glad to have you with us. the is thursday, december 10th i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. police in the city are trying to figure out the motive behind last month's small explosion at a shrine in tokyo. they say a south korean man arrested in connection has never been found to be engaged in investigations. they say he is denying the allegations. according to police he entered japan for a short stay of two days before the incident and add

it was his first visit to japan. they say he returned to south korea but came back to japan on wednesday to revisit the shrine because of intense media interest in the story. police identified him before the small explosion. the shrine honors the war dead, those remembered include military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by an international military tribunal after world war ii. new rules went into effect on thursday that require users to seek government approval before flying drones near airports and above crowded residential areas and events. the restrictions require operators to keep their drones close by.

users need permits to fly the aircraft out of sight or at night. they have to report the route and the serial number and need at least ten hours of flight experience. users can be fined about $4,000 for operating drones without permission. the new regulations come after a series of public disturbances involving drones. in april a small unmanned aircraft was found on the roof of the prime minister's office. concerns are raised about the tight regulations as aircraft are a fast growing technology. the winners of this year's noble peace prize have called for dialogue to bring an end to conflict in syria and elsewhere. representatives met with reporters in oslo, norway on wednesday. it is made up of organizations representing lawyers, business sector human rights groups.

>> only one message to say to people everywhere. we are for freedom and we are for dialogue and please choose dialogue the only way to resolve your problems. >> other representatives said conflicts cannot be resolved by weapons which merely lead to destruction and dialogue is the only way forward in syria and libya. the norwegian noble committee awarded the quartet its peace price for its role. it was formed in 2013 when the democratization process was in the danger of collapsing. the award ceremony will take place at oslo city hall on thursday. a u.n. human rights watching dog is calling for china to stop torturing detainees. it is relied on heavily for confessions. >> we're very concerned that people continue to be charged or

threatened to be charged with broadly defined offenses as a form of intimidation. >> ten independent experts compiled a report after a hearing last month involving human rights groups. they say more than 200 activists and lawyers have been detain since july and 25 of them remain under surveillance. the added the situation has not been addressed despite repeated requests. china's foreign ministry spokesperson denounced the report. she says the country has been promoting the rule of law and has made great efforts on all fronts, including on opposing torture. japanese consumers are bracing for a hike in the consumption tax scheduled for 2017. but government officials are planning to leave things some uneffected. >> as you know the sales tax is

currently 8%. it is going to be 10% when the hike kicks in. they are now considering terms to include processed food, as well. officials plan to keep the tax rate apart from restaurant dishes, snacks and services. they say they can $6.7 billion to cover losses in annual tax revenues resulting from multiple tax rates. they are considering the possibility of extending relief to everything other than restaurant food and secure up to 1 trillion yen. leaders of both parties want to wrap up the negotiations. they will meet later today to try to make progress.

the japanese strauelectronics m is seeking new funding and human resources. the incj is now in negotiations with the industry ministry which is overseeing the deal. incj plans to invest in the display business by acquiring a majority of shares in the spinoff. hon hai precision has been showing interest in sharp. sources say officials are expected soon to present concrete investment proposals to sharp. the japanese company posted a net loss of about $1.8 billion for fiscal 2014 that ended in march. the figure for april to september is about $690 million. this is mainly due to lcd business following china's

economic slow down. volkswagenen officials say the number of cars affected by its carbon dioxide emissions scandal is considerably lower than they initially reported. initially say said they understated at 800,000 vehicles. they said the problem has affected 36,000 cars of nine models at most. officials say in house investigations found no discrepancies between stated emissions and the amount of gas the cars emit. they expect loss is far less of initial estimate and that the firm may avoid losses all together. the disclosures on co 2 emissions followed news that volkswagen cheated on tests in the u.s. measuring nitrogen oxide. tokyo share prices opened lower.

lower oil prices continue to weigh on investor sentiment and stronger yen drive down shares. the dollar dipped against major peers. the u.s. currency hit a one month low against the yen. the dollar/yen at 121.33-38. analysts say many are trading to riskier assets on declines in share prices and oil prices. the euro is at a one-month high against the dollar. let's look at other markets across the asia pacific. we are seeing sidney shares trading lower by more than 1%. that is despite better than expected australian jobs data. the unemployment rate fell to 5.8%. in seoul the kospi up by a tenth of a percent. you may have heard a new "star wars" opens this month. fans of the series couldn't be

more excited. businesses across japan are trying to harness their devotion and turn it into increased sales. nhk world has more. >> the force, it's true, all of it. >> reporter: fans have been waiting ten years for the latest installment. opening night tickets sold out instantly at many theaters. this department store wants to take advantage of the prerelease frenzy to boost christmas sales, and check this out. it looks like the movies loveable robot r 2 d 2, but it's also a refrigerator. another main character is carved into the heels of these shoes. the store offers more than 160,000 star wars-related items, including clothing and groceries. >> translator: this is so exciting. >> translator: i wish i could buy all of it.

>> translator: we hope offering these items will increase our christmas sales by 5% over last year. >> reporter: this specially decorated airplane took off in october. it was one of many star wars-themed events held across japan. and at tokyo skytree, a major tourist attraction, the operator has set up a special movie-related exhibition and observatory to draw more visitors. on display are scenes and characters from the series created using a distinctly japanese technique. practitioners are using the film's popularity to reach a new audience for this traditional heart form. -- art form. the printing technique flourished about 200 years ago. but only a few dozen artists work in this medium today. this man is one of them, just

like his father before him. >> translator: it is really inspiring to work with new motives like this. >> printers use large blocks of wood to apply layers to japanese washi paper. he adds one color at a time. this image required more than 20 applications. three designs had been produced. only 200 copies of each were printed, and a single print costs about $450, but young fans especially are quickly snapping them up. >> translator: i think even most japanese people don't know about this printing technique. it will be great if people would love star wars have a chance to become aware that japan has this traditional craft, then they might take an interest in it, and buy some prints. >> reporter: as fans around the country catch star wars fever, retailers are hoping this

holiday season the force may be with them. nhk world. >> beautiful prints. that is the latest in business news. i'll leave you now with a check on markets. ♪ police in france have identified the third attacker who died in last month's assault in a concert hall. they say he was a 23-year-old french national.

he reportedly had a history of travel to syria. police use a dna test to identify him. they see he was one of three gunman. 90 people died. the shootings were part of a coordinated attack in paris which left a total of 130 dead. the other assailants had travelled to war zones in the middle east. russian prime minister dimitri medvedev has again criticized turkish forces for downing a russian warplane saying the act was sufficient reason to start a war. medvedev made the comment in a tv program carried on major domestic networks on wednesday. >> translator: turkey violated the norms of international law and carried out an act of aggression against our country. they gave russia a reason to

start military action. >> he said that in the present situation a war is the worst thing that could happen. he said that's why the decision was taken not to respond symmetrically to the turkish action. medvedev stressed that russia had decided to impose economic sanctions on turkey. russian president vladimir putin on wednesday held talks over the telephone with british prime minister david cameron. he called on british experts to cooperate in analyzing the flight recorders recovered from the russian warplane. turkey maintains its air force shot down the aircraft last month because it violated the country's airspace, an allegation russia denies. taliban militants have wage a deadly attack on an air base in the southern afghan city in cand ahar -- kandahar. it started tuesday night and

spilled into wednesday. afghan official say 37 people were killed and dozens more injured. the heavily fortified compound is used by afghan, u.s., and nato forces. there's also a civilian section of the airport. >> translator: i showed up for my shift but fighting has been going on since last night and security personnel aren't letting anyone inside. >> the taliban said in a statement that their fighters killed 150 soldiers. attacks by the taliban have intensified since the majority of u.s. led impartial combat -- international combat troops left the country last year. the assault is the latest indication of a taliban resurgence last month. in september they briefly seized control of the northern city of kunduz. police in thailand say they are investigating the u.s. ambassador in connection with insulting the royal family. glyn davies expressed concern over convictions of citizens for

speaking out against their king. >> we're also concerned by the lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by thai military courts against civilians for violating the state law. >> his remarks prompted people loyal to the royal family to stage protests in front of the u.s. embassy accusing davies of interfering in domestic affairs. they filed a complaint against him. the embassy said it could not immediately comment on the matter. davies is unlikely to be detained, as he is entitled to diplomatic immunity. the development could worsen relations between thailand and the united states which have soured following the military coup. activists opposed to japan's new security laws are vowing to join forces before taking on their next fight. members of five groups will unite in support of opposition

candidates in next year's upper house election. members of the students emergency action for liberal democracy will take part. they joined other activists at a meeting with officials from four opposition parties. the activists urged the parties to work together to repeal the legislation which allows japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. that means the self-defense forces can defend a country that if that country comes under attack. >> translator: for now we are just sharing opinions. think we got a pretty good reception. our group has no plans to give up the fight against this legislation. opposition party officials say they will look at ways to work closely with the activists in the lead up to the vote. japan's space agency says the akatsuki is now orbiting venus, the first japanese probe

to circle a planet other than earth. >> translator: we've confirmed that the venus climate orbiter akatsuki has successfully entered the orbit of venus as planned. >> nakamura said they will do test observations over three months before starting them on a regular basis. the spacecraft used ultraviolet and infrared cameras to take clean images of the planet. the first time that's happened according to experts. the akatsuki was launched in may 2010 to survey the planet's weather and atmosphere, but its main engine broke down. the japan aerospace exploration agency had to wait until now for a second attempt. jaxa controllers fired the probe's four small thrusters on engines on monday morning to move it into position. it is the second time japan has revived one of its probes in space. in 2012 the hayabusa completed a seven-year return trip from an asteroid after overcoming system malfunctions.

fishermen in northern japan are still trying to bounce back from the damage caused by the massive tsunami in 2011. oyster farmers have a new approach that they are staking their futures on. nhk reports. >> reporter: it's oyster season in northern japan and some of the best come from this here. this town is one place that is working to rebuild its oyster farms after the 2011 tsunami. this man has big plans for yamada's oysters. he is a professor of chemistry at a college. for more than 20 years, he has

been studying ways to improve the water quality in fresh water lakes. >> translator: my goal is to make yamada strong again. >> reporter: he submerged bags containing iron plates and charcoal. when iron comes into contact with charcoal, it causes fresh iron to seep into the water. those irons encourage the growth of plankton boosting the oyster food source. more plankton should mean bigger oysters. his project began three years ago with government support, but the tide and fast-moving currents of the bay are different from the calm lake where he conducted his previous research.

>> translator: we put the bags in the sea, but they would be swept away. it was a process of trial and error, but rather error and error. >> reporter: the local fishermen came up with a different idea. they suggested bags made of hemp. they are strong enough to resist a strong current in the bay. finally after three years, the test batch of cultured oysters are ready to be harvested. this is the moment of truth for him. >> translator: it's big, isn't it? >> translator: yes, it's nice and big. that's a very fine oyster. >> reporter: there was even better news.

they found young oysters growing on the frames for the bags. it's very unusual for oysters to reproduce in the waters of yamada bay. he thinks this is due to the new source of nutrients. up to now the oyster farmers have been getting the young oysters from outside of the prefecture so this is a pleasant surprise. >> translator: if we can raise your own yamada bay oysters, that would be like a dream come true. it could be a ray of hope for us fishermen. >> reporter: the new oysters are not only bigger. they are more nutritious than the usual oysters. they contain 1.7 times more glycogen, which is a source of flavor. >> translator: i want to further enhance the image and popularity of oysters from yamada so that orders flood in

from tokyo. my goal is to make yamada a household name for oysters. >> reporter: this project will improve. they can promote their shell fish as a local specialty. the haze in beijing is starting to clear up after days of low visibility and bad air quality. our emeteorologist robert speta joins us now. >> really the weather a big player in that improving air quality across this region. we had an area of low pressure push through this morning. behind it you are looking at sunny skies. unfortunately, once the flow does drift we have high pressure

setting in right behind it once again. for those of you who did pick up some air scrupers for your homes you may want to keep those out because by the time saturday rolls around it does look like air quality is going to worsen yet again and those red alerts are now discontinued but they may be issued again as we head into next week. now, you can see on the map we do have the area of low pressure down towards the south bringing widespread rainfall to southern areas of china or taiwan. quite unusual to see thunderstorms this time of year but that is what is happening. warm air surging with it. temperatures are on the rise for areas of western japan. it is going to bring in widespread rainfall even to higher elevations across the mountains. there is a threat of flooding for those of you about 250 millimeters of total precipitation is possible to add up here once you start to see the storm system. similar conditions towards tokyo

expecting widespread rainfall throughout the day on your friday. should taper off with a passing shower or two possible on saturday out here. hong kong looking at improving conditions. taipei, as well, as we head there into your friday and saturday. let's look over towards india now and one of the big topics we have been talking about has been the rainfall towards the south. the good news that is improving. we can see scattered showers but the whole effect we have been talking about throughout the month of november is starting to finally taper off. i want to shift attention across parts of new delhi. very typical for this time of year fog combined with haze makes for a significant reduce in visibility out here. it is really disrupting travel, as well. several flights were cancelled on wednesday just to do that very heavy fog and reducing visibility. it has been combined with the haze across the region and

pollution levels. indexes higher than what they are in beijing. does look like efforts to try to improve that after the new year put in some regulations kind of like farther off towards the north into china. for now doesn't look like precipitation in the forecast. the atmosphere remaining rather stagnant cht not really helping out across much of the region. let's look towards the pacific northwest. we have several storm systems running through this region. it has been just compounding on each other with the jet stream across this area just very strong one. many of the storms are riding along it. we have been seeing heavy rainfall towards the north. severe flooding into washington and oregon. this is dipping farther down towards the south so we could be seeing heavy rainfall as far south as los angeles and san diego and farther inland into las vegas, as well, on your friday a significant cool down heading into your weekend. the bigger picture snowfall back

towards ontario. temperatures staying warm in the deep south. houston with a high of 27 on your thursday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the hour.

♪ dr. lekutat: hello, and welcome to "in good shape." great to have you with us. did you hear the recent report about the little girl who was diagnosed with type two diabetes? it is a condition that usually only affect the grown-ups, but the girl was three years old. it is pretty alarming. it is clear that it is happening from an early age. how to prevent type two diabetes -- that is one topic from today's show. here is what else is coming up -- that cracking sound -- what is happening exactly when