welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. police in hong kong have dismantled a protest site, but pro-democracy demonstrators are refusing to budge. more u.s. lawmakers want to ban people flying in from ebola-hit nations in west africa. although president obama argues the measure could make matters worse. and the head of japan's

largest business organization has urged the government to raise the consumption tax again, as a way to ensure fiscal stability. attempts by police in hong kong to end pro-democracy rallies have hit a roadblock. the police cleared one of the three main streets in downtown areas that had been occupied by protesters for almost three weeks. but soon afterward the demonstrators resumed their sit-in on one of the roads. a large number of police removed barricades and tents on the main road in kowloon early friday morning. the dawn wave met little resistance. there were only a small number of students at the site at the time. traffic began to move freely along the street again. but soon afterward more than 100 protesters, including students, began a sit-in. hong kong's chief executive leung chun-ying said protesters are ready to meet with students as early as next week. but the protesters say if the

authorities evict them before the talks it would reveal the government insincerity. the protest leaders say the future of the demonstrations depends on the government's response. u.s. president barack obama is under growing pressure to institute a travel ban, as part of measures to fight against the transmission of ebola. some lawmakers want to block arrivals to the u.s. from the three west african countries struggling with the virus. but, obama says that could do more harm an good. nhk world's craig dale is tracking ebola developments for us. >> reporter: this call for a travel ban has come from a number of republicans in the u.s. they say they believe it's one way to keep americans safe. now you'll recall the first ebola case that developed in the u.s. involved a liberian man who arrived in texas last month, then started showing symptoms. he died last week, but not before infecting two nurses who treated him at a dallas hospital. president obama is aware of all this, but he stresses infectious

disease experts say a travel ban could cause people to engage in something called broken travel. >> essentially breaking up their trip so that they can hide the fact that they have been to one of these countries where there is a disease in place. and as a result, we may end up getting less information about who has the disease. they're less likely to get treated properly, screened properly, quarantined properly, and as a consequence we could end up having more cases, rather than less. >> reporter: now right now u.s. authorities are asking for detailed information from travelers who come from liberia, guinea and sierra leone and they're doing temperature checks. enhanced screenings are also in place at heathrow airport in london, and france is expected to ramp up its vigilance here. this is happening in concert with preboarding checks in west africa where the virus has killed around 4500 people. a fear among travelers has grown in europe, after a passenger on an air france flight started showing ebola-like symptoms. this individual flew from

nigeria via paris to madrid and is now being monitored in hospital. it's the same facility, by the way, where a spanish nurse, someone she may have infected, and a priest who recently visited liberia, are all being treated or monitored for ebola. travel has also been a concern in recent days within the u.s., after one of those nurses who contracted ebola flew on a commercial flight with a low grade fever. she's in hospital in atlanta. her colleague, who became infected just before she did has been moved to a more specialized facility. dozens of other health care workers from their dallas hospital have been asked to stay home and limit their movements for the 21-day incubation period. the issue of how ebola spread from the liberian patient to the nurses came up at a u.s. congressional hearing. staff initially didn't think thomas eric duncan had ebola and they sent him home with antibiotics. >> we made mistakes. we did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of ebola and we are deeply sorry. >> reporter: health care workers

have also complained of inadequate equipment a procedures. some lawmakers say americans are losing confidence. >> we need a strategy, and we need to protect the american people. first and foremost. it's not a drill. people's lives are at stake, and the response so far has been unacceptable. >> reporter: the global response continues to grow day by day, though. more troops from britain and the u.s. are on the ground in west africa. president obama has authorized the call-up of national guard personnel in case they're needed. and japan is sending experts to sierra leone to work with the world health organization. now all of this is coming as the u.n. secretary-general calls for countries to donate up to a billion dollars in aid to fight the virus. by december 1st. craig dale, nhk world. japan's prime minister has sent an offering to yasukuni shrine in tokyo at the start of its autumn festival.

the shinto shrine honors japan's war dead, those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. shinzo abe made the offering of a potted plant on friday, using his name in tile of prime minister. abe visited the shrine in december last year. he made an offering at a potted plant during the spring festival in april. on august 15th, the day japan marks the end of world war ii, he made a different type of offering using his private money. japan's top government spokesperson referred to the latest offering. >> translator: i understand he sent an offering. it was done in a private capacity. so, i think the government should not comment on it. >> also on friday, more than 100 members of the diet visited

yasukuni and offered prayers at the shrine's main hall. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson hong lei said the country firmly opposes such negative moves related to the shrine. now, to see what's happening in the world of business, let's go to our ron madison from the biz desk. ron? >> all right, thank you very much, miki. let's start with the markets this hour. financial markets do appear to have calmed down a bit after strong selling earlier in the week. investors were somewhat encouraged by positive figures on u.s. industrial output and employment. some markets like hong kong rebounded from recent lows. others, like tokyo and seoul, were sold, though, due to ongoing concerns about global growth, especially in the eurozone. here in tokyo the nikkei average gave up 1.4%, finishing at 14,532. falling 5% for the week. many traders were reluctant to buy up shares ahead of the weekend. bellwether shares like toyota motor led the he can kleins. also in seoul the kospi seeing

declines of nearly 1%, 1,900 at the close there. that makes for a weekly drop of 2%. the lowest closing level, as well, since early february. key exporters like samsung electronics were down. and in hong kong, the hang seng index was higher, more than half a percent, 23,023. that did erase some of thursday's losses. telecom shares like china mobile were higher due to the launch of the iphone 6 in china. well, officials at japan's transport ministry have given the go-ahead for the construction of a high-speed train line that uses magnetic levitation technology or maglev. it will connect tokyo and nagoya in just 40 minutes. that cuts the travel time by more than half. transport minister akihiro ohta handed the approval document to the president of central japan railway. the rail operator had submitted the application back in august. since then, people at the ministry have been studying the maglev's technical feesibility.

the cost and time needed for building, as well as other factors. >> translator: this is a mega project. it can boost the human traffic between the three major cities. it will have a great impact on people's lives, as well as the economy. >> executives at the railway company planned to have briefings and address the concerns among local residents about the maglev's impact on the environment. they will then start buying up land, and engaging in other procedures. the 286 kilometer route will cost $52 billion to build. rail operator executives have set a goal to start the maglev service in 2027. on to our new series now on the japanese economy. in it we speak with influential figures in the business sector. this first installment features the head of keidanren, the japan business federation. he has been leading the country's largest business organization since june and nhk

world's senior commentator asked him for his views on a number of economic issues. >> before taking the helm of keidanren he was ceo at toray industries. he often makes suggestions to japan's government as a member of the council on economic and fiscal policy. prime minister shinzo abe is examining whether to raise the consumption tax again from 8% to 10%. but this could derail economic growth. should the tax be raised? >> translator: raising the consumption tax must be done to ensure fiscal stability and discipline.

a sustainable social security system, and a stronger foundation for economic growth. it's also an international promise, so if japan fails to honor this pledge, its national prestige will suffer. that would deliver a huge blow to the country's interests. i want to see a bold political decision on this matter. having said that, i think it's necessary to ensure that another consumption tax increase doesn't halt an economic recovery. i expect the economy will gradually rebound toward december, but the government needs to prepare extra measures and effectively implement them to support the recovery.

>> it's been said that abenomics caused prices to rise. but not wages. what needed for companies to be able to raise wages. >> translator: higher wages help to boost consumption and production, creating a favorable cycle. to realize this i hope there will be an environment for companies to raise wages next year. but, this will only be possible if companies can earn enough profits. governments needs to implement bold deregulation and reform corporate and other tax structures. companies will be able to raise wages if the government actively supports them with these measures.

>> japan's effective corporate tax rate is far higher than those of singapore, china and south korea. janine's government plans to cut the rate down to the 20s in several years' time, but sakakibara would like to see it down sooner. >> translator: we want the government to cut corporate taxes by around 2 percentage points starting next year. then lower it further down to the 20s within no more than three years and eventually lower it to 25% several years after that. this would bring it in line with the levels of other oecd nati s nations, and neighboring asian countries. with lower corporate taxes, the

vitality and competitiveness of businesses would be considerably strengthened. >> so what's the role of the companies? the japanese economy was in a deflationary period for nearly 20 years. many companies were reluctant to expand their operations. in order to steadily foster the japanese economy, firms should take appropriate risks and actively invest in equipment, research, and development to create new growth opportunities. such an aggressive approach is necessary. >> three japanese won this year's nobel prize in physics, are businesses investing enough in research and development?

>> i think that the most important area, when i became chairman of keidanren, i said in my inaugural speech that japan should remain a technology oriented nation. with its technological skills, japan has developed new technology, new products, and services, and achieved high economic growth. i think it's vital for japan to remember its past successes as a technology oriented nation, and once again show its resolve to be a global leader in developing technologies. i believe that will be a key catalyst behind japan's economic recovery. the three japanese-born scientists who won this year's nobel prize in physics, indeed offer encouragement. their feat say result of tenacious research. something that many researchers in other parts of the world have

mostly given up on. if more japanese people take similar approaches, the country would have a chance to be a leader on the global stage. >> sakakibara visited china last month and met the country's vice premier, who is in charge of economic issues. he indicated his expectation that higher level economic dialogue between ministers of japan and china would begin soon. >> translator: i thank wang's call for the resumption of high-level economic dialogue is a very important message that china is sending to japan, with a clear intent to improve bilateral relations. i take it as a significant message that shows china's willingness to improve ties by strengthening business relations.

economic relations between japan and china have deteriorated. china's trade with its global partners is expanding, but not with japan. bilateral trade, both exports and imports, are declining. we're very concerned about the plunge in trade, and chinese leaders share these worries. the current strain of political and diplomatic relations between japan and china is having a negative effect. we visited beijing with the aim of improving bilateral ties through greater economic exchanges. and i think we were able to produce substantial results. >> and you can also catch our new series "view from the top" on our website on nhk world. well, as i mentioned earlier, apple's iphone 6 made its debut in china, which is said to be the word's largest market for smartphones. the number there is expected to

ek seed 700 million units by the end of this year. an apple store in shanghai was crowded on friday morning with shoppers who had already placed orders beforehand. the latest iphone models went on sale last month in japan, the u.s., and other countries in the first three days more than 10 million units were sold around the globe. >> translator: i've been waiting for a long time. i bought the iphone 6 in japan, but i couldn't get it through customs. i came here because i couldn't wait any longer. >> the iphone 6 was popular in china even before it officially went on sale there. units bought overseas were sold at higher prices. major online store alone reportedly had received nearly 10 million presale orders through thursday. well, economists have been watching china and they're worried by what they see. housing prices have been falling, industrial production is sluggish, and that's having an effect on consumer prices.

officials at china's national bureau of statistics say consumer inflation in september slowed to 1.6% from a year ago. that was the weakest rise since january 2010, and less than half of the government's annual price target of 3.5%. now, some economists are worried that weaker price increases may indicate that the economy is slowing down. earlier ai uchida spoke with daniel so, a strategist at cnb international securities in hong kong. he gave us some details about what's going on. >> the cpi year-on-year number is weak, that's true. but month-on-month number is suggesting otherwise. because it's up half percent from august. the biggest jump in seven months, and i believe looking forward the cpi will remain quite low for some time, because ppi is still weakening, and also, oil prices are down by a lot. but, the bottom line is, there is no inflation at deflation

threats because the rapid rise in salaries across china is going to drive up inflation sooner or later. >> but, daniel, leaders are trying to shift from an export dependent country to one with strong domestic demand. what do leaders need to do to shore up domestic consumption? >> there are several things, first of all, they need to improve social welfare, like health care, and pension, because in that way people have more money to spend, and second, the reform of the household registration system will need to be speeded up, because migrant workers after the reform can settle in the cities and enjoy social services. and then, rural employ is also important, because people will feel more secure about the future, and therefore would feel

more comfortable to spend now rather than spending for migration. next week the communist party is meeting. the top agenda is rule of law. the government's willing to walk the talk. >> also next week we'll get china's third quarter gdp data. what are you expecting? >> because the growth numbers in july and august were very disappointing, i expect a weak number in q3 to grow by 7.2%. that's believed to be the government's bottom line of growth. as for the fourth quarter the growth may rebound a bit but for the full year the number is likely to be below 7.5%, at 7.3% or 7.4%. i believe the government won't launch any large-scale or broad-based stimulus measure. only some industry specific ones

likely, especially such as environmental protection, and health care. and i don't expect any monetary easing, either. like interest rate cuts or bank rate cuts, because the money grow, and been holding up price well. there's no need to launch monetary easing. >> and that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's get another check of the markets now.

it's time now for a check on the world weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. so, jonathan, residents in bermuda are bracing for a second hurricane in just a week. how are things looking for them? >> miki, it doesn't look very good, because this system is a very powerful one. we're talking about hur gain gonzalo a category 4 storm packing quite a punch and it is now moving toward bermuda which is under a hurricane warning. residents are getting prepared. let's take a look at some video over the island. and it's just one week after hurricane fay struck the small island. another hurricane is now bearing down on residents there. gonzalo now the strongest storm in the atlantic thus far this season. and residents are making sure to prepare for its arrival.

you can see here that the residents are boarding up windows and getting last-minute provisions in place. now, at least 1500 homes are still without power following fay last week, and so since gonzalo is coming through, once again knock out power to residents as it moves through the area. here's a look at the track right now. again hurricane warning in place. right south of here is where gonzalo is located packing winds of 220 kilometers per hour moving to the north/northeast at 24. now, as we go through friday, and into saturday, and through the day saturday, you will continue to be under the influence of this system. strong winds, heavy downpours, rough surf. all battering the island during the 24 to 48 hour period. once we get past that and move into sunday, i think that's when we're going to see the clearing, and we should see a quick improvement. but again, during this key time period, this is when you need to now hunker down and make sure that you are staying safe, because the system will definitely be hitting you pretty

hard, as we go through friday and saturday. now, the system that's going to help push gonzalo away will be a cold front that has been responsible for causing problems in the u.s. deep south. that is going to help push gonzalo further away from the u.s., and also taking with it all the moisture in the process. but the low that has also really forced the cold air and the cold front is going to bring snow into the eastern portions of canada, and surging down from the north will be cold air into the great lakes, and also into places like kentucky and ohio river valley. so be prepared for a big cooldown as we go in to the weekend. friday, not quite as dramatically cold. 18 in chicago, 7 in winnipeg. but saturday and sunday all that cold air is going to come down, some areas into the low teens for daytime highs into the weekend. we have a low pressure system coming onshore for the western side of canada and the u.s. strong winds and heavy rainfall will be a part of the forecast

for you in vancouver, seattle, as we go into the weekend. keeping an eye on this system, this is tropical storm ana, also causing problems. it is moving toward the northeast, and it's not expected to become a hurricane, maybe a minimal hurricane at best. but a tropical storm watch is in effect, and it's a slow moving system so tropical storm conditions will actually linger not only into the weekend, but throughout the first part of the next work week. and so make sure that you have the preparations in place, because strong winds, heavy rainfall, sound familiar, these are all tropical storm characteristics, and also the process of very rough surf also in place. much drier conditions in east asia. high pressure controlling eastern china, korean peninsula and most of japan. a low pressure system up north is responsible for causing heavy rain, and there was a possible tornado, some strong wind gusts associated with severe weather was in place, and so we have some damage that took place on thursday. and in to friday. now, as we look at europe, we do

have some rain coming through the area. and so, because of that from paris, vienna, warsaw, you'll be dealing with wet weather throughout the day. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. all right. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm meek key yamamoto from tokyo. thank you very much for joining us. we'll be back at the top of the

hour. thanks for watching nhk world. gç >> u.s. health officials are

under fire for the response to the ebola epidemic. treatingama considers a czar to help efforts. russia and the crane -- ukraine are meeting. hong kong police dismantle an of the this time with no resistance. this is a day after the they agreed it to new talks with pro-democracy activists.