hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. in japan, two senior prosecutors have been arrested for allegedly covering up for a subordinate who tampered with evidence. they're reportedly denying the charges. japan's prosecutor's office has been investigating the case linked to the arrest of the aka district prosecutor. he is accused of altering data on a floppy disk seized as evidence in a postal fraud investigation involving welfare

ministry officials. prosecutors suspect his supervisors deliberately concealed his crime. the two who were arrested are otsubo, a special investigator in osaka, and his deputy sega. sources say mida admitted to a colleague he altered data when the case became an issue a trial this year. mida was interview-- >> translator: prosecutors feared they'd lose face. they were intent on making her a criminal and that created this result. >> they had no courage once they recognized they'd made mistakes. >> translator: prosecutors should reveal the truth

regardless of the consequences. >> nhk world's senior reporter joins us with more details on the arrest. the alleged tampering of possible evidence has led to the unprecedented arrest of two of the country's highest prosecutors. so it will certainly erode the public trust in the justice system. >> it sure will. the public prosecutor's office is the most powerful of japan's administrave organizations, along with the treasury ministry. the two officers who were arrested were members of a special investigation unit considered to be the country's elite investigative body. not only did it have the power to indict suspects, it also had full independence to investigate major political flaws and corporate crimes. only the tokyo, and oka hav

special investigatives units. >> what led to the arrests? >> they are linked to the acquittal of a senior health ministry official. she was accused of falsifying documents that entitled and qualified organizations to claim postal discounts. but was found in the guilty. the plead prosecutor in her case mida was later arrested on suspicion of destroying evidence byampering with data on the floppy disk confiscated as evidence in the case. mida is suspected of manipulating the data to match his story line of what happened in the fraud. the two arrested this time hiromichi otsubo and motoaki

sega were mida advisors at the time. they are also implicated of covering up mida's actions to protect the thory of the prosecutor office. a former prosecutor with the special investigation unit said that the case highlights structural problems in japan's prosecution system. >> translator: one of the characteristics of the case is that the special squad has reached a point of no return where a significant impact has already been made on society. at the heart of the issue is the squad's and public prosecutor's office's high-headed approach to win a guilty sentence at all cost, even by forcing their way through the legal system with a fictitious story. if that sense, the way the public prosecutor's office carries out investigations runs the risk of spinning out of

control. >> after something like this, do you think prosecutors can regain the public's trust? >> it's unprecedented that japan's supreme public prosecutor's office is leading the investigation into the case. but since the prosecutors themselves swere suspected of hindering the case, it should really be an independent body conducted the probe. some are calling for now new and trains parent investigators measures in order to avoid wrongful convictions. such measures are already required in the u.s., astoria and hong kong. some prosecutor are reluctant to introduce videotaping thinking it may discourage suspects from speaking truthfully. but the controversy is now leading to more pressure to reform investigative matters. >> thank you very much for your

report. three japanese nationals released by china have returned to japan. they were detained for ten days on suspicion of entering a restricted military zone. at a news conference, they claimed they unknowingly entered the area. china freed the three men on thursday. they have been detained along with another man since september 20th. the men worked for the japanese construction firm fujita and its subsidiary. they were accused of entering a restricted military zone in shijiazhuang province. and videotaping military facilities. they arrived at the airport on friday from tokyo a airport to shanghai and held a news conference at the headquarters of the firm. >> translator: we didn't find any warnings or signs saying it

was a restricted area. we said our entry was an accident. when we were taking pictures, we didn't realize the area was a restricted military zone. and we explained that to china. >> another japanese national is still being held for questioning. the company says it is trying to get more iormation ohis situation. about 30 japanese lawmakers have set up a cross-party group to pass a diet resolution declaring japan's intention to protect its interest over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. the group is headed by former internal affairs minister kazuhiro haraguchi, a democrat and former foreign state secretary, takeshi iwaya, a liberal democrat.

at the meeting on friday, they said the young lawmakers want to protect japan's interests. >> translator: we want to create an atmosphere in which we can discuss issues of sovereignty and national interest with a long-term perspective in a nonpartisan way. >> they agreed to conduct aerial inspections of the site of last month's collisions between the chinese fishing boats and japanese patrol vessels. they will also speak to japanese fishermen who work in the area. as a medium to long-term goal, the group hopes to create a china to discuss issues in a ca atmphere. japanese government ministers say they will ask for funding in an upcoming extra budget to find alternatives to chinese rare earth metals. industries in japan import the vast majority of their supply from china. science and technology minister yoshiaki takaki said his ministry is looking to find

undersea research vehicles to search for alternative resources. >> translator: china's recent actions to effectively ban rare earth exports to japan have made us realize that our country is a resource poor nation. we have to speed up the pace of undersea research. >> industry minister akihiro ohata also spoke about china's recent actions. ohata said it's clear japan is ill prepared to lose its supply of rare earth metals, which are crucial for making high tech appliances. he suggested his ministry wants to secure extra funding to find new sources. he also wants to help reduce the usage of these metals through subsidized investment in facilities. a survey shows tourists reservations from china to japan

dropped significantly after the chinese holiday season this week. japan's tourism agency surveyed major chinese travel firms against the current backdrop of bilateral tensions. in late september, chinese authorities asked travel agents refrain from promoting group tours to japan. the agency says higher cancellation fees helped prevent chinese from canceling visits between october 1st when china celebrates its national foundation day and the 7th. however, it says many travel agents are reporting significantly fewer than usual reservations for the period after the holidays. the number of chinese visitors to japan have been on the rise following the loosening by japan of tourist visa requirements and the abolition of restrictions on individual travelers. between january and august, more than 1 million chinese visited japan, up 160% for the same period in 2009 and more than

three years total. japanese tourism officials say they will closely monitor the impact on the country's travel industry. prime minister naoto kan has vowed to implement key policies while asking for the opposition's cooperation to pass economic measures. in a divided diet. >> translator:he cinetas got to remain true to its word. we have to tackle important policy challenges that have been put off for a long time. we must resolve these challenges in our generation. >> kan delivered the policy speech in the diet on friday, which opened for an extraordinary session. it was his first policy speech since last month's cabinet reshuffle. prime minister said an extra budget is needed to fund measures aimed at overcoming deflation and putting the economy on a recovery trk. he said the government will

decide by the year end whether to reduce the corporate tax rate. kan also called on the opposition to join discussions on reforming the tax system, including the consumption tax to cover rising social security costs. on diplomacy, the prime minister said the global power balance is shifting with the rise of emerging economies. he promised to deepen the japan-u.s. alliance which he says sves as the poor. kan referred to the senkaku issue that has put a strain on japan-china relations. he said the senkaku islands are an integral part of japan's territory, both historically and under international law and that no territory dispute exists over the islands. now behind the headlines. the u.s. has deployed the latest

unmanned global hawk in guam. a look at what's behind the u.s. move. >> reporter: the ceremony was held now home to the first u.s. unmanned surveillance aircraft unit in the western pacific region. the u.s. air force plans to deploy two more of the drones by the end of the year. >> it is the perfect place to bed down a platform with this capacity that enables us to be able toly missions north, south, east and west, in an equidistant virnenvironment ma s our mission requirements. >> reporter: the unmanned aircraft has highly sensitive senators and radar that work day and night and the all-weather conditions.

the global hull can fly up to 36 hours on one tank of fuel and can search out and monitor targets from an altitude of 20,000 meters, save from attacks fr the groun to protect these highly sensitive aircraft while on the ground, $40 million was spent on an air conditioned hangar that's large enough to accommodate six global hawks. u.s. air force officials are considering deploying additional drones starting next year. >> the global hawk can play a very valuable deterrent role in the region. affords us opportunities so that nations are assured of transit opportunities. >> reporter: the main factor behind the u.s. positioning of the global hawk to the asia pacific region is china's growing military presence. the asian giant has been flexing

its military muscles for the past few years and its navy is increasingly active in the south and east china seas. in march last year, five chinese ships, including a war ship, surrounded a u.s.avy surve vesseln thsouthhina s preventing it from moving. after the incident, u.s. military planners worry that china's navy could off-track other u.s. vessels traveling through the region. >> they want to be considered a major power player in the world. well, then they need to act in that kind of responsible fashion. they need to help maintain those sea lines of communication. in and around the south china sea though, they pose a more threatening posture. >> reporter: last month in guam, the u.s. navy conducted a large-scale drill with the

marine corps. both navy and marine corps officials see it as crucial to keeping china's military in check. in fact, the marine corps is planning to move 8,000 marines from okinawa to guam. the navy is planning an overhaul of its base on the island that's now used as their home port f some marines so that it can accommodate nuclear carriers as well. >> china, the challenges, the norms of behavior out here, and so it would not be helpful for us to diminish our presence out here. what helps support deterrents is presence. and by having a solid presence here in guam, that people know we're here, people see us operating here as we're doing right now. >> nhk's reporter who covered

the story is here. seems like china's military presence is being watched in the region. is guam going to going a front line? >> during the cold war guam was an important strategic location as a former base to counter possession by the former soviet union. as the cold war ended military units on guam were reduced. when the u.s. department felt they had completed their mission. once againuam is now at tre full front of the u.s. strategy to confront china's expanding presence. china's military refers to our first island chain that links okinawa, taiwan and the philippines. and the chain that links mainland japan, guam and new guinea. china's people's lib rag army, the pla, once confined its military activities to well within the first island chain, but lately they have been

quickly expanding their activities to their son island chain. under these circumstances, the u.s. has begun to upgrade its naval and air forces in guam and hawaii. so the arrival of the global hawk on guam is now a part of the military upgrade for the region. u.s. military planners have been trying to keep china in check mainly from its bases in japan. but they have concluded that their forces stationed here are not enough to respond to china's expanding presence in the wempb western pacific. >> china's growing presence in the southeast. >> our state of confrontation when southeast asian nations and china, which has laid claim to a number of small islands in the south chinese sea. china's military is strengthening its surveillance and military operations in the area under the pretext of

protecting china's fishing fleets. the government of neighboring countries think china is proceeding with the intention of dominating the south china seas. china's presence presents a great threat to fishermen in the area. in the case of vietnam, many of their fishing boats have been captured by china. all of their fish, petrol and even boats have been confiscated. seven vietnamese fishing boats were captured by chinese authorities last year and this year at least three fishing boats were confiscated. >> tnslator: t chinese ind guns at us and ordered us to go aboard their ship. then we were held on an island for 16 days. >> we were punched if we raised our heads. we were terrified.

>> in response, vietnam's government is strengthening its ties with the united states, its former enemy. the philippines and indonesia are also deepening their military cooperation with the united states to check china's military expansion. and here in japan, there are increasi demands for the strengthening of the japan-u.s. alliance to counter china's military expansion. as japan works to revise its thashl defense program guidelines by the end of this year, some experts insist that the nations should deploy more units on their southwest islands of okinawa prefecture. so it is clear that japan's government understand the necessity of rethinking its strategy in south china.

here is some of the news received from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin with this item sent by cctv china. china launched a second moon exploration probe on friday marking the 51st anniversary of the founding ofhe pele's republic of china. a rocket blasted off from the southwestern province of sichuan just before 7:00 p.m. local time. the control center said the satellite is expected to take 112 hours to reach its orbit. the aim of the latest mission is to take high-resolution pictures of the part of the moon's surface where chinese scientists want to man an unmanned spacecraft in 2013. china launched its first moon mission in october 2007. the environmental group

greenpeace has joined groups in thailand to protest the government's industrial policy demanding they implement tougher laws and regulations to monitor harmful industrial activities. on friday the activists formed a human block aid at the country's biggest industrial area. the greenpeace festival rain woe warrior is anchored to try to draw attention to the efforts of the protest. hi there. time to take another look at the world's weather now. in eastern asia, it looks like there is going to be a lot of rain moving into the northeast. we have a low pressure system here over northern china, that's going to combine with this front down here, just south of japan. and together they will create quite a lot of wet weather here. across the korean peninsula, into southern japan on saturday, and, in fact, that whole massive

ring will push right across japan up to the north as well on sunday. toward the south, this rain band here is just weakening off into saturday. but heavy rain will continue here in northern vietnam. a very strong easterly wind is helping to create lots of heavy rain clouds across eastern indochina and eastern locations of the philippines. temperatures are going to be looking like this. 32 degrees in taipei. 24 in tokyo. dry day here, 14 and 34 with scattered thunderstorms in bangkok. now into north america, let's start and talk about what is happening here in the northeast. of course we have two low pressure systems we have been tracking here. the second one is our ex-tropical storm nicole, now a tropical rainstorm. it is moving away from the coast here, but there is still quite a lot of rain to come. the next 48 hours show well at least 100 millimeters, maybe 150 in that little orange dot you see. for the mid-atlantic coast up to new england, and then into eastern canada there are watches and warnings in place. so check your local advisory.

i want to also talk about what is happening down here in the caribbean. lots of very heavy rain has been affecting this region. i want to start with some video coming out of jamaica. you're looking at kingston, incredible scenes here, days of torrential rains. this is from a short-lived tropical storm nicole i mentioned earlier, how it brought deadly flooding to the caribbean. at least 12 storm-related deaths have been reported in jamaica alone. many of these deaths resulting from floodwaters that washed away homes in parts of the capital. now, while whole communities have been cut off, hundreds of thousands of people have also been left without power. furthermore, there is more wet weather to come in the next few days. this region is covered by a low pressure system that covers -- well, cuba as well as jamaica and extends to the bahamas as well. there doesn't look like there is going to be a lot of rain in kingston. that's something. just about a millimeter in the

next three days, so hopefully we'll seat floodwaters starting to recede. temperatures then, 32 degrees in los angeles. we should start to see the temperatures moving down over the weekend. 16 in winnipeg. cool to the north and we have 18 in toronto. now, let's take a look lastly at europe. it is going to be very messy and wet once again for western europe, particularly the british isles. it is this big developed system we see just there over the atlantic. keeps sending in the powerful rain bands, very windy system here as well. thunderstorms will come to you in northern parts of spain, into france, and up into germany as well. the strong high pressure, though, just ahead of that will keep all of that rain in the west, preventing it from moving any further toward the east. so just quite messy and miserable, i'm afraid, for your weekend. to the east, not looking too bad. a little unstable here over the north -- the black sea region. but nothing to worry about, just a little scattered thunderstorms. 17 degrees in london. much cooler, though, to the

east, just 7 for you in moscow. here's your extended forecast. the japanese government began its national census on friday. prime minister kan handed in his form and called for everyone to take part.

the census is conducted every five years. it is designed to provide accurate figures about japan's population and its number of households. all residents, including foreigners, are supposed to fill out the census. that questionnaire covers age, nationality and length of residence at one's current address. the results serve as the basis for determining electoral constituencies and government policies for social security and disaster preparedness measures. preliminary results will be announced in february and detailed figures will be released after june of next year. that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. we'll be back in 30 minutes. thanks for joining us on nhk world.