welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here is a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the japanese prime minister's visit to yasukuni shrine has triggered sharp reaction from neighboring country. the shrine is dedicated to the war dead. a japanese governor is ready to okay land reclamation.

a u.n. official in south sudan says his organization is sheltering 50,000 people displaced by fighting between government forces and rebels. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has visited yasukuni shrine in tokyo. it's the first time an incumbent prime minister has visited the shrine since 2006. the prime minister at that time was core sooum many. abe said he paid his respects to those who sacrificed their lives for japan and renewed his commitment to peace. china and south korea are condemning the visit. abe arrived at yasukuni shrine before noon on thursday and offered prayers t. day marks one year since he took office for the second time. yasukuni shrine honors japan's war dead. those remembered include military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal after world war ii. able did not visited the shrine

during its spring and autumn festivals, nor did he go on august 15, the day japan marks the end of world war ii. >> translator: i showed my utmost respect and admiration to those who sacrificed their precious lives for japan. i also prayed that they would rest in peace. >> abe also said he visited another shrine in the same compound. he said he paid his respects to all the people of the world who have died in wars. >> translator: there is criticism based on a misunderstanding that visiting yasukuni is an act that honors war criminals, but my intention was to report what i have done for the last year to those who

sacrificed their lives for their country. i also wanted to show my commitment to bringing about a peaceful world where people will never again have to suffer in wars. i have no intention of hurting the feelings of the people of china or south korea. >> abe said he will continue to explain his stance with humility and good faith. he said hi would seek dialogues with other countries and would like to directly explain how he feels to the leaders of china and south korea. reaction from neighbors was swift. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson qin gang red a statement on cctv that said abe visited the shrine in spite of strong opposition from china.

it denounces it as an acted to glorify the history of militarism and aggression. it's a challenge to the international order established after world war ii. >> translator: the japanese leaders has worsened the bilateral relationship instead of improving it, aggravating historical issues and created another political hurdle. japan must take full responsibility for the consequences. >> senior foreign ministry officials lodged a strong protest with japan's ambassador oovps. the south korean government also condemned abe's visit. >> translator: we urge the japanese government to correct its perception of history in which it denies the past and glorifies its earlier aggression. in order for japan to regain trust, it should face up to history and apologize to the people of neighboring countries that suffered under its military

aggression and colonial rule. >> bilateral ties rapidly deteriorated last year after then president month buck visited the islands. pack kuhn nay has refused to meet with abe. there's a growing view that japan is shifting the the right under the abe government. puck has repeatedly demanded that japan take measures to address historical issues as the so-called comfort women, many of whom were forced to work as prostitutes during world war ii. taiwan has reacted differently, calling on all sides to remain calm and promote peace and snanlt the region. >> translator: amid the growing tensions around the east china sea we hope all countries concerned will act calmly and refrain from doing anything to escalate the tensions and work to develop friendly relations.

>> the statement is similar to ones taiwan has issued in the past following japanese cabinet minister visits to the shrine. officials at the u.s. embassy in tokyo expressed their government is disappointed ap abe's action and says lit exacerbate tensions with its neighbors. the embassy also said in a statement the u.s. hopes japan and its neighbors will find constructive ways to deal with sensitive issues in the past, telling nhk he appeared to make the visit out of confidence for the high support rate. although the timing may have been better, that doesn't make it right: nhk's mass sigh nakajima is here. >> since taking office, abe has

carefully considered visiting the shrine but has chosen not to. one possible reason he went at this time is a desire to visit the shrine on the one-year anniversary of his cabinet's inauguration. it is something he failed to accomplish the first time he held the office. it is believed that he wanted to change the situation where the prime minister must not visit the shrine for fear of affecting japan's relationships with china and south korea. he has said that he strongly regrets being unable to visit the shrine during his first tenure. so he probably wanted to change that situation while at the same time meeting the expectations of his conservative supporters. >> by refraining from visiting the shrine, abe has still been unable to set up summit meetings with both china and south korea. pro pekts for such meeting have

probably suffered a blow due to this situation. does he have any particular plan in mind? >> to be honest, i don't think there will be any breakthroughs in the near future. china and south korea have protested strongly about this visit. the chances for a visit with those leaders will be slimmer. while abe informed united states about his visit in advance, probably hoping to gaining understanding for his decision, but some in the government think the might adversely affect japan's relations with the united states which hopes japan to improve its ties with china and south korea. he has said that it is only natural for a national leader to pray for the souls of those who fought and died for their country. all he can do now is to continue his efforts to gain the understanding of other

countries. >> masayo, thanks as always. the governor of japan's oerk nah wah prefecture is ready to back a plan he hopes will give residents a quieter life. he says he'll approve a plan to reclaim land to the u.s. military can move an air base out of a city. governor hirokazu nakaima told his deputies he plans to okay the land wreck! . he spoke a day earlier with shinzo abe, easing the burden of hosting military facilities. those plans include moving an air base out of the city of futenma to reclaimed land in a less populated area. they also include speeding up the closure of other military facilities. governor nakaima says he'll hold a news conference friday to announce and explain his decision. people in afghanistan are

celebrating a step towards easier travel in and out of their country. they held a ceremony to mark the completion of improvements at their capital's international airport. afghans made those improvements with help from japan. the japanese government got involved with kabul international airport in 2003 with construction of a terminal. aid from tokyo later covered an increase in parking capacity from 26 aircraft to 32 and repairs to a runway. those improvements cost $45 million. >> translator: the completion of this project is an important step in improving our country's airport facilities. i'm grateful for japan's help. >> translator: an airport can be described as the face of a nation. i hope it will bring benefits to afghanistan. >> ambassador takahashi said 4

million people are expected to use the airport in 2020. most international forces are scheduled to pull out by the end of next year. analysts say the airport improvements will contribute to economic development by increasing the number of flights from abroad. a widening corruption scandal has claimed more of the cabinet. three ministers resigned after investigators took their sons into custody. the economy minister, interior minister and the minister for the environment and urban planning stepped down on wednesday. authorities detained the men's sons as part of their probe. police have detained more than 80 in all. 24 arrested. demonstrators took to the streets to protest the scandal. analysts say the investigation stems from a rift between aired won and an influngsal cleric,

fat tell la gug lynn who has close ties to the police and judiciary. he previously supported the rilg party but became critical of air due want's administration after a crackdown during the summer on antigovernment protesters. aired want hinted that ghoul len was responsible but didn't name him directly. the deepening rivalry between the two men is expected to influence a presidential election scheduled for next year. government troops and rebels in south sudan are keeping up their attacks on each other. soldiers loyal to the president are trying to retake key towns. a u.n. spokesperson in juba told

nhk more and more people are fleeing the violence. nhk world's nor rica hoe kada has more. >> reporter: soldiers loyal to the president and supporters of the former vice president have been fighting for over ten days. a u.n. official in juba say it is troops and rebels are doing battle in four of the country's ten states. he says more and more citizens are fleeing their homes. >> the numbers of this place continue to rise and is a source of great concern to the united nations. i believe that something on the order of nearly 30,000 civilians from jond lay state have crossed into a neighboring state over the past five or six days to escape the fighting. >> reporter: displaced people are flooding into u.n. bases

across the country. japanese and other u.n. peacekeepers at the main camp in juba are giving them water and sanitation. >> i think over 50,000 civilians taking shelter, and we continue to get more people coming in. many, many south sudanese in the current circumstances feel that only in the compounds of the u.n. can they actually feel safe and feel protected. >> reporter: president kir addressed the nation on wednesday and urged ma shall to negotiate. ma shall says the president is holding his allies and must release them before he'll talk. >> the head of the peacekeeping in sudan, hilda johnson has been in constant contact with the key leaders of the country in an effort to open a channel of dialogue between the two sides.

>> reporter: kenyan and ethiopian leaders have arrived in the country to help broker talks. the u.n. officials say members of his organization are trying to bring the two sides to the negotiating table before the new year. noriko okada, nhk world. mize hugh will be limited on some of its loans as a penalty for extending credit to mobsters. ron madison has more on that. >> we started hearing yesterday that they might impose more penalties on the bank. they did confirm that, the regulators. we're also hearing news about a shakeup internally. lots of developments today, gene, starting with what happened with the financial services agency. it has ordered mizuho to temporarily stop accepting applications for some loans. this is an additional penalty for its role in lending the organized crime groups. the loans in question are extended through a consumer credit company in the group. the agency has told the bank to

stop them for a period of one month. in september the agency ordered mizuho to stop. there was inconsistency about what happened with with the loans. they say they were aware of the problems in september of 2010 but failed to take action. it says current managers have failed to take the matters seriously. the agency ordered the bank and its holding company, mizuho financial group, to reenforce their governance. following the penalty order, the president of the bank announced measures to enhance corporate governance. he apologized at the news conferen conference. >> translator: mizuho and its group will devote all efforts to cut ties with mob groups.

>> he says he will remain as president of the bank and tolding company but will give up executive compensation for one year instead of the previously announced six months. he also said the chairman of the ms. soour hoe financial group will step bibi the end of next march. he stepped down as chairman last month. the financial group will let external experts review matters related to personnel and executive compensation starting next june. the chair of the board will be reported in principle from outside the company. to the markets, the nikkei index posting a fresh six-year high after brokerages began to take orders for retail investors that opened a new tax-free account. many investors believed that further buying by retail investors will support the upward trend. today the nikkei average climbed more than 1%, finishing well above 16,000 today, 16,174.

the topix was up 1.7% to close at this year's new high. the topix's sharp rally shows a strong trend. other markets across the region remained close for a holiday. it was business as usual in china with the shanghai composite seeing a decline to a four-month low. thailand's s.e.t. climbed to 1,308, releasing a recommendation that a scheduled poll should be delayed following renewed violence by police and ant government protesters. the dollar-yen roughly at 104.76, having it hovering around a more than five-year high. the turkish lira dropped to a record low on the country's political turmoil.

a japanese government panel is urging companies to offer more flexible and favorable working conditions for women and older employees. this policy aims to help the japanese economy grow amid a shrinking population. a subcommittee of the government's industrial competition council has drawn up recommendations. the panel say it is work environment should be adapted to take in motivated and capable women, senior citizens and young people seeking careers. it calls on companies to offer full-time regular positions with limited transfers and job classifications. that's to make it easier for people caring for their children and aging parents to land jobs. it urges companies to do away with the mandatory retirement age to allow more senior citizens to continue working. it says creativity of highly specialized staff should be promoted through appropriate treatment and flexible working hours. now the panel does hope to incorporate these recommendations and the government's growth plan to be revised around next june. on the economic front in

japan, housing starts in november posted an increase for a 15th straight month compared to the previous year. many people in japan are rushing to buy homes ahead of a consumption tax hike scheduled for next april. the land and infrastructure ministry says more than 91,400 homes have gotten under way, up 14.1% from the same time last year. owner occupied houses that are custom built rose 22.6%. while houses for rent were up to 17.1%. last minute deals to avoid the higher consumption tax. home buyers can lock into mortgage rates that are currently very low. new condominiuming built for sale declined by 1%. workers at major japanese companies are getting extra holiday cheer. their winter bonuses are on the

rise for the first time in two years. the japan business federation surveyed companies with more than 500 employees listed on the major board of the tokyo stock exchange. this poll found the average worker received a bonus worth more than $7,700, an increase of almost 3.5%. auto industry at nearly 12%. workers in the machinery and metal industries as well as cement companies saw their bonuses rise by 7%. food company workers were down almost 10%. that is going to do it for biz tonight. here is a check of the markets.

every morning investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way, and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the latest business trends. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news in "insight" every day here on "newsline." there is rain and snow for japan. our meteorologist robert speta is here with more on that.

>> gene, you're right. this storm system has been rolling across japan. i'm start by showing you a satellite picture. look at that time cloud cover extending from west to east, low pressure area down towards the south. that's going to bring light to moderate showers. nothing too severe, but it is going to be rather wet through the evening and overnight hours. this is moving northeast. going into friday you'll still see wet weather. that high pressure coming in is going to be the big game-changer. that will push this out of the way. sea-effect snow will build. you could be seeing 30 centimeters of fresh snow on top of 100 to 140 centimeters already on the ground. definitely good for the skiers if you like the white stuff. high pressure dominating korea towards china. you'll see the big air mass come in. rain showers in the philippines for the most part, temperatures on the cool side. look at that. seoul with a high of only 1 by

sunday. tokyo getting um to the freezing mark by sunday during the overnight hours, things will be staying really on the chilly side and getting well below average going through the next several days. let's see what's going on in the americas out here where we do have a storm system moving across the great lakes, a dusting of snow expected across much of the northeast. nothing too severe with this one. what it's also going to be doing is ushering high pressure in from the south. that will push east. along the western periphery we'll see warmer weather move in towards the weekend, much of the eastern seaboard. really east of the mississippi river temperatures will warm up a little bit above average. things will be changing. we have another storm system coming in behind this. right now oklahoma city, high 15 by sunday, a little above average. atlanta up to 13. even chicago above the freezing mark. on friday it was just minus 4 for you there. things absolutely bitterly cold.

by monday into tuesday expect a real big change here. by new year's eve, if you want to be outside i would suggest bundling up. there will be a big blast of arctic air coming in. in europe this storm system is spinning around the med ter rainian, pushing towards italy. you the severe weather advisories in place. higher elevations towards the alpine regions, up to 50 centimeters of snowfall expected out there. rain up to 125 millimeters and some of the other elevations. you have a lot of rough weather with the storm system. it's going to continue to move off here towards the east. supported by the upper level jet and then the heavy snow. as far as the british isles you're seeing improving conditions. there's another low coming in on the tail end of our previous one. i would like to say the fair weather is going to be lasting for a while. unfortunately that's not the case. by friday and saturday, windy

conditions wret again. farther towards the east, if you're in eastern europe, it's a little chilly, but temperatures actually above average. moscow still above ave. reaming here. up to 3, sunny skies on thursday. that's a look at your thursday. that's a look at world weather. here is your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour.

i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here in nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. have a great day wherever you are. 

>> thanks for joining us on "france 24." turkish prime minister reshuffled his cabinet. he had no choice after a corruption scandal forced three ministers to step down. one of them called on the prime minister to do the same. here's more. turkey's political upheaval dominated newspaper headlines this thursday. three ministers stepped down and ogan replacedr erd members of cabinet. some seemed unimpressed. >> there is