welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the japanese government wants to build facilities to temporarily store radioactive soil in the district where the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant is located. the environment minister has officially asked local officials for permission. environment minister goshi hosono met governor yuhei sato. hosono said the district was chose on for the interim storage sites because areas exposed to

over 100 million millisieverts per year are concentrated there. the governor said he would discuss the plan with municipalities in the affected district. the facilities would be used to hold radioactive soil removed from contaminated areas. the government believes the waste would be stored at the sites for up to 30 years before being taken out for final treatment. hosono on wednesday met with the mayor of eight municipalities of futaba district to ask for permission. >> translator: it is like being given a serious assignment the manner concerns the entire district. we must examine it thoroughly. iran threatened to block the strait of hormuz if the west imposes embargo on its oil exports. the narrow passage in the persian gulf is a sea lane for

ships. iran vice president made a remark following the u.s. congressional approval for additional financial penalties on iran. he said if the west imposes sanctions not a single drop of oil will flow from the strait. the iranian navy has been conducting a massive ten-day military drill since last saturday in the area, which includes the strait of hormuz. rahimi was trying to brush our pressure from the united states and europe which are stepping up penalties for iran over its nuclear development. the united states criticized iran's warnings calling them a direct threat. state department spokesperson mark toner said tehran is trying to distract international attention from the real issue of its continuing noncompliance on the international nuclear obligations. he urged iran to stop its uranium enrichment program saying prurz will only increase as long as the country goes ahead with the program in violation of international rules. about 90% of japan's crude oil imports pass through the strait of hormuz.

people in north korea did not hold back on wednesday. they wept openly for their late leader and the country's state run media captured it all on video. the funeral procession for kim jong-il went on for three hours in the capital of pyongyang, despite the snow and freezing cold. in some ways the ceremony mirrored the late leader's life, full of ceremony and secrets. korean central television began broadcasting what appears to be recorded footage of the funeral wednesday afternoon local time. the special programming lasted for three hours. military officers and others gathered for the ceremony in the snow-covered square in front of the kumsusan memorial palace. a vehicle bearing the huge portrait of the late leader arrived and another car had a wreath with the name of his son, kim jong-un, north korea's new

leader. a hearst carried kim's coffin. it was adorned with the communist party's flag. kim jong-un walked alongside the vehicle. he laid one hand on the car's mirror and occasionally saluted soldiers. the hearst then left the square and proceeded down pyongyang's main avenue. crowds of mourners lined the streets despite the cold weather. some cried. others wailed. when the procession returned to the palace, soldiers gave a 21 gun salute, a traditional part of a military funeral. observers offered silent prayers. kim jong-il's body is now back inside kumsusan memorial palace. that's where his son is also laid to re now we have an expert on north korean affairs. what is your overall impression of the funeral? >> from the north korean broadcast, it seems that things went well. the north koreans did more or less what they did in 1994 when

he died so they could demonstrate to the international community and to its people that the system was functioning well. >> by seeing the faces of the people attending the funeral, do you get any sense of who could be doing what in the new regime? >> okay. we could find out the fact that there are two key figures supporting kim jong-un. one was the vice marshall lee hlee-ho who was walking on the opposite side of the car from kim jong-un and the other was mr. jiang song thaek who was walking directly behind kim jong-un. lee has the same position as kim jong-un, as vice chairman of the central military commission. and actually he's 69 years old, the same age as kim jong-il.

so he would be acting as kim jong-un's personal guardian. the other person, mr. jang song thaek is kim jong-un's uncle-in-law and he has positions both in politburo of the party and central military commission. so these two people will be there playing an important role. and another, there was interesting messages in the funeral. the first one is in the first part of the funeral, the silent music was played and message was that people were mourning kim jong-il's death. but toward the end of the funeral, there was another message that, you know, upbeat music was played. and there was a military march. and so the message was that a

bright future was waiting for the north korean people under the rule of kim jong-un. >> okay. we'll get back to you in just a minute. first, the view from elsewhere in asia, the ceremony was of particular interest of north korea's neighbors to the south. ann nagong is in seoul with that story. >> people in south korea have been keeping a close eye on the events in the north. the funeral of kim jong-il is no exception. many citizens gathered at a train station in seoul. they watched coverage of the ceremony on a large screen tv. >> translator: i want north korea to collapse because our generation experienced the korean war with the north. >> i know kim jong-il did bad things. but i want to express my condolences over his death.

>> kim jong-un doesn't know much about politics. so i'm worried about future relations between the two koreas. >> north korean defectors are also worried. they got together near the demilitarized zone. they floated balloons over the border carrying leaflets criticizing the north's political system. the death of kim jong-il has divided opinion in south korea. some conservatives believe no condolences should be offered, official or otherwise. they say the north should first apologize for bombing the south's island last year. some reformists, though, believe their country should pay tribute to the late leader. doing that, they say, could help improve relations between the two koreas. they oppose the government's decision to only allow a delegation of citizens from seoul to travel to pyongyang on monday to pay their respects to

kim jong-il. members of president lee myung-bak's administration are monitoring how citizens are view north korea. they are also watching the new regime of kim jong-un. they want to see what this transition of power will mean for inter-korean relations and the reclusive country's nuclear program. >> nhk world's anna jung in seoul. people in china are also actively following the events in north korea. the countries are traditional allies. nhk world is covering that angle from our studio in beijing. >> using the images coming out of pyongyang. chinese tv also reported on kim jong-il's life in detail.

north koreans went to their country's consulate in the city of dandong to watch the funeral on tv. they brought flowers. across the border, several north korean soldiers could be seen working with guns. china's foreign ministry spokesperson said the country's embassy and consulates in north korea will keep their flags at half staff until thursday. chinese leaders have been offering their condolences to north korea. president hu jintao and others rushed to its embassy in beijing after they learned of kim jong-il's death. china's government has already expressed its support for the transfer of power from father to son in north korea. once this period of mourning is over, it is expected to establish a dialogue with kim jong-un and other leaders in pyongyang as quickly as possible.

>> nhk world's keno komoto in beijing. back here, the funeral is over. the world is anxious to know whether north korea will change the foreign policy or stay the course. what do you think will happen? >> the most important country for north korea is china. the chinese leaders have officially expressed condolences to the death of kim jong-il, and north korean leaders know that china is strongly committed to the stability of north korea. another important country is the united states. i think that north korea will come back to the negotiating table with the u.s. before too long. for two reasons -- one is that by doing so, north korea would be able to show that the government is functioning properly. and, also, the improved relationship with the united states will be conducive to the

stability of the new kim jong-un leadership. >> any signs of any possibility of military provocation? >> well, i don't think it is likely that north korea will take a provocative action such as nuclear test or missile test in the near future. because that would undermine its relationship with the u.s. however, i think it is possible that north korea might take provocative actions in the elc in order to put pressure on the south koreans, particularly those who are engaged in anti-north korean activities as we saw in the video. and, actually, south koreans are expecting presidential election in december next year. so north korea might use military force in order to affect the outcome of the presidential election.

>> mr. michishita, thank you for your perspective. appreciate it. >> thank you. next, we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> afghanistan's president hamid karzai has taken a step toward resuming peace talks with the taliban. he indicated his government would accept the establishment of a taliban liaison office in qatar to facilitate dialogue with the group. on tuesday for the first time he indicated the proposed office could be in qatar. he said he hoped it would be in afghanistan but another muslim country would also be acceptable. the obama administration has been conducting behind the scenes discussions with the taliban over the issue. it is not clear which elements inside the taliban the u.s. government is negotiating with. whether the taliban will agree to opening an office is also unknown. the group has stated that it will continue its campaign of

violence until all foreign troops leave afghanistan. japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda is on a three-day visit to india. he was scheduled to hold talks with his indian counterpart manhoman singh on wednesday. noda wants to boost economic ties with the country, whose economy has enjoyed continuous growth in recent years. during the visit, noda said japan is ready to provide assistance for indian infrastructure projects. japan especially hopes to advance its shinkansen bullet train technology. as nhk world reports, many indians are enthusiastic about the prospect of high speed rail services coming to their overcrowded country. >> reporter: railways are the primary means of transportation in india. some 20 million people ride the train every day. and that number is growing thanks to the country's economic expansion. but it is also causing stress for commuters.

this is a salesperson at an auto parts maker based in new delhi. he makes a weekly business trip to a city 300 kilometers from the capital. even taking an express train it takes more than five hours. >> translator: it is already 30 minutes late. >> reporter: the trains are almost always delayed. his train finally arrives 40 minutes behind schedule. much of india's rolling stock is so old, it can only travel slowly. trains have to slow down to avoid people and cows crossing the tracks. aurora arrives at his destination one hour late. he missed an important meeting with his client.

>> translator: i have to arrange the meeting again. we, the business people, need a faster rail network. >> reporter: in 2009, the indian government set out an ambitious plan to build an efficient high speed rail network. it aims to laicism lines stretching a combined 3800 kilometers. the government is considering reducing expertise from around the world including japan's shinkansen. >> india cannot grow if the rails don't grow. in other words, railway is going to be the engine of growth for india. >> reporter: the new delhi metro is one of several projects in india that have received japanese financial or technological support. now, japan plans to use that experience to promote the

shinkansen. last month, officials from japan's transport ministry sent out an east japan rail companies visited japan's railway ministry. they pitched the speed and safety of the shinkansen. >> translator: india has a vast rail network. we will work to have shinkansen run in various parts of the country. >> reporter: india is making efforts to bolster economic growth. it is paying keen attention to the shinkansen as one way of achieving that goal. fumio sugiya, nhk world, new delhi. >> that concludes our bulletin for today. the governing democratic party is reviewing a plan to raise japan's consumption tax to 10%. it is currently at 5%. the party's tax reform panel wants a new rate in place by 2015.

>> translator: politicians have to make a decision. we have been in an imposing face. >> the plan was presented to a general meeting of party lawmakers on wednesday. it is part of the dpj's program to overhaul the social security and tax systems. the panel is proposing a two stage increase in the consumption tax lifting it to 8% in october of 2013 before reaching the target of 10% in april 2015. the plan acknowledges that low income households could be hit hard. it recommends cash handouts for those most affected. it also urges the government to be flexible about the timing, saying the tax hike should take economic conditions into account. the prime minister has asked for the party to reach a consensus before the year end. but mounting opposition from within the dpj makes that uncertain. some party members have already voted on the issue with their feet. nine junior lawmakers in the dpj said they're quitting the party.

they say that raising the consumption tax would break a key election promise. >> translator: we nine have just submitted our resignations. the party has thoroughly violated our manifesto and we have lost the trust of the public. >> the noda administration says that the tax hike is needed to reduce the country's huge fiscal debt. the nine lawmakers say this violates an election pledge the party made two years ago when it came to power. party executives have yet to accept the resignations. but the lawmakers say they will not change their minds. they say they will plan to set up a new party early next year. later in the day, one upper house lawmaker submitted his resignation, but the party has not yet accepted this one either. at the top of the chinese government's priority list for this year was price stabilization. inflationary pressure eased after monetary tightening but economic growth started slowing

down also. our reporter jamie unlog looks what happened this year. >> thank you for coming over. thank you. could you give us your brief evaluation of the chinese economy in 2011. what kind of year has it been for the chinese economy? >> it has been a very challenging year because the extent of demand is slowing and the government is active ly working to break the bubble. the impact wasn't obvious. then in the second half of the year seems all the impact finally came through and now the

economy is slowing very fast. >> in the latter half of the year, growth declined due to credit problems in europe, which is china's largest trade partner. concerns over an economic slowdown are spreading rapidly due to the drop in exports that have been the driving force behind high economic growth. >> the latest trade number just published shows that theexport slowed quite a lot to 13% or so. it is a long way from the 30% economic growth in the beginning of the year. it is very challenging for the chinese economy. you can see, for example, the export to italy has contracted by 23%. and given all the fiscal austerity that is going to happen in 2012, in the euro

area, things can really get worse from here. >> how do you think the chinese economy will do next year? >> the first half will be difficult. export sector and the property market is another thing. so the two big engine of the economy are probably going to stall for a while. but at the same time, we don't think china will have a hard landing next year. for 2012, our forecast is still above 8%, above 8%. it is going to pick a little bit -- pick up a little bit in the second half because of the fiscal support to the consumption to the social side and also because there is going to be political transition in the second half. i think the government will have extra incentive to ensure stable gdp growth. >> that was economist wei yao in hong kong.

mai shoji is up next with weather. >> hi there. welcome back. let's not talk about weather. let's first talk about the cyclonic storm here in bay of bengal that is steadily approaching eastern coast of india. now, take a look at these figures. well, actually this is almost -- anytime soon be coming severe cyclonic storm. so as it intensifies, it will be making landfall just around chen high area. now it is very -- moving very slowly at the -- in the direction of west/northwest. and the winds are already picking up to about 83 kilometers per hour. you saw from the satellite, very huge cloud formation. so this is a very big storm. and waves are already affecting much of the coastal areas in india. by saturday, however, it will be weakening into a deep

depression. we'll definitely keep a very close eye on this system in the next 48 hours. you can see this bulk of very heavy rain just dumping here in eastern chenghai area. back to the bigger picture in japan, we had a very short break in northern japan with that stormy condition. another round of that very stormy and wet weather will be affecting much of the western half of japan. and in hokkaido, lots of heavy snow to be piling up. we're talking about wet snow instead of very fresh snow. that could actually pile up to about 30 centimeters here. but the pacific side still remaining devoid from any kind of precipitation and very dry. very dry also in eastern continental asia. you'll see some haze here in southeastern asia and then central china, you'll be seeing some fog. here isolated thunderstorms, very unstable -- unsettled weather will be persisting in the philippines due to the northeastern monsoonal flow.

tokyo will be seeing 11 degrees for the thursday high. manila at 31. we're talking about just that freezing point in beijing. let's head over now to north america and talk about this system coming in towards the north, the northwest. this could actually bring snow exceeding 60 centimeters in some areas. and coastal heavy rain could reach up to 200 millimeters. gusts could be strong as well. and this is an ongoing situation. so i think pacific northwest you'll be ending the 2011 with a very stormy and wet note. now, this one is moving away and then sliding across quebec very slowly. this one can also bring very gusty situation, up in the north, all snow and down here, very wet. now, let's head over to europe and talk about what is going on here. in the north, as you can see, that cloud is going to be disturbing the scandinavian peninsula as well as northern uk and northern ireland.

gusty situation here, gusts could also pick up to about 110 kilometers per hour in some areas. and very heavy rain as well as two to three meters of high waves in the coastal areas and scandinavian peninsula. but meanwhile, west central locations and the east turn europe looking pretty dry. mainly, however, france and germany and the alpines, you'll be looking at a few light showers and some snow showers in the higher elevations. let's look at your temperatures. here are -- here is london at 8 degrees as well as madrid. 14 here in lisbon. and freezing in moscow. here is the extended forecast.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in

half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.