Longrange Ballistic Missile launch. And thinning the herd. The Selection Process for the democrat being and republican candidates for u. S. President kicks off next week. We have developing news out of tokyo. A key minister in Prime Minister shinzo abes cabinet says he will step down. Economic revitalization minister, amari is stepping down. He says he wants to avoid the issue involving diet proceedings. Translator in consideration of my responsibility as a law maker to supervise my secretaries, my obligation to the cabinet minister and my selfrespect as a politician, i decided today to resign from the cabinet. The allegations surfaced last week in a magazine. The article said a Construction Firm gave cash to amaris office in exchange for helping it negotiate compensation from a governmentbacked agency. The weekly said amari received money worth 8500 at both his constituent offices. He admitted to receiving the money and said it was registered as political funds, but he said his staff spent separate funds from the company for private purposes, and hes responsible as a supervisor. Amari has led negotiations for the Transpacific Partnership deal which reached a broad agreement last year. He was expected to attend the signing ceremony in new zealand. Hes been in office since december 2012. Prime minister abe has decided to appoint a successor. He is a former environment minister. Some japanese seem perplexed by am am am ama amaris resignation. Translator he was working to hard on the tpp, so its a pity. But after the problems hes caused, i dont think he had any choice but to resign. Translator it will be important to stop important bills from getting through the diet. Abe made the comment in upper house plenary session. Translator each politician, whether in the cabinet shall the ruling camp or opposition must be aware of his or her responsibility as a politician. They must remain accountable, to keep the trust of the people. Minister amari should fully investigate the facts and give a full explanation. Amaris first crack at explaining what happened did not sit well with authorities. Translator minister amari says he remembers meeting with people from the Construction Company but his memory is vague about whether he received cash. For the general public, this defies common sense. He says the minister has the responsibility to dig out the truth about the serious allegations. We have more insight. How is amaris resignation being received among political circles . Well, it came as a big surprise. Prime minister abe said in the diet wednesday that he hoped amari would stay in the cabinet and complete his mission as minister. Sources close to the cabinet said before amari would not resign until he signed the transpacific trade deal in new zealand next month. Why did amari announce this now . He wanted to avoid inflicting more damage on the administration. Hes in charge of japans negotiations, as you know. And the Prime Minister wants the diet to approve the tpp agreement. The cabinet also has to pass bills for the next fiscal year. He doesnt want to hinder the progress before the next upper house election coming up in july. Needless to say, it is big blow to the abe administration. Amari has been a key minister and a close friend with abe. Abe will be criticized for having appointed him in the first place. That will mean getting approval for the tpp deal and the budget deal. All these things could affect the result of the upper house election, i think. Thanks for your insight. In other news, satellite imagery suggests north korea may be preparing to launch a longrange Ballistic Missile. Increased activity has been detected at a site in the countrys northwest, and its renewing concerns in the region. South Koreas Defense Ministry spokesperson says its military and u. S. Forces are on high alert. Translator north korea carried out a Surprise Nuclear test earlier this month. They may carry out more provocations without notice. North korean scientists launched a knowledgerange Ballistic Missile in 2012, but they claimed it was to put a satellite into space. The launch pad was covered in eight days prior in a bid to evade satellite surveillance. And now its covered again. Last year north korea built what it calls a sat lied controlled facili facility and it upgraded the launch pad to accommodate larger missiles. Ministers gathered for a National Security council meeting, where they decided to step up surveillance japans maritime selfdefense force sent an aegis destroyer. Policymakers at japans central bank are meeting to carve out a path through tough economic terrain. Gene otani joins us for that plus all the other business headlines. Three years ago, bank of japan officials promised to pull the country out of a downward spiral and put it on track to 2 inflation. Were not there yet, and now they have more hurdles to talk about at their twoday meeting in too. Chp o and jittery stock markets. They will downgrade the outlook from 1. 2 to around 1 . But they expect the bank to maintain its outlook for the upcoming year. Thats 1. 8 . Theyll be discussing whether they need to do it again. Kuroda recently said theres been no decline in japans basic price trend. Japanese stocks moved without a clear direction on thursday and ended the day lower. Many investors were looking fard to the results of the boj meeting. Others were concerned about the u. S. Feds announcement that its closely watching the turmoil in Financial Markets and leaving its rate unchanged. For more we go to mayu yoshida. Well, the feds concerns about growth weighed on investor sentiment. But theyre confident the boj will take some action on friday. So these worries have made buying a bit choppy. We saw the nikkei move higher then dip below the 17,000 level. It closed just a touch above that line. The broader topix lost. 6 . Stocks have especially lost momentum in the afternoon as more Market Players started taking wait and see stance ahead of the bojs announcement. Now since the fed announced its rate hike in middecember, the nikkei has dropped. If the boj decides not to ease this time, theres a risk that japanese markets will go into a tailspin. On the other hand, another money manager said that the boj should not play one of its last cards for easing and use it for another time. So different Market Players are having different opinions on what the boj should do. On the way, currency dealers have worried that it could slip to the 110 territory if the boj maintains its monetary stance at this time. Lets take a look at the biggest winner and loser. On the upside, advante w up. But srtphones supplr alps elecic plufrpgsed 17 because it unexpectedly downgraded its outlook for fiscal 2015. Now the decision to keep rates on hold, the Financial Markets move rather choppy, and now its time for the boj to make its move. Thats making Market Players stay on the sidelines. Trading on other mention marks was mixed following the feds statemt. In china, stocks continued their slide. The shanghai composite dropped almost 3 to close at a 14month low. Growing concerns over money flowing out of the market dampened sentiment. The Fourth Quarter gdp figures showed the philippines economy grew, beating expectations. The hang seng extended its gains to finish up 0. 75 . Sydney rebounded, 0. 6 . A bounce in oil prices provided a bit of relief to the resourceheavy index. European union regulators have fined two Major Japanese Companies about 150 million. Mitsubishi electric and hitachi had taken part in a cartel and coordinated prices of auto parts. The European Commission says the collusion took place between the two firms plus denso. The companys officials decided among themselves on prices of car engine parts from 2004 to 2010, breaching the eus antitrust rules. Denso was not fined, because it reported the cartel. The commission criticized the collusion saying it affected component costs for many Car Manufacturers in europe and ultimately hurt consumers. It will crackdown on efforts that infringe on free trade even if the coe clause takes place outside europe. Heres a look at some of the other business stories were following. South korean firm samsung blames a disappointing performance by his smartphone sales in 2015. The company made about 160 billion. Down nearly 3 from 2014. But operating profits were up 5. 5 . Boosting the overall performance. Samsung prey dibts weakening demand for Tech Products will make the year ahead a tough one. A south korean shipping firm says it will open a sealane connecting shanghai and iwate prefecture. The prefecture was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami five years ago. They are planning to work closely with a chinese solar Panel Operator that set up operations in northern japan and also expects to handle shipments for local exporters of processed seafood. Chile has become the number one exporter of wine to japan, ending a run by france that lasted for more than three decades. A bottle of wine from the south american nation sells for an average of about 5. Japanese consumers feel thats good value for t quality thats on offer. Thats it for business news. Ill leave you with markets. The u. S. President ial election isnt until november, but a key part of the seltion process is ramping up. On monday, individual states will begin selecting their democratic and republican candidates for president , starting with iowa. Nhk worlds alisha roehoads tak a look at the leading candidates. Reporter Hillary Clinton served as first lady and secretary of state for over 20 years. Shes center stage in the run for the white house. I bieve that i have the experience and understanding to be able to chart a course that will not only keep us safe at home but keep our world more secure and more prosperous and peaceful. Reporter her experience is both a blessing and a curse. As many voters are now seeking a candidate who will bring change rather than a continuation of the current political system. Senator Bernie Sanders is proving a worthy opponent. Hes out to confront income inequality and wall street. He attracts young voters and is gaining support in key states. These two are expected to race in a deadlock in the early states for the democratic nomination. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome these republican candidates for president of the United States. Reporter on the republican side, the field remains crowded with 12 candidates. Business and real estate mogul donald trump remains on top, despite controversial comments on a range of issues. His bold style is popular among republicans who are tired of washington politics. Conservative hardler, senator ted cruz is challenging trumps lead in iowa, the nations first battleground state. The election to the president of the United States to lead the mightiest country on the face of the earth begins, and much of it is decided in pizza ranches and junior high gymnasiums and Church Fellowship halls in iowa. Reporter appealing as mainstream conservative, senator marco rubio and former florida govern jeb bush are struggling for the support of moderate republican voters. Both hope to change the tide of the race which thus far has been dominated by antiestablishment moves. Last weekend, reports sir fased that former new york city mayor is considering a potential thirdparty run for the white house, as the founder of a Global Information firm, his net worth is even higher than donald trumps. Who will occupy the white house next year . The next ten months will be a grueling decision process for americans. For now, all eyes are on iowa where the nations first caucus will take place on february 1st. Alicia rhoads, nhk world, washington. People in norway are protesting their governments move to deport more than 5,000 Asylum Seekers who entered the country from russia. Hundreds of people marched through the capital oslo. Theyre calling on authorities to protect the rights of Asylum Seekers who are mainly from the middle east. Demonstrations have been held across the country. The government has already forced more than 200 people, including syrians to return to russia. It claims they had proper russian visas and their safety is guaranteed there. Nordic countries had received large numbers of migrants on humanitarian grounds. Calls to change that policy have been growing over recent months over security concerns and the financial burden. The u. N. Is believed to have invited representatives of Syrian Government and antigovernment forces. Russia supported the idea of inviting the kurdish group, but turkey and saudi arabia were opposed. The exclusion was revealed when frances minister said the envoy hadnt been sent an invitation. The friction between the countries involved is key to starting the peace talks. They say resolving infighting among antigovernment forces is another faor. The negoationsre due to start friday in geneva. W in the battl o machinesersushumans chalk one up f themaches. Artifial intelgence researers say theyve made a major break through. A Computer Program was able to top a professional human player ofhe boardame goh for the first time. Reporter the r actn of the goh chpion, after losin five saight ges to a maine. Never fore has the comter manad to best a top human player of the ancient game. The details of the defeat were released on wednesday. The program is called alpha go and was developed by google researchers. Computersave taught the best human players, seen as a measure of human interlength, including chess and back gammon. But with go, humans have managed to maintain the upper hand, until now, that is. Go is playe wit round, black and white stones on a square grid. The point of the game, occupy as much territory as possible. With 361 intersepctions on the bod, go i extreme compcated when compareto essr the japanese game shogi. The program relies on what is called a deep learning approach. The software learns from the game and comes up with new collections of strategy. Translator in go, the computer needs to recognize situations and understand the meaning of patterns, which is difficult even for humans. Thats why go is a good example for developing a. I. Eporter heext challge for alpha go . Goingo tak on onef the wods t playe i mah. For e researchs, ough, they are lking even further down the road. We areery excit about it, but it is just one rung on the ladder towards solving artificial intelligence. Reporter google researchers y they hope to entually use artifial intelgence for realworld applications, including disasteredictio d mical sciees. Nhk worl excitg news,ut b timidati. Yuji,hanks for tt repor th current reading is 52 degrees fahrenheit. Sayaka mori starts with the tornado in florida. Cars were overturned and houses damaged. Lets go to media from the south of the state. A possible tornado ripped through southeastern florida wednesday. Strong winds flipped vehicles over, including a 18wheel tractortrailer. An injury was reported in the storm. One of Broward College buildings were damaged in addition to a nearby apartment complex. About a week ago, the florida peninsula was battered by deadly tornados. Typically about three tornados occur within the entire month of january. So weve had more than that. Now the risk of Severe Weather including tordos wil ctinue to thursd, and tne a lookg at me rain to fall ross this area. So flooding is going to be a concern as well. As we go into friday, things will be clearing up. Now across the opposite side of the continent, there is a strong low affecting the western areas, like, such as canada, as well as the u. S. Youre looking at heavy rain to fall from the north of california up into southern oregon. So flooding is going to be a concern. And mountains will see heavy snowfall and inland areas will see freezing rain. And by the end of this week, another potent storm system will move into this area. And temperatures are expected to be quite warmer than normal in seattle as well as vancouver. Denver at 14 degrees. Slightly warmer than normal in washington, d. C as well as new york city on your thursday. Now in the northern hemisphere, recordbreaking rainfall felin melbr melbourne. We have video. A severe storm called heavy rainfall in portions of the area wednesday. Buildings were damaged and cars submerged. 18 people had to be rescued from their homes. The cleanup continued into thursday, with residents attempting to salvage what they could from the storm. Now the pk is over, but a tropical low pressure will continue to cover the southern areas, such as new south wales, tasmania and victoria. So more rain is in the forecast along with thunderstorms. Thunderstorms expected on friday, and temperatures are going to be about 30 degrees. Melbourne, its going to be a chilly day, 20 degrees for the high, but as you go into sunday, the temperatures are expected to go up. And finally, over asia, near record rain is falling across the south. Hunan province had 237 millimeters of rain. And the system will likely move into central portions of japan, including tokyo. And the system will likely drag very cold air from the north. So, as we go into friday, tokyo may see slaet or snow. Going down to Single Digits as we go into friday. And across the continent, zero degrees in beijing, minus 21 degrees in ulan bator. Now heres your extended forecast around the globe. Recapping our top story, a key minister in shinzo abes cabinet says hes stepping down. Economic revitalization minister amari made the announcement in a news confence to explain allegations of mishandling funds. He doesnt want it to affect diet proceedings. Translator in csiderati of my responsibility as a law maker to supervise my secretaries, my obligation to the cabinet minister and my selfrespect as a politician, i decided today to resign from the cabinet. The allegations sur