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. a u.s. senate report concludes cia interrogations were ineffective, and more brutal than the agency let on. japan's leaders now have the power to designate official state secrets. but critics say that may pose a threat to democracy and the right to know. and, as japanese voters go over the issues ahead of

sunday's general election, we'll look at prime minister abe's approach to security and diplomacy in asia. a u.s. senate report is condemning cia interrogations. it accuses the spy agency of torturing terror suspects. and it says techniques used didn't produce results. the senate committee published pages of its 5 1/2-year investigation. they looked into the cia's detention and interrogation program during the bush administration's war on terror. the committee chair called it a stain on u.s. history. >> history will judge us by our commitment to a just society governed by law and the willingness to face an ugly truth and say, never again. >> the report cataloged types of torture used against suspects. these include a simulated drowning technique called waterboarding, and sleep deprivation.

it concluded some of the interrogation methods overstepped legal limits and were ineffective in collecting authentic intelligence. it also criticized the cia for failing to tell the white house and congress what it was doing. cia director john brennan acknowledged in a statement the agency made mistakes, but he maintains some of the interrogations led to information to prevent terror plots. u.s. president barack obama said the practices are contrary to american values, and did not serve the security interests of the country. >> there's never a -- a perfect time to release a report like this. but, it was important for us, i think, to recognize that part of what sets us apart is when we do something wrong, we acknowledge it. >> defense officials have boosted security at diplomatic and military facilities abroad over concerns there could be anti-american backlash. japan's government has implemented a new law that it

says will help fight terrorism. the state secrecy law gives authorities the power to keep information under wraps for years or decades. but critics say the law is a threat to democracy. nhk world's chiaki ishikawa has the story. >> reporter: only the heads of 19 government entities, including foreign and defense ministries, can designate state secrets. government workers who leak such a secret now face up to ten years in prison. government guidelines define 55 categories of secrets. they include classified information provided by foreign governments and surveillance activities by the self-defense forces. a new body within the cabinet office will check whether the law is being applied appropriately. anything designated as state secret will be protected for five years. ministers and heads of some

government bodies have the power to extend that term. the cabinet must approve any extension exceeding 30 years. in all but the few secrets will be declassified after 60 years. officials say the law will help them to fight terrorism. last year, ten japanese people were killed when islamic militants laid siege to a natural gas plant in algeria. >> translator: the law enables us to exchange sensitive information with foreign countries so that we can protect our country and people. it's now possible to share and keep it within the government. >> reporter: but the legislation has strong criticism from many quarters. a group of lawyers issued a statement calling for the law to be abolished. they say the categories are too broad and ambiguous. they say it may violate people's right to know, and undermine the

principle of popular sovereignty, where the government derives its power from the people. they are calling for fresh public debate on the issue. japan's association of newspaper publishers and editors has also raised concerns. the law's guidelines say full consideration will be given to media freedom. but the association says the law could restrict media freedom. university students are staging demonstrations calling for the law to be repealed. they marched through tokyo on tuesday, and again on wednesday. but the law has gone in to force. government officials say they will disclose all state secrets at the appropriate time. it's not clear whether that's enough to ease the public's concerns. chiaki ishikawa, nhk world, tokyo.

japanese and chinese officials have been holding talks on many topics over the last month. since the leaders of the two countries held their first talks in years. defense officials in tokyo say there's one issue that's not been on any agendas. how to set up a hotline to avoid accidental clashes at sea, or in the air. japanese prime minister shinzo abe and chinese president xi jinping agreed last month to discuss an emergency defense communications system. japan's defense officials have been calling for working-level talks on setting it up. but they say china's officials are saying only that they are studying the offer. officials in tokyo are hoping to set up the hotline as early as next year. chinese patrol ships have repeatedly entered japan's territorial waters off the

senkaku islands. japan controls the islands in the east china sea. china and taiwan claim them. japanese authorities are keeping a close watch over china's moves at sea and in the air. ministers from around the world are meeting face-to-face in peru to fight global warming. they're discussing a new international framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions. >> no national leader in the history of humanity has ever faced this question. will we survive, or will we disappear under sea? >> delegates from developing countries are urging the u.s. and china to take action as promised. last month the world's two largest emitters jointly announced targets for reducing greenhouse gases. officials in beijing have faced growing criticism for their dependence on fossil fuels. but china's chief delegate says his country's determined to take a leading role.

>> translator: our aim is to promote sustainable development while fulfilling our international obligations. >> participants are trying to hammer out an agreement on a new framework to replace the kyoto protocol from 2020. but industrialized and developing nations remain divided on a number of key issues. a powerful explosion has torn through a bus in the southern philippines. at least ten people are dead, and dozens are wounded. police and military officials are treating the blast as a terrorist attack. students were among dozens of passengers on board. they were traveling through a town on the island of mindanao. no one has claimed responsibility for the blast. government officials this year signed a peace accord with members of the biggest muslim rebel group. they hoped to end more than 40 years of conflict on mindanao, but some militants opposed the accords. they've continued to carry out

sporadic attacks on government forces, and other targets. greece's prime minister is calling for a snap presidential election, and that's sending jitters over the financial markets. ron madison is here with more. ron? >> yes, certainly is, gene. markets seeing quite a bit of volatility across the globe due to growing concerns over greece's political uncertainty, and china's economic growth. some investors are buying back european shares, though, that were sold off during a broad sell-off in the previous session. as you can see there, markets are modestly higher at this time. frankfurt is leading the pack, it's up by about 0.8% at this time. we've got a rebound in chinese shares, also supporting market sentiment in europe. now earlier in the day shanghai's benchmark composite index regained more than half of tuesday's losses finishing higher nearly 3%, 2,940. analysts say stocks rebounded on speculation that chinese authorities may expand monetary easing after inflation last month was lower than expected.

but the overall picture in asia wednesday was pretty mixed, as you can see there. tokyo's nikkei was down 2.25%. that fell to a two-week low. pretty much on worries about the chinese economy. south korea's kospi also seeing declines of 1.3%. that hit a three-week low. moving on to currencies now, the nikkei's plunge is prompting traders to seek the safe haven of the yen. that's putting some pressure on the dollar right now. the currency pair is at the lower 119 yen level. now the euro is also weaker against the yen on concerns about greece being quoted at 147.64. chinese government officials say wholesale prices there are falling. the producer price index in november posted its biggest drop in 17 months. officials at the national bureau of statistics say the index fell 2.7% from a year earlier. they say the weak real estate market caused sluggish sales of steel and cement. prices of iron ore and other raw materials have been falling. the consumer price index rose

1.4% in november. that's the lowest rate of increase in five years. big reason for that was a drop in gasoline prices. government officials have urged banks to ease conditions on home loans, and the central bank has lowered key interest rates to prevent a further slowdown. analysts, though, say that there are growing deflationary pressures. and officials at the bank of japan have released data just -- that showed just how hard it is to pull the country out of deflation. prices of goods traded among companies have fallen for the first time in 20 months. now this does not include, though, the effects of the consumption tax hike in april. analysts say -- at the bank say the producer price index in november dropped 0.2% from a year earlier. the index began to rise steadily after the ctral bank introduced large-scale monetary easing in april 2013. but falling crude oil prices in the past few months have slowed the rate of increase. boj analysts say lower prices of

gasoline and light oil caused last month's decline. well the yen's decline appears to be weighing on consumer sentiment here in japan. cabinet office officials say the index fell in november for the fourth straight month. the office polled consumers about their spending outlook over the next six months. the consumer confidence index among households of two or more people fell to 37.7. that's down 1.2 points from october. analysts at the office say the decline was due to higher prices of food and other items caused by the weaker yen. all four categories of the index declined, in fact. they compromised overall livelihood, income growth, employment, and willingness to buy durable goods. the officials lowered their assessment of consumer confidence, saying that it is seen weakening. japanese and south korean firms usually compete pretty fiercely in the region. but in indonesia they're actually business partners. top business lobbies from both countries have met for the first time in seven years, and agreed

to promote joint energy development in southeast asia. nhk world takes a look at this. >> reporter: in the indonesian capital jakarta, managers at major japanese trading company mitsubishi corporation and korea gas corporation are working to the. they are meeting with local employees. the two firms are jointly developing liquefied natural gas on the indonesian island. the joint venture will include producing and supplying the gas. started three years ago, the project is the first of its kind in the world. its total operating costs are at $2.8 billion. about 30 employees from japan and south korea are permanently stationed at the venture's headquarters in jakarta.

they plan to start production next year. >> translator: we hope to build a relationship with our south korean partner in which we can be frank about everything. >> reporter: japan and south korea are teaming up, because both countries face the same challenge, a lack of energy resources. japan is the world's largest lng importer. and south korea comes in second. so far, the western makers have controlled much of the world's energy production. japan and south korea have had to pay through the nose to get the gas. what's more, emerging economies such as india and china have started buying up the energy, too. securing stable supplies has become a major challenge. so, the japanese and south

koreans decide d to help. they are hoping it will give them a stable and reasonably priced supply. the joint venture is expected to produce 2 million tons of lng annually. the gas will be supplied to japanese utilities and gas corporations for the next 13 years. korean officials say they have high hopes for further cooperation with japan. >> translator: we need more experience in overseas operations, and in gathering information. japanese firms are well plugged in globally. we feel they are the best possible partner. >> translator: our way of

thinking is similar to the south koreans. that's a big help when we work together. we find that they are easy to work with, because we can quickly understand each other. >> reporter: mitsubishi and korea gas have also set up a joint venture in canada. the two sides are in the finance stage of negotiating for a new lng development project. they hope it will lead to others. nhk world, seoul. all right. that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. i'll leave you with the markets.

people in japan have a crucial decision to make before they close out 2014. they're voting in a general election on sunday. prime minister shinzo abe and his liberal democratic party returned to power less than two years ago. but he's put his sizable majority in the lower house on the line. our special coverage "japan decides" will look at the key issues ahead of election day. voters are considering how abe has handled relations with japan's neighbors. they'll rate him on his work in foreign diplomacy and defense policy during his second term in office.

and they're deciding whether to support the course he's been steering the country in what he calls a rapidly changing security environment. nhk world's tomoko kamata reports. >> reporter: about a week before prime minister abe dissolved the lower house he made his 50th visit to a foreign country. this time was to china. and the world was watching. ties between the two countries have frayed since 2012. in september of that year, japan nationalized the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the islands, and the government maintains they are part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. soon after, coast guard officials saw chinese government ships intruding in japan's waters. there was a spike in 2013 of 188

vessels. that number dropped to 81 this year. abe's visit to yasukuni shrine last december further froze relations. the shrine honors japan's war dead. those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. chinese leaders say the visit aims to glorify japan's past militarism and aggression. but this handshake looked to be the start of a fall in relations. in november, prime minister abe and president xi jinping held their first summit. >> translator: neighbors should maintain dialogue. i believe we can find ways to resolve any kind of challenges through frank discussions between leaders.

>> reporter: but there's another neighbor to mend relations with, south korea. japan and south korea also have disagreements over history. north korea's nuclear and missile development is another concern. authorities in pyongyang launched ballistic missiles into the sea of japan multiple times this year. and, amid what abe is calling a changing security environment, his cabinet approved a landmark change in policy. in july, they decided to reinterpret the constitution to enable the country to use the right to collective self-defense. it allows japan to defend a closely related country under attack, like this scenario where japan's maritime self-defense force ships defend a u.s. naval vessel.

past leaders interpreted the constitution to mean japan cannot take such actions. but abe says the country must change course. >> translator: making all possible preparations will, in itself, serve as the power to thwart attempts to wage war on japan. this is deterrence. >> reporter: some opposition parties are critical of abe's defense policy, saying it's against the constitution. abe wants a strong mandate to enact it. and so he turned to the voters. tomoko kamata, nhk world. >> our series on what's at stake in japan's election will continue on thursday. we'll take a look at how the declining population and

economic slump have hurt rural regions and what voters there are expecting from revitalization plans. okinawa prefecture in southern japan has sworn in a new governor. takashi onaga campaigned with a promise to fight the relocation of a u.s. military base within the prefecture. onaga beat the incumbent hirokazu nakaima in the november election. nakaima approved the japanese government's plan to relocate the u.s. marine corps futenma air station. the proposal caused for the base in ginowan city to be closed and a new win built in the sparsely top lated henoko district. onaga pledged to follow through with his promise. >> translator: my motto is no new base at henoko. it will be a pillar of my policies.

>> onaga says he will consider revoking nakaima's authorization of a plan to reclaim coastal areas if the project is legally flawed. onaga plans to ask for the central government to suspend operations at futenma air base within five years. a powerful system is moving through europe, and it's causing damage in its wake. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the details. jonathan? >> hello, gene, yes. we are keeping an eye on this cold front that is coming from a very powerful low pressure system. you can see the swirl of clouds just moving out from the ocean. we're talking about the pressure down to 950 hectopascals. that's a very powerful system. a very low system. and so all that cold air splashing in to the iberian peninsula and that caused some instability. i want to show you what it looked like on the ground level. that's the best way to tell you the story. damaging windstorm blew through the southeastern province of

catalonia in spain use, and for about eight hours, winds were gusting over 55 kilometers per hour. and reported max winds up to 78 kilometers per hour in the coastal city of barcelona. now you can see here, where a wall collapsed because of the high winds. one man died because of it. another injury was reported after a train collided with a fallen tree. a christmas festival had to be shut down in santa lucia after stands started to fall over. the winds did eventually die down during the afternoon hours but in the process, i mention, a cold front, those temperatures are plummeting because of that. notice the winds are really picking up. when you have low pressure that low, even though high pressure is further down toward the south, it's still enough of a difference to winds to really whip up. those of you in the british isles be prepared for a windy day. we're seeing the cold front moving through parts of france and into germany. that's going to be a rainmaker as we go throughout wednesday. and down toward the south, i

want to direct your attention, a low pressure system that's clipped the italian peninsula is bringing some showers to the southern portions of greece, and portions of africa. the original low, though is bringing rain to the balkan peninsula is going to produce snow for kiev with a high of 1 coming up on wednesday. rain from stockholm into paris, as this cold front sps through the area. let's take a look at the forecast now for east asia. high pressure provides some fair skies in japan on wednesday, as we go into thursday. a couple of low pressure systems that is bringing rain for the korean peninsula is now pushing eastward. that's going to cloud up the skies and bring some rain, some snow into hokkaido as we go through the day thursday. keeping an eye on the severe tropical storm down near and actually between the philippines and vietnam. pushing toward the west at 15 kilometers per hour. this system probably going to hang on to its severe tropical storm status but then quickly weaken into a tropical depression by the weekend. temperatures, 15 degrees for the high coming up on thursday in tokyo with a chance for some rain. much colder in seoul with a high of 1.

morning showers followed by just cloudy skies as that low continues to push off toward the east. now let's take a look at the forecast for north america specifically starting off on the western side of the continent where we have this low pressure system swinging on board with some cold air, plenty of rain and maybe even some snow from british columbia all the way into places like bakersfield and sacramento as we go through wednesday are rainfall totals for 300 millimeters. look out for wet spots and slick spots. speaking of rain on the eastern side of the u.s. we have this massive low pressure system that's creating some record rainfall into new york city. still expecting a lot more rainfall, maybe even some snowfall, and freezing rain combinations. just nasty mess as we go through wednesday with snowfall totals possibly up to 30 centimeters into quebec. here's a look at the forecast around the u.s. and also into canada. looking at rain for the northwest and northeastern side of the united states. drier towards central u.s. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that's "newsline" for

these hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. qm?xq/p

>> around the world, here are the headlines. >> a palestinian cabinet minister is killed in a protest in the west bank. witnesses say he died after israeli troops fired tear gas at him and dozens of other protesters. france's last remaining hostage finally comes home, serge lazarevic was freed by al qaeda after three years in captivity in north africa. get set toyousafzai receive her nobel peace prize. the human rights campaigner survived a near fatal attack by the taliban. she's the youngest laureate ever.