hello. welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. relatives of abducted japanese are waiting with hope as officials from tokyo and pyongyang meet to discuss the issue. a journalist who arrived in tokyo after traveling in west africa has tested negative for the ebola virus. he had a fever and was quickly quarantined. and early election results

suggest pro-european parties will dominate ukraine's parliament, but separatists are set to hold their own election. japanese and north korean officials have met face-to-face in pyongyang for the first time in a decade. they've discussed an issue that's been an obstacle in improving ties between the two nations. the delegation from tokyo want to assess the progress of an investigation into the fate of missing and abducted japanese nationals. the north korean special investigation committee is headed by so tae ha. he greeted the japanese delegation in front of a government building in central pyongyang. eight north korean members, including the chief of a panel for abducted japanese, had attended the meeting. three other independent panel chiefs are also there. >> translator: i welcome director ihara, and all of you.

i know there are different opinions in your country about this visit. but i think it's a good step forward. i see the visit as representing japan's will to pursue the agreement made between us based on the pyongyang declaration of 2002. >> junichi ihara is the head of japan's foreign ministers asian bureau. he's leading a 12-member delegation from tokyo. >> translator: i'm glad to be able to meet with a special investigative committee's chairman, mr. so tae ha and the heads of each panel. >> the meeting got under way on tuesday morning. ihara stressed that the japanese government officials placed a top priority on resolving the abduction issue. he says they'll ask about the

structure of the committee, and how much progress each panel has made. the talks are scheduled to end on wednesday. relatives of the japanese nationals abducted by north korea are closely watching the talks. they're looking for fresh revelations about their loved ones. one woman is still holding out hope for a reunion 34 years on. >> reporter: fumio saito is 69. she is the elder sister of a woman abducted in 1980. every autumn she harvests these persimmons and chestnuts in the hope that she can share them with her brother one day. she planted the trees and small saplings around the time north korea admitted it had abducted him. the trees are big now and bear plenty of fruit each year. but saito's brother still hasn't come home.

he was abducted by north korean agents in spain, where he was studying. he was 26 then. 34 years have passed since then. saito is hoping the ongoing talks in north korea will lead to some progress toward establishing her brother's whereabouts. >> translator: i can't go to north korea, and even if i could, i don't have a clue where he is. i have to rely on our government to help us. all i can do is wait for it to do something. i'll continue to be patient. >> reporter: it was in 2002 that north korea officially admitted for the first time that it had abducted japanese nationals. five japanese abductees returned home. saito went to the airport. although north korea had

announced that her brother had died, she didn't believe it. later north korea sent remains that it said were kaoru's but the japanese government conducted dna analysis and found they had no connection with him. >> translator: receiving those remains was so harsh, and to think that we were the only family to be treated like this. how could they do such a thing to kaoru? >> reporter: saito went out on the streets to collect signatures for a petition in the hope of bringing her brother home. their mother was elderly. she, too, had been hoping for kaoru's immediate return. four years ago, when talks over the abductees had come to a standstill, saito visited south korea. she made her way to a spot near the north/south border to send a message to her brother.

she released a balloon with a photo of her family attached and a note from their mother. but in january of this year, suniyo died, age 92. she never got to see her son again. >> translator: i don't want to get depressed or be sad just because my brother was abducted. i believe i'll be reunited with him some day if i stay positive. i think he'll come back some day. >> reporter: time continues to tick for the abductees' families. in other news, a man arriving in japan from the west african nation of liberia has tested negative for the ebola virus. the man arrived on monday with a

fever, and was quickly quarantined. the canadian journalist landed at tokyo's haneda airport on monday afternoon. he had spent two months in liberia, then flew to japan via belgium and britain. he was transferred directly from the airport to the national center for global health and medicine in central tokyo. blood tests came back negative. but ministry of health officials say he'll stay at the medical center for a few days as a precaution. health authorities have been asking everyone arriving in japan whether they visited any affected countries in west africa in the past three weeks. that's the incubation period of ebola. authorities have designated 45 medical institutions to be prepared to deal with ebola. staff wear hazmat suits and treat patients in rooms especially designed to prevent the virus from escaping. the leaders of pro-european

parties in ukraine are promising to push ahead with reforms. they've taken control of parliament following an election. but, with a civil war still under way in the east, and pro-russian separatists there planning an election of their own, the path ahead is anything but clear. nhk world's craig dale has more. >> reporter: the president of ukraine is displaying all the confidence of a winner. >> the result of the election bring the firm victory of all democratic, pro-european, pro-ukrainian forces. >> reporter: those forces won a majority in a parliamentary election, and president poroshenko is promising to move ahead with rebuilding the economy and attracting investment. many ukrainians are behind him. >> we will right as a country and join european union as soon as possible.

>> reporter: that push to get closer to europe started ukrainians down the rocky road they're on. demonstrators took to the streets for weeks starting last november, after the pro-russian president scrapped an association agreement with the eu. he fled in february. but then russian forces took control of the ukrainian republic of crimea, and president vladimir putin annexed it. aeth nick russians there cheered. and soon after pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine declared independence. ukrainian leaders sent in the military. civil war broke out. and the conflict continues, despite a cease-fire. most blame russia. >> make no mistake, there remains russian forces inside eastern ukraine, elements that are there particularly to enable contact and support to the separatists. >> reporter: and so it was against that backdrop that

ukrainians voted sunday to elect a new parliament. some in the east chose to ignore the poll, and celebrate, instead. >> translator: i do not expect anything from this election, says this woman. we've already separated from ukraine. others in the region disagreed, including these women, who say they want to live like in europe. and the majority of voters feel the same way, according to early results. they back pro-european parties and sent the pro-russian communist party packing. a free and fair result, say european observers. >> our conclusions indicate that the elections largely upheld democratic standards. >> reporter: president poroshenko and the country's prime minister, who heads up the other leading party, are now working on forming a coalition. >> this is to be a very pro-reformist and pro-european,

smart, and even tough, coalition. >> reporter: the question is, though, how will president putin react? >> is this add an mrgs with competing as legitimate and willing to talk business with? i'm not entirely sure that's going to be the case. >> reporter: for now russian officials have said poroshenko needs to form an administration that will bring ukraine to the. that will be a tall order. the separatists say they'll hold their own election this sunday to choose their leaders and lawmakers. the future of ukraine remains murky. craig dale, nhk world. now, let's see what's happening in the world of business. here's our ron madison from the biz desk. ron? >> thanks, miki. a u.s. federal district court judge has slashed a multibillion dollar punitive damages award against a leading japanese drugmaker. the lawsuit was aimed at takeda pharmaceutical and its diabetes

drug actos. the judge in the state of louisiana ruled the original damages award of $6 billion was excessive. the judge has instead ordered takeda officials to pay just over $27 million. the company was charged with failing to warn users that the drug could raise the risk for bladder cancer. takeda officials say they view the reduced punitive damages award as a step in the right direction, but they say they still intend to appeal, as the damage award of any amount is not justified based on the evidence presented at the trial. now the company has been fighting other cases over the drug in u.s. courts. judges and juries in five other lawsuits have ruled in favor of takeda. let's get a check of the markets now. many investors refraining from active training. federal reserve policymakers are scheduled to hold a two-day meeting later on in the day and the focus is going to be on whether the fed will end its bond buying program as expected. there you see the asia pacific region. pretty mixed. shanghai and hong kong posting solid gains following recent

market weakness. the nikkei average, one of the markets that did see declines today down just about 0.4%, 15,329, retreating from a two-week high that it hit the previous day. investors locked in profits ahead of the fed's policy meeting. and the shanghai composite with nice gains up more than 2%, 2,337 rebounding from a one-month low that it hit on monday. investors bought back recent decliners like brokerage shares. and the hang seng index also seeing pretty sharp gains. today up 1.6%, and that snapped a three-day losing streak there. chinese official media say a stock connect system between shanghai and hong kong would not be postponed indefinitely and this seemed to ease investor concerns about the delay. well another japanese bank is about to enter the asian markets. officials with sumitomo mitsui trust bank have formed a tie-up with a major taiwanese group. the alliance will help japanese companies do more business in asia. the officials have announced a business alliance with taiwan's

ctbc financial holdings. one of the group's subsidiaries is ctbc bank. both plan to introduce clients to each other and help those clients open bank accounts in japan and taiwan. sumitomo mitsui trust officials say they hope to use ctbc's networks to boost its support for japanese businesses entering other asian markets. ctbc has banks, life insurers and brokerage houses and its clients include companies with business partners in mainland china. earlier this year they acquired a japanese bank and officials say they hope to enhance business in japan through the alliance. people in japan are cutting down on meals at restaurants and pubs. they've forked over less money at major chains for four months in a row now. analysts at the japan food service association say sales in september fell 2% from a year earlier. they say that was partly because there was one fewer sunday than in the same month in 2013.

but the result apparently shows stagnant demand after the consumption tax hike in april. officials at the food service association say sales at fast food restaurants fell 4.3%. they say mcdonald's japan took a hit after it got caught up in a scandal involving a shanghai supplier. food safety regulators say the supplier sold expired chicken meat. the association officials say sales at pubs were down 3.7% from a year ago. and they say there are no signs that consumption will pick up soon. executives at canon have downgraded their an i'll sales forecast for their high-end digital cameras, and they're blaming a disappointing performance in europe and japan. the interchangeable lens cameras have been some of canon's most popular products. but executives now expect to sell half a million units fewer this year than they were predicting. and they've lowered their estimate for annual revenue to 34.7 billion dollars. that's about $370 million less than -- lower than a previous estimate. the executives had some good

news, though. they said they've raised their operating profit upward to about $3.4 billion, and they do attribute that to the weaker yen. they're expecting to see better sales next year. mount fuji game a unesco world heritage site last year. tourism has grown and local people couldn't be happier about it. now they feel like the mountain is giving them yet another blessing. a scientist has taken some yeast from water at the foot of the mountain to make wine. >> reporter: this is a miracle wine. we're selling this today for the first time. >> reporter: the people of this winery are selling one like no other. they say it was born in the pond at the foot of japan's most iconic peak and calling it a miracle wine.

>> translator: it has a thick and heavy texture. >> translator: the aroma is quite powerful. >> reporter: the professor came up with the idea. he's an expert in the process of wine fermentation, where yeast and sugar from grapes interact. the professor studies how different types of yeast create subtle changes in the taste of the final product. he wanted to make a wine with a strain from the surrounding countryside. winemakers can find yeast in all manner of places, from farm fields and beyond. the professor had his eye on the pond at the foot of mount fuji.

>> translator: the pond only appears once every six or seven years. if we can take yeast from it and use it to eventually make a good wine, it's like a dream, a fantasy. >> reporter: the professor had to wait seven years for the pond to re-emerge. so when it did, he wasted no time. he collected some samples of water, and began looking for yeast. he only found a tiny amount. but it was enough to do the job. >> translator: this is the yeast i got from the pond. i preserved it by freezing it at minus 80 degrees. >> reporter: the professor cultured and multiplied the yeast so there was enough to produce wine. he discovered the strain was particularly well-suited to the fermentation process. and that it could produce an excellent wine.

>> translator: results show the yeast is not so different from the type used for producing grape wines, so we were delighted about the possibility of making a high-quality product. >> reporter: the professor asked people at the local long-running winery to help him use his precious find to make something special. the winemakers drew out the yeast, and used a distinctive japanese grape variety, the culture grape. after some trial and error, they were able to control the grape's bitter/tart quality by using only the juice extracted on the first squeeze. >> translator: the yeast produced an aroma that was richer than expected. i think it's going to be a different type of kyushu wine. >> translator: hopefully the

phantom pond yeast brand will spread from the prefecture to the rest of the japan, then to the whole world. that's our dream. >> reporter: the people who made this drink have high hopes that a tiny strain of yeast can create something big in the world of wine making. marie mano, nhk world. >> okay. that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's check in on the markets.

workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant say wind has forced them to halt a delicate operation. they say they had to suspend their mission to remove the cover of a reactor building when a gust of air damaged it. workers have been spraying chemicals inside the cover to prevent radioactive substances from flying into the air. they planned to dismantle the cover, remove debris inside, and take out spent nuclear fuel stored in the building. it's an important step in the decommissioning process. officials at tokyo electric power company say a strong gust shifted a machine that was hanging from a crane. they say the machine tore a hole in the cover two meters long. the officials say radiation levels at the compound have not changed significantly, but they've suspended work as a precaution. they've notified central and local government officials, and

they're discussing how to fix the problem. it's time now to check world weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. jonathan, it was a beautiful autumn day here in tokyo. how is it -- how long is it going to last? >> miki, i think i have some good news for you. i think it's going to last a little bit longer. we're talking about high pressure that has brought some very sunny conditions from western japan even into the kanto region over tokyo. a different scenario, the same type of instigator that brought the nice weather here is causing a little bit more of a different weather scenario further up north. video from sapporo and hokkaido, and you can see here that the first snow of the season fell in the area tuesday morning. cold air typically experienced in late november is covering northern japan. more snow is expected into wednesday morning. and authorities are advising people to stay on alert for low temperatures, and slippery roads. now, what i mean when this is part of the instigator for the nice weather here, we do have

the low pressure system driving in those northerly winds along with a high back from the west. so since we're outside of the actual wet part of this system, that's the reason why we are seeing the dry, sunny conditions. but areas like tohoku, you'll see the rain, and also into hokkaido you may see some snow once again as we go into wednesday. but look at this, tokyo and areas west, you're going to see sunny skies even into the korean peninsula. high pressure is the nice dominant force here for east asia, except when we go down toward the indochina peninsula where a low has formed. part of the rainy season taking place there, also lifting toward the north just a bit and that's going to bring some rain into places like chongqing with a high of 20. 21 in shanghai. bangkok a chance of rain with a high of 32. and look at this, tokyo 20 degrees under sunny conditions on wednesday. here's a look at the forecast for north america. we do have what was ana coming onshore now for british columbia, and along the coast we are going to see some very gusty conditions, and some very wet conditions taking place.

notice the high in the rockies. that's bringing some very pleasant conditions for the mountains, and also all the way in to as far as the dakotas. now, we have a couple of low pressure systems that's driving in winds from the north. now down toward the deep south we have high pressure fuelling in drier conditions, or warmer conditions from the south. that collision is creating the focal point for possible severe weather, especially for areas like ohio, and also into pennsylvania, and also, as far north as areas like upstate new york. so look out for the possibility of seeing some strong weather there. and a low also providing the opportunity for some snow in the northwestern portions of ontario. so, yes, quite a complex system taking place here. meanwhile down toward the south i mentioned the warm air. that's probably going to lead to some possible record-breaking temperatures for highs. 26 in atlanta. also into d.c. up to 28 in miami as we go through tuesday. as we look into the forecast, halloween is coming up on friday, we are expecting temperatures to really be below

normal for areas north of d.c. and d.c. included, as well. now friday, most areas staying relatively dry except for buffalo but then look at this saturday. seeing the possibility of some snow as we go in to the first day of november. wrapping things up with a look at europe, we still have this low pressure system down through the balkan peninsula. i mentioned that this was going to be coming out of the mediterranean sea and that's going to provide rain and maybe even some snow for the upper elevations. and then toward the north and west we have another large cold air mass that's going to be dropping in from the north. that's going to bring some rain for places like the british isles and also into the scandinavian peninsula. meanwhile the rest of the continent, dry and sunny conditions with highs ranging meanly in the teens for the western portions of the continent, but single digits for areas closer toward russia. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

we have one more story to share with you before we go. japanese artisans are getting some acknowledgment for their traditional paper-making technique. three styles of washi have been recommended by a unesco panel for possible inclusion on its intangible cultural heritage list. the paper is hand made from mulberry fibers. and the skill to make it has been practiced for more than 1,000 years. the style from western japan, second ish shoe banshee was registered in 2009 but last year the japanese government nominated the set of three to popularize traditional paper-making techniques. a unesco body with screening nominees made the recommendation on monday. an intergovernmental committee will decide whether to add the handmade paper to the list in paris next month. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto from tokyo.

we'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. please stay with us.

you a you will and the u.s. isolate soldiers returning from the -- over 3 million people forced to flee the country. the mounting crisis takes center stage. french authorities investigate the death of an environmental activist. some say he was killed by police during demonstrations. francois hollande calls for compassion and the truth. onse are the headlines here "fe