transition of power. xi jinping becomes president of china and now controls the country, the military, and the communist party. welcome to nhk world "newsline." xi jinping is now the face of a nation of 1.3 billion people. representatives from across china have confirm him as their country's new president. they voted during the annual session of the national peoples congress in beijing, completing a leadership handover that began last fall.

xi jinping replaces hu jintao who was president for the past decade. last fall, he became the communist party's general secretary and chairman of the central and military commission after the party's congress. he now holds the highest post in the government, the party, and the military. president xi was born into privilege. he takes over china at 59 years old. after spending decades working his way up the political ladder. he's one of china's so-called princelings. the term is used to describe children of senior communist party officials. his father once served as vice premier. xi jinping was sent to work in the countryside during the cultural revolution. he later graduated from the respected sing wa university. he spent 25 years working as a party official in provinces of zhejiang where he gradually

assumed roles of increasing seniority. xi first gained national attention in 2007 when he was appointed party secretary in shanghai. the same year, party leaders promoted him by two ranks after their congress. that marked his entry into the top leadership. he spent the next several years cementing his position as hu jintao's successor. xi's confirmation caps a process that was in the works for months, if not years. the vote was largely ceremonial making xi's appointment all but certain. what's lesser is what kind of leader xi will be and how he will guide a country in the midst of transformation. nhk world's michitaka yamaha reports. ♪ >> reporter: xi was the only candidate for president. just one representative opposed his confirmation giving him 99.9% of the vote. the new leader will need support

as he takes on numerous issues facing the country. china's economy is now the world's second largest, after decades of high-speed expansion. but growth has cooled. incoming companies are growing. and must now compete with lower-paid rivals in other countries. people around china have been protesting to show their discontent. they want leaders to do something about the income gap, and they are calling for an end to rampant corruption. one of xi's biggest tasks would be to keep a lid on arrests and promote stability. this man is an expert on chinese politics. he says a speech he made upon his leadership included challenges he will face in fighting corruption. >> what impressed us the most is

the emphasis he put on the importance of fighting corruption. but i was also struck how little xi said about the institutional mechanism to cope with the corruption. so far, it's not clear how xi is going to deal with the corruption. it is very clear that he is quite aware of the seriousness of the issue. >> reporter: as president, xi must provide leadership for his people. he must also guard his country's relations with the rest of the world as china's economic and political influence increase, so does the potential for friction. he says this is particularly true with respect to the united states. he says, for now, the president will likely try to avoid

outright confrontation. >> keeping low profile for a week and wait for the proper time. proper timing. this approach was considered to apply to china's role in foreign relations. but it seems that as china gets stronger, this kind of low-profile approach is increasingly focused on the united states. >> reporter: to many people outside of china, xi is largely unknown. time will tell if he has what it takes to lead his country toward sustainable growth and a stable future. michitaka yamaha, nhk world, beijing. catholics around the world populous, prosperous, pushing ahead. china's rise, wealth, power ashgs and problems. an income gap divides its

people. pollution threatens its health and seas strain relations with neighbors. find out of the challenges china faces on "newsline." north korean leader is showing he is ready for battle as his country's troops put on another show of strength. he supervised a live artillery drill near a disputed sea bored we a border with its southern neighbor. soldiers hit an island. they're practicing for strikes against two south korean islands. some of these artillery units shelled the island in 2010 killing four people. kim praised the soldiers for being fully prepared to fight their enemies. north korean officials issued a statement justifying the country's unilateral declaration to void the 1953 armistice.

they say they broke the cease-fire by going ahead with the joint military exercises which started nearly two weeks ago. catholics around the world are celebrating a new pope and the start of a new era. pope francis is the first pontiff from the americas. 115 cardinals went into seclusion at the vatican to pick their next leader. they elected jorge bergoglio of argentina in the fifth round of voting. [ cheers and applause ] the pope appeared before thousands of people waiting for a glimpse of him in st. peter's square. he is a pope of several firsts. the first from outside europe in nearly 1,300 years. the first from the jesuit order

of priests and the first named francis. he's 76 years old. [ speaking in latin ] >> i am very happy to see a latin american pope. i think he will do a good job, and he will lead the church maybe into new waters that will be good for the whole people of the world. >> translator: it's an historic moment. i'm so lucky to be here. >> people at a church in the argentine capital buenos aires rejoiced when they heard the news. >> translator: i pray that god will bless the new pope in leading the people. >> translator: it's wonderful to be able to live in an era when there's a pope from argentina. >> president obama hailed the pope's election. he said it speaks to the strength and vitality of the americas.

after a memorable night in st. peter's square, nhk world's hitoshi suzuki has more from the vatican. >> reporter: the selection is an indication i think that the catholic church is now looking more to latin america and africa. latin america's catholic population is now increasing rapidly. the region now accounts for more than 40% of the world's followers of the faith. that's in contrast to its europe, where the catholic population growth is slow. the new pope is known for his passionate work helping the poor in argentina and latin america. his appointment may reflect the vatican views that one of the church's main challenges in the 21st century is helping those left behind in poverty and the trend toward globalization. the vatican is reeling from a

number of scandals, including the sexual abuse of minors by priests, shady financing, and the confidential information leaks that are believed to be the result of infighting. calls are mounting, from both within the vatican and from outside, to reform its inflexible bureaucratic organization. it has been criticized for being unable to deal with those situations. pope francis is believed to have won the support of so-called reformist cardinals in the conclave. they officiated his success with moderate reforms of conservative catholic churches in argentina. but as pope, his attempt toward reform may face strong opposition. the hope of catholics around the world is their new leader will cope with those challenges and

usher in a new era for the church. protesters are showing displeasure. shi l she led a government commission. she faced hundreds of protesters at the site in central mee miyanmar. more than 100 people were hurt. the project is a joint venture between a chinese company and company's connected to the military rulers. she arrived in the region wednesday to explain the commission's finding to residents. 800 demonstrators marched on the site. they say the report favors china and the military regime. they say the report favors china and the military regime. she was forced to switch cause. she says she's open to dialogue but residents are still demanding that the project be stopped. >> translator: i'm the one to

blame. if you don't agree with the commission's findings, if you want to protest, you can come and stage a demonstration in front of my house. >> she is still critical of the military rulers but analysts say she's showing another side as a politician who is negotiating with the military. they say this stance could cast a shadow over her reputation as a pro-democracy leader. when disaster struck japan two years ago, a young american based in tokyo headed up north to volunteer. he took his video camera and ended up with a documentary film. john he will is gordiola has more. >> reporter: the film by former english teacher christopher nolan captures some of the aftermath of the catastrophe. it shows local people trying to put their lives back together.

>> i was surprised to see a smile on his face. i was wondering why aid wasn't being provided. >> reporter: nolan was teaching in tokyo when the earthquake struck. he traveled to the hardest hit region and volunteered for the cleanup. he filmed what he saw around him. during six months of volunteering, he collected more than 100 hours of footage. after he returned to the u.s., he began editing it into a film. what drove him was the feeling that the world's attention on the disaster zone was fading. he was also frustrated at the slow pace of reconstruction. >> i know that a lot of people in america at that time and now said they really didn't hear a lot about it. they heard about the incidents and they heard maybe about a

little bit about the tsunami and the earthquake and knowing that those people are still going through that same thing, you know, almost still, it makes me upset because that could be my parents. it could be my friends. >> reporter: some of the people nolan interviewed were impacted by the accident at funk sheem t power plant. >> these kids evacuate to other areas. they may be bullied because they're from fukkshima. i wonder if there is a safe place in japan now. >> reporter: since moving back to the u.s., he is still in touch with the people he met. the mother he interviewed has moved to a prefek tour just outside the tokyo. >> how are things going since

then? >> reporter: nolan's film was released on the second anniversary of the disaster. it screened in california and new york. this film, "surviving japan" is premiering at this los angeles movie theater. >> i can't even begin to imagine what they have been through and

they're still going through now. it's not over. it's not just rebuilding but even fukushima, it's not over. it is definitely eye opening. >> people are willing to help. you come together. so everybody who did their little part helped make this come together. and i think we as people in every country need to do that so that we can move forwardrd instd of just think about ourselves. >> reporter: nolan says he will keep raising awareness in the u.s. about what happened in japan. it's his way of supporting the recovery. john ellis gardiola, nhk world, los angeles. japanese leaders are giving canada money for the mess cause the by the march 2011 disaster. 're sending $1 million to help clean up tsunami debris that is washing ashore there. both governments announced the funding on wednesday in vancouver. the tsunami sucked an estimated 1 1/2 million tons of debris into the pacific ocean.

some of it has already reached north american shores. a motor bike ended up on canada's west coast. styrofoam products and fishing buoys ended up on the containers. they transferred the funds to the province of british columbia to go to a variety of cleanup projects. they decided to offer money to canada and the united states because of the tsunami debris. they have given $5 million to the u.s. one of japan's most famous thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. vast tracts of land awaiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy but step-by-step people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time right here on

"newsline." relatives of japanese abducted to north korea called for the establishment of a new u.n. committee to investigate human rights in the country. north korean officials have admitted abducting japanese in the 1970s and '80s. officials claim the rest have died. the abductees relatives' made an appeal in geneva. in 60 diplomats and other officials were there. this man's sister was abducted in 1978 at the age of 24. he says the issue is unresolved. he says it's a global matter. >> translator: we call on the human rights record. >> delegates from japan and european union are proposing the human rights council set up a

special committee. it would investigate the abductions as well as conditions in north korea's prison camps. the kabuki za has been rebuilt from the ground up. when the curtain rises next month, fans will be there applauding. scores of other people offered their support behind the scenes. one of them is a craftsman whose creations light up the scene. nhk world's kazuhiro takahashi reports. >> reporter: they began making paper lanterns about 200 years ago. he has carried on the craft for close to half a century. he's specialty is painting. he grew up in the shadows of the kabuki theater. >> translator: i've been visiting ever since i was in

primary school. i used to go to my dad's workshop there after school. i would carry his tools home. >> reporter: people in japan have been performing kabuki for about 400 years. the first kabuki theater was built in central tokyo in the late 19th century. it has been rebuilt four times since then. workers have just put the finishing touches on the newest version. this theater is located in this district. the redesign is already turning heads. it draws the attention of passersby. dozen of the lights decorate the

front of the new theater. the craftsman using special techniques to make his lanterns glow. >> translator: i make the colors lighter. that allows the light to shine more brightly. >> reporter: lanterns are typically round. he cuts this part in half so they take up less space on stage. he's been working for months crafting lanterns for the new theater. in all, he will paint 600 of them all on his own. >> translator: kabuki really should be performed at kabuki-za. i'm determined to get the lanterns finished on time. >> reporter: he will be in the wings, cheering them on.

nhk world, tokyo. winter seems like it was back in tokyo today. but to warmer temperatures are >> and here are the latest market figures. winter seems like it was back in tokyo today.

but to warmer temperatures are in store. meteorologist robert speta is here. he has the forecast. robert? >> yes, gene, we saw the frontal area moving off. we're seeing cooler temperatures today. still snowfall out here. you're right, it is going it start to warm up here. after this frontal area that pushed off towards the east. it did bring the weather through wednesday into thursday night or thursday morning across japan. and the tail end of that front even brought some thunderstorms today across portions of the philippines and manila. you saw reports of hail with a few of the storms. the good news, that's getting a move on. high pressure starting to ridge back in. that's what's going to bring in the warm air from the south. out of the south china sea, pushing it off towards the north. north into the tibetan plateau, you have a decent snow pack on hand right now. that is very likely going to smelt that off. similar conditions going through the weekend here in japan. all that warm air starts pushing from the south across portions

of ski country here. you're going to be seeing that snow melt causing the risk of avalanche, especially on the ungroomed surfaces if you're a skier. you're going to want to watch out for this. this is what i'm talking about with this warmup. take a look at this. shanghai, getting up to 17 for the high. actually on sunday as well. you're likely going to see some light rain showers across the area even extending to japan going into next week. but i don't expect this to cool down at all in the near future. tokyo getting up to 18 on your saturday. 17 on sunday. still well above the average for this time of year. let's take a look towards the americas. high pressure still dominating the central u.s. we are watching one storm system on the pacific northwest, though, into british columbia here in canada. that system is bringing heavy rainfall here, even low lying areas you're seeing some river flooding. actually one place there in washington, one of the rivers about ten feet above average. so the low lying areas, higher elevations and snowfall. but this is eventually going to squeeze off here towards the east into portions of central

canada and eventually upper midwest about 15 to 20 sent metemee centimeters of know snow is exp. it is going to make driving around on it rather slow. you're not going to see the instability though. we don't have that fuel coming in out of the gulf of mexico like the last several storm systems that came from the southwest. take a look at this difference in temperatures. los angeles and las vegas, you are well above average for right now. i know it's the desert out here. but this is warm, even for you. 30 for your high here on thursday. but on the flip side of it, take a look at the northeast. it is cold out here. this is friday's low, minus five there in toronto. new york at minus four. chicago dipping down below freezing as well. now let's look towards europe. cold is really been the topic here. arctic air continuing to spill in. now it's starting to shift to the east. that same storm system that brought that snowfall across the low country, you can see that spiral right here. that is leading edge of that

arctic air mass pushing off here. it is bringing temperatures much, much cooler. actually there in romania, you're expecting single digit temperatures following what you have been seeing which is about the mid teens. that same storm system is also being fueled by the arctic air and warm air out of the m mediterrane mediterranean. that is calling for unstable weather yet again. hail and even the risk of a tornado or two. you still want to watch out with this storm system. as we take a look at temperatures, athens, you're one of the rare spots on the map here. into the mid teens. lisbon and most of europe being dominated by the arctic air from the north. that is a look at your world weather. here is your extended forecast.

we're back in 30 minutes with more of the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo.