hello. welcome back to "newsline," i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. japanese government officials have adopted standards on the handling of state secrets. critics say the new law may infringe on the public's right to know. an experimental ebola vaccine is ready for testing to help stop an outbreak that has killed more than 4,000 people.

and police officers in hong kong have torn down barricades set up by pro-democracy protesters. japan's government has adopted standards for implementing a state secrecy law, and decided to put the law into effect in two months. the law gives the government the authority to designate certain national security information as special secrets. leakers of such information would face a maximum prison term of ten years. the cabinet approved the law's operational standards on tuesday. they say state secrets can be designated only by the heads of 19 government entities, including the foreign and defense ministries. 55 types of information will qualify as special secrets. they include classified information provided by foreign governments, and details of surveillance activities by self-defense forces.

the standards say background checks of public servants and other handlers of state secrets must pay due consideration to protecting their privacy. the religion, creed or ideology will not be subject to screening but their criminal and debt records can be vetted. the government will appoint a cabinet office entity and other bodies which will be authorized to check the designation of secrets, and ask for the decision to be nullified if necessary. the standards also call for full respect to be afforded to the public's right to know and for special care to uphold media rights. the standards are to be reviewed after five years. now, nhk world's chie yamaguchi has been following developments on this new state secrecy law. she explains the background, and some of the challenges it may pose. >> reporter: lawmakers in japan passed a state secrecy law late last year despite fierce

struggle from opposition parties. the ruling coalition stressed need to protect national security amid growing international tension. the democratic party tried to prevent the bill from passing. its members said the law could infringe on the public's right to know. details of the new law remained undecided for months, including the recognition of state secrets and who designates or removes them. in july, members of the united nations human rights committee released a report on japan. it said the new law contains a break and a definition of what can be classified as secret. the report also said no one should be punished for sharing the information that does not harm national security. japanese government officials then created the panel of experts to compile the standards.

and they gathered comments from the public. about 24,000 people responded. some said it is not clear what sort of information may be designated a secret. and said there should be an independent agency in charge of screening separate from the government. on tuesday government officials promised to carefully consider the public's right to know and press freedom. they decided to re-examine the standards in five years. >> translator: we have set up institutions to ensure that what is designated as state secret is proper, and to prevent any concealment of information. we will thoroughly explain these to the japanese people to eliminate their concerns. >> reporter: but the institutions will be created inside the government. protesters, including lawyers and citizens, gathered outside

the prime minister's official residence. they claimed the institutions may not be able to combat independence and objective examinations. and they urged the government to have public opinion reflected in the standards. >> translator: i don't want them to pass the bill that would create problems. >> translator: i'm angry because they're forcing through the bill by pretending that they've listened to the public. >> reporter: the state secrecy law will come into effect in december. chie yamaguchi, nhk world, tokyo. health care workers in the u.s. have started testing an ebola vaccine on humans. scientists in canada developed the drug, and government officials there say it could be shipped to west africa within months, if clinical trials prove

successful. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: canadian officials are calling this the phase one clinical trial. there will be further tests in humans. studies in primates have shown this vaccine works to prevent infection, and to increase the chances of survival after exposure. canada supplied two vials of this experimental vaccine for the clinical trial. teams at a u.s. military lab will be giving the drug to 40 healthy volunteers who won't be at risk because it does not carry live ebola virus. >> a team of health care officials will monitor them for side effects and take blood samples to see how effective the immune systems are at making ant antibodie antibodies. >> reporter: antibodies help us fight infections. if all goes well this vaccine will be sent to west africa where ebola has quilled more than 4,000 people. russian leaders say they, too, are working on vaccines. officials with the world health organization have said if possible a vaccine could be developed and shipped by early

2015. that would certainly be welcomed by the health care workers on the front lines of this crisis. those in liberia have complained about the risk they face, poor working conditions and poor pay. they were supposed to strike on monday but many decided to go to work and continue negotiations with the government. health care workers in the u.s. are concerned, too, about training and risk. they're even more on edge after a nurse in texas contracted ebola, which is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids. the woman was wearing protective gear when she cared for a liberian man who died of the disease at a hospital in dallas. >> if this one individual was infected and we don't know how, within the isolation unit, then it is possible that other individuals could have been infected, as well. so we consider them to potentially be at risk, and we're doing an in-depth review and investigation. >> we've also seen ebola jump to health care workers in spain. a nurse contracted the virus after caring an infected patient

who had been to west africa. she's in stable condition in madrid, and health officials say the levels of the virus in her body are going down. now the head of the world health organization says she has never seen a health event strike such fear and terror, well beyond the affected countries. margaret chen also raised 9 possibility of potential state failure referring to the three affected nations in west africa. and she says the outbreak shows the world is ill prepared to respond to this kind of public health emergency. now many nations are trying to catch up in terms of preparedness. that's not just happening at hospitals and clinics. authorities at a handful of u.s. airports are doing temperature checks and quizzing passengers who arrive from the affected west african nations and those in britain will start enhanced screenings on tuesday at heathrow airport. craig dale, nhk world. and the japanese government is also taking precautions. cabinet ministers have approved a bill to give local officials more authority to prevent the spread of ebola and other infectious diseases.

it allows special officials to take blood and urine samples from people without their consent or that of medical institutions. this move will target people suspected of being infected with ebola, bird flu or other dangerous diseases. the japanese government is doing more to help municipalities prepare for the possibility of nuclear power plant accidents. the cabinet office has established a section dedicated to the task full time. the division brings together 50 people from the nuclear regulation authority, and other agencies. in the past the cabinet office has advised local governments on disaster preparedness. but the system did not assign full-time workers to disaster risk management, raising criticisms that it was insufficient. >> translator: i would like the members to work closely with

local governments on evacuation procedures, while remembering lessons from the fukushima nuclear accident. >> attention has been focused on communities around the sendai nuclear power plant in southwestern japan. two reactors at the facilities were the first to meet stricter requirements established after the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant in 2011. but the consent of host communities is also needed before operations can be restarted. with all 48 reactors in japan currently offline, the new section will be working with local governments around the country to improve preparedness measures. hong kong police have torn down barricades set up by pro-democracy protesters for the second day. protesters, mainly students, have been staging sit-ins on main roads at three locations for more than two weeks. following removal work on

monday, more than 200 police officers started to dismantle a number of barricades in a downtown area early tuesday morning. they cleared two lanes of one road. they also tore down obstacles near the government office building. hong kong government officials say the operation does not constitute a forcible removal of protesters. but one of the protesters says that's not so. strnz police are taking away the barricades forcibly, despite the promise made by the chief executive. >> tensions between the government and protesters is deepening as no negotiations have yet taken place. to the latest in business now, and we get straight to the markets. growing concern about the slowing pace of global growth, especially in europe, has investors worried today. the major benchmark on tuesday

fell below the key 15,000 level for the first time in two months. we've also got fears about the spread of ebola weighing on traders' sentiment. the nikkei average tumbled 2.4%, finished at 14,936. that's the fifth consecutive session of declines. growth sensitive stocks such as trippers and trading houses were sold off. a stronger yen dragged down expert linked issues as well. other markets in asia finished mixed. concerns about the world economy weighed on broader sentiment. although bargain hunting did give a boost to sydney. that index rose more than 1%, finished at 5,207, rebounding from the eight month low that it hit on monday. investors fought back recently battered resource shares, and these include iron ore giants such as bhp billiton and rio tinto. and in shanghai, declines of about 0.3%, 2,359. that's a third straight drop for that market. investors are becoming cautious ahead of the release of major

economic data. figures on inflation and money supply are scheduled to be released within a few days. government officials and policymakers at the bank of japan have been trying to pull the country out of deflation. a new data shows it is an uphill struggle. the prices of goods traded among companies in japan in september rose 3.5% from a year earlier. it is the 18th straight monthly increase but if the effects of the consumption tax increase in april aren't included, prices increased just 0.7%. that's the first time in 16 months that the figure has risen less than 1%. the officials say that due to declines in prices of gasoline and light oil and that's on the back of the downward trend we're seeing in crude oil prices. they also say a drop in spending after the consumption tax hike in april has helped push down prices of housing materials. even so we're seeing costs of some other materials have been increasing. officials say some businesses are passing along those higher costs by raising prices. other firms, though, are

reducing prices, after the tax hike caused their sales to fall. some business people in japan are benefiting from the weaker yen. the fall in the currency has made ship builders more competitive. officials at a industry association say ship builders received new orders totalling more than 11.8 million tons from january to june. that's nearly twice as many orders as they handled in the same period last year. officials say the weaker yen, and the recovery of the u.s. economy, have helped orders get back to where they were before the 2008 global financial crisis. ship orders are affected by changes in the global economic situation, so japanese companies are focusing on eco-friendly, and also deep sea resource surveillance vessels. they say these types of ships are highly profitable. competition in japan's electric car market is about to heat up. volkswagen says it will begin marketing two electric vehicles in the country starting in 2015. officials say they'll begin

accepting orders for the golf, and the up electric models in february. they say the company has been able to cut costs by basing the electric vehicles on existing models. just about 16,000 electric cars were sold in japan in fiscal 2012, making it the second largest market after the u.s. but the number of vehicles sold accounted for only less than 1% of all new cars sales in japan. vw officials say they expect sales of their electric vehicles to be good as the number of charging facilities around the country have expanded. managers in japan have been cutting labor costs to cope with tough business conditions. more than 30% of japanese workers are either without benefits or permanent contracts. but a major furniture retailer has decided to treat all of its employees the same way. the head of ikea japan believes that will help them become better workers, and that will help the company grow, too.

>> reporter: peter list found out something important about the company after coming to japan. many part-time workers were insecure about their future. >> they're very much despair and insecurity of not having a permanent job affects everyday life. and we decide we want to create a better everyday life for our customers and coworkers this is one step towards that. >> reporter: ikea is the world's biggest furniture retailer. it has eight stores in japan, and 3,400 employees. until recently, about 70% of them were part-timers. list has decided to give all workers the same benefits, job security, and pay rates. nhk calculates the change will cost the company more than $6 million a year. list says it's a wise investment. >> it's true belief in people will give a return on the business. it's no different to a new

product line. it's about i'm going to invest in people, and it will deliver this. >> reporter: yuki was a part-timer. he feels more motivated now that he's treated the same way as a regular employee. he's setting his own sales target. >> translator: i try to help people better understand the products. >> reporter: he wrote this explanation of how to use a self-watering plant pot. sales rose ten times. >> translator: i'll be taking on the same responsibilities as a regular employee. so i'll do my best. >> reporter: list says giving part-timers a better deal reflects the companies motto, as you grow, ikea grows, too. >> we also want to really commit and develop in japan. we want to open 14 stores by 2020. and to do that we need people. and we need good people.

we want people that want to stay, develop, and grow with ikea. >> reporter: other executives in japan are paying close attention to see whether list's strategy will pay off. it may be the start of a change in the japanese workplace. >> all right. that is going to do it for biz this hour. here's a check of the markets.

japanese figure skater takahashi has announced he's retiring from competition. the olympic medalist and former world champion has been in the forefront of the sport in japan. >> translator: i have decided to retire from figure skating and advanced toward my next goal. >> takahashi began skating when he was 8 years old. he took part in three consecutive winter olympic games, starting with turin in 2006. he became the first japanese male figure skater to win an olympic medal when he captured the bronze in the men's singles at the 2010 vancouver games. he placed sixth at the sochi games in february. takahashi has won one gold and two silver world championship medals, and five national championship titles. a knee injury kept him out of the world championships in march. he took a break from the sport

this season, saying he wanted to think about his future. >> translator: i managed to fulfill my dream and participate in three olympic games. i'm very happy i had the chance to be a figure skater. japanese weather officials have a new eye in the sky. they successfully launched a satellite into space last week and it's expected to significantly enhance the way weather is observed and predicted. nhk world's meteorologist jonathan oh tells us more about the sunflower satellite. >> reporter: with the sound of rockets firing off into space, the next chapter of meteorological study was written. the weather satellite made its way to space last tuesday.

it means sunflower in the japanese language. on board the rocket the latest technology that will significantly change the way meteorologists and the general public will see the weather. >> translator: it provides a lot more data than current satellites and it's a world first so it could be called a leading world satellite. >> reporter: one of the biggest features is its highly detailed observations. the satellite will see as small as a half kilometer in visible imagery allowing the detection of rapidly developing clouds associated with severe weather and typhoons. the full color pictures will allow meteorologists to tell the difference between clouds in the sky, snowfall on the ground, and even plumes of yellow sand, an important asset in weather forecasting. another significant improvement is the ability to provide a full size picture of the earth in just ten minutes. until now, the previous weather satellite was only able to take images every half hour. it was very difficult to follow

quickly developing storms that caused heavy downpours, much like the ones leading to flooding and landslides. the new generation weather satellite makes 3-d observations of atmospheric vapor and can calculate its amount. this is crucial in predicting wore torrential rain will fall. >> translator: grasping how atmospheric vapor is distributed is crucial to predicting where heavy rain falls. >> translator: in addition to visible data, it will allow meteorologists to detect sea surface temperatures. this is important because knowing the ocean temperatures will help forecasters best determine the development of powerful typhoons. people will be able to access many of the tools and images online once it comes fully into operation and officials expect that to be sometime next summer. jonathan oh, nhk world, tokyo. all right. and we're going to jonathan again for the latest weather forecast. jonathan, thank you so much for the report. it was a beautiful day here in

tokyo after the typhoon. how long is this weather going to last? >> miki, i have some good news. i think that the good weather will last for at least a couple more days as high pressure filters in behind this typhoon. now any time we have a significant weather system, whether it is a typhoon or severe weather, the process of clearing out all that moisture allows for high pressure to develop and bringing some very pleasant weather conditions. and i think that's going to be the case for japan, at least for the next couple of days. i do want to take a look back to sunday, because not only was japan impacted by this typhoon, but vongfong also affected eastern china. let's take a look at some video coming out of this particular region. this is dramatic video, those strong winds just bursting through, and causing this tree to be uprooted. and so it ends up crushing seven tricycles under that tree. and also caused a traffic jam. the good news is, we didn't see any injuries from this.

now let's take a look at the map once again. i want to show you what is happening with these high pressure systems. one is located toward and east of the korean peninsula and that brings some very nice weather. another one for eastern china. both areas seeing dry and pleasant weather and that will continue, as we go through wednesday, as well. some clouds trying to filter in from the west. maybe some snow showers trying to develop in the mountains. chongqing you will see a high of 22 on wednesday with some clouds. may see some sprinkles in seoul with a high of 20. and tokyo staying dry. staying sunny. high of 21 degrees coming up on wednesday. i do want to focus our attention into the other side of the pacific ocean, because we have a tropical storm to talk about. and this is going to be an issue or looks like it's going to be an issue for hawaii. at least you'll have to take a close look at this. this storm is moving to the northwest at 11 kilometers per hour. now it's expected to become a hurricane as we go in to the latter part of the week. now, as we go into sunday notice

the big island right there, you're going to be in the cone of focus as we go throughout the weekend. so definitely keep an eye on this. this will not be the first storm to potentially impact hawaii, as we had one earlier this season. so this is something else that we'll be watching out for. another thing we're watching out for is some very powerful storms that roared through portions of the deep south on monday. we're talking about at least 13 tornado reports on top of that more than 225 damaging wind reports, and some hail. and that focus will continue to shift toward the east, because of the cold air really pushing up against the warm air coming in from the south. and so look out for the possibility of some large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes are a possibility, and flash flooding from ohio all the way down into georgia, the carolinas, and into florida. and so be prepared for these strong to severe thunderstorms popping up throughout our tuesday. now, another tropical system to look out for, this time we're in the atlantic.

we already had fay moving over bermuda during the weekend causing some problems there. and now we have gone zalo, a category 2 hurricane moving to the northwest at 19 kilometers per hour with winds of 165 expected to become a major hurricane later on this week. once again once it starts turning toward the north and east focusing on bermuda once again. so we will have to definitely keep an eye out on this particular system by saturday and sunday. puerto rico already under hurricane warnings and seeing the brunt of this storm at this time. wrapping things up with a look at europe, we do have some severe weather that took place over in italy. that's going to be something we'll be looking out for. a lot of scattered showers expected throughout the continent. and some rain coming in for the western side of europe, as another low pressure system approaches that side of the continent. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that's all for

"newsline." at this hour. i'm miki yamamoto from tokyo. we'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. thanks for watching.

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