Theyre used in the 2020 tokyo summer games. A scandal in western japan is widening over the controversial sale of stateowned land at a deep discount. It was sold to a School Operator that would teach a curriculum seen as supportive of the Prime Minister and have his wife as honorary principal. Now the governor of osaka is suggesting the Central Government played a role in securing the deal. Ichiro matsui said government officials asked the prefecture to make recommendations in favor of the schools operator. The officials reportedly said it is a necessary move to present the deal to the Central Government. Translator Central Government officials have often visited our prefectures officials in charge of private school affairs. So we said we could accept an application if the government is selling the land. Two years ago, a prefectural panel made recommendations backing moritomo mogakus bid for an Elementary School. Matsui suggested the recommendation was in response to the governments request. Moritomo planned to open the Elementary School in april, but it withdrew its application last week after multiple cost estimates for construction were submitted. Nhk took the publics temperature on the matter surveying about 1,000 people over the weekend. And results suggest 80 are not convinced by the governments explanation on the land deal. The opposition bloc now wants the School Operators head to explain the deal in the diet. But the Ruling Coalition is reluctant. Asked whether he should be summoned, 55 said yes. While 11 said no. Japans defense minister has also been caught up in the scandal. Tomomi inada apologized for Misleading Parliament over her links to the School Operator. Earlier she told parliament she had never represented its president in a trial or offered him legal advice. Translator the question was raised at a Diet Committee meeting without prior noticed, and based on a 12yearold document. So i answered the question totally based on my memory. I have later confirmed that i appeared in court on behalf of my husband on december 9th, 2004. I correct my prior remark and apologize. Inada says the case had nothing to do with the latest land deal. Lawmakers s of japans largest Opposition Democratic Party are calling for her resignation. But she says she will continue to carry out her duties to the best of her ability. Toshiba is dominating the business headlines again. Gene otani has more. Toshiba plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Business in the united states. The struggling Japanese Electronics maker says it aims to do that by selling a majority of its stake in westinghouse or by other means. Toshiba says it wants to eliminate risks related to its overseas Nuclear Power business. The company is expecting large losses from westinghouse. Toshiba also said its again delaying the release of its Earnings Report for the april to december period. Executives pushed back the date to this tuesday, they mentioned accounting issues at westinghouse. Toshiba managers say authorities have approved a second extension. The new deadline is april 11th. Executives said they asked for the first delay after a whistleblower claimed westinghouse management applied inappropriate pressure over accounting. Now theyre saying they need more time to investigate that. The ceo of toshiba spoke at a news conference. Translator i express m my sincerest apologies to the firms shareholders, investors, and all other stakeholders for any concern or inconvenience caused. We need to keep pushing ahead with difficult and painful reforms. Management and each and every employee will fulfill our responsibilities and work to put the company back on the growth path. He added hell do all he can to submit the Earnings Report promptly. The Tokyo Stock Exchange says it will scrutinize toshiba shares more strictly. The bourse will designate them as securities under supervision from wednesday. The tse previously classified the shares as securities on alert after the companys accounting scandal surfaced in 2015. Toshiba shares will be delisted if the tse decides the firms efforts to prevent a recurs are insufficient. The main reason for the massive loss was the construction of four nuclear centers. Stricter safety regulations following the 2011 disaster caused equipment and materials costs to rise. People close to the matter say the company made three miscalculations regarding its Nuclear Business. The first was socalled fixedprice contracts. They required westinghouse to cover any additional costs beyond the initial fixed price. Sources familiar with the deals say officials at the subsidiary were aware of possible cost overruns. But it appears they also thought they could keep a lid on spending by improving construction efficiency. The second miscalculation involves a lack of skilled workers with experience in Building Nuclear plants. Thats been the case since the threemile island accident in 1979. Labor costs rose more than toshiba expected. The third one concerns difficulties many construction methods. To build its cutting edge reactors, westinghouse manufacturers cocomponents at a factory and assembled them at power plant sites. The idea was to speed up construction time and cut costs, but defects in the components were found. Modifications were needed. Those difficulties led to delays in construction. These problems underline the challenges posed by the Nuclear Power business. Market players are wondering what lies ahead for the troubled Japanese Electronics maker. The three main pillars of toshibas businesses are semiconductors, Nuclear Power, and social infrastructure. The company has been making money in the semiconductor field, but toshiba is planning to sell all or part of its stake to cover the heavy losses from its Nuclear Power business. And Company Officials have Just Announced they want to pull out of the u. S. Nuclear sector to avoid future losses. So the question is, what, if any, are the companys prospects for growth. Analysts are waiting to hear more from toshiba about how it plans to rebuild itself. In other business news, officials at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries say its been ordered to pay damages connected with the closure of a Nuclear Power plant in the united states. The japanese manufacturer says a paris based arbitration body has ruled the company must make a payment of 125 million to the facilitys operator. The San Onofre Nuclear plant is on the Pacific Coast near san diego. The operator decided to decommission it in june 2013 after pipes and steam generators made by mitsubishi broke. That caused water leakage. The utility first demanded mitsubishi pay nearly 6. 7 billion in damages. Mitsubishi Officials Say theyve already set aside some money for the payout. They say it will have only a small impact on the firms Financial Results for the Business Year ending in march. A look at the markets. Tokyo stocks ended a touch lower in thin trading. Many investors held back before the Federal Reserve policy meeting. Phoebe amorso has more from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Stocks moved in a tight range ahead of that fed meeting. Traders arent prepared to make any bets just yet. Here are the closing levels. The nikkei closed down 0. 1 , closing at 19,609. The broader topix fell by about the same margin. Looking at individual stocks, the main focus of toshiba. Its shares briefly plunged m mo thanan 8 as the company annound a delay in earnings for the second month in a row. Its shares later recovered, closing up nearly 0. 5 after the news that toshiba plans to sell majority of its stake in westinghouse. Mitsubishi heavy was up nearly 5 . The company was ordered to pay significantly less damages than expected in a lawsuit claiming it sold faulty steam generators to a u. S. Nuclear plant. Investors will be holding their breath ahead of the feds decision on wednesday. And the bank of japans policy decision on thursday is also playing on their minds. Im Phoebe Amoroso reporting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Other benchmarks from the Asia Pacific Region also traded in a narrow range. Indonesia added 0. 4 . In china, the shanghai composite edged higher to finish at 3,239. Seouls kospi extended its rally for a third day, hitting its highest level in nearly two years. Investors saw Political Uncertainty fade after the ouster of former president park. Seouls cospi ending up almost 0. 8 . 2,133 the finishing number there. Samsung electronics shares climbed to an a alltime high. The operators of the Tokyo Stock Exchange have agreed t to strengthen ties with saudi arabias stock market. Japanese officials are keen for the Worlds Largest oil company to list its shares in tokyo. Japanese officials will offer Technical Advice how a company could list its stocks in multiple exchanges under the terms. We see this as the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship that without a doubt opens up new prospects. Saudi aramco planned to go public next year, and its market cacapitalizationon is estimated around 2 trillion. Executives are looking to offer its shares abroad in addition to the exchange in the saudi capital. They are said to be reviewing markets in europe and the u. S. As well as japan. Officials in hong kong and singapore have also launched bids. Knockoffs of Famous Brands and other counterfeit products are a growing headache around the world and the middle east is no exception. Nhk worlds Hideki Nakayama looks at how authorities there are fighting back. Reporter saudi arabia, one of the Worlds Largest exporters of crude oil. Large malls are filled with luxury brands. But in local shopping areas, imitation goods are easy to find. Many apparently made in china. The World Customs Organization says more knockoffs are confiscated in saudi arabia than in any other country. In 2015 alone, saudi Customs Officials seized 140 million counterfeit items. Fake products flow into saudi arabia from china and other countries, but its the United Arab Emirates that holds the key. The uae is the regional distribution hub connecting the middle east with asia, europe, and africa. Many Fake Products are shipped through the uae. Thats because many of its airports are registered ass fre zones, and they use simplified customs procedures. Take this port. It deals with 50 million containers a year. Fake products pass through customs hidden inside containers. Uae customs authorities use state of the art equipment to identify counterfeits, but they say finding copies is tricky because the packaging can be very close to the original. I its didifficult, but we t. Reporter this law firm specializes in intellectual property and has been helping the uae expose counterfeits. Staff members conduct informations and share what they find with Law Enforcement. One such investigation led to the discovery of scores of fake toner cartridges. A member of the law firm accompanied the law firm when they confiscated the goods. This is toner. So this is a chinese product. When you remove the sticker, they replace the sticker with the brand. Then they repackage. Reporter the cartridges were made in china, but none of them are branded. Counterfeiters apply stickers with a japanese or u. S. Companys logo once products are in the uae. The Law Firm Says its efforts are having a crippling effect on makers of knockoffs. Staff say theyll keep up their offensive in a bid to completely stop the influx of Fake Products. She says brands must also act aggressively so fakes never reach the market. She says action on the parts of brands is the most important weapon against copy cats. When they see that this brand is not active, they will say dont worry about this brand, theyre not taking any action. So you can bring it, you can deal with it, you can sell counterfeits. So a brand always has to make noise in the market, have an impact on the enforcement authorities. Reporter the dubai office of the Japan External Trade Organization has joined hands with nearly two dozen japanese firms to tackle the issue. Theyre in close contact with uae Law Enforcement authorities. Through information sharing and stricter controls, they hope to stop the swelling tide of fake goods. Hideki nakayama, nhk world, dubai. And you can catch our report again online together with a full transcript. Just look for nhk world and business wrap. Thats a look at business news. Im going to leave you with the markets. Japan ease Emperor Akihito hosted a luncheon in tokyo for the visiting king of saudi arabia. King salman arrived at the imperial palace shortly after noon on tuesday. The emperor gave a warm welcome to the monarch. Three years ago, the emperor hosted a banquet for the king when he visited japan as crown prince. Japans Imperial Household Agency has been reviewing the aging imperial couples duties with an eye toward scaling them back. It had announced they would not hold any more luncheons for heads of state or other dignitaries. But one official says they made an exception for saudi arabias royal family due to their long relationship. Officials have arranged a fleet of cars to help the king and his accompanying guests navigate the city. To make sure things go smoothly, some of the drivers have installed smartphone apps to translate japanese into arabic. Translator i dont speak english very well, so i thihinkt will help me communicate better with the customers. Dozens of cars are serving the roughly thousand people traveling with the king. They include royal family members, government officials, and business people. Japan, the united states, and south korea have begun a missile detection drill in the sea of japan. The aim is to boost cooperation in the event of a Ballistic Missile launch by north korea. A defense official in seoul announced the start of the twoday drill on tuesday. The exercise will focus on detecting, tracing, and sharing information on a north koreanfired Ballistic Missile. This is the fourth such drill by the three countries. It follows pyongyangs launch of four Ballistic Missiles earlier this month. U. S. And south korean militaries are also in the midst of annual joint exercises that began on march 1st. Pyongyang has criticized the drills, warning its military will counter with super hardline measures. Meanwhile, the u. S. Military says it will deploy attack drones in south korea in response to north koreas s missile and d Nuclear Weapons programs. U. S. Forces in south korea said on monday that the gray eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems will be permanently statioioned at kusa air base south of seoul. The 8. 5meter craft is equipped with four air to surface missiles. U. S. Defense Department Spokesman jeff davis told reporters that deployment will begin early next year. He said the move is part of a broader plan to deploy the attack drones with every division in the u. S. Army. The u. S. Military says the gray eagle system adds capabilities for u. S. Forces and their south korean allies. The 2020 olympic and paralympics are expected to be an economic boon to tokyo, but other regions in japan are hoping to cash in on the events as well. Rodrig rodrigue maillar has the story. Reporter yamanashi prefecture has the largegest Forestry Industry in the country. They are hoping to improve their fortune. We can promote forest materials from yamanashi yamanashi by getting them used. Reporter one key building is the main stadium itself, designed for using lots of wood, especially wood grown in japan. Mayors across the country have expressed concern that tokyo would be the only place to enjoy the benefits of the games. So every prefecture has allocated money to promote their products. A total of 25 million. One way yamanashi is trying to get it noticed is by becoming the first prefecture to have reached an international standout for environmental friendliness. Tokushima prefecture is trying to promote a color. The area iss known as home of te countrys indigo dyeing. The color is featured in the logo for the games. Translator its a once in a lifetime chance for tokushima to spread our tradition. We have to seize the moment and invigorate both the public and private sectors. Reporter businesses have incorporated the color into a range of products, including ser surfboards. Miyazaki is hopining to make so of its plants famous. Its farmers want to put them into the hands of athletes. Translator i would be happy to see medalists take the podium, Holding Bouquets made of our plants. Reporter farmers say the leaves will enhance the beauty of the flowers, j just like oth regions are sure their products will for the games as a whole, and they all want to make sure the world knows it. Nhk newsline comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. Jonathan oh from our weather desk is here to tell us about how a lifethreatening winter storm is bearing down on the u. S. Northeast. As we go throughout the day on tuesday, weather conditions are going to be rough for those living around new york city and the surrounding states. Really intense fying very quickly during a 24hour period. Essentially a low pressure system drops signinificantly an becomes this the very powerful system. It will be combining with a low thats coming out of the midwest that already has a history of producing winter weather. In fact, i want to show you video coming out of this past weekend from a low pressure area that caused this particular scene. A house along the shores of lake ontario in upstate new york covered in ice because of strong winds coupled with low temperatures causing water from the lake to blanket and freeze on the house. This lowpressure system is actually continuing to push toward the east and will be bringing more winter weather. So heres the scenario right now. Its pretty impressive pictures by the way with ice covering the house there. We have a lowpressure system thats moving along the ear side of the united states. Thats one lowpressure area. We have another one that was moving out of the midwest over the ohio river valley. But because of the intensification of the first lowpressure system, it absorbed the energy and became a lot stronger. It will continue to intensify as we go throughout the day on tuesday. Starting off near d. C. , it will continue to move along the eaeastern seaboard during the afternoon and evening hours. It is about to dump a lot of snow here. Some places even near new york city could see snowfall totals as much as 60 centimeters with gusts up to 90 Kilometers Per Hour and visibility near zero. Theres a reason why officials are telling people to stay indoors, dont go outside, and also school will be closed in many locations as well. Check out and make surure that the case for y as well. Its going to very dangerous to travel with Power Outages being a very big part of f the orory here. Looking at that snowfall to continue all the w way througho the day on tuesday, tapering off further south late tuesday, but going into wednesday, we may also be dealing with snowfall in some of the northern locations. For example, new york looking at snowfall into wednesday. D. C. Also looking at snowfall possibility. And then we see those Cool Temperatures really staying in place. So northeastern side of the united states, also toronto, snowy as we go through tuesday. Windy into chicago. Much warmer back toward the west. Meanwhile, over japan, weve been dealing with a pretty cloudy day here in the central portions of japan, tokyo. But we are looking at rain and some strong winds. Some thunderstms a arexpecected to develop as p progress s throughout the evening hours so be on the lookout for that. Snowfall for the Higher Elevations as temperatures continue to drop as the tail end of that low comes back around circulation. Thursday, friday, seeing some snow into sapporo. Niigata looking at flakes on wednesday. Tokyo, at least in the Higher Elevations we may see a few flakes. Then well see temperatures warming back up by thursday into friday with highs in the midteens. Wrapping things up with a look at europe. It has been very windy up toward the north. Also into the central portions of the continent. We will continue to see those e windy conditions persisting up toward the north so be on the lookout for that. A separate low pressure system down into the Iberian Peninsula will bring some rain for lisbon as we go into tuesday. Hope you have a good day wherever you are. Heres your extended outlook. Aki shibuya interviews an indian actress with a special message. That and much more on the top of the hour on newsroom tokyo. Im james tengan. Bye for now. Qwueeewep 1 1p you are watching france 24. These are the headlines. The British Parliament gives the Prime Minister the approval she needs to officially start the Brexit Process but the scottish leader could cause another bump in the road calling for another vote on independence. Turkey cuts off highlevel relations with the netherlands after dutch officials cancel turkish clinical rallies there