hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. japanese prime minister shinzo abe says he will continue to push north korea for information on citizens who were abducted decades ago. north korea formed an investigative committee last year but has not reported any findings. now, pyongyang says it is not possible to meet for talks citing a police raid on the tokyo home of a leader of a pro-pyongyang group. abe criticized the notification from pyongyang when he met with families of the abductees. >> translator: the notification is totally unacceptable. the japanese government will be

resolute in dealing with this situation. >> the leader of the families group urged the japanese government to do all it can as the abductees and families are reaching their limits physically and mentally. >> translator: we want the government to take decisive action to resolve the issue under any circumstances. we want officials to work with utmost patience to bring the abductees back home. >> the japanese government has filed an official complaint against north korea. china's leaders have advanced their anti-corruption campaign by taking down a high level tiger. they have indicted former security chief zhou yongkang, the most senior figure to face such charges. nhk world's naoki makita reports from beijing.

>> reporter: china's state-run media reports that zhou yongkang was indicted for bribery, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of state secrets. the report says prosecutors claim zhou committed grave crimes and should be severely punished. zhou exerted huge influence as a ninth ranking member of the politburo standing committee and in november of 2012 he was a leader of the so-called oil industry faction and is known to have close ties with former president zemin. the indictment is part of president xi jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign. leaders have pledged to go after what they call both tigers and

flies, meaning that they intend to prosecute corrupt officials regardless of position. zhou is by far the highest profile figure arrested to date. an expert says there is also a power struggle behind it. >> xi jinping has to agree all the power in his hand. and then president xi jinping can promote the reform in china, economically or politically. xi jinping will keep trying to punish the people, even higher officials. >> reporter: during the 2013 trial of former party chief bo xilai, authorities released frequent updates on the court proceedings on social media. people in china are likely to pay close attention to the trial this time, as well. naoki makita, nhk world, beijing. security authorities in

kenya say they think they have identified the person behind a deadly attack on a university campus. they say he's a key member of an islamic extremist group based in neighboring somalia. and they're offering a large bounty for his capture. 148 people were killed and more than 75 wounded when members of the group went on a shooting rampage in the city of garissa early thursday morning. the security authorities have put mohamed mohamud on the wanted list. they're offering a bounty of more than $200,000. mohamud is a leading figure in al shabaab. he was also a former principal at an islamic school in garissa. five gunmen took part in the attack. four of them were shot dead by security forces. another was detained as he was about to flee and is now being questioned. al shabaab said in a statement that the attackers killed only christians and that muslims were set free. local media quote survivors as saying the gunmen asked people

to recite verses from the koran and that they only killed those unable to answer the questions properly. japanese prime minister abe condemned the attack. abe sent a message to kenyan president. he said he's shocked and angered by the killings. he described the attack as heinous and said it cannot be justified. abe offered his sympathy to people who got wounded and condolences to bereaved families. he said japan will support the government and people of kenya against their fight against terrorism. negotiators from iran and six world powers have reached a milestone. they have agreed on a framework designed to keep tehran's nuclear program peaceful. but there are differences on major sticking points. delegates from iran, five permanent members of the u.n. security council and germany wrapped up eight days of talks with a joint statement. >> the united states, together

with our allies and partners, has reached an historic understanding with iran. >> obama and other world leaders want to prevent the country from creating nuclear weapons. the u.s. and iran each released their demands on how the deal should play out. iranian leaders want international sanctions to be lifted if they abide by the final accord. u.s. leaders say the sanctions will be suspended, not lifted, and snapped back into place if tehran falters. they also say iran will engage in limited research and development with advanced centrifuges. but the iranian document does not include the word limited. tough negotiations are expected to fill such gaps as the countries aim to strike a final deal by the end of june. israeli officials say prime minister benjamin netanyahu condemned the agreement in a phone call with obama. he said a final deal based on the framework would be a threat to israel's existence.

saudi arabia's state-run media say the king told obama he hopes a final deal would strengthen regional and global security. the sunni muslim power has been at odds with shia dominated iran over the crises in syria and yemen. french aviation investigators have pieced together a clearer picture of the germanwings crash. they say the co-pilot andreas lubitz used an automatic system to accelerate into the ground. staff with the investigation agency bea announced their initial findings from the plane's flight data recorder. they believe lubitz set the auto pilot system to descend to an altitude of 30 meters. they say he repeatedly adjusted the system to accelerate on the way down. germanwings officials said earlier the plane had been cruising at an altitude of

11,500 meters. french prosecutors said it reached a speed of 700 kilometers per hour just before impact. investigators had worked out from the plane's voice recorder that lubitz likely locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately caused the crash. they say the flight data recorder supports that analysis. voters across japan are once again hearing campaign promises. they are weighing up the policies of candidates for seats on local assemblies. the key issue is how to revitalize regional economies. nearly 2,300 seats are up for grabs. on prefectural assemblies. that's 46 fewer than in the previous election. almost 3,300 candidates are in the running. that's 184 fewer than last time. the proportion of women is the highest ever at 11.6%. over 1,000 seats are at stake on assemblies in major cities. nearly 1,500 candidates are chasing them. political parties are hoping to boost their local power base

ahead of next year's upper house election. citizens will vote for their prefectural and city representatives on april 12th. japanese workers are often required to put in overtime but not all of them are compensated for their efforts. the government now says it wants to change the rules for skilled workers. members of the cabinet have approved a draft bill to reform the labor law. their goal is to motivate highly skilled specialists so as to maintain strong levels of performance. nhk world's noriko okada reports. >> reporter: the draft bill includes a proposal to set up a new labor system. it would reward workers based on performance rather than the number of hours they put in. the new system would target highly skilled professionals with clearly defined job descriptions. they include people who are more than 90,000 u.s. dollars a year, roughly three times the average

salary such as security firm analysts, consultant and medical product researchers. the government plans to exempt such professionals from existing work hour restrictions. they will be paid accordingly for producing the results sought by their companies. the government's aim is to motivate professionals and increase productivity. many japanese businesses do not pay overtime to people in managerial positions. but under the new system, some employees who currently receive overtime pay would no longer be eligible. some people are expressing concern. a group of lawyers and workers gathered on friday to protest a proposed revision. they say ending restrictions on overtime could lead to more people working longer hours.

and not being compensated for it. >> translator: the new labor system will not cut down on the number of overtime hours, but rather, lead to an increase in the number of deaths from overwork. >> reporter: the government has included measures in the bill to prevent people from being overworked. it says companies would have to limit the number of hours the employees would be required to work and that they'll be entitled to regular breaks. experts say many japanese companies blur the boundaries between tasks which actually increases the hours workers put in. >> translator: the whole idea of the new system is to increase both productivity of the company and quality of the lives of workers. in a sense, it is basically a win-win system if it works correctly. workers and employers have to understand the goals well and make their voices heard about

who falls under the new system and about health concerns. i think this is an important opportunity to define the scope of each job and revise the way we think about working to reduce the number of working hours. >> reporter: the government plans to submit the bills to the current diet session and is aiming for prompt enactment. noriko okada, nhk world. an algerian diplomat has visited hiroshima to pay tribute to the victims of the atomic bombing in 1945. he will chair the upcoming conference to chair the treaty. she will preside over the conference that opens in new york on april 27th. the meeting is held every five years to discuss nuclear disarmament. u.n. officials toured the hiroshima peace memorial museum. she then visited a peace memorial park where she laid flowers at the seneltaph for the

victims. she said she was shaken by the museum's displays. she says the horrors of the atomic bombing must never be allowed to happen again. >> at the end, what we saw goes beyond borders, beyond religions, beyond races. it shows simply that you are -- we are all human being. >> feroukhi will also visit nagasaki and will meet youths who will take part in the npt review conference. firefighters in the u.s. state of kentucky are battling flames that engulfed a building at a general electric plant. u.s. media report the fire broke out around 7:30 a.m. on friday. 200 firefighters are trying to get the flames under control. black smoke is billowing from the building. the outer walls collapsed. lo ral media say the facility was closed when the fire began. they say no one is reported

hurt. they quote workers at saying the building stores components and usually has 30 to 50 staff. people in the united states are seeing fewer new chances to work. data for last month show employers created far fewer jobs than analysts expected. the number dipped below 200,000 for the first time in a year. department of labor officials say employers created 126,000 non-farm openings. analysts had expected 240,000. businesses and retail and health care kept up their job creation, companies in the mining sector let 11,000 workers go. that reflected the impact of lower prices on oil and gas firms. construction companies laid off staff, owing to harsh winter weather. the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5%. federal reserve policymakers hinted last month that it would consider raising rates at its policy meetings in june or

later, when they wanted to make sure consumer prices were rising and employment improving. some analysts say the latest jobs data may prompt the policy makers to put off any decision on a rate hike. drones were once the stuff of science fiction. but they've become a part of every day life. people use them to capture stunning aerial images and interest in drones is expanding. but increasing use of drones has led to growing problems. nhk world's kako yamamoto has more. >> reporter: this electronics shop in tokyo has a section just for drones. sales of devices have doubled since autumn last year. they are designed to capture high definition images. they cost about $100. >> translator: the drones initially attracted photography buffs. but now, the customer range has

widened considerably to include teenagers. >> reporter: drones can fly at very low altitudes, much lower than helicopters. that makes them useful tools in disaster recover efforts. they can beam back images that can help responders assess damage quickly. many businesses have also embraced drone technology. a u.s. e-commerce giant has announced plans to start using drones to deliver goods to customers more quickly. the tokyo metropolitan police department unveiled a security drone on tuesday. the department is considering using drones as part of its security arsenal when tokyo hosts the olympic and paralympic games in 2020. analysts predict that drone sales will reach nearly $80

billion over the next decade in the united states alone. drone technology is expected to yield many benefits. but this promising technology also carries risks. people have uploaded video clips of accidents to youtube. this drone was seen flying above a marathon in november last year. the 4 kilogram drone crashed causing cuts to a woman's face. another crash took place near an elementary school. an out of control drone flew past the school building scraping nearby power cables. it ended up crashing into the ground. >> translator: the clip shows the drone losing control and plunging to the ground.

it seemed as if the operator had given no thought to the possibility of an accident. >> reporter: nhk has learned that over the past two years at least 100 such incidents in japan have been reported on the internet. drone crashes can be caused by factors such as operator error, depleted batteries and jammed radio waves. drones are not subject to regulation or applied legislation as long as they're flown below an altitude of 150 meters. they their use is prohibited near airports. japanese government is now studying league constraints on drones. drones are undoubtedly here to stay. but more regulation is needed to ensure that their considerable advantages outweigh the risks. keiko yam motto, nhk world.

u.s. regulators are also looking into the issue. the u.s. federal aviation administration has begun drafting rules for commercial drones. they would require to keep operators in visual range and only fly them during the day. india's moving quickly to rescue some 4,000 of the national stranded in yemen where fights between government and anti-government forces are intensifying. many are migrant workers. around half are nurses from poor families. india's navy and air force are taking part in the rescue operation. on thursday, more than 300 indians who had escaped yemen returned home safely in two indian military aircraft. one of the planes landed which sent more nurses to yemen than any other indian state. >> translator: we worked at a hospital in yemen.

we heard gunfire and the sound of an attack. the third time we heard it, we both ran down from the hospital and took a taxi to the superintendent's house. >> translator: we just grabbed whatever we could and fled. >> india's foreign ministry said on friday that it is planning to evacuate its citizens from yemen's capital sanaa which has a large concentration of indian nationals. >> if all goes well, we hope that we will be able to begin our air evacuations from sanaa. we also intend, subject to receiving all clearances, to repatriate approximately 500 of our nationals from sanaa to djibouti and later tomorrow they will come back home. >> the indian foreign ministry says it has so far rescued about 700 of its nationals.

meanwhile, china says it has helped ten countries evacuate 225 of their citizens from the conflict ridden country including 176 pakistanis and 5 singaporeans. japan's transport ministry has decided to temporarily lift a ban on charter flights operated by airlines based in thailand. but the ban on new routes will remain in place. japan imposed the bans after the international civil aviation organization or icao expressed concern about the standards of the southeast asian country's aviation authority. they said this organization is short of supervised personnel. japan's aviation authorities consulted with their thai counterparts in bangkok earlier this week to discuss how to ensure safe air travel between the two countries. new charter flights will be allowed but only by thai airlines that have a good safety record of flying to japan. they will also be required to

use the same types of aircraft and fly the same routes. the number of thai people visiting japan peaks in april during consecutive holidays to mark the nation's traditional new year's day. the ban was expected to affect nearly 120,000 people who plan to visit japan in april and may. but the ban may not have a big impact on tourism in thailand because most japanese travelers use regular flights when visiting the country. the japanese government stresses that the lifting of the ban on thailand-based airlines is a temporary measure. it expects that further talks will be held with the thai government on how to deal with the issue from june onward. in the late 19th century a turkish ship sank off the coast of japan while heading home from a goodwill visit. many crew members died, but some were rescued by local villagers. the incident is considered a key event in the history of the friendship between japan and turkey.

now, numerous items recovered from the wreck site are on display in the city where the ship's journey began. nhk world's akihito yohada has more. >> reporter: the exhibition opened on thursday at the istanbul museum. about 200 people attended the opening ceremony. this man is a turkish nautical archaeologist. he's been the driving force in making this exhibition a reality. >> i'm happy there was a good representation of some of our japanese friends as well as from navy and from turkish people. >> reporter: in 1889, the frigate set sail from constantinople, now istanbul, to japan.

a delegation from the ottoman empire was involved. the goodwill visit was a success. on the return voyage, the frigate sank in a typhoon off the coast of western japan. out of more than 600 crew members only about 70 survived. they were rescued by residents of oshama nearby village. local people erected a memorial to the victims and still hold regular ceremonies to honor their memory. they have been working with japanese divers for over ten years to salvage pieces from the wreck site. they recovered more than 8,000 artifacts. for the first time since the

fateful incident, these items retrieved from the sea bed in japan are being exhibited here in istanbul. about 500 items are on display. they include personal items such as buckles and buttons from sailors' uniforms and pieces of japanese pottery thought to be souvenirs. people here welcomed the items home. >> translator: i'm very surprised to see these items. they have been in the bottom of the sea for 125 years, but they are keeping their shape. i'm proud of these items and happy for their return. >> reporter: the exhibition will continue until december. family hopes it will help turkish people learn more about the tragic incident. >> the story is not only about the sailors, it's also the story

of the villagers that helped the survivors. it's the story of friendship and my goal is to be able to share it with the whole world. >> reporter: tufan plans to hold another event in the near future bringing together decedents of turkish survivors and their japanese rescuers, to celebrate the longstanding bond between their countries. akihiro yokota nhk world, istanbul. here is 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.

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television commercials. her rise to fame actually began when she was cast in norman lear's series "all that glitters." as first featured transgendered character on series television. her role as sue ellen tortured alcoholic wife of j.r. ewing in the smash "dallas" that cemented

her name into pop culture. 14 years later, when she left "dallas," she continued working with roles on "melrose place," "models inc." and "the bold and the beautiful." she made a trip to the stage starring as mrs. robinson in "the west wing" production of "the graduate." she returned to the role that made her a star in the relaunch of the series "dallas" for tnt. i'm ernie manouse, coming up on on "innerviews" our conversation with actress linda gray.