welcome to nhk world "newsline." one man is carrying the expectations of more than a billion people on his shoulders. xi jinping has taken charge of china, an economic superpower that has reaped the rewards of growth but is now dealing with the drawbacks. xi is part of the communist party's next generation of leaders who came to power after a week of meetings and negotiations. he's taking over as the country's general secretary and top military commander. nhk world's james tengan watched this political transition unfold in beijing.

>> reporter: the communist party unveiled its new leadership a day after its week-long congress wrapped up. after many months of speculation, we found out who is taking charge in less than a minute. now the future of the world's most populous nation is in the hands of seven men. xi and six other senior officials appeared before the media inside the great hall of the people in beijing. >> translator: our responsibility is to rally and lead the party and chinese people of all ethnic groups. we take up the historical baton from the older generation. >> reporter: china's new leader vowed to take action on issues such as jobs, social security, and corruption. >> translator: in the new environment, our party faces many tough challenges. there are numerous pressing problems within the party and

senior ranks that need to be resolved, especially corruption and the acceptance of bribes. >> reporter: xi jinping is taking over the position of general secretary from hu jintao. he will lead the political bureau standing committee, china's main decision-making body. the number of seats on the committee has been reduced to seven from nine. analysts say the party made the change to speed up the decision-making process. xi jinping and another top official, li keqiang, have been on the standing committee since 2007. the rest of the members are new. xi introduced them all during his speech. [ applause ] >> li keqiang.

comrade zhang dejiang. comrade liu yunshan. comra comrade yu zhengsheng. and comrade zhang gaoli. >> reporter: the majority of officials on the standing committee are allies of former president jiang zemin, who retired from politics nearly a decade ago. they face a number of challenges. one is revving up china's slowing economic engine. another is addressing growing social discontent over the widening wealth gap and the corruption by government officials xi mentioned in his speech. analysts speculated whether president hu would stay on as chairman of the party's central military commission after

stepping down as general secretary. that's what jiang zemin did in 2002 before retiring two years later. but it appears hu is leaving politics entirely. and so xi jinping will control both the party and the military. he's set to take over as president next year. china's political machine has many moving parts. it's sometimes hard to figure out how everything fits together. so we turn to an expert for help from the japan institute of international affairs who gave us some insight on the party's transition of power. >> he capitalized his role as coordinator rather than the

leader. and he was inciting on how he carried on with the tasks established by his predecessor and how he sensed a need of the people in the locality and he formed consensus. so i don't think he's bent on taking a very strong leadership. so i think he will try very hard to forge consensus rather than leading. five new members are all over 64. and it's a current rule that anybody under 60 -- over 68 would not qualify to be on the committee is going to be applied next time. they will all have to go. so this is not the kind of

makeup of the top echelon which is going to last for ten years. there will be another tug-of-war for top positions in a few years. the newly appointed vice chairman of this position are both a prodigy of hu jintao, so i think he felt very safe to step down. secondly, i think he wanted to strengthen institutional development of chinese political system. and he wanted to stop the practice of outgoing leadership continuing to exert influence behind the scene. so that's the second thing. thirdly, he did manage to leave his legacy in the party charter. he left gracefully, i think.

china is now facing the narrow consequences of very fast developments, you know, a huge income gap, serious environmental degradation, social instability, and china is getting increasingly difficult to manage. depending on how successful they are in dealing with this, they approach to foreign relations very dramatically. >> so we've heard from the experts. now nhk world's beijing correspondent michitaka yamaka joins us with what the chinese people are saying about the communist leader. mitchitaka, what are they telling you? >> they have a different expectation for the next leaders. i spoke to being residents shortly after the party's

official announcement. not many people commented on xi jinping's possibility. this suggests that likely for the coming decade. opinions on the new leadership range from moderately hopeful to completely indifferent. >> translator: with the way things are now, i have no expectations for the government. nothing would change. >> other chinese we spoke to say they want the new leadership to fix the country's social problems. >> translator: there are big economic disparities between the regions. i want the new leader to bring about improvement. >> translator: corruption is still a huge problem. i would like to see more done to eradicate it.

>> china is said to uncover the transitional power so they can highlight all seven standing committee members, including xi jinping and li keqiang. they suggested the transition was a success and it would show people in rural areas donned in costumes to celebrate. >> reporter: what challenges will the new leadership likely face? >> conservatives and reformists are jockeying to boost their crowd. xi jinping and other senior leaders will need to balance these forces. it will be difficult, but they all agree the party must stay in power. to this end, they need to prove they are ready to be rulers. last week, at the opening of the communist party congress, president hu reiterated the importance of economic growth. these indicate that leaders are

aware the only way they can continue to enjoy the public support is to maintain strong economic growth and improve the standard of living. however, this rapid growth has resulted in the widening income gap and the corruption. the chinese public is increasingly upset over these increasingly upset over these problems. the new party leaders will overcome registers from vested interests is and foreign solution. >> thanks very much, mitchitaka, michitaka yamaka, our beijing correspondent. china's next change comes next year when xi jinping is expected to take over as president and li keqiang should become premier. the hu jintao and wen jiabao era will officially come to a close. now it's up to the next generation of leaders to steer china forward. people we met, the hopeful and the critical, all share an understanding that their country is entering a new phase.

we'll continue to watch things unfold here and show you where this dynamic and complex nation is going. but for now, that wraps up our coverage from beijing. i'm james tengan. u.s. leaders have been tracking china's political transition. president barack obama's administration has watched the chinese economy and military grow and has promised to take a tough stance with china on trade and other economic matters. the obama administration has also closely monitored china's disputes with japan and southeast asian nations over the islands in the east and south china seas. senior officials have refused to take sides. the president announced a year ago he will shift his country's focus to the asia-pacific region. he will have a chance to talk more about that plan over the weekend. obama will begin a four-day tour of southeast asia on saturday.

he will be visiting thailand and myanmar and will attend the east asia summit in cambodia. the president promised during his re-election campaign to put more pressure on china to make it meet basic international standards with respect to trade. but analysts say despite his plans the world's top economies are tightly woven together and that interactions will continue. the south korean government welcomed china's new leadership. >> translator: we hope our relationship with china will develop farther and as a new leadership. >> the media gave extensive coverage to the news from the country's largest trading partner. owe yonhap news agency noted all seven member es of the communist party's political bureau's new standing committee have visited south korea. the agency said china's relations with south korea are expected to strengthen. north korean leader kim

jong-un has sent a congratulatory telegram to xi jinping. north korea's state-run media quoted the telegram as saying xi's election to the post is an indication of the people's trust and expectations at a time when socialism is entering a new stage. the telegram said that kim believes the friendly ties between china and north korea will become stronger, as desired by the people of both countries. china is north korea's biggest ally. the economic ties between the two countries, including trade and investment, have strengthened in recent years. north korea wants to rebuild its economy with china's cooperation. attention is focused on when kim will visit china for talks with the new leaders. three israelis have been killed after a rocket fired from gaza hit a building in the south of the country. they're the first casualties there since israel's military carried out an air strike that killed the hamas military

commander ahmed jabari. a rocket fired by hamas and palestinian militants hit a residential building in ma la chi about 25 kilometers north of ga gaza. the attack came after israel launched two consecutive days of operations in gaza, killing 11 palestinians, including hamas' military commander and his children. hamas militants have fired over 100 rockets into israel. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned that his country is prepared to expand its offensive if necessary. amid rising concern about the escalating violence, the united nations security council held an emergency session on wednesday. it adjourned without issuing any form of statement. the united nations is under fire for its actions before the bloody end of the civil war in sri lanka. patchari raksawong in bangkok is following the story.

the criticism comes from an expert panel appointed by the united nations itself. sri lanka's government had fought for independence for two decades and the u.n. was guilty of a grave failure because it failed to protect civilians. at least 70,000 people are believed to have died in the course of the civil war that ended in 2009. one year earlier, government forces launched a fierce campaign to retake areas still held by tamil insurgents. many civilians were killed, but the u.n. withdrew its foreign staff from the combat zone. the report released on wednesday says the u.n. withdrawal came after a warning from the sri lankan government that it would not guarantee their safety. the report cite cit sizes the u.n. council for not investigating the civilian casualties in sri lanka has part of its official agenda. secretary-general ban ki-moon has said the u.n. will learn from the report's findings to

better serve civilians caught in conflict. here in thailand, u.s. defense secretary leon panetta has arrived and held talks with his thai counterpart. the u.s. is seeking closer relations with asean nations, apparently part of its strategy to counter the rising military power of china in the asia-pacific region. the two sides issued a joint statement after the meeting, saying they would tap into a u.s. program that supplies excess armaments to friendly countries. armed naval vessels and f-16 fighter jet engines are likely to be included. the u.s. had stopped the flying arms to thailand because of political turmoil, including a military coup. pakistan says it's ready to free a number of taliban prisoners in its custody. pakistan supported the ousted

taliban regime in afghanistan and is believed to retain some influence over the militant group. the afghan government has requested their release as it tries to engage the taliban in peace negotiations. from islamabad, nhk world, islam reports. >> reporter: an envoy visited islamabad this week for talks with pakistani political and military leaders. he is the chair of the high peace continue sewell and leads efforts to open negotiations with the taliban. on wednesday evening, pakistan announced it was ready to release a number of taliban prisoners. local media say at least seven people could be freed. islamabad is under pressure not only from afghanistan but also the united states to help stabilize afghanistan.

doing so is increasingly urgent, with the approaching withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. in afghanistan, the announcement was met with a mixture of hope and skepticism. >> pakistan rule in strengthening the peace process is crucial. and therefore i think this is the first step. >> translator: it's hard to believe that the release could have a positive effect on the security situation in afghanistan. >> reporter: even while they continue their armed campaign, the taliban has shown a positive attitude to holding talks with the united states. but it has refused offers of dialoguele with the afghan government, which it sees as a puppet of the u.s. for afghan president hamid karzai, securing the release of prisoners is an indirect way to offer an olive branch to the

taliban. the question now is whether the militant group will agree to sit down at the table and negotiate. naza ul is slam, nhk world, islamabad. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. the euro zone economy shrank from july to september compared to the previous three months. this is a decline for the second quarter in a row. this also means the common currency block slid into a recession. the european union's data office released the preliminary figure of gross domestic product for the third quarter of this year. it fell 0.1% from the previous three months. among the 17 nations in the euro zone, portugal's gdp fell 0.8%. spain slumped 0.3%.

germany and france, the strongest economies within the euro zone, both posted a 0.2% growth in the third quarter, but compared to a year earlier, the greek economy was down 7.2% in the quarter. representatives from japan's farming sector rallied in tokyo. they're urging the government not to take part in the talks on a free trade deal under the transpacific partnership. japan has been in talks with countries involved in the u.s.-led trade negotiations. about 1,500 people gathered at the rally sponsored by the central union of agricultural cooperatives. >> translator: japan's participation in the trade deal would give a devastating blow to the country's agriculture. it would change everything in the regional economies and communities. >> the protesters adopted a resolution which emphasized their determination to try to stop the government's participation. the issue is expected to be

discussed at the annual asean summit that opens in cambodia next week. the group is concerned they may prime minister yoshihiko noda may take that occasion to express japan's participation in the pacific rim free trade talks. in south korea, the disparity between large and small enterprises is expected to be a major issue in next month's presidential election. small-sized stores across the nation are protesting the opening of big supermarkets in their neighborhoods. 300 people, including small shop owners, rallied in seoul. they're making demands to supermarkets to close for one day over weekends when customer traffic is high. small retailers are under pressure from large stores in their neighborhoods. supermarket operators are making huge profits by taking advantage of their diversified business. meanwhile, the government brought together the two sides for their first meeting. executives of leading chain

store operators met with representatives of a small retailers association. in response to complaints from family run shops, the managers of chain operators propose they would not set up stores in cities with a population of 300,000 or less. they also offered to close for one weekday twice a month. there's snow in northern japan. meteorologist robert speta is here with the details. robert? well, yes, across much of northern honshu here, actually. that's where we're seeing this cloud cover move overhead. fukushima prefecture in the higher elevations, upwards of 23 secentimeters of snow was repord in the past 23 hours. the winds will shift directions going through your friday, so that means better weather will be on tap. dry conditions across much of japan on friday, but look at this. this is on saturday into sunday. we have another system that will be pushing through the area. we're bringing some unstable weather. it's all coming from central and eastern china here so, that

stationary boundary, that's going to develop up and push off here towards the east. it's really caused by the interaction of that cold air off here towards the north, that warm air pouring in from the south. that will be bringing that rainfall off there towards the east. but definitely going into the weekend and also many the tropics we're watching this tropical depression along the southern portions of vietnam. really at this time this storm system is not bringing many gusty winds with it. tights heavy rain that's coming down. actually, in the past 24 hours, you've been seeing upwards of 220 mill meeters of rainfall, still bringing the risk of some flashflooding and landslides here. also over towards the philippines, as well, you're seeing heavy rainfall across portions of luzon. back towards the north, seoul, a high of 9 here friday, and into tokyo, 15 going into your friday, once again some dry weather out there. it's going to be a perfect day to get out there and enjoy this. this is the sky tree actually looking out from the nhk studios across the cities here. and you can see that it has its green light on it today. well, that's to resemble a

christmas tree, and it does look like every day from today going out next month and a half to december 25th, the sky tree will be changing colors. tomorrow, friday, get out there and enjoy it. it will be a purple color. and on december 23rd and through the 25th it will have a large red light on the top and the rest of the sky tree will be white to resemble a christmas tree. so definitely throughout the next month and a half, if you are visiting tokyo and plan on traveling through the area, you live here, do get out here and check it out. it's definitely a very unique aspect here, something to go out and enjoy. now, over towards the america, though, some clear weather is on tap here on your thursday going through your friday, as well. high pressure dominating much of the region. just off the west coast, a low-pressure area pushing onshore. around san francisco, if you have flights going in and out of this area, rain showers accompanied by fog creating hazardous flying conditions so check your flights ahead of time. in sierra nevada, snowfall accompanying this system. the rest of the united states

and off towards canada, high pressure is dominating. temperatures remaining cool. chicago's the high temp, winnipeg at minus 8, but these temperatures are expected to rebound back up for your weekend. towards europe, a low-pressure area spinning off the coast of portugal. that's going to move towards the east bringing rain showers with it, even gusty winds at times, particularly this one in the middle of the mediterranean. this is bringing some heavy rain showers across southern portions of italy, thunderstorms accompanied with that and flashflooding, and the northern tip of africa is seeing heavy rain showers here, about 60 to 90 millimeters was reported in the past 24 hours. so this is bringing plenty of rain, but north of that, high pressure is dominating much of central and eastern europe. this is bringing some fair weather with it. temperatures remaining on the cool side, though. berlin with a high of 4, warsaw at 6, moscow at 5 here to start off your weekend. now here's a look at your extended forecast. ♪

a pair of artists in australia has a new pay of playing a classical instrument, by crawling inside. ♪ their alterations allow a pianist to perform from inside a grand piano. it's part of an art exhibition in melbourne. the first performance was a

beethoven piece at the state library of victoria. the two artists from cuba and the u.s. cut a hole to allow a pianist to get in. the musician is then able to reach across from behind the keyboard but has to play it upside down. because the artists removed some strings to make space for the performer, the instrument can't play all the scales. but the pianist was still able to perform beethoven's 9th sympho symphony. also, anyone playing the piano can move it around on wheels by walking while performing. ♪ the artist who created the bizarre piano say they want to open the windows of the music world and let a fresh breeze blow in. we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.