welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. a senior u.s. state department official says north korea must stop provocations and accept u.n. inspectors before the six-party talks on the country's nuclear program can be resumed. assistant secretary of state philip crowley announced on thursday a set of five conditions north korea must meet before the talks are reopened. >> one is to cease provocations.

a second is to reduce tensions in the region. a third is to improve its relationship with south korea. and a fourth is to take affirmative steps to denuclearize in line with the 2005 joint statement. >> crowley also demanded the north abide by its international obligations under u.n. security council resolutions, which include a call to halt ballistic missile development. the u.s. official said if the north demonstrates its seriousness through action the door to renewed dialogue might open. following the north's artillery attack on a south korean island last month, china, the chair of the six-party talks, is proposing an emergency meeting of chief delegates. but the u.s., south korea, and japan have reacted cautiously to the proposal. meanwhile, north korea has criticized the united states for attaching preconditions for a proposed emergency meeting of

the chief delegates to the six-party nuclear talks. it claims the u.s. is trying to sid-step dialogue. the accusation came in a statement issued by a north korean foreign ministry spokesperson and carried by the korean central news agency on thursday. the statement defended the country's building of a light water reactor and proceeding with uranium enrichment, which it described as peaceful nuclear activities to produce electricity. u.s. president barack obama says significant progress has been made in afghanistan and that u.s. forces will begin to withdraw next july as scheduled. obama made the pledge in a speech on thursday, during which he reviewed his strategy in afghanistan. announced one year ago, the strategy included a build-up of 30,000 u.s. troops. >> with those additional forces in afghanistan, we are making considerable gains toward our

military objectives. we've gone on the offensive, targeting the taliban and its leaders, and pushing them out of their strongholds. >> but obama warned that the situation in afghanistan remains unstable. he said the u.s. military will continue to focus on training afghan troops so that it can begin to hand over control of security to afghan forces in july. the u.s. aims to complete the handover in 2014. a roadside bomb exploded in western afghanistan on thursday, killing 14 civilians and wounding four. the explosive device blew up a mini bus in the western province of herat. children were among the victims. local police suspect taliban insurgents intended the bomb for nato-led international forces and afghan security troops. last friday's 15 civilians were killed in another roadside bomb explosion in the southern province of helmand. the afghan defense ministry

says four of its soldiers were killed on wednesday night by an international forces air strike in helmand province. the attack is believed to have been a mistake. police have arrested a 27-year-old man after a knife attack at a bus stop in toride city northeast of tokyo. the attack left 13 people injured, many of them teenage students. police say the man boarded two buses parked in front of toride station shortly before 8:00 a.m. on friday and began stabbing students. seven high school students and four junior high students and two others were taken to the hospital with injuries. a bus company employee said the attacker beat people after getting off the first bus, he then boarded another bus and was arrested there. the two buses were both bound

for a high school. in biz news, japan aims to attract foreign investment to the country as some global firms are shifting their key functions to emerging economies. the ministry of economy, trade, and industry will put forward a bill to lawmakers early next year. officials say that some international firms in japan are moving out of the country. last year u.s. consumer products maker procter & gamble moved its research center from western japan to singapore. the ministry wants to provide tax incentives to global firms that meet senior conditions from april next year, a 5% blanket reduction is being put forward by the japanese government. the bill proposes a further cut of about 7% in the corporate tax rate for eligible foreign firms for five years. another proposal is to exempt foreign firms from patent fees if they maintain research centers in japan. the ministry is concerned that

the current shift may harm japan's economic foundation. it aims to attract about 30 global firms each year by offering favorable treatment. americans are buying more than they are selling overseas. the u.s. current account deficit from july to september widened from the previous quarter, marking a fifth straight quarter of increases. the commerce department announced the third quarter figure on wednesday. the current account balance is the broadest measure of international trade. the deficit from july to september rose to just over $127 billion. that's up 3.3% from the previous quarter. the rise in the deficit is due to an increase in imports following a gradual recovery of the u.s. economy. the gain is the largest since the fourth quarter of 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis. the european central the

bank said on thursday that it will almost double its capital base starting later this month. the funding is to be provided by the central banks of the eurozone countries. the central bank said the first capital injection since its launch aims to cushion large fluctuations in currency values and interest rates. observers say the move will also allow the bank to continue buying state bonds of debt-strapped european nations to stabilize the bond market. in europe sovereign debt prices have been falling following a bailout of greece earlier this year and more recently in ireland. credit concerns are now spreading to other economies such as portugal and spain. mcdonald's japan says this year's sales will be better than forecast. the figure could even hit an all-time high. japan's largest hamburger chain operator raised its sale projections for the business year through december to $6.4 billion. that's up just over 1% from the previous year. mcdonald's also revised up its operating profit forecast by 5.7% above what it was in 2009.

the new profit figure of $320 million would be the highest since the company listed its stock back in 2001. mcdonald's says the higher estimates are due to more customers drawn by a hamburger-priced ad about $1.20 and free coffee. the firm says revenues are also being boosted by its latest premium burgers with larger patties, which cost about $4.75. it was a key week -- or it was a week of key economic events, rather, in the united states and japan. the u.s. federal reserve held its policy meeting on tuesday, and the bank of japan released its survey of business sentiment on wednesday. our business reporter, yongei khan, spoke with richard crue, chief economist at research institute, to hear his views on the economy. >> mr. koo, the b.o.j.'s tankan survey released on wednesday showed sentiment at large manufacturers deteriorated for the first time in seven

quarters, and the figures are expected to worsen in the next quarter as well. but we're also hearing some optimistic views on the economic outlook partly because exports to emerging countries are likely to help companies. now, what is your own view on japan's economic outlook? >> well, actually, if you look at japan's industrial production, it has recovered very sharply since march of last year to march of this year. it was a really sharp v-shaped recovery. and a lot of people kind of thought that wow, we're on a recovery, this trajectory should continue. but then after the spring it has kind of flattened out, started losing momentum. and i for one was actually wondering where would that show up in tankan? and it finally showed up in my view. because people should be worried that this v-shaped recovery is not continuing. >> turning to the u.s., the fed made clear at tuesday's fomc

that it will continue to buy government bonds. you personally hold a negative view on the fed's quantitative easing. how do you think the fed's monetary policy should be managed from here onwards? >> well, the fed has this new mandate to maximize employment, price stability, and both of them shows you have to do something. unemployment is still very alarming levels. prices falling to very dangerous levels. so they think they have to do something. and the fact that they're doing something doesn't mean it has a positive effect. yes, mr. bernanke talks about qe2, that there's a lot of things they can still do. but he is also saying government should not cut fiscal stimulus at this juncture. which is completely different from what he said a year ago. >> reporter: president barack obama's decision to extend tax breaks of his predecessor,

george bush, was generally welcomed by u.s. investors. but koo warns against being too optimistic about the impact on economic growth. >> the bush tax cut was in place many, many years ago, failed to prevent the recession that we're in now. so extending it doesn't mean we will just come out of the recession as a result. but it's still better than this uncertainty we had that this may not be renewed in the middle of this very weak economy. so that uncertainty's removed. now it is going to be renewed, at least for two more years. and that's not a bad news. as to whether or not that will actually create a kind of a self-sustaining growth, we don't know because american companies typically are very sensitive to final demand, and final demand, given the level of unemployment, is still highly questionable.

>> finally, staying with the tax cuts, in japan prime minister naoto kan announced his intention to cut the country's corporate tax by 5%. if this becomes realized, how much of an impact will this have in terms of lifting the economy? >> when you say lifting the economy, means the general economy, right? and the current debate in the japanese government is we're going to reduce our corporate tax by 5% but whatever the revenue lost here will have to be made up for somewhere else. but by making that statement you're coming out saying this is revenue neutral, but if it's revenue neutral, by definition it has zero impact on the economy. and so if mr. kan is trying to get the japanese economy going with this 5% cut in corporate tax, then he's just kidding to himself. for fiscal policy, tax is a fiscal policy, to have any

impact on the economy the government has to be in there pumping something into the system. something additional to the system. to see what the overall impact on the economy will be. and if it's tax neutral -- i mean revenue neutral, i think it's safe to say that the effect of the total economy, at least in the short run, is close to zero. >> richard koo speaking there with nhk world's yongei khan. here's the latest in market figures. ♪ ♪

a new style of newscast is emerging from taiwan, filled with computer-generated animations and political satire. the web-based program is attracting a worldwide audience, but it's also inviting criticism that it's far from being journalism. robert jefferson explores the issue one on one. >> reporter: today classified documents and videos are being leaked one after another, traveling instantly tlou throughout the digitally connected world. there are increasing concerns that it's becoming difficult to distinguish between what's journalism, the uncovering of news through actual reporting, and what's merely fiction. taipei-based next media animation and its founder jimmy lai welcome that debate. ♪ uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ usa number 1 ♪ china's in the house.

we own your ass ♪ >> this is how next media animation reported on the u.s.-japan currency dispute. the clip appears in their webcast. >> from the mao to the deng to the jiang to the hu, you think you can keep on telling us what to do ♪ >> reporter: when wikileaks began releasing u.s. diplomatic documents, next media dramatized the news in this fashion. its founder snatches secrets from the u.s. embassies. at the united nations uncle sam tries to gather dna samples from the world's diplomats. more than 250 young creators produced the animation in their taipei studio. animators have stockpiles of digital faces to match the newsmakers. they can also imfate their voices. and actors in motion sensor suits mimic their body movements. the team tries to create imaginary scenes with a touch of reality within three hours after getting the news.

from taipei jimmy lai now joins us. mr. lai publishes the newspaper "apple daily" and other magazines in hong kong and taiwan and launched next media animations. mr. lai, thank you for being with us today. >> thank you. on tv all you have is the last slice of the news. because after something happen you have the news. so whatever happened you have the missing images. but with the quick response animations we can recreate the missing images and turn tv news, which is just information, into a new story. and that's what we want to do. >> how do you draw the distinction between your fiction and the non-fiction of journalism, which uncovers the news with the help of whistleblowers such as wikileaks?

>> well, we don't try to create fiction. what we try to do is to use the information we have to recreate it into images. it's not fiction. >> but now you at next tv put out a story often without any of your own jurnlths having covered the incident themselves or without maybe confirming the facts themselves. >> other news channels or news service give us the information. we don't just have one. we have a few news agents, you know, different kinds of media that we gather the information and we get just use those that more than one media is reporting the news. >> next tv's political satire often receives huge numbers of hits on youtube. the term "tabloid news" doesn't bother you at all? >> no. because it's obvious we are becoming more popularized.

you know, a lot of tv channels are using us in the west and we are at capacity. so our business is very well. for us we have to go through trial sxeror to adapt to what people are actually comfortable seeing and people facing new media, they will have to get used to it. >> it seems that now next tv is trying to pick up more international news such as this clip from your channel. let's take a look. here a chinese giant panda and a japanese ninja are fighting over a disputed island. next media animation picks up international news and reports on it with biting satire. now, you were born in china and fled to hong kong. you're well known for your bold and blunt criticism of the

mainland government. what's your approach for dealing with china's leadership in terms of covering the news and also in reaching an audience on the mainland? >> we can only reach the audience outside china. we should portray it as objective as possible. we also have to portray china through our value. the dominant value of democracy, of human right, of freedom and all that, that's the value we share with the world. >> in taiwan the authorities haven't yet approved your applications to start a broadcast-based tv channel. so you can only for now post videos on the internet. >> well, i think the future definitely is the internet-based tv. because that give people the interactivity that the cable and other kind of media cannot give. you know, so when we are not --

when we are denied the license by ncc, we decide to move our operation forward a bit further than we planned. but how the technology is going to transpire and how the format of tv will come, we're not sure. >> mr. lai, thank you for being with us here on "one on one." >> thank you for having me. thank you. whichi leakes founder julian assange has been freed on bail. after spending nine days in a london jail, the 39-year-old australian was detained last week at the request of sweden on suspicion of sexual misconduct. >> well, it's great to smell fresh air of london again. first, some thank yous. >> his release came on thursday after a british high court backed a lower court decision to grant him bail and effectively

rejected an appeal by prosecutors. however, assange is required to stay at a friend's house in eastern britain and wear an electronic monitor so the authorities can track his whereabouts. the wikileaks founder spoke to reporters after posting bail of 200,000 pounds, or about $316,000. he maintained his innocence and said he hopes to continue his whistleblowing website. more court hearings await assange next year to argue his extradition to sweden. at least 30 people have been killed in the western african nation of cote d'ivoire, or ivory coast, after conflicts between supporters for the two presidential candidates turned violent. in the presidential election last month the victory of opposition candidate alassane ouattara was announced by the electoral commission. however, the constitutional council overturned the result and declared incumbent president laurent gbagbo as the winner. on thursday ouattara's

supporters staged a protest rally in the main city of abijan. clashes took place after the security forces began to disperse tear gas. conflicts between rival supporters are spreading across the country and some have reportedly turned into shooting wars. there's growing concern that the unrest may develop into a full-fledged civil war as the two candidates continue to claim victory. the japanese government says it will postpone the next stage test operation of the monju fast breeder nuclear reactor for six months. the delay is due to a technical problem. the reactor in fukui prefecture riz yooumd operations after a 14-year shut down due to a sodium leakage accident and fire in 1995. but when the operator was stopped for inspections a three-ton device fell inside the facility and became stuck. science and technology minister takaki informed fukui

prefectural government nishikawa of the postponement. takahaki said major work to remove the device will begin in january. he said work to raise the capacity's output will be held in 2012. governor nishikawa stressed safety must be put first. >> reporte >> translator: local residents are becoming increasingly concerned about nuclear power operations. so the government must ensure safety and keep the public informed. >> a fast breeder reactor generates electricity and fuel by burning plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel. fast breeders are the pillars of japan's nuclear recycling program. the postponement of the test will likely delay the start of monju's full-scale operation until 2013. hello there. welcome back to your world

weather update. well, in eastern asia it stays fairly calm and settled for the most part. high pressure system in control over china keeping things dry and sunny throughout the region all the way down into the indo-china peninsula. there will be some snow flurries working their way across the northeastern corner as well as north korea. and here in the northwestern corner of japan, too, picking up significant snow accumulation. temperatures going to be remaining below seasonal averages here. places like tokyo 10 degrees. 3 in seoul. 5 degrees in beijing. but we can expect the figures to really warm up over the weekend for southern areas such as shanghai and hong kong. 13 degrees on friday. heading into north america, then, while the east is going to see that storm system continue to affect quebec with more wintry precipitation, the west too is bracing itself for more stormy weather. the four corners, for example, starting to see that snow accumulate across new mexico, arizona, tonight and into your

friday with up to 20 centimeters of snow. still seeing the wet and windy weather. then over toward california we've got a new system that's going to be forming, bringing lots of rain and snow. we can expect as much as 200 millimeters of rain to accumulate in low-lying areas up in the sierra too. almost two meters is expected to accumulate over the next several days. so really significant amounts of snow. and all that snow is going to be heading into the northwestern corner of the u.s. as well. so looking quite wintry over the next several days out toward the west. 1 degree in denver today. 16 in los angeles. a little bit on the chilly side. heading into europe, there we're certainly talking about lots of wintry weather as well for central and eastern areas. but also the south. the mediterranean area experiencing lots of snow. let's take a look at some footage coming out of snow. northern and central areas experiencing a good deal of snow

there. temperatures, frigid temperatures, in fact, produced icicl icicles, and in madrid too the overnight lows dropped below the freezing mark. meanwhile, central italy go up to some blowing snow. for over a day and a half snow has continued to fall here and rods have been hard hit with long traffic jams. here's the outlook for your friday. this very large storm system dropping into the northwestern corner here, bringing widespread snow as well as blowing snow for parts of the uk, scandinavia, and across france and the low countries as well. we're looking at widespread, icy conditions. lots of snow to come over the next several days. and over toward the eastern side around the black sea too looking for significant snow to accumulate. looking very unsettled out to the eastern mediterranean again as we saw significance there across central italy but here you're also contending with some thunderstorms. and then of course for turkey more rain and snow to come for

you. minus 6 in kiev today. minus 9 in warsaw. 12 degrees in athens. and the cold air certainly having an impact on places like london and forecast. all right. here's your extended forecast now. 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.