-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, december 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. executives of a japanese auto parts maker takata have taken issue with demands for a recall. their defective airbags have been linked to injuries and deaths. one of the affected car companies, honda, has decided to act on its own. a series of accidents prompted the recall of about 8 million cars in the southern u.s. takata executives said warm and humid conditions could cause the airbags to explode and spray metal fragments.he u.snational

highway traffic safety administration or nhtsa, said they wanted all cars with takata airbags off the road. the company's global quality chief testified at a house hearing. he said there's no evidence of air bag malfunctions in other areas of the country. >> based on the data we are collecting from the region and also other regions, the data still support that we should remain focused on the region with high temperature and high humidity. >> but he said his company is prepared to take other measures to cooperate with automakers if they expand recalls. u.s. safety regulators insist the company should implement a nationwide recall. >> i was deeply disappointed by takata's response and takata's failure to take responsibility. >> some u.s. lawmakers criticized takata asking how many fatal accidents would persuade the firm to act?

a senior executive of honda said the company will expand the recall nationwide to conduct investigations. >> our customers have concerns and we want to address them. >> japan's auto industry has begun to help settle the problem. toyota, honda and other firms are trying to set up a third-party entity to investigate the cause of the defect. >> north korean authorities have been under pressure from japanese officials to investigate decades-old abductions. now pyongyang has questioned a group of japanese about their alleged involvement. the group in 1970 hijacked a japan airline's passenger jet and defected to north korea. three people are wanted internationally on suspicion they abducted three japanese in europe in the 1980s. members of the group told nhk north korean officials asked them last month to meet with the special investigation committee. they say they told north korean officials they weren't involved

in the abductions. the leader of the group says they will cooperate with the investigation. pyongyang's committee promised japanese delegates in october they would re-investigate other abduction case. tokyo recognizes 17 nationals as being taken by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. analysts says pyongyang's latest move is aimed at convincing japan they are carrying out a full scale investigation. a senior official from japan's foreign ministry is looking for help from mongolia over the issue. they will raise the matter during a visit to the capital. he will travel next week to discuss security cooperation. he's scheduled to attend a meeting of top foreign and defense officials from both countries. they are expected to discuss the situation in asia and china's recent activities. as well stepping up exchanges

between the self-defense forces and mongolia's military. he'll brief the officials about a recent meeting with north korea's special investigations committee. he says he hopes to gain the cooperation of mongolia which has friendly ties with the north. officials with japan's space agency say the launch of a new asteroid probe was a success. the hayabusa 2 entered orbit to begin a six-year mission. one scientists hope will help them solve some of the mysteries of the universe. >> all systems are ready. >> the h2a rocket carrying the probe took off wednesday from the tanegashima in southwestern japan. officials say hayabusa 2 reached its initial orbit in just under 2 hours. the probe is headed for an asteroid that may contain water and organic substances. hayabusa 2 is fitted with a device called an impacter. it's capable of shooting a metal

at a speed of two kilometers per second. the impact will create an artificial crater to allow the probe to collect rock and sand. materials could provide clues about how the solar system came into exesistens and the origins of life. >> translator: although the launch of hayabusa-2 was postponed for three days, we are very glad and relieved that our probe has begun its long journey as scheduled. >> the spacecraft is the successor to hayabusa. the first probe returned to earth in 2010 after collecting samples from the itokawa asteroid. that mission took seven years. >> the co-founders of the hong

congress prodemocracy movement called on students to retreat from protest sites out of concern of more violence. now three of them ateltedded to surrender to police. two cofounders are associate professors at universities. the third is a clergyman. they tried to turn themselves in to police because of their role in organizing the illegal gatherings. police are considering what action to take. >> translator: the situation has become very dangerous. i hope the protesters will end the occupation as soon as possible. let's save our energy and continue on the path of democracy. it's a long and exhausting road, but we need to walk together. >> students and citizens began their sit-ins more than two months ago. they are protesting a decision by beijing to screen candidates for hong kong's chief executive election in 2017. the co-founders told protesters

to leave the streets following clashes on sunday with police. many people were injured or arrested. student representatives say they'll have to reconsider their strategy as the sit-ins have proven ineffective in pressuring the hong kong government. some of the demonstrators say the sit ins must continue. >> a senior u.s. official has weighed in and warned china not to forcibly supress demonstrators in hong kong. the u.s. secretary of state daniel russell spoke to the senate foreign relations committee. >> it's far from over and a mistake to under estimate the resolve and determination of the hong kong people. the chinese know that the world is watching. and this matters. it has a reputational cost to them. >> russell argued people in hong kong should embrace a more open election system. he says it will help legitimize the appointment.

officials in beijing says there has been foreign interference in the process. some chinese says the u.s. government is providing financial assistance to the protesters. russell later told reporters it's clear hong kong residents voluntarily launched the campaign. he criticized the chinese government for holding what he calls a nasty view that the protesters were instigated from outside. investors are pouring in to the u.s. dollar. they feel it will pay off well. you have the details. what's going on? >> i do. investors feel it is a good time to buy the dollar. especially true if they have a lot of yen. interest rates on u.s. treasury notes and the ones on government bonds are headed in opposite directions. american yields are rising where as jgb's are falling. they are selling the yen and buying the dollar and taking it to levels they haven't seen in seven years, four months.

the dollar is nearing the key level of 120 yen. now at 119.83-86. analysts say there are other reasons behind the surge, too. u.s. services sector data beat the market consensus. overnight the dow jones industrial average posted yet another record high. the stronger dollar seems to be supporting the japanese stock market. share prices are continuing higher today. the index now -- the nikkei index trading higher by .7%. 17,846. investors are buying export related shares including cars and electronics makers on the back of a weakening yen. looking at other markets in the asia-pacific region, the kospi is trading higher by almost two-thirds percent and australia is up three-quarter percent. positive pictures so far. u.s. federal reserve board officials say american business

leaders and economists are up beat on the economy. they report that people saw growth in october and november and gave a slightly higher assessment than their previous report. the views are compiled in the board's beige book. is report is based on comments from senior business people and economic experts in each of the central bank's 12 districts. hogs say consumer spenting continued higher. some credited lower gasoline prices. fed officials say retailers in many districts were optimistic about the upcoming holiday season. the respondents say employment gains were widespread and some companies had difficulty finding workers for i.t. jobs. manufacturing was generally strong, led by the automotive and aerospace industries. fed policy makers will hold a meeting this month to discuss the outlook and what conditions would be needed for an interest rate hike. japanese authorities are

considering penalizing a hong kong-based hedge fund for alleged stock price manipulation. the fund had been buying share os of a japanese major component maker listed on the first section of the tokyo stock exchange. sources say they sold 15 million shares. they included stocks the fund purchased just before the close of a trading session on the tokyo exchange over a year ago. areon allegedly raised the share price by 1,000 yen, about $8 through the transaction. the prophet was 10 billion yen or $83 million. based on an agreement securities firms bought the shares at the closing price that day. japan's securities and exchange surveillance commission will further investigate the case together with hong kong authorities. the head of the japan

business federation has sent a positive signal to japan's largest labor union which plans to demand another wage hike next year. the chairman was speaking to reporters on wednesday. officials at the union group say they will seek a basic pay raise of at least 2% in next year's negotiations. they made the same demand last spring. >> basically it's up to the companies to make the decisions. but it's vital for the economy to pull japan out of deflation and create a favorable economic cycle. so companieses with stronger herbings should use the profit for raising wages and hiring for workers. >> he said the federation may include a plan to accept union demands in the basic policy for next year's wage negotiations. the employer's federation chief said a wage hike would depend on the type of industries or scope

of businesses. but companies with enough capacity to give pay raises should do so. i will have more of the headlines for you next hour in business. i will leave you now with a check on markets. the myanmar national symphony orchestra gave a concert to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties with japan. the orchestra had fewer opportunitieses to play when myanmar was under military rule.

that's changing. >> reporter: members of the myanmar symphony orchestra practiced in bare feet and were in traditional clothes. they used to be dubbed the phantom orchestra because they rarely performed in public. these days, they frequently perform the national anthems of important international visitors.

moh moh san is a violinist and one of many players lacking formal training in classical music. she originally played a traditional harp. she was assigned the violin because it also has strings. her husband studied the violin at university. his help was important. >> translator: even in just a short time, it's been satisfying to see her progress. >> translator: it was tough, but i never considered quitting. the more i was able to play, the more interesting it became. >> reporter: japanese conductor yunosuke yamamoto received an invitation from the myanmar government to help fine tune the orchestra. ♪ >> reporter: the concert marking 50 years of ties between myanmar and japan would be a chance to demonstrate the improvements. orchestra members practice intensely. moh moh stays late. she's still not 100% comfortable with her violin. >> do you make bigger vibration? no? >> i cannot.

>> you cannot? try it just once. ♪ >> yes, yes. that's good. >> it's difficult. >> it works. ♪ >> reporter: on concert day, she and her fellow musicians don black suits and dresses. >> translator: i didn't expect it to be this good. it was fabulous. >> translator: more than if the performance was good or not, i believe the audience was able to enjoy it. >> translator: i'm so happy my hard work has paid off. >> reporter: the songs the orchestra performed proudly in public is music to ears of those who are optimistic of myanmar's future. nhk world.

palestinians are looking for ways to become more economically independent. they are turning to plentiful resource in the region. some are making headway by turningle olives into oil exports. here's more. >> reporter: battir lies southwest of jerusalem. residents have cultivated this for 2,000 years. recently unesco registered the area as a world heritage site. it's olive harvesting season. olives have taken root deeply in palestine lives and culture. almost every arab village has an

olive oil presser. farmers bring their harvest to the facility and make olive oil for the coming year. sparkling golden olive oil flows from the spout. so this is the olive oil right out of the factory. no olive oil can be fresher than this. when i taste it, it's got some sense of bitterness which makes this olive oil special. residents use plastic containers more than bottles. >> translator: i use a lot of olive oil. that's why i use large containers. >> reporter: for the most part, the oil is sold to friends and relatives. not much used to go to the foreign market. industries in palestine have been vulnerable due to the israeli occupation.

nasir wants to build a bigger olive oil industry to help make palestine's economy sustainable. he exports and sell fair trade olive oil. he hopes to give farmers an incentive by paying a price for their olives that reflects the costs of producing them. >> everybody wanted to be a part of what's going on, even though they were suspicious what's going on, why would somebody pay above market price. we have had for the most part traditional organic practices in our farms. those traditions helped us in the systemization.

>> reporter: fair trade has been operating for ten years. 2,000 farmers work and their olives are proudly exported to more than 18 countries. this farmer says his life is more stable now that he can sell all his crop at once for more than the market price. this enabled him to send his six children to university. >> translator: i am really lucky that my product is exported. i feel that now we have a meaningful existence in the world. >> reporter: he believes the presence of his company's olive oil in foreign supermarkets can help palestine achieve recognition as a state. >> people are starting to see as a victim or terrorist, always in the political context. here we are reintroducing a palestinian that is an artisan producer and trade partner. we take pride in that as well and we're bringing the world a new face of palestine that they don't know.

>> reporter: palestinians have maintained their land and traditions, despite a long occupation. now they're pinning their hopes for a brighter future on trading olive oil. akira sehiki, nhk world, the west bank. there is a typhoon headed. robert speta tells us what's happening. >> let's start with the storm system. this has now been upgraded to a violent typhoon. the highest on the intensity scale for the meteorological agency. it puts it in perspective how large the storm system is. over the past 24 hours it has rapidly intensified. take a look at the visible

satellite imagery. you see toward the north the storm system is gaining strength. the key thing if you look is the well defined eye is very clear. around that and extending to the north and south we are seeing destructive winds. as we continue to look a hehead the key thing i want you to know is as this approaches the philippines the air could waiver to the north or south. areas north of the center of circulation we could see winds over 200 kilometers per hour. it will be a slow moving storm. we have a threat of flash flooding and landslides out here. to make matters worse, this is the same area hit a year ago. it caused over 7,000 deaths with typhoon hayan. south of that we had typhoon bofa in 2012 that caused over 1100 deaths. i'm not saying this storm will cause the same destruction but

the risk is there. if you have ahead of this, now is the time to make preparations. and possibly evacuations or listen to the official warnings put out by this as it tracks off to the west. expected to make landle fall by saturday afternoon into the evening hours. let's look at what else is going on out here. one of the main reasons this is on the westward track is we are seeing high pressure move in from the north. the leading edge has been bringing gusty winds. not associated with the typhoon, but in okinawa with, wind reports gusting up to 120 kilometers per hour here this morning. the leading edge of the cold surge. the same low pressure that's associated with this will spin up, bring moisture across western portions of japan. showers there and tokyo through the afternoon hours, you will be wanting an umbrella with you. not just that, a heavy jacket because temperatures will be on the chilly side. behind this, cold air continuing

to set in. let's move over to the americas. i want to talk about california. not an abundance of rain in the tropics. enough we are seeing problems. in california, 50 to 100 millimeters of precipitation. several sink holes reported in san francisco. the problem is you are under drought. you need the rain. but think of it like this. if you are thirsty and you want a cup of water and somebody throws a bucket of water at you it doesn't quench your thirst. that's what we are seeing in california. too much rain in too short of a period of time resultses in flooding. on the other side of the coast, looking at rainshowers and even snow and mixed precipitation for parts of new england through quebec. that will continue to move east. behind hinhind it sh another l. wrapping things up in europe, the storm system to the south. still the threat of severetempee

staying warm here, but absolutely chilly if you are into the low countries and eastern portions of europe. that's a look at the world weather. i'll leave you with the extended forecast.

one more story to share before we go, people at a zoo in western japan have made a special announcement on their website. one of the zoo's giant pandas has given birth again, this time to female twins.

the proud mother of the newborns is the 14-year-old who was born in japan. zoo officials say the birth went off without a hitch. the first born cub weighs 181 grams and measured 22 centimeters. the second cub was born a few hours later. she weighs 186 grams and measures 21 sent meters. the panda keeper at the zoo says she's overjoyed. >> translator: i'm so delighted. i just hope they grow up healthy and strong. >> the panda is in her early 40s in human years. she's the fourth time she's given birth, making her the mother of seven. and her partner is a 22 from china. that puts him in his late 60s in human terms but that hasn't slowed him down one bit. he's already fathered 13 cubs that's all for this edition of

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♪ today's asian voices comes from nagoya in central japan. we will look at globalization. >> earlier this month, unesco held a world conference here. the theme was education for sustainable development or esd. the aim of esd is to nurture people who can tackle global challenges, such as the environment and pove