"newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. state-run media in china say police have arrested five suspects in connection with monday's deadly car crash in tiananmen square and are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. the new head of india's central bank says the country's economy has more room to improve. he's determined to reduce inflation and achieve sustainable growth.

and residents of a city of northeastern japan are recording their memories of a disaster two years ago and recording the results in a time capsule. state-run media in china say authorities have arrested suspects in connection with now what's being called a terrorist attack. five people died on monday after a vehicle plowed through a crowd in tiananmen square in beijing. the suspects are believed to be members of the ethnic uighur minority. the sport utility vehicle crashed into a low bridge and burst into flames after had drove through the crowd. the driver and two passengers died along with a chinese man and a woman from the philippines. 40 others were hurt. china's central television reported police detained five suspects about ten hours after the incident ask that the suspects admitted they planned the attack with the three who died in the suv. cctv revealed a man, his mother,

and his wife were in the vehicle, which was registered in the autonomous region. they reported they use the gasoline to burn the suv. investigators found a sword, an iron rod, and a flag bearing and aggressive, religious term inside. the state-run news agency said all of the suspects alive and dead are believed to be ethnic uyghurs, judging by their names. they've long complained china's majority han dominate them politically and economically. for china's leaders, security worries are an extra headache to their economic concerns. the country's leaders will hold a key policy meeting next month to discuss ways to promote reform. the session is being held as usual, about one year after the national congress. party officials say the third plenary session of the central committee takes place in beijing from november 9th to 12th. the officials say leaders will

discuss structural economic reforms and ways to improve the financial system. the third plenary sessions have produced several important decisions in the past. in 1978, party leaders adopted their reform and open-door policy. in 1993, they pledged to establish the socialist market economy. premier has repeatedly stressed the need for structural reforms since xi jinping took office last year. many chinese have benefited from the growth of their economy, but the environment has paid a price. air pollution is the most obvious side effect. now government officials are trying to clear away the smog and haze. those from beijing have come to tokyo to learn more about how the japanese capital did it years ago. nhk world's tomoko kamata reports. >> reporter: six officials from beijing's environment department

met with tokyo metropolitan government officials. >> translator: we set tokyo standards as our goal in the field of air pollution. we're looking forward to getting many good results. >> reporter: air pollution in china in the capital city hit unsafe levels earlier this month. beijing has taken measures to cut the pollutant's 2.5 by more than 25% by 2017. the plan includes the construction of a thermal power plant using natural gas instead of coal. they will also introduce eco-friendly commuter busses. a tokyo environmental official explained what they've done to combat air pollution over the last 50 years. pollution caused by factory smoke and car exhaust in tokyo started to be a problem in the

1960s. it it followed the country's rapid economic growth. citizen groups filed lawsuits against the government and car manufacturers saying the pollution damaged their health. the government of tokyo introduced strict regulations for diesel vehicles in 2003. official officials -- any busses or trucks th trucks from standing in the streets. there are more than 80 monitoring posts in tokyo checking air quality. officials say the 2.5 has dropped 55% in ten years. a tokyo environment official said they want to share their experiences with their neighbor. >> translator: we would like to

find the most advanced science technology in japan, and then use it to reduce air pollution in beijing. >> reporter: delegates from beijing are set to visit locations such as a plus center, an oil refinery and a car manufacturer in their three-day visit. tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. india's new central bank chief is in the spotlight. market investors are watching to see if he can steer the country's economy toward more sustainable growth. governor rajan says he aims to contain inflation and reform the financial system to regain sharp economic growth. in an interview with nhk in mumbai on wednesday rajan

suggested the reserve bank of india may further hike its key interest rate after raising it for two straight months, but he stressed attention must be paid not to dampen economic activities. >> so, you know, one of the things you have to do to bring down inflation is slow down demand. you know, a hike in the interest rate helps do that. now, you have to be very careful because demand is no doubt greater than supply but alternately quite weak. so we're doing that very carefully to make sure we preserve whatever sort of momentum there is in the economy but at the same time contain inflation. >> india's gdp growth is losing momentum. it grew at around 5% last fiscal year. the governor stressed the need to promote financial deregulation. he says this would attract more foreign investments to boost the economy. >> i think that's the kind of

growth that will emerge soon as the economy starts picking up. and i think that can be very strong. i mean, there's no reason why we can't go back to the 8% average we had for the last ten years. >> rajan said the economy needs to be set on a solid growth path before the u.s. federal reserve scales back its bond buying program. he says the indian economy needs to promote structural reform so that it becomes less vulnerable to external shocks. >> we shape our growth in a way that is more sustainable, less dependent on foreign demand. now, india to some extent was not as dependent on foreign demand, but there was some dependence. we've seen as the foreign demand has slowed down in 2012, growth has also slowed down in india. so what we have to do is reshape our economies to make them more sustainable, to make growth more sustainable. that, i think, the emerging markets are doing. so we're trying to deal with

this next crisis. japan's financial regulators plan to conduct extra inspection on mizuho bank over its scandal. the key purpose is to examine whether there was any intentional cover-up. the financial services authority has decided to conduct the special inspection in addition to their planned inspections on the three major banking groups, including affiliate mizuho financial group. they plan to start early next month. an independent panel of lawyers reported the results of their investigation into mizuho bank earlier this week. it shows there was no intentional cover-up. bank executives also denied there was any such intention. but the financial regulators feel this needs further verification. they plan to send special inspectors to the bank and closely look into its internal documents can and interview executives. they'll also look into the responsibility of the executives

who did not take action to stop the dubious loans. the regulators will then consider whether additional penalties are needed for mizuho bank. japan's finance ministry officials have upgraded their economic assessment for a third consecutive quarter. they say personal spending is continuing to improve. the leaders of the ministry's 11 bureaus met to report on regional economic trends for the july through september quarter. they said the economy was moderately recovering. it was the first time in six years that they used the term recovery. it's an upward revision from their previous assessment that said the economy was moderately picking up. the leaders said personal spending increased particularly on items such as air conditioners and refrigerators. production of electronic components such as iron and steel rose as auto exports remain steady. the leaders also said job offers rose in the auto sector as well as the service and construction industries. the officials say they expect

the economy to further recover but that they need to continue monitoring crude oil prices and downside risks in other economies. japan tobacco is the world's third largest cigarette producer, but its officials are planning to scale down domestic production due to falling sales. jt officials say they plan to country 1600 jobs or 20% of their work force by march of 2015. they'll also close four out of nine factories in japan. the officials are having a hard time selling tobacco back home. analysts at a japanese institution that tracks tobacco sales say makers sold 195 billion cigarettes in fiscal 2012. that's a drop of more than 40% from 1996, the industry's peak period. the analysts say a declining population could be driving down sales and that more consumers are becoming health conscious. they say fewer smoke areas could be discouraging people from

lighting up. jt officials are expected to boost their tobacco business abroad. the firm acquired the overseas division of a u.s. maker in 1999 and bought out a british company in 2007. here are the latest market figures. ♪ ♪ ♪

a big job the at fukushima daiichi involves the vast amount of radioactive water being stored on site. the volume grows every day. engineers are trying to get a complex network of pipes, cylinders and filters to work so they can get the decontamination process going. the advanced liquid processing system or alps is designed to remove most radioactive substances, our latest installment of "nuclear watch" has an inside look at how it it functions and the problems that have plagued it. >> reporter: officials with plant operator tokyo electric power company say about 400 tons of groundwater seeps into the reactor buildings every day and gets contaminated. tepco workers have built nearly 1,000 tanks to store the tainted water, but they filled 90% of

them. how about 440,000 tons of wastewater is being stored in the tanks and in the basements of some buildings. another 15,000 tons has accumulated in underground tunnels. last march, tepco engineers started running alps on a trial basis. it can remove 62 radioactive substances from water, but it it can filter out tritium. the system has three operational lines. it can treat 500 tons of water a day at full capacity, but alps has been docked by a series of malfunctions that forced engineers to shut it down. in june, some pre-treated rateio active water leaked from the system's stainless steel tanks. salt and chemicals had eroded the containers leaving small

holes. and in september engineers halted a it test run because of human error. a worker had left a rubber mat inside a tank following an inspection and the mat clogged the drain. >> tepco managers and government leaders are pinning their hopes on alps. nhk's taku kunier attackels the challenges they face. >> some of the programs with alps results from malfunctions. others happened because of human error. about 3,000 people work at the plant every day and some contractors. they don't have good enough communication with tepco staff. this poor communication results in mistakes. managers need to fix it urgently. >> right now workers are testing the system and they say they

hope to put it into full operation next year. they originally planned to staff full operations last month so they're already behind schedule. the government is helping tepco install a more sophisticated system. once that is complete, the systems together will be able to treat 1,500 tons of water every day. >> tritium is similar to hydrogen in terms of its properties. it moves easily with water. so if we get it inside our bodies we generally experience fluids, but there is no technology for taking it it oou water. the government allows higher releases of tri, tium.

water containing tritium can be released without harming then viern am as long as the the substance is diluted. water treated by alps will still be stored in tanks for the time being. no one has come up with a permanent solution. radioactive substances removed by alps will also be stored on site. managers have not decided where they will dispose of those substances either. once it is in full oppression, we are dealing with a tritium cannot be moved and managers will need to choose the final disposal sites for the treated water. >> managers of japan's crippled nuclear plant are getting closer to starting a long and risky

operation. nuclear regulators have approved a plan by tokyo electric power company to remove spent fuel rods from one of their reactor buildings at fukushima daiichi. more than 1300 units of spent fuel rods are being stored in a pool inside the reactor 4 building along with roughly 200 unused units. tepco engineers want to start removing them in about a week, but the job will be difficult. explosions rocked the building in march 2011 following the meltdowns at the plant so the engineers need to first check if falling debris damaged the rods and then they will use the crane to remove the a semibee blees making sure they don't get caught in the wreckage. they hope to finish the work by 2014. people in northern japan are getting busy with a project that would be too busy to bear fruit. they saw the tsunami wash through their city.

now they're putting their memories in a time capsule to pass them along to the next generation. >> this is the district of i wacky city. it suffered massive damage in the tsunami. lookals and volunteers from a university are working together to record the testimonies of victims of the earth wake and tsunami. takashi feels that just two and a half years later people are already starting to forget about the disaster even in the worst-hit areas. >> translator: i thought the time had come to record these testimonies because people are starting to get busy again. that makes it more difficult for them to find time. tachi and his group decided to keep the interview in a time capsule so the victims' children and grandchildren can see for themselves 20 years later. the real capsule is three meters long, ten times bigger than this

model. the plan is to install it at a park that will be built on land damaged by the tsunami. >> translator: it will be great seeing people like grandma looking so young. >> translator: it's an important starting point that can grab the viewers' attention. >> reporter: students from the university of scuba working as volunteers in the devastated region are helping with the interviews. a freshman visited fukushima for the first time hoping to help in the recovery process. >> translator: the tsunami moved the house all of the way to the street. >> the whole house? >> translator: the the tsunami about 1.6 meters high hit here. there were cars everywhere. >> reporter: it was the first time she'd heard first hand accounts from victims of the tsunami and she was shocked.

at a meeting last night she spoke to him about the uneasiness she felt during the interviews. >> translator: there were many times when i was unsure that i should be asking certain questions. i thought is this really okay? >> translator: i think the people who agreed to be interviewed were waiting for this opportunity. by listening to their stories and being with them when they vent their feelings we're helping them carry their burden. >> reporter: kozue is visiting a woman who lost her home to the tsunami. >> reporter: she spoke openly about the difficulties of being a long-term evacuee. >> these two and a half years have been so long.

it's because i'm waiting. waiting for things to get back to normal. i'm sure everyone feels the same way. >> translator: is there anything that's been especially important to you? >> i guess it's been encouragement from my friends. little things like saying, are you okay, have really meant a lot to me. it's good for me to have someone who can listen. >> reporter: kozue who had been uncomfortable about doing the interviews began to change, too. >> these people want to talk about what happened, and that's become very important to me. i want to open my mind and listen carefully to what they have to say. so far the volunteerses have gathered over 50 hours of the footage. they hope it will help to ease the impact of the disaster for both current and future

generations. another storm is headed to your honor. rachel ferguson from the weather team joins us with the latest on that. >> hi there. it has been a very stormy woke across much of europe today. today, wednesday has been the calm in between two storms. one has just passed further towards the east although remains quite gusty up here, as you can see. the second storm of the week is now starting to hit the british isles and you can see along the cold front there is sweeping in through parts of england and it will be headed to scandinavia, denmark, germany, low countries. the same areas that were hit before. this time around the wind will not be quite as strong as it was, but you will see fairly heavy rain in places and gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour in parts of northern ireland and scotland. it wasn't just thern europe that was hit by the storm. in the iberian peninsula you saw pretty stormy conditions. let's take a look at the video

coming out on tuesday. this is in majorca. it caused several car accidents, as well. ferries and flights out of the islands were canceled or delayed on tuesday and this same massive storm system has been blamed for at least 13 deaths across europe. so quite far down to the south, as well, people were quite badly affected. we still have really unstable weather down here over the central mediterranean. most of the rain here will be falling out over water, but coastal areas in northern africa, as well, as the southern coast of your honor. things are remaining wet and windy. it's stormy there, too. here are your temperatures across europe and 9 in moscow. 12 in kiev and 12 will in vienna and seeing temperatures in the mid-teens and at least you're having some sunshine there on your thursday. on we go into asia and we have

another storm here. severe tropical storm now, it is, krilsa so it has strengthened in the last few hours and it's moving west at 30 kilometers per hour and we expect landfall in northern luzon on thursday. it sustained 90 kilometers per hour. you will start to see things deteriorate here and expect high waves as well as storm surge can result in flooding for luzon and we're seeing the bands affect the okinawan islands. elsewhere, it's leaking quite dry under high pressure, across japan and northeastern china. a few showers and moving into northern china but it shouldn't be anything particularly heavy and maybe 50 millimeters in some cases. here are your temperatures and 19 xin ginning and temperatures

in the low 30s with showers in bangkok. into america -- the americas, i should say, the u.s. will be dealing with the worst of the weather today. we've got in massive storm system spreading out from the southern great lakes right down into northern mexico. lots of thunderstorms here. a lot of severe weather. we have the heat and humidity from the south and a really cold blast coming up from the north and that's setting off some very severe weather in the blue you could see up to 130 millimeters of rain and then you've got hail and tornado. storms, be onning oak city, you're in the mid-20s. 's different story from winnipeg and only 5 degrees for your high. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. for all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.

♪ from the four winds and the scent of the earth come the color of the seasons. exploring the four seasons of japan. a bud of a rice plant starts to stretch and bear fruit.