shadow of akita's bitter winter. welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. leaders from developed and emerging countries are starting a two-day g20 summit in the south korean capital of seoul. high on the agenda are ways to tackle moves to deval yau currency and a correction in global economic imbalances.

for the latest we go live to the media center in seoul where our business reporter yongi kan is standing by. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the g20 leaders are now arriving in seoul and preparing to discuss pressing global economic issues. the seoul g20 summit is the fifth of its kind and the first to be held in asia as well as in an emerging economy. u.s. president barack obama has already arrived in the south korean capital. japanese prime minister naoto kan is expected to arrive later today. south korean president lee myung-bak issued an outline of the agenda items to be discussed at the summit. the agenda takes up four major points. the first is the currencies issue. second is the ongoing effort to build a safety net against possible future financial crises. third is reform of the international monetary fund. and the final item for discussion is financial aid for emerging economies. gene? >> yonggi, among these agenda

items, which is drawing the most attention? >> reporter: among these four items, perhaps the most important is the currency issue. a lot of attention will be focused on whether the g20 leaders will be able to reach some kind of agreement on so-called competitive currency devaluation. export--oriented economies favor weaker currencies, which make their products cheaper overseas, and this is prompting countries to push their currencies down. now, ahead of the summit president obama sent a letter to the g20 nations, urging them to avoid devaluing their currencies. but a big question mark remains on the possibility of reaching an agreement on this very, very sensitive topic. in a related issue, the g20 members are expected to talk about the possibility of setting nup erical targets for current account surpluses. this is thought to be one of the causes of global economic imbalances. last week i spoke with sakong el who chairs the g20 preparations

committee, about the significance of the summit. this is what he had to say. >> establish a new global economic and financial architecture and set a new agenda, and south korea's leading it. so it's a very significant thing for korea and not only for korea, for the whole emerging world. >> reporter: gene, from a global economic perspective, there's a lot of work for the g20 leaders to do, but for south korea it is also a chance to establish its presence in the world and to show what an emerging country can do to contribute to the global economy. that's all from me here at the g20 media center. back to you in the studio, gene. >> yonggi, thanks. nhk world's yonggi kang reporting from seoul. german chancellor angela merkel says she will reject u.s. proposals to set limits to current account balances. the united states and south

korea made the proposals in last month's g20 meeting of finance chiefs and central bankers in south korea. nations with large current account surpluses including germany and and china, strongly oppose the proposals. the issue is expected to be among the top priorities at the g20 summit, which opens in seoul on thursday. merkel told reporters on wednesday that countries should be able to show their competitiveness through exports. regarding the recent additional monetary easing measures by the u.s. federal reserve, merkel said no one has any interest in new economic bubbles. she added that she wants to discuss the matter at the summit. the head of indonesia's central bank has expressed concerns about the u.s. federal reserve's additional monetary easing. he's worried the fed's move is causing massive funds to flood into emerging economies, which could trigger a bubble in stock or real estate markets. he spoke with nhk at the head of

the group of 20 summit meeting. >> reporter: the indonesian economy is growing at around a pace of 6% annually. thanks to rise in domestic demand among middle income earners. brisk exports are also a factor contributing to the rise. darmin says huge investor funds are pouring into indonesia as industrialized countries suffer from economic woes. >> translator: indonesia needs investment from foreign countries, but the current inflow of funds includes short-term speculative money. >> reporter: darmin said the fed's recent decision to buy $600 billion worth of treasury

bonds could negatively impact indonesia's economy. >> translator: america's additional recent quantitative easing measures will lead to a further inflow of funds into indonesia. and that extra money will fuel inflationary pressures and make it more difficult for us to steer macroeconomic policy. >> reporter: he indicated the economic imbalance with industrialized countries is one of the factors that could cause a market bubble in emerging nations. but governor darmin expressed hope that g20 members will engage in constructive

discussions as cooperation will be key to resolving the issues. nhk world, jakarta. >> and as our reporter in seoul, yonggi kang, mentioned earlier, global currency issues will top the agenda when leaders of the group of 20 countries start their two-day summit in seoul on thursday. there's a rift between the united states and china over the yuan and its huge trade imbalance with the u.s. earlier i spoke with a china policy expert in the u.s. to find out how president barack obama is tackling these issues. in seoul obama will have a face-to-face meeting with chinese president hu jintao. joining us from new york, for more on the topics, is elizabeth economy, who is the director for asia studies at the council on foreign relations. elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. given the results of the u.s. midterm elections, how about the chinese government?

do you think they'll deal with the united states differently now that the republicans control the house of representatives? >> i mean, i think that initially there's probably a sense not only in china, but throughout much of the rest of the world that they're dealing with a slightly weakened u.s. president. i mean, not only are we continuing to try to negotiate our way through the recession here, but now the president has to contend with, yes, a house of representatives that is dominated by the republican party and not a particularly friendly republican party at this moment. but i think as time goes on they'll see that, again, with foreign policy, that the united states president holds the cards in terms of setting the stage and setting our policy. >> the group of 20 summit in seoul they're going to be discussing global currencies. it'll probably be a flash point. what is the u.s. expecting to happen in respect to the chinese yuan at this meeting, do you think?

>> there was discussion between the united states and china on the chinese currency, on the yuan, and the potential for it to appreciate gradually over time, and we've seen some of that. i think maybe to the tune of about 3% or so over the past several months. i think the hope is that this is going to continue, at least up until the visit of president hu jintao in january, because i think the chinese will want a favorable reception in the united states for the president's visit, and so i think there's a little bit of an incentive for them. >> will the u.s. proceed with its proposal to push for targets to shrink the current account gaps, especially given that china has said the idea is inappropriate? >> right. i think it's not only china that has said that the idea doesn't work for china, but a number of other countries as well. i don't think that's going to stop the united states from pushing for these kinds of, you know, bands or targets.

you know, whether we get anything more than a very broad agreement that each country needs to do the right thing with regard to its current account, you know, surpluses or its trade imbalances, i would guess that's about as much as we're going to get. but i fully anticipate that we're going to continue to push for, you know, some form of banding or targets. >> china isn't just bullish in regards to their own currency. it also takes the approach when it comes to resources such as we're seeing right now, the control of rare earth exports and also on territorial disputes. how do you expect the u.s. to deal with china in regards to these topics? >> the rare earths are important because i think it is the first time that we've seen the chinese try to use an economic -- some of their economic prowess to exert leverage over other

countries, in this case i think japan quite clearly. i think it's a challenge for the rest of the world, and it does begin to show the kind of difficult economic player i think that china can be. i think the only response, you know, for the united states and others, because this is obviously not a problem that only the united states confronts, is you know, first of all, to diversify our sources. >> yes. >> and not to give in. because of course, the natural ramification of what china is doing is that it will force manufacturers to manufacture within china. and the chinese can say that this is not their end goal, that they're doing it because they're worried about running out, which is a legitimate concern, or they can say they're doing it because of environmental concerns, which would be great, although hard to believe. >> china has also been involved in territorial disputes in late, and the u.s. now has a much bigger role in politics in asia. where do you think things are going to go from this point onwards?

>> well, i don't think the united states should insert itself directly necessarily into negotiations unless asked by countries of southeast asia, the other claimants, for example, in the south china sea. i do think that china was taken aback. i think it was surprised by the united states' intervention. because i think they've come to see the united states as not particularly focused on the region. you know, busy in iraq, busy in afghanistan, and busy with our economic recession. so i think it was an important signal to china that we're not going anywhere. >> elizabeth, thank you very much for your time today. elizabeth economy, from the council on foreign relations. ministers taking part in two of the asia pacific economic

cooperation forum in yokohama will soon adopt an anti-protectionist stance in a joint statement to be released in the early afternoon. apec ministers are holding a plenary session, or a session where all members meet this morning. they are discussing how to promote free trade in the asia-pacific region to achieve further growth. they will soon release a joint statement. sources close to the ministers say the statement will warn that, well, the global economy is on a recovery track, rising protectionism is a concern. the ministers are expected to pledge to avoid trade barriers such as export restrictions until the year 2013. they hope to end curbs on resource and food exports, labeling such moves as protectionist. but the statement will most likely avoid naming specific countries. china has been criticized for restricting exports or rare earth metals in september. in the leadup to the meeting we're taking a closer look at japan-u.s. relations. our business reporter ai uchida spoke with thomas clark, apec task force co-chair, at the american chamber of commerce in

japan. he gives his insight on economic relations between the two countries. >> hi. >> hello. >> reporter: i met thomas clark at the accj office in central tok tokyo. in addition to being on the apec task force there, clark is vice president of government relations asia at ge capital. >> u.s. president obama has set a goal to double exports from the united states by the year 201537. how will this be realized and what kind of role does japan play in this? >> well, japan plays really a vital role. i mean, japan is obviously a great partner of the united states in the asia-pacific region. japan and the united states share so many values in terms of commitment to the rule of law, being democracies. it could do more, we think, to stimulate direct foreign investment. unfortunately, if you look at the oecd countries, foreign

direct investment into japan is only about 4% of japanese gdp and that is the low of the average of oecd countries. but looking particularly in this year of japan's leader ship of apec and next year to the u.s. leadership, we think apec will stimulate japan's embracing an inclusive trade architecture in the asia pacific can actually stimulate trade and growth and by doing that i think it will very much be in line with president obama export initiative. >> reporter: the accj has urged japan to join the trans-pacific partnership pact, otherwise known as tpp, but some argue that this could adversely affect industries in japan, such as japanese agriculture. what are your thoughts on this? >> well, we believe the tppp would be a very effective mechanism for promoting growth, and in fact, the accj has

endorsed japan's entry into tppp on the same terms that would apply to other countries joining it. i don't have a specific comment about particular sectors and how those issues would be dealt with. obviously, that's for the japanese government to work out. but overall, joining the tpp, particularly in a scenario where that becomes a nucleus of an eventually broader free trade area of the asia-pacific i think would be a very important step for japan to tarks not onke, no improve bilateral trade with the united states but also to secure japan's strong integration into the emerging asia-pacific market. >> reporter: i also asked about china and recent concerns about its export restrictions on rare earth metals. clark explained apec's role to resolve such differences. >> a general approach i think to these issues that we would want to see would be one consistent with, you know, the rule of law internationally, consistent with level playing fields and access

to markets among all of these countries. and that's why i would probably even come back to apec and say that one of the importances of apec is as a mechanism to promote a more open and fair trading regime among countries to resolve, you know, whatever differences there may be in a fora which is, you know, not a binding fora like the wto or some others, but instead relies on consensus and permeating global best practices, and so we think that, you know, again, here, apec has a role to play in developing sound relations and sound trade architecture throughout the asia-pacific. >> ai uchida speaking to thomas clark, apec task force co-chair, at the american chamber of commerce here in japan.

tokyo police and prosecutors have resumed their interrogation of a japan coast guard officer who admitted to leaking video footage of the collision between a chinese trawler and japanese patrol boats in the east china sea. the 43-year-old officer based in kobe, western japan, reportedly told investigators that the video had been available for viewing at regional coast guard headquarters before it was put under tight control. but he has not disclosed details as to where and how he obtained the video. tokyo police and prosecutors are looking into why the video could be viewed in kobe, which is outside the jurisdiction of the coast guard in okinawa, which investigated the collision. they are continuing to question the officer on thursday to determine whether he failed to perform his duty as a civil servant to protect privileged information. in a related development, japan's government plans to set up a panel to study measures to protect classified information. on wednesday prime minister naoto kan instructed all administrative vice ministers to prevent any recurrences.

kan said a public servant had broken the rules and leaked information. the panel will be chaired by chief cabinet secretary yoshito sengoku. among its tasks will be double checking that access by public servants to such information is restricted by passwords and that the identities of those illegally accessing the data are recorded. the panel will also discuss strengthening penalties for those who violate the code of confidentiality. police in london say the parcel bomb that was found last month on a cargo flight could have exploded over the u.s. east coast if it had not been removed. explosives were discovered in mail packages on two cargo planes en route to chicago from yemen in late october. one of them was intercepted at an airport in britain. the u.s. government has linked the plot to an organization based in yemen called al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. yemeni authorities are searching for those responsible. western countries are stepping up alert levels and suspending

air cargo transport from yemen and somalia. myanmar's election commission has announced for the first time that the country's pro-military party is heading for a sweeping victory, but pro-democracy parties are rejecting the results. yemen's first general election in 20 years took place on sunday. pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi, who is under house arrest, was effectively banned from taking part. the election commission revealed preliminary results on state television on wednesday evening. the commission said prime minister thein sein and other top officials at the military government have gained seats. it said 77% of the winners for the lower up ander houses of national parliament and regional assemblies are candidates of the pro-military government party. but the opposition national democratic force established by former members of aung san suu kyi's party says the military government has committed a string of irregularities during and after the vote. the party says it will not accept the election results unless appropriate measures such as recounting ballots are taken.

several key economic reports were released on thursday. japan's corporate goods price index was up 0.9% in october from a year earlier. this is the first positive number in four months. japan's central bank said the index stood at 103 against a value -- base value of 100 set in 2005. the index reflects the prices of goods traded among japanese firms. higher cigarette prices following a tax hike last month were the major reason for the rise. prices for tobacco and processed foods are up 2.7%. petroleum and coal product prices rose 5.6% year on year. non-ferrous metal prices also rose by 8.7%, while steel is up 8.2%. meanwhile, japan's machinery orders in september declined for the first time in four months, falling 10.3% from the previous

month. on thursday the cabinet office said major machinery makers got orders worth $9.2 billion from domestic firms. that's not including shipping and power companies. orders from manufacturers fell 20.7% while those from non-manufacturers rose 3%. the government expects machinery orders to continue to decline through the fourth quarter. let's now take a look at the latest market figures. ♪ ♪ hi there.

and welcome back to your world weather update. now, in east asia we're still seeing a lot of clear skies across china. that's set to continue for the most part today although we do have the snow that's dropping in across northeastern china spreading some welcome moisture. it's been pretty dry here for the past couple of days. that rain's quickly going to work its way across the korean peninsula today and then aim for japan. like li the first drops being felt across southern japan later on this evening. so a quick-moving system at that. following right behind that rain it's going to be somewhat dusty weather. we're looking at yellow sand in the forecast. dust storms are expected across inner mongolia and then that starts spreading eastward moving in toward the korean peninsula tonight. and then by friday night it does start moving in toward japan. looks like it might be covering quite a best country, including moderate amounts. overall, as that yellow sand approaches, you could be seeing a decrease in air quality. that could cause breathing

problems. getting pretty dusty, too. so could affect the visibility. so that's something to watch out for today. 17 for your high in tokyo and 14 in seoul. 19 for shanghai. and then 24 degrees in hong kong. now, for the americas it's looking quite nice and quiet for the eastern half of the united states and even up and toward cana canada. that big stichl here pulling away from the new england states. we do have a couple lows moving in toward the northern plains. central canada. that could spread some snow and winds. while central southern plains looking at another wet area, also spreading tonight. toward the west coast a new system's going to bring rain to the coastlines of british columbia as well as the pacific northwest. here's a look at temperatures. definitely cooler out west. 9 in seattle and the same in vancouver. only remaining at 1 in denver. a lot of cool air coming in. but on the other hand still quite mild right along the mississippi valley in toward chicago. expecting a high of 19 degrees. now getting a look at europe

here, it's been pretty messy and unsettled. that's looking set to continue again today. widespread showers, clouds. but a couple areas could be picking up some sunny spells for a change as these systems move away. however, we're still looking at the chance of snow for the northern areas. and then thundershowers could develop anywhere across the balkans in toward italy tonight. new system already starts advancing in covering the british isles and then moving into western central sections of europe. it's going to start looking pretty wet again for the next few days. winds also remaining strong in the bay of biscayne. northern coastline of spain as well as parts of coastal portugal too should be on the watch for those high waves. here's a look at highs. 10 in moscow. quite mild for you again today. not much chance of snow, but you will be seeing rain. 8 for your high in warsaw and 10 in vienna. 14 degrees for paris. london slightly warmer than the past few days. all right. that's a look at your weather for now.

and here is your two-day outlook. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ministers taking part in day two of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum in yokohama have adopted a anti-protectionist stance in a joint statement. in a plenary session, our full-member session on thursday, the apec ministers discussed how to promote free trade in the asia-pacific region to achieve full growth. the state warns that while the economy is on a rising track rising protectionism is a concern. the ministered pledged to avoid trade barriers such as export restriction until 2013.

they hope to end curbs on food exports labeling such moves as protectionists. but the statement avoided naming specific countries. china 45z been criticized for restricting exports of rare earth metals in september. that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour with the latest news and weather. thanks for joining us on nhk world.