welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. another clash in hong kong. pro-democracy demonstrators confronted police, removing barricades from protest sites. the number of foreign visitors to japan so far this year has exceeded 10 million, due mainly to a weaker yen. and in our series entitled "testing japan's english" we

look at an indian school that's becoming increasingly popular among japanese children. confrontations in hong kong between pro-democracy protesters, and police, have turned violent. scuffles broke out during the night after officers cleared away the demonstrators' barricades. police say three officers were injured, and six people were arrested. the student-led demonstrations have continued for more than 50 days. people have been camping out, blocking main roads. officers began removing barricades near a government building on tuesday. protesters later gathered in front of the legislature. demonstrators picked up a barricade and tried to break a glass wall. at one point the crowd swelled to more than 300 people. they pushed past police officers who used pepper spray to try to stop them.

>> translator: the hong kong government has made no concessions. and began removing some barricades. many people think we should escalate our actions. >> the officers eventually left the site while protesters held their ground, as the two sides remained at a standoff, tensions are beginning to rise. u.n. officials have adopted a resolution denouncing human rights violations in north korea. members of a general assembly committee want to refer leaders in pyongyang to the international criminal court. delegates from japan and the eu introduced the resolution. it says people in north korea are carrying out serious human rights violations that may constitute crimes against humanity. and it says these actions reflect policies put in place by leaders. the resolution urges the security council to refer the issue to the international criminal court. it says the court should punish

those who are responsible. >> despite the continued calls of the general assembly and human rights council in the last ten years, the grave human rights situation in the dprk remains the same. >> officials from pyongyang rejected the document and pledged to press on with their nuclear program. >> the outrageous and unreasonable human rights campaign staged by the united states and its followers in the attempts -- in their attempts to eliminate the state and social system of the dprk is compelling us not to refrain any further from conducting nuclear tests. >> 111 committee members voted in favor of the resolution. delegates from china, russia, and 17 other countries, voted against it. and delegates from 55 countries, including india and south africa, abstained. >> translator: we will continue

our diplomatic efforts to gain more support from other countries in the general assembly. >> members of the full general assembly will vote on the nonbinding resolution soon. u.s. health authorities are warning that the ebola outbreak could spread even further. they say the number of new infections could increase in west africa, with the end of the rainy season. >> we also are aware that with the end of the rainy season, other parts of west africa may experience an increase in travelers from the affected countries and may be at increased risk. >> the director of the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention, thomas frieden, says the international community must increase its support. frieden says more than 2,000 people have entered the u.s. from west africa since late october. he says, no one was infected during that period. thousands of people, mainly in guinea, liberia and sierra leone have died from the ebola virus and officials in mali reported

their first death from the disease last month. american authorities are calling on travelers from those four nations to report their body temperatures to state health officials every day for three weeks after arriving. people across the u.s. are becoming increasingly concerned about the epidemic. a man who contracted the virus while in sierra leone died on monday at a hospital in the state of nebraska. political leaders in japan are gearing up to go on the campaign trail. prime minister shinzo abe has announced he'll dissolve the lower house of the diet on friday and call a general election. members of the governing and opposition parties have started preparing. abe said he wants to seek a public mandate for his decision to delay an increase in the consumption tax. it was scheduled for next october. he wants to put it off until april 2017. abe said he's made up his mind to hold an election without delay. he said postponing the tax hike

will affect people's lives, and the japanese economy. members of the governing coalition said abe's decision is appropriate for reviving the economy, and ending deflation. the main governing liberal democratic party plans to speed up preparations for the election. >> translator: following the prime minister's decision, we will seek a public mandate. we want to win the majority to enact the necessary policies. >> representatives for the opposition say abe called an election to try and hide the failure of his economic policies known as abenomics. the main opposition party plans to make abenomics a focus of the election. >> translator: because abenomics has failed, there is no other choice but to postpone the scheduled consumption tax increase. >> campaigning for the lower house is expected to begin on december 2nd. voters will likely go to the polls on the 14th. japan's report card on the economy is out by the central

bank. and ron madison is here with more on this story. ron? >> yeah, comes at a time when concerns about japan's economy are growing. you know we just logged a second quarterly contraction yesterday. bank of japan policymakers have kept their assessment of the country's economy unchanged. they say the economy continues to recover moderately. the officials have also decided to maintain their program of large-scale monetary easing to achieve the bank's inflation target of 2%. policymakers ended their two-day board meeting on wednesday. they said personal consumption has remained resilient, and the employment and income situations are improving steadily. they added the effects of the decline in demand after the april consumption tax hike have been waning on the whole. the policymakers say some weakness has remained in industrial production, with continued inventory adjustments. they say exports have been more or less flat. now the bank says it will maintain its massive stimulus efforts. this follows the decision last month to expand the asset purchasing program.

the bank is buying government bands and other securities to increase liquidity in financial markets. now, after the meeting boj governor kuroda commented on the abe administration's decision to delay the consumption tax hike from the current 8% to 10%. >> translator: the boj thinks it's very important that the government make steady efforts to establish a sustainable fiscal structure. such action should be based on its midterm plans to restore fiscal health. >> now kuroda also spoke about potential threats to the economy if the tax hike delay undermines japan's fiscal credibility. the risks include a plunge in government bond prices. he said such a situation would be difficult to cope with, but believes the chances of it occurring are very small. let's get a check of the markets now. investors have been holding back from active trading amid a lack of cues. here's how benchmarks in europe are doing at this hour.

markets are still fairly mixed right now, with london in the negative, both frankfurt and paris are seeing gains, though. in asia, markets ended mixed, as well. tokyo's nikkei was one of the markets that saw declines. investors locked in profits as the pone postment of the sales tax hike was resolved. indonesian shares received a boost from the central bank's decision to raise its interest rates. jakarta's main composite rose to a 7-week high. moving on to currencies now the dollar is gaining ground against the yen. right now at 117.51. that's the highest level in seven years. analysts say market players are selling the japanese currency. they're hoping the government will come up with further economic policies to support the economy. now the yen is also weaker against the euro. it's being quoted at roughly 147.41. that's a level that we haven't seen since october 2008. well, prime minister abe has asked for cooperation from business and labor leaders, in raising wages and improving working conditions. abe spoke at a meeting of

members of government together with business and labor leaders. a member introduced a japanese firm which has successfully boosted performance by introducing a four-day work week. they say the company did this without cutting employees' salaries. a proposal by a government panel suggested productivity could be increased if firms gave employees more than four days off in a row. >> translator: japan must change its culture of excessively long working hours. we should revise our attitude to leisure and holidays, and if our government can agree with business and labor on future wage hikes, this would greatly help in the creation of a virtuous economic cycle. >> abe also suggested if japanese firms revise their work practices, they could improve their labor productivity. the leader of the japan business federation has indicated his body will encourage member firms with better than average earnings to raise wages in next year's labor negotiations.

>> translator: wage hikes next spring would be necessary to ensure a favorable economic cycle. our member firms, and others, will aim to improve the environment for higher pay. >> he said the federation would call on firms that have enjoyed strong returns, and can afford to raise wages. the president of japan's largest labor union group also said the wage hike target for workers must be raised. >> translator: we must start by correcting excessively long working hours in order to reform our employment culture. >> koga also said it's important to raise wages of workers at small and medium-sized firms, as well as for nonregular workers. well the number of foreign visitors to japan so far this year has exceeded 10 million. the weaker yen and relaxed visa

requirements for people from southeast asian nations spurred more travelers. officials at the japan national tourism organization say more than 1.25 million people visited last month. that's up 37% from a year ago. the total number of tourists this year hit the 10 million mark in october. that was two months earlier than last year. japan is drawing more visitors, partly because more items on store shelves have been made tax free for their benefit. also, more international flights now use tokyo's haneda airport. foreign visitors are also spending more during their stay. japan tourism agency officials say expenditures in the july to september period came to right around $4.7 billion. that is an all-time high. tourists from mainland china accounted for about a third of the figures. tourism officials say they project the annual total to reach around 13 million. as the yen has weakened further. the government hopes to raise -- or to increase the number to 20 million a year by 2020.

that's when tokyo will host the summer olympic games. all right. that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. i'll leave you with the markets. government officials in japan have set a clear goal.

they want to improve the english education system by 2020. the year tokyo hosts the olympic games. in our series, "testing japan's english" we look at some of the challenges that people face, along with their own solutions in learning the language. i dropped by an indian school, that's becoming increasingly popular with japanese children. >> one, two, three -- >> reporter: this school is not in new delhi, but in downtown tokyo. the day begins with yoga. it's supposed to boost energy, as well as concentration. advanced math classes are common in india. they start learning multiplication from 4 years old. in most japanese schools, that starts from 8. shojin is a seventh grader. he transferred from a local japanese school three years ago. at first, he spoke very little

english. but today, he doesn't have a problem communicating with his classmates. >> "b" or "a" -- see. >> reporter: i.t. classes are also compulsory here from kindergarten. at the age of 12, they start learning visual basics, a subject often taught at the high school level in japan. and by graduation, they can manage to program. the global indian international school tokyo was founded in 2006. in the beginning, it was solely for indian children whose parents work in the i.t. industry in japan. the size of the school was less than 50 students. but it's attracted more and more japanese children. they are now a surprisingly 40% of the total 350. mrs. rajan is the principal.

she gave us her vision of her school. >> we are creating global role models that they are capable of doing everything. it's possible. everything is possible. only thing involvement is needed. >> reporter: so why are the japanese parents opting out of local education? shoujin's mother says her son was always good at math, and felt that it was the best possible school. his father used to work in the i.t. industry. he recalls his bitter past in having to give up his chance of working abroad because of his poor english skills. >> translator: i believe that japanese who want to go abroad have to speak english, as the international language. the future of the japanese economy is uncertain nowadays. so we need to take our chances outside.

>> reporter: shoujin says that the indian school was the best choice he's made. and now, he feels the sky is the limit. >> i want to become some scientist or astronaut. but an astronaut, maybe i have to programming robot arm, so maybe i can use the i.t. programming. >> reporter: unlike the japanese public schools, lunch time is like an international food fair, from indian curry to japanese bento boxes. children are exposed to a global environment even during recess. and like shoujin, his classmates also have big dreams. >> games that make people happy. >> in the future i really want to become a doctor. >> reporter: here the children are having success in english,

because they're not looking at the subject as something mandatory to pass college entrance exams. rather, as a tool to live in the globalizing world. and the school is offering them an environment where to reach their goals, it's up to each individual's determination regardless of nationality. >> and we're looking forward to meeting up with shoujin, along with the rest of his classmates from his indian school in tokyo in six years to see how they're doing when the olympics kick off. our bets are on them becoming a leader in whatever they decide to focus on. people in japan are getting a close-up look at the latest jetliner by european aviation giant airbus. officials connected to the venture will get briefings on the a-350 and take demonstration flights out of tokyo's haneda airport. airbus engineers designed the plane to rival boeing's 787

dreamliner. they say it fits 300 passengers, and they say the light carbon fiber composite body has helped improve fuel efficiency. company representatives say they've already taken 750 orders from 39 airlines worldwide. executives at japan airlines will put 56 of the planes into service starting in 2019. they want to replace their fleet of boeing 777s. people across japan are remembering the life and work of an acclaimed japanese actor, ken takakura died last week at the age of 83. he left behind a legacy of popular films including the hollywood blockbuster "black rain." nhk world's takafumi terui has more. >> reporter: fans are gathering at this theater in tokyo. they are here to offer flowers and to remember takakura. a film company erected altars to the deceased movie star in tokyo.

at this cinema, more than 500 fans turned up in the first hour to bid him farewell. >> translator: i've been takakura's fan for more than 50 years. i'm really shocked. >> reporter: takakura made his debut in 1956. his signature performances as a serious and stoic character often as a gangster earned him immense popularity. he won the best actor award at the montreal film festival for his role in railroad man in 1999. altogether takakura appeared in 205 films.

>> translator: i used to dislike being an actor. but i had no other way to make a living. and that was why i became an actor. but later, i came to realize that movies can express what music and literature can't. movies are a different form of expression. >> reporter: takakura was also very popular in china. he starred in the film "riding alone for thousands of miles" directed by johnimo who enjoys a high reputation across the globe. and tuesday night, state-run cctv aired a 25-minute special on takakura. >> translator: many people have fond memories of him. he reminds us of a special time. there is only one ken takakura. >> reporter: memorial events to

honor the actor are being held across japan. takakura's hometown, a bookstore there set up a special book selling books takakura wrote and those related to him. many titles were sold out within a day. the yellow handkerchief was one of the most famous movies takakura starred in. it was shot in yubaru city, hokkaido. takakura played a shy and awkward ex-convict. at the end of the movie, he learns his wife has been waiting patiently for the day of his return. the scene touched the hearts of movie fans. a local museum displays voters of takakura taken during the

shooting of the film. the museum held a special program to honor the actor. >> translator: i've watched many of takakura's films. i will mourn his death deeply. >> translator: he's a man's man. i really want to tell him thank you. >> reporter: takakura's 83 years of colorful life have come to an end. but as someone who devoted his life to his art, he will live forever in movie fans' hearts. takafumi terui, nhk world, tokyo. the coldest air of the season and significant snow are impacting the great lakes region. killing several people. meteorologist sayaka mori joins

us for the details. >> it's the coldest air in decades for this time of year is blanketing the eastern parts of the u.s. because we have the jet stream meandering further down to the south allowing frigid air coming in straight from the arctic. so extremely cold conditions are happening over many parts of the u.s. and because of the cold, northwesterly winds, lake-effect snow is picking up over the south of the great lakes region. let's go ahead and show you the scene coming out of grand rapids. the streets of grand rapids, michigan, were paved in white on tuesday as lake-effect snow fell for the second day. the amount of snow easily broke the daily record. here, ten centimeters of snow fell over the course of nine hours. 38 centimeters has already piled up since the start of this month. the snow could continue through thursday night. now the heaviest know is falling especially in southwestern parts of new york state, in and around buffalo. some areas saw nearly 150 centimeters of snowfall in a span of 24 hours, and buffalo,

you could be getting as much as 90 centimeters of snow by the end of thursday. the total snowfall could be up to 180 centimeters. so very, very, very severe conditions out there. in addition to that, strong winds will create very low windchill values. these are the temperatures that your skin will feel. minus 20 degrees or even below for many parts of the great lakes region. so to avoid hypothermia, and also frostbite, please bundle up. now temperatures on your wednesday are as follows. only minus 1 for the high in snowfall. in toronto, minus 1 degrees. in chicago and washington, d.c., about 15 degrees lower compared to what it should be during this time of year. and quite low in atlanta, as well, because of cold temperatures we have hard freeze warnings posted down over the gulf coast on your wednesday. so temperature may be below freezing at night. now, across asia, torrential rain is still continuing over

the malay peninsula because of this low pressure system sending ample moisture to the peninsula. as much as 290 millimeters of rain has fallen over the past 24 hours over the eastern coast of malaysia, and additional heavy rainfall is likely to continue for the next couple of days. so watch out for flooding, as well as landslides. dry for most part of the indochina peninsula and much of china, but air quality is bad once again in the beijing area. currently the air quality is at the hazardous level. no improvement on your thursday. the korean peninsula and most part of japan and tokyo you're going to be seeing quite low temperatures on thursday. only 13 degrees. that's more like december. 13 degrees in seoul. 12 degrees in beijing, and snow is in the picture in ulan bator with a high of only minus 5 degrees. now, finally, over europe, significant weathermaker which has a history of creating flooding rains over northern italy and deadly mudslides on the border of switzerland and italy is now rotating over the

balkan peninsula. it's a weakening trend, however it's still packing lots of energy, enough to create more heavy rainfall, strong gusts, and thunderstorms over the balkan peninsula, and the black sea region throughout this week. rain is on the menu for the western areas of the iberian peninsula. 17 degrees for the high in lisbon. here's the extended forecast.

and that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

chris here is what is coming -- >> here's what is coming up. jewish worshipers fed back to their synagogue one day after a deadly assault that left -- head back to their synagogue one day after a deadly assault that left five dead. more from our correspondent, on the way. french citizen is reportedly identified as a perpetrator in the latest beheading video from the islamic state group. speaking on his trip to australia, president along says there is a strong suspicion the suspect is french -- president hollande says there is a strong suspicion the suspect is french.