hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's friday, november 7th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a conference of the asia pacific economic forum will begin friday in beijing. on the agenda is the formation of a regional trade block called the free trade area of the asia pacific. leaders from 21 countries and territories will attend the two-day meeting. they're expected to discuss whether to set a time frame for establishing the trade block and will issue a joint statement saturday. japan and china are making last minute arrangements to realize a

bilateral summit. prime minister abe wants to hold his first meeting with the chinese president. the foreign minister will attend the talks. he'll also try to arrange a meet meeting with china's morn minister. official frs the two countries are discussing the agenda of the possible summit. the chinese side is starting to show positive signs toward holding a dialogue. abe is among the world leaders heading to beijing for the summit. analysts will be watching whether abe will hold face to face talks with chinese and south korean leaders. richard haas is the president of the major u.s. think tank and shared his analysis on abe's foreign policy with nhk world. >> hello. >> thank you very much. >> good to see you again. >> how would you evaluate the prime minister abe implementing those foreign policy since he

took office? >> what is being talked about in terms of japan's role is bigger and broader than it was before. things you couldn't say ten years ago you can say and i think the prime minister is laying the foundation. >> japan's relations with china and south korea have chilled because of differing views of history and other issues. haas suggests united states expects abe to work to improve relations for the sake of east asian security. >> i would love to see some things japan do by itself, improve relations with the republic of korea. i understand it takes both sides, but japan can meet everybody halfway. we need to plan for all sorts of contingencies on the korean peninsula. i see what goes on at pyongyang, north korea, is obviously is a source of more than a little concern. >> and the key countries, key states in the region, namely

japan, china and south korea. the leaders aren't meeting each other. >> i very much hope the japanese prime minister and the president can meet. i very much hope they can adpree to set in motion a set of follow up meetings with various ministers and others. but there should be agreements that if there's a crisis, there would be certain types of hot lines where people would talk. in some ways, the relationship between japan and south korea is even more complicated, that these are two countries that share alliances with the united states. >> the rise of the islamic state militant group has further destabilized the middle east. the outbreak of the ebola virus is a threat not only to african countries, but also to countries in the west. haas says japan should play a role in a world facing so many challenges. >> if we're in a world where as we said, a whole range of

problems, the united states can't deal with most of these things alone. we need partners. japan, australia, korea, philippines and other, these are all potential partners. japan has more capacity than anyone else in the part of the world, so very much i would think the united states will welcome the idea of a more active japan. that's again willing to help bear a larger role and share some responsible thety. regionally and globally. so now we're seeing with ebola or other diseases, the threat that health poses. we have three places in africa, that if things get worse, become failed states. human security issues are linked to old fashioned securityishes. so, that's sort of work by japan and others is important, but it's not a question of that or something else.

it is to be and. i think the challenge for japan is to become more of a complete country. to do what it's going in the realm of human security, but to gradually take on other responsibilities as well. president of the counsel on foreign relations. coast guard presence is being increased on islands of the pacific. they suspect the crews are illegally hunting for coral. jewelry made from the coral forces high prices in china. more than 200 vessels are suspected of poaching coral since september. as a typhoon approached this week, they moved outside japa s japan's tor tor yal waters.

they listed a humanitarian emergency in place for the storm while the chinese was allow to remain in the territorial waters to avoid the typhoon, but the crews are being told to leave the area. japanese coral gatherers are complaining about the damage caused by suspected poachers. a representative of a fishery cooperative reported his finding to the metropolitian government. he has been gathering coral for decades. >> translator: poachers root out the coral. leave nothing behind in the traditional local beds. >> they said coral beds are being destroyed by crews gathering large trawl nets. he said no japanese used such nets for gathering coral. a meeting of business leaders from japan and south korea has highlighted the

strained state of relations. they ended their annual meeting without making a joint stam. they hadn't been able to agree on a call for freedom of the press. japanese and cooperation committees began their gathering in hopes of progress. >> translator: i believe this meeting will be a good opportunity to explore our role in helping achieve regional peace and prosperity. >> i hope we'll proceed in the next 50 years with a high degree of trust and respect. >> they discussed politics, security and economic affairs and they were due to adopt a joint statement, but the japanese say the south koreans rejected their proposal to include a call for freedom of the press. they made that proposal after prosecuto prosecutors indicted the former bureau chief.

he accused the man of defaming president park. they say park's staff turned them away. all of japan's 48 nuclear plants are offline. the assembly is likely to follow suit and the governor of the prefecture is also expected to give his approval. the power company operates the sendai nuclear power plant. it's the country's first nuclear facility to meet stricter government requirements put in place after the 2011 accident. they held a special meeting on

thursday. the citizen's group held a petition for the plant to be reactivated. they asked questions about making the plan resistant to earthquakes and plans to evacuate residents in the event of an emergency. the full assembly is expected to adopt the measure. the meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. the governor has said he'll make up his mind after considering the decisions by the host city and the prefectural assembly. a japanese mayor is speaking out against a plan for his plan to store radioactive waste. the town north of tokyo was named at a possible site for waste from fukushima. the government plans to build five permanent dispose alpha silties in eastern and northeastern japan.

residents claim a natural source of drinking water near the planned site will be contamin e contaminated. the mayor delivered his town's counterproposal across the prefecture. it calls for all waste to be stored at an intermediate facility near the daiichi plant. it adds the final site should be built in the area where the crippled plant sits. >> translator: not scattered across multiple prefectures. i believe the waste should be buried at the nuclear plant. >> government officials plan to hold a meeting on sunday to explain the standards used to select candidate sites. people at japanese companies are in the thick of earnings season, those at some firms that sell their products overseas are smiling.

suzuki motor executives say for the april to september period, they made a record operating profit. companies that sell to overseas customers, they don't have to worry about that. plus, those executives have a weaker yen working in their favor. suzuki motor executives say they made a record operating profit. the executives say they brought in about $12.4 billion in sales, up 4.4% in yen terms from last year. their operating profit edged up to more than $287 million. they saw an increase in sales in countries such as india and pakistan, and the weaker yen helped lift their profits. but chairman suzuki said he hopes the currency will become more stable. he said he's not so concerned about the value of the yen against the dollar because his firm exports made mostly to southeast asia.

the chairman said since government officials raised the consumption tax, domestic auto sales have been weak and he doesn't see that changing any time soon. people at another japanese firm are reaping the reward of strong sales around the world. executives at textile maker tory industries posted big annual increases in revenue and profits over the same six-month period. the executives said their sales shot up 11% in yen terms to more than $8 billion. that's their biggest taking for the april to september period. their operating profit was up more than 15% to $445 million. the executives said they benefited from a rise in sales of carbon fiber composite used in the body of planes. life insurers in japan say the population is ageing so fast, they have to change the way they do things. officials at the life insurance

association of japan have drawn up new guidelines to make their system clearer. the officials say in some cases, bereaved families don't know loved ones who have died hold insurance policies. they hope the guidelines will prevent that from happening. they'll ask policyholders to register contact details of several family members when they sign up and they'll ask immediate family members or relatives to be present so they can listen to how the policy works. let's check in on the markets now. wall street ended at fresh highs and the buying is spreading to tokyo. the nikkei opened higher by more than eight tenths percent. it's up half a percent and it looks set to end in the positive for a third week in a row. angel cysts say the doll alreadies for stock price, extended on jobless claims. the dollar is up nearly three yen this week.

traders are hoping policymakers at the european central bank will follow their counterparts at the bank of japan and toss more money into the economy and traders are selling the euro, pushing it below 124, its lowest level in 22 years. people who track the market say investors may choose to sit on the sidelines ahead of key u.s. jobs data coming out today and look i looking at some other markets in the asia pacific renal, south korea's kospi is tradie ining h and australia up by four tenths percent. i'll leave you with a check on om other markets.

the tokyo market leads the way and markets around the world follow. >> from decisions that could change the course of the economy. >> to the companies at the forefront of change. >> and angnalgel by specialistsm around the world. >> get all the insight here on "newsline." people want their personal information and images removed from internet search results. it's known as the right to be forgotten. and yahoo! japan is poised to set new rules to allow that.

the firm will review its current standards for erasing search results and shows all results expect those linking someone to a crime and other cases. they plan to form new criteria. officials from yahoo! japan is the first of its kind. experts are interested to see how the company will balance on line freedom of expression with privacy protection. u.s. ambassador to japan has expressed stronger hope for cooperation in the space industry. kennedy spoke at a reception at the ambassador's residence in tokyo. about 100 people, the japan aerospace exploration industry, attended. >> for over 40 years t united states and japan have worked together in space.

our joint research and development have increased understanding of the universe. >> our bilateral corporation is not limited in the human space exploration. in our effort to protect the precious environment of our home planet, the field of earth science is a major part of our comprehensive task list. >> the two countries are cooperating on space degree like defunct satellites as well as joint defense. japan's top wrestlers will be back in action this sunday and they'll be keeping a close eye on one competitor. the 40-year-old is quickly becoming the sport's newest

star, despite being the oldest inside the ring. nhk world's hiro morita has that story. >> reporter: he beat him during the end of the previous tournament in september. the victory makes him the first 40-year-old in 73 years to earn more wins than losses. he credits his success to focusing on an important resolution he made before the tournament. >> translator: if i had lost the match i would have fallen out of the division. i had privately thought if i lost and ended up with a losing record, i might retire from sumo. >> reporter: today mongolian wrestlers are a powerful force in sumo. in 1992, one of the first wrestlers from his country to

compete in japan. however, the sumo society wasn't sure how to deal with them. at one point, he went back to mongolia because of problems with diet, communication, and other matters. but he renewed his resolve and tried again. his hard work laid the foundation for all the mongolian wrestlers to follow. in the 2012 may tournament, he performed brilliantly winning his first championship in the top division. at the age of 37 years and 8 months, he had become the oldest wrestler ever to win a championship. >> translator: when i look back over the past 20 years of competing in sumo, i'm truly happy. thank you. >> reporter: even at the ripe old age of 40, he still trains with wrestlers in their teens and 20s. he's a good role model for his juniors. >> translator: he doesn't look

anywhere near 40. we look older than he. he eats a lot. drinks like crazy. and trains twice as hard as the rest of us. >> translator: he's always teaching us different things. i try my best to follow his example. >> reporter: his remarkable career also inspires people of his own age group. one of the reasons he isn't willing to retire is his fixsation on his place in sumo history. for example, he ranks among the top ten wrestlers ever for total appearances in a tournament. he holds other records, too. >> translator: that's what motivates me these days. leaving behind impressive records. everyone's joking about me winning the tournament.

but the thing that energizes me, and keeps me going, is challenging the records. >> reporter: his family gives him great support. one of his children drew this family portrait. his third child was born recently. he wants to keep competing until the infant is old enough to appreciate what her father is doing. >> translator: when the fans cheer, it makes me stronger. i want to keep wrestling in a style that's suitable for my age. but also with youthful energy. >> reporter: he is aiming for several records at the november tournament. including being the oldest wrestler ever to compete. everyone will be watching him to see if he becomes a living legend. hiro morita, nhk world. it's time now for a check of the weather.

people in rome, italy, are being hit with torrential rain and flooding. >> thousands of people have had to be forced to evacuate across tuss kainy on wednesday. now, the system has descended down towards the south and affecting rome as we speak. we have pictures to show you from there. it has happened in the capital of italy are torrential rain hitting the area. workers kept clearing manholes throughout the city for most of the day. near black skies covered tourist sites such as this coliseum as motorists tried to avoid sections of major roads. this is the system responsible for this torrential rainfall. buckets full of rainfall have been occurring since i recall from the beginning of this week.

it's pulling moisture from the south and pulling a lot of that cold air from the north, lashing it here making it for nasty conditions and less likely to prevail. we have two waterspouts reported in italy on thursday and we might even see more or even a touchdown of tornados. excessive rainfall will be about 60 millimeters on top of the flood situation, it's going to wors worsen. large hail, report of five centimeter hail in italy and that's likely to continue with strong gusts reaching up to about 65 kilometers per hour, so, n about in the southern areas hitting towards the southern balkans. towards the west, wet and windy conditions will be dominating. as for now, partly sunny skies, a lot of double digits and more sun. kiev even hitting the double digits, but rain will be coming into the saturday and sunday on your weekend. out here across the u.s., the

pacific northwest, the british columbia especially and western washington is dealing with the torrential rainfall and a lot of that white stuff piling up in the higher elevations. reaching about 65 kilometers per hour and then out towards the northern most northeastern states are likely to see more snowfall, which is going to be addinging up to about 35 centimeters in the high elevations, so watch out for that. but meanwhile, the predominant thing is the high pressure system dominating much of the central locations, denver hitting 18 degrees, oklahoma city reaching 20 degrees. warm, so do enjoy these beautiful days. here across japan, we are still tracking this system. this system was a severe tropical storm, but now, downgraded to or actually changed the form to a low pressure system. but still, the effects will be similar. the islands and anywhere along the pacific side of japan will possibly see winds reaching up to four meters high, but then

after the system pulls out, high pressure system will be dominating much of the continent, but this is also responsible for the southerly moisture surging from the center of the system to the next 72 hour, so for the weekend, we're likely to see showers linger in tokyo on saturday as well as sunday. as you can see, sapporo will be seeing snow and the temperature really winter like, but it proves t the beginning of winter today. i'll leave you now for an extended forecast.

japanese authorities are increasing coast guard presence near islands in the pacific. they've been warning chinese fishermen to leave the territorial waters. they suspect crews are illegally

hunting for coral. nh krk now confirms at least ten boats are in the area. jewelry made from red coral fetches high prices in china. more than 200 chinese vessels are suspected of catching coral since september. as a typhoon approached this week, they moved outside jap japan's territorial waters. some of the boats started sailing back after the storm. 12 chinese boats were allowed to remain in japan's waters to avoid the typhoon, but the crews are now being told to leaf the area. and that concludes this edition of kn"newsline." we'll be back at the top of the hour. do join us again then.

fast moving currencies force automakers to fine tune their production strategies. bank of japan cuts loose with more stimulus and lights a fire under the stock market. and researchers have found a new way to get tuna on the table. no fishing boat required. hello. you're watching "asia biz forecast." i'm yuko fukushima. we start in indonesia where a new president is laying out his agenda. joko has presented his cabinet to the nation. the lineup underscores his determination to push through