hello and welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. a rising star in the japanese cabinet is under growing pressure under her finances. lawmakers are pointing to more revelations about discrepancies and demanding facts. obuchi is minister for the economy trade and industry and got a grilling over payments for theater events for supporters. political fund reports from two of her support organizations showed discrepancies for 2010 and 2011. they show the organizations paid far more to the theater than participants had contributed.

now some lawmakers have filed reports on an event in 2012 show neither income nor spending. the political funds of japanese diet members have to be documented by law. obuchi became a cabinet member last month at the young age of 40. she's the daughter of a former prime minister, opposition lawmakers will keep pressing her to reveal the facts about her finances. 16 people have died in an accident at an outdoor concert southeast of seoul. this video was taken at the time of the accident, a female pop group is on the stage. at the back of the audience, a ventilation grate suddenly gives way. members of the audience were on grate when it collapsed. 27 people fell more than 20 meters into the air shaft of an underground parking garage. >> translator: just after a song was over, a lot of people

crowded onto the grate all at once. i think that's what caused the accident. >> south korea's public broadcaster kbs reports there were security guards at the event but not able to stop the rush of people. rescue workers say 16 people have died. they say 11 others suffered injuries, most of them serious. north korean companies are showing people in china what they have to offer. they are holding their biggest trade exhibition outside their own country. about 100 north korean firms are show casing their offerings in the chinese city. they include food processors and machine tool manufacturers and mineral traders. >> translator: we're doing a lot of trade. north korea and china have had close ties for a long time. >> translator: i hope this event will help boost trade between

china and north korea and benefit local economies. >> analysts say the north koreans are using trade to improve relations that have soured because of their country's nuclear program. japanese prime minister abe and russian president vladimir putin have confirmed they'll hold summit talks in november. they met on the sidelines of the asia-europe meeting in milan. during their ten minutes together he says he places importance on bilateral political dialogue, even under difficult circumstances. the two leaders agreed to talk again on the sidelines of next month's cooperation forum in beijing. they last met eight months ago. japan's prime minister has

sent an offering to yasukuni shrine in tokyo at the start of its autumn festival. the shinto shrine honors japan's war dead. those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. abe made the offering of a potted plant on friday, using his name and title of prime minister. abe visited the shrine in december last year. he also made an offering of a potted plant during the spring festival in april. and on august 15, the day japan marks the end of world war ii, he made a different type of offering using his private money. japan's top government spokesperson referred to the latest offering. >> translator: i understand he sent an offering. it was done in a private capacity, so i think the government should not comment on it. >> also on friday, more than 100

members of the diet visited yasukuni and offered prayers at the shrine's main hall. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson hong lei said the country firmly opposes such negative moves related to the shrine. the south korean government also reacted sharply. the foreign ministry spokesperson said the country cannot help deploring abe's offering and the japanese lawmakers' visit to the shrine. prime minister abe has exchanged greetings with chinese premier lei kuchan in milan. it's the first time they've spoken since taking office. abe and lei attended a banquet at the asia europe meeting. a senior japanese official says they shook hands and smiled and spoke briefly as other world leaders were about to leave after dinner. he says abe and lei did not discuss a proposed bilateral summit on the sidelines of the apec meeting in beijing. the chinese foreign ministry spokesperson says he has no information about the conversation. he says china's stance on its

ties with japan is clear. >> translator: we demand that japan resolve serious and delicate problems in our relations properly and sincerely and take action to remove political obstacles in developing those relations. >> prime minister abe has also not held talks with chinese president xi jinping. organizers in china are rushing to finish preparations to host a top level economic meeting. world leaders will gather in beijing next month for the summit and chinese officials are focused on their sideline encounters. nhk world reports. >> translator: located in the suburbs of beijing, it is been

dramatically transformed for the apec economic leaders summit. creating a big site for apec, constructing new buildings, such as this. the shape of the hotel is reportedly inspired by images of the rising sun, like china's growing economy. all together, the 21 countries and regions taking part in the apec forum, represent half of the world's gdp trade volume and population. the main topics of this conference are economic cooperation and how china will manage its relations with the various countries, like the u.s. and japan. there are two ambitious plans for free trade agreements in the asia-pacific region. one, the transpacific partnership agreement, or tpp,

is spearheaded by the u.s. and excludes china. chinese leaders are suspicious of it. instead, they propose a regional comprehensive partnership which does not include the united states. professor yang bojiang says the two proposals aren't necessarily in opposition. >> translator: for china, it's very important to have an open economic partnership with all nations. we must consider how to integrate such frameworks as apec, tpp and rsep through the asia-pacific region.

>> reporter: the relationship between china and the united states is also in flux. china has increased its maritime territorial claims. the united states reacts by conducting military exercises with other asian nations. the relationship is also dogged by u.s. claims that it has been attacked by hackers from china's army. chinese president xi jinping is due to hold talks with u.s. president obama after the apec economic leader summit. it's expected the two leaders will have a frank exchange of opinions. another issue is the frosty relationship between china and japan. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has yet to meet with chinese leader since taking office in 2012. abe has said he would prefer

meeting without any preconditions. but china feels talks would be pointless unless abe expresses a willingness to compromise. chinese leaders have also been challenged by pro-democratic protesters in hong kong. a standoff of about three weeks of election reform is making some nations concerned. but still, china's leaders are determined to make apec successful. associate professor gui yyongtao expects that china will make concerted efforts to prevent heated discussions at this meeting. >> we want all parties to this summit to contribute to a positive mood of this meeting and china, i guess, would not like any parties to sort of raise particular difficult

issues that cannot be solved on a particular occasion or meeting. >> reporter: attention is focused on how china's leaders manage the apec meetings. elgi hamanishi, nhk world, beijing. workers have returned to a village near the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant to carry out decontamination work. the government lifted an order saying the area had been treated. however many former residents are hesitant about returning because of concerns over radiation. government officials want the people to feel safe about returning to their homes in the village. the workers began the decontamination work this week on friday they removed the top soil at two vacant houses.

>> translator: the radiation levels are still quite strong around this area. so i'm relieved they are doing this work. >> after finishing removing the soil the workers reported that radiation readings dropped by more than 90%. they are scheduled to clean up 23 other locations in the village by the end of the month and an additional round of work was carried out in another nearby district. there are nine other communities in fukushima prefecture where the evacuation order remains in place. more evacueeses from areas around the plant are giving up on the idea of going back. government officials conducted an annual survey in august and just released the results. nearly half of the respondents from the towns of namie and tomioka will never return. fewer people from both towns gave the answer last year. some who were undecided have since made up their minds.

>> translator: the government wouldn't give me any help if i went back. i couldn't go even if i wanted to. >> government officials say they'll keep finding out what evacuees want to do and figure outweighs to help. officials at japan's transport ministry gave the go ahead for the production of a high speed train line that uses mag lev, cutting travel time by more than half. transport minister handed the approval document to the president of central japan railway, the rail operator submitted the application in august and since then people at the ministry have been busy studying the mag lev's feesability and cost and time needed for building and other factors. >> this is a mega project, it

can boost transportation between the two cities and have a great impact on people's lives as well as the economy. >> executives at the railway company plan to have briefings and address the concerns among local residents about the mag lev's impact on the environment and buying up land and engaging in other procedures. the 286 kilometer route will cost $52 billion to build. the rail operator executives have set a goal to start the service in 2027. japan's largest trade union group will demand a basic pay rise of at least 2% during annual wage negotiations next spring. it will be the second year in a row that the japanese trade union con federation has asked for a hike. the president said workers wages have not kept pace with commodity prices. >> translator: a basic hike in

income levels is seriously needed in order to prop up personal spending. >> federation executives also say they will demand a 2% hike for seniority based pay based on age and length of employment. the chamber of commerce and industry agreed that wage hikes are important and they help the entire society and important in maintaining a virt uous economic cycle. >> translator: firms that are financially able to pay workers should consider raising their wages. >> small and medium sized firms should decide on wage hikes according to their balance sheets and said each firm should look into not only this year's situation, but the next business year and beyond. we have a new series on the japanese economy an we speak to

influential figures in the business sector. the first installment features the head of the japan business federation. he has been leading the country's largest business organization since june and nhk world senior commentator asked for his views on a number of economic issues. >> reporter: before taking the helm, he was ceo for seven years at tore ray industries and overlooks suggestions to japan's government as a member of the economic and fiscal policy. prime minister shinzo abe is examining whether to raise the consumption tax again from 8 to 10%. but this could derail economic growth. should the tax be raised?

>> translator: raising the consumption tax must be done to ensure fiscal stability and discipline, a sustainable social security system and a stronger foundation for economic growth. it's also an international promise so if japan famils to honor this pledge, its national prestige will suffer. that would deliver a huge blow to the country's interests. i want to see a bold political decision on this matter. having said that, i think it's necessary to ensure that another consumption tax increase doesn't halt an economic recovery. i expect the economy will

gradually rebound towards december. but the government needs to prepare extra measures and effectively implement them to support the recovery. >> it's been said that economics cause prices to rise but not wages. what's needed for companies to be able to raise wages? >> translator: higher wages help to boost consumption and production creating a favorable cycle. to realize this, i hope there will be an environment for companies to raise wages next year, but this will only be possible if companies can earn enough profits. governments need to implement

bold deregulation and reform corporate and other tax structures. companies will be able to raise wages if the government actively supports them with these measures. japan's effective corporate tax rate is far higher than those of singapore, china and south korea. japan's government plans to cut the rate down to the 20s in seven years time. he would like to see it done sooner. >> translator: we want the government to cut corporate taxes by around 2 percentage points starting next year. and then lower it further down to the 20s within no more than three years. and eventually lower it to 25% several years after that.

this would bring it in line with the levels of other oecd nations and neighboring asian countries. with lower corporate taxes, the vitality and competitiveness of businesses would be considerably strengthened. so, what's the role of the companies? the japanese economy was in a deflationary period for nearly 20 years. many companies were reluctant to expand their operations. in order to steadily foster of the japanese economy, firms should take appropriate risks and actively invest in equipment, research and development to create new growth opportunities. such an aggressive approach is

necessary. >> reporter: three japanese won this year's nobel prize in physics. business is investing enough in research and development? >> translator: i think that the most important area, when i became chairman i said in my inaugural speech that japan should remain a technology oriented nation. with its tech nological skills it developed new products and services and achieved high economic growth. i think it's vital for japan to remember its past successes as a technology oriented nation and show its resolve to be a global leader in developing technologies. i believe that will be a key

catalyst behind japan's economic recovery, the three japanese born scientists who won the nobel prize in physics indeed offer incouragement. their fete is a result of ten ashs research, some many researchers in other parts of the world have mostly given up on. if more japanese people take similar approaches, the country would have a chance to be a leader on the global stage. >> he visited china last month and met the country's vice premiere in charge of economic issues. he indicated his expectation that higher level economic dialogue between ministers of japan and china would resume soon. >> translator: i think wang's call for the resumption of high level economic dialogue is a very important message that

china is sending to japan with a clear intent to improve bilateral relations, i take it as a significant message that shows china's willingness to improve ties by strengthening business relations. economic relations between japan and china have deteriorated. chi china's trade with the global partners is expanding but not with japan. bilateral trade, both exports and imports are declining. we're very concerned about the plunging trade and chinese leaders share the worries. the current strained political and diplomatic relations between japan and china is having a negative effect. we advice i wivisited beijing we of greater economic ties through exchanges and i think we were able to produce substantial

results. >> you can also watch our news series on the nhk world website. in nepal the search continues for trekkers missing in the hima layas, local police say 20 people have been confirmed dead and rescuers including members of nepal's military saved people by thursday. the team moved at least 22 people to save places on friday. a photograph shot on thursday shows the whole area covered in snow. the picture was taken by a local guide participating in the rescue operation. he says the snow was as deep as two meters in some spots. >> that's why it is a tricky situation also. this time it changed. went to ride the helicopter and had the small helicopter.

so it was kind of dangerous for us also to rescue, you know. everybody wants to go. >> an avalanche that occurred near the world's tenth highest mountain. some tourists stopped trekking immediately. a japanese hiker spent the night at the mountain lodge until the weather improved. >> the storm was accompanied by strong rain and wind, just like a typhoon in japan. the wind was so strong that it forced open the windows of the lodge and drenched me with rain. >> some foreign trekkers went out to continue their treks despite the heavy rain and strong winds because they said they had no time to waste. last year nepal attracted 800,000 tourists, more than 12% of them were trekkers. here are the latest market

figures. now the weekend weather forecast.

. that's all we have this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thank you for watching and have a good day.

>> this week on moyers & company -- >> is this really our model for the middle east that we are going to bomb countries, continuously, take part in civil wars, sometimes supporting one side, maybe supporting the other, with no means or no real desire or effort to achieve a peace? >> as much as president obama wishes we weren't the world's policemen, perhaps we are, and there's no escaping that curse. >> announcer: funding is provided by -- -- anne gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.