer a place that welcomes immigrants. he pledged to fight for their rights. the move comes as uber has been under fire over the immigration ban. some users have been deleting their accounts. they accuse the firm of profiting from the situation by sending cars to new york's jfk airport after taxi drivers went on strike in support of immigrants. japanese government officials are drawing up a plan for prime minister shinzo abe to present at his meeting with president trump next week. it calls for more japanese investment in the u.s. and jobs for american workers. the plan is in response to trump's criticisms on japan's automobile market and foreign exchange policy. the plan calls for japan to invest in the u.s. infrastructure, including building a high-speed railway in texas and to provide loans for such projects. it is said the countries will discuss rules on bilateral trade. the plan outlines a framework for discussions on economic cooperation. can net members from both countries would take part. abe and trump will meet on friday. abe was questioned about the plan at the lower house budget committee meeting on friday. >> translator: i will explain that if the united states uses japan's excellent infrastructure technology, it will lead to large benefits in investment and employment. >> abe was asked if japan might tap public pension money to fund this infrastructure. he said he has no such authority. the president of japan's government pension investment fund takahashi said it could in theory be used in this way. he said the fund's main targets for investment are the industrialized of europe and the u.s. a host of business and government leaders are speaking out against president trump's claim that japan is guiding the yen weaker. now finance minister taro aso has added his opinion to the controversy. aso responded to a comment trump made at a meeting on tuesday with pharmaceutical company executives. the american president said china and japan are playing the devaluation market. aso said on friday that the claim is untrue. >> translator: japan maintained its stance in line with agreements made with other g-20 nations that include avoiding competitive currency devaluation. bank of japan's focus is not targeted at guiding the yen weaker. >> aso said both companies need to cooperate on economic policy. economy minister secco has also challenged trump's latest claims. trump said japanese cars are flowing into his country. but japan makes it difficult to sell american carss there. sa seko said he will explain the huge contribution that japanese automakers make to the u.s. >> the automobile industry compriseses a wide range of businesses. and provides lots of jobs. car dealers for example. some data shows japananese automakers create 1.5 million jobs in the u.s. we want to explain that clearly. >> seko says he's not predicting a full blown trade war between the two countrieie checking the markets, tokyo stocks managed to end the day up after a volatile session. currency concerns weighed on the market. we have more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> it has been a choppy day, tokyo's benchmark nikkei went in and out of negative territory amid swings in bond yield and the yen. let's look at the closing levels this friday, februarary 3rd. the nikkei 225 gained a fraction to choice at 18,918. the broader topix added 0.3%. the yield touched a one-year high in the morning on government bonds, but fell back after the bank of japan stepped in with a special fixed-rate bond-buying operation. the dollar rebounded against the yen as investors sold the japanese currency when jgb yields dropped. on to individual stocks, sony jumped 5% on robust earnings in its semiconductor business. murata manufacturing added 4.5% after reports that it is in talks with samsung to supply batteries for the south korean giant new smartphone. next week shinzo abe will meet with the u.s. president, and investors are bracing for trump's comments on the japanese currency and on trade. i'm gian nguyen reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. let's move to other markets in the asia-pacific region. the shanghai composite was down, finishing at 3140. china's central bank raised short-term interest rates, dampening sentiment. concerns about moves by beijing to tighten monetary policy cast a shadow over other benchmarks in the region. hang seng index dropping to 23,129, the clothing number there, down .24%. shares in indonesia adding 0.1%. rising for a third day to reach the highest in three months. in sydney slid .4%. japanese companies are on a push to win more business in china. they've started getting new customers, new to the influx of chinese service. they hope to capitalize on it through the internet. nhk world reports on their strategies. >> reporter: japanese cosmetics companiess make a pipitch. but they're not talking to customers, they're speaking to online retailers in china. sosome 50 companies a a streami videos at this event. targeting 30,000 online stores. the chinese r retailers can ord goods to carry on their sites. the products will be shipped to the online retailers. this way the japanese companies don't have to worry about delivery or collecting payment from individual consumers. the retailers in china use messaging to ask for more decades. online sales of japanese consumer goods in china have climbed sharply in recent years, about $7 billion. and are forecast to keep rising. the business customs in china are different from japan and it hasn't been easy for japanese companies trying to break into the chinese e-commerce market. this is a small japanese cocosmetics maker. the owner says she's having difficulty finding a reliable partner in china. her company sells creams made from natural ingredients. because they have fewer chemicals, they are valuable. and vulnerable to heat. but that causes problems to some of her customers who claim the cream liquefied. >> translator: we welcome word of mouth on the internet. but we are also afraid of rumors spreading. so i think there are a lot of risks in the online market. >> reporter: especially finding a reliable e-commerce partner can be a challenge. especially for small firms. >> translator: it's important for japanese firms to have someone who can support them to find chinese partners. and confirm beforehand if the business has been officially registered in china. >> reporter: one of the benefits of teaming up with a local partner is marketing know-how. japanese cosmetics maker is getting support from alibaba, china's e-commerce giant. they are now d discussing which products to feature for a marketing campaign. alibaba's researchers ran some test sales and they found chinese are big fans of a facial soap with a japanese touch. >> reporter: officials decide to take the advice. they will focus on cherry blass om soap for the spring season.b season. >> translator: alibaba knows the market inside and out and it has a massive trove of data. we would like to take advantage of whahat the company has to ofr as we think about how to promote our products more widely. >> china's e-commerce market is a new frontier for many japanese businesses, they are learning that having a good partnerer is key to success. keiko tomura, nhk world. you can catch our reporting online together with a full transcript. look for nhk world and business wrap. i'll leave you with the markets. sh. trump's immigration restriction has many talking about the political climate in the united states. even some companies are weighing in. at the start of the week google honored the life of a japanese-american civil rights activist on its home page, a poke at the new administration's policy. nhk world reports. >> if you checked out the google home page on monday you would have seen an image honoring the birthday of civil rights activist, fred korimatsu. given donald trump's span on refugees and citizens from certain muslim majority countries, the timing was no coincidence. >> the firm later issued a comment saying it's concerned the new policy will prevent talented people from coming to the u.s. korimatsu was born in california in 1919, his parents were japanese immigrants. he was 233 years old when the president signed an executive order in 1942, a response to japan's attack on pearl harbor. the order authorized the forced removal of peoplee o of japanes descent from their homes. they were sent to internment camps. it's estimated about 120,000 japanese americans were interned. korematsu refused to go. he was arrested and sent to an internment facility. but he filed a lawsuit saying his constitutional rights were being violated. that went all the way up to the supreme court, but he lost. he continued appealing his case for deckades after the war. in the 1980s, president jimmy carter started investigating the incarceration. korematsu's case was finally overturned. >> i want to say it's quite a victorory for me. but also it's a vicictory for t 120,000 japanese that had to be evacuated, put in concentration camps. >> korematsu added he never again wanted to see the same thing happen to any american citizen of any race, creed or color. he passed away in march, 2005. tomoku nhk world. people in kenya have been going through a continuous period without a raining season for the past five years. our meteorologist jonathan oh has the details in our world weather report. >> it looks like because of the prolonged dry period in the area, we are continuing to see long period of problems, we're talking about three failed rainy seasons. rainy season lasting for a decent amount of time once each year. for the fact that the past three years there hasn't been a good rainy season, we're seeing a tremendous condition when it comes to drought. let me take you over there. looking at video in the area, the video is going to be a little discomforting to watch. we're talking about live stock dying, animal carcasses littering the field. and for those who are there, they're smelling the stench of dead animamals b because of thek of pasture and water. 1.3 million people from 42 counties have been suffering from starvation and the kenya red cross has stepped in to try to mitigate the situation by providing aid to those in need of help. but itt doesn't look like thaha the weather side of the equation is going to change that much. we may see a few scattered showers. if you think about the perspective. if we go over the past few years and how dry it has been, these few showers are not going to be helpful. and at least for the next day or so, not looking like we're going to see much in terms of wet activity. a few showers may only help just a little bit. we need a lot more rainfall for that to really change. we go up to the north. we're talking about a lot of rainfall and windy conditions into europe. we have two areas of low pressure, one swirling cloud back here, another one down toward the west. of france. both of of those are coming onshore with a lot of windy conditions. it's been a bit wet over the past several days and we'll see more wet activity over time. >> a temperature high of vienna, 2. showers through lisbon through friday. in north america, you may notice this cloud swirling together. that is an area of low pressure, that's coming onshore for the pacific coast of the united states. we've been talking about how it has been calm for the past week or so in this area after a very active first part of january. this system is expected to come on shore bringing in snowy conditions and maybe heavy snow from time to time especially for northern california extending up into washington and oregon as well. so be on the lookout for that. showers in seattle and also into los angeles. meanwhile the eastern seaboard, looking at temperatures to be in the single digits for new york and washington, d.c., snow into toronto as we go through friday. now as we look at what's happening over japan, the sea effect snow is starting to back off a bit. the cloud and how they're starting to minimize in terms of structure. as we go into the evening hours, don't be surprised if we continue to see some of that snow coming into the picture. high pressure is bringing some calmer conditions over into the korean peninsula. the return flow will help bring some showers and developing into the western portions of japan as we go into the weekend. so fukuoka, you could be dealing with showers on saturday and the rest of japan looking at wet weather on sunday. snow coming back into the picture for monday and tuesday. with temperatures dropping off as we go into tuesday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. and this is news just in, french media are reporting that a man armed with a knife tried to attack a soldier on guard at the louvre museum in paris. the man reportedly tried to get into the museum's shopping area, carrying a suitcase. the soldier shot and wounded the man. authorities have closed down the museum and nearby facilities. local media say the man shouted "god is great" in arabic. the bag didn't contain any explosives. once again breaking news, french media are reporting a man armed with a knife tried to attack a soldier on guard at the louvre museum in paris. the man tried to get into the museum's shopping area carrying a suitcase. the soldier shot and wounded the man. authorities have closed down the museum and nearby facilities. local media say the man shouted "god is great" in arabic. the bag did not contain any explosives. and that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline," i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. newsroom tokyo will bring you the latest at the top of the hour, so please, do stay with us. vxñolfqooo/ molly: welcome to the "france 24 ," france 24 newsroom. the headlines. mn armed with a machete attacks the soldier at the entrance to the louvre museum. is in custody. romania's political crisis deepens. antigovernment protesters demand resignationnt's over a new corruption law.

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