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. japan's diet has re-elected shinzo abe as prime minister, giving him a new term to pursue his political and economic agenda. the president of japanese auto parts maker takata has stepped down following worldwide recalls of vehicles equipped with the company's air bags. and very language can

farmers have given thanks for their recovery from the indian ocean tsunami with sacred offerings of their famous spice. japan's lawmakers have voted to give shinzo abe another term as prime minister. abe and his governing coalition swept to victory in a general election ten days ago. he now has a clear mandate to pursue his economic and political reforms. the cabinet resigned wednesday morning and the diet convened in the afternoon to formally name a prime minister. the result was never in question. abe's coalition holds a majority in both houses. emperor akihito is formally investing the new cabinet members at the imperial palace. abe has reappointed all members of the outgoing cabinet except of the defense minister. abe has named former defense agency chief gen nakatani to the

post. abe plans to speak at a news conference at 9:10 p.m. japan time. we'll bring you live coverage. thee for operators in the u.s. are lining up to offer screen time for a film that triggered a major cyber attack and kicked up controversy around the world. sony pictures entertainment spokesperson say more than 200 venues will know somehow "the interview," a comedy about the assassination of north korea's leader. the studio faced criticism for initially canceling the release following threats of attacks on theaters. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: the stars and co-directors of "the interview" jokingly cheered the decision on twitter. the people have spoken! freedom has prevailed! wrote seth rogen. victory! chimed in james franco. the people and the president have spoken! certainly many agree, freedom of expression came out the winner,

albeit a bruised and bloody one. now, moviegoers will have to decide whether the world's most talked about film was worth all that talk. the comedy is about an assassination plot against north korean leader kim jong-un. the lead-up to its release is, by now, legendary. it started with a cyber attack on sony pictures entertainment, resulting in the leak of sensitive information. then the hackers threatened to target theaters that showed the movie. major chains pulled out. sony pictures executives canceled the release, and faced a stinging backlash. they quickly reversed course. ceo michael lynton says we have never given up on releasing "the interview" and we're excited our movie will be in a number of three ters on christmas day. we are proud to make it available to the public, he says, and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech. the movie, though, is only the backdrop to a bigger story. the cyber attack itself.

and the possible response. u.s. leaders blamed north korea and promised to retaliate. >> they caused a lot of damage. and we will respond. >> reporter: but did that response include this? a full-blown internet outage on monday in north korea? officials in washington won't say. >> i leave it to north koreans to talk about if their internet was up, if it wasn't, and why. >> reporter: the chinese have also faced questions given the americans asked them to help deal with north korea, and given the north's key internet connections reportedly run through china. but authorities in beijing labeled claims china was involved in the outage irresponsible and misleading. then there's south korea, which is on edge after a hack on the computer system of the utility that operates its nuclear plants. officials in seoul maintain only noncritical data was lost. still, president park geun-hye has called for checks on the safeguards of national

infrastructure, including nuclear facilities. cyberspace, she says, has become a new stage for terrorism. south korean investigators haven't found a culprit. but they've seen the results of past north korean hacks, and they know their neighbor is more than capable. the president echoed a comment made by many in recent days. we must be fully prepared. craig dale, nhk world. a management shuffle at one of japan's largest air bag maker. ramin mellegard is here with the details. >> thanks, gene. ap niece auto parts maker takata has announced its president has stepped down. the move follows worldwide recalls of vehicles equipped with takata air bags. stocker will remain on the company's board. hakata will serve as president in addition to continuing as chairman. company officials say takata will take charge of the response to the recall issue.

they say the company wants to speed up the decision making process. five board members will take pay cuts for four months. takata will take a 50% decrease, and stocker, 30%. u.s. safety regulators say defective takata air bags can explode and spray metal fragments when they're deployed. automakers have ruled millions of vehicles with takata air bags in the u.s., japan, and elsewhere. and on to the markets now. investors are cheered by the stronger than expected u.s. gdp data pushing up equity markets ahead of the christmas and year-end holidays. london and paris have half-day trading sessions before closing on thursday and friday. london trading in the positive. paris' cac 40 just dipping to the negative there. frankfurt's market will be closed through friday. now earlier in asia, most markets tracked record high closings on wall street. tokyo's nikkei average rose 1.25% to a two-week high. still, trading was thin as many investors are on holiday. but mainland chinese shares

bucked the trend. shanghai's main index gave up 2%. market players took advantage of recent rallies to book some profits. let's have a look at currencies now. strong growth in the u.s. pushed the dollar up overnight to the upper 120 yen level. but the greenback's moving back just a touch on profit taking. right now, trading at 120.45-46. meanwhile, the euro is under pressure against the dollar after dipping to a fresh 28-month low. euro dollar now changing hands at 1.2194-2197. more job seekers in japan are getting regular positions. however, women are lagging behind men in the labor market. nhk surveyed japan's job situation for a three-year period to march. it analyzed 50 million cases from job placement centers nationwide. the analysis shows in fiscal 2013 more than 880,000 people achieved their goals by gaining regular positions. the successful applicants

accounted for one in five of all job applicants up 2.7 percentage points from two years earlier. people looking for work in the construction industry and civil engineering fared particularly well. the ratio of successful job seekers in construction was about 56%. in the civil engineering sector, it was nearly 40%. both sectors were up more than 11 points. meanwhile, the ratio of female applicants overall who found regular jobs was 17%. for men, it was 23%. an expert says the economic recovery is benefiting men more than women. construction and other industries with a relatively high number of male workers were top job creators over the three-year period. the effects of this year's consumption tax increase continue to reverberate throughout japan's auto industry. production in november fell for the fifth straight month. it was the first double digit year-on-year decline since the april tax hike.

executives at eight major automakers say they produced nearly 696,000 units last month. that's about 13% less than a year earlier. toyota's output was down 3%. nissan posted a drop of more than 21%. and honda's production declined almost 36%. automakers say domestic new car sales have been sluggish since the tax increase. some firms shifted production of certain models overseas. they say they will introduce new models to boost domestic sales. a major japanese security service firm plans to introduce a high-tech approach to monitoring major events. the company secom says they will commercialize a surveillance drone. they tested a prototype that's about one-third the size of the actual drone. the real airship is about 15 meters long. the drone using a global positioning system. it's equipped with search lights, a camera and a directional microphone. the images and sound it captures

are sent to the company's control center. the location and images of any suspicious persons can be transmitted to guards on the ground. >> translator: as the 2020 tokyo olympics approaches there will be a greater need for security at outdoor events. >> secom executives say they aim to make the drone available in 2016. that's all for business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a look at the region's markets.

india has imposed a curfew in the northeastern state of assam after a massacre of more than 60 people, including children. patchari raksawong in bangkok is following the story for us. patchari, good evening. >> good evening, gene. police say an ethnic minority group seeking a separate homeland may be responsible for the attack. the authorities say the extremists may be retaliating against a military campaign against them that began last month. the government on wednesday assigned an additional 5,000 strong security force to the area. it also announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in part of the state. witnesses say groups of men with rifles attacked villages simultaneously on tuesday. the men then fled. police say 64 people were killed, including women and children.

33 more than 30 people were killed in similar violence this past may. police suspect both attacks were carried out by tribal bodo extremists calling themselves the national democratic fund of bodoland. the group seeks independence from india and continues anti-government violence. prime minister narendra modi regards the northeast, including assam state as an important hub connecting india with southeast asia through myanmar but the frequent violence is seen as a major obstacle to development. december 26th marks ten years since the indian ocean tsunami left more than 220,000 people dead or missing. nearly 31,000 people died in sri lanka, the second hardest-hit country after indonesia. when the tsunami slammed into hikadua in southern sri lanka it inundated much of the farmland area that is known for its ceylon cinnamon.

nhk world reports. >> reporter: about 2,000 farmers made offerings at a commemorative ceremony in hikaduwa for the recovery of the local cinnamon farming industry. the cinnamon farmers offered the spice to the temple and expressed their gratitude for the community's reconstruction so far. >> translator: the town is steadily making progress toward reconstruction. i prayed for a bountiful crop and increased income. >> reporter: it is one of the areas hardest-hit by the tsunami. the area's local specialty is cinnamon. europeans sought the spice during the age of exploration in the 15th to 17th century. cinnamon is an essential ingredient in sri lankan cooking. it is also exported to western nations and japan.

this woman is a 48-year-old cinnamon grower. she lost her husband to the tsunami and has been raising her three children by herself. the tsunami waters surged more than two kilometers inland, inundating the cinnamon fields of hikaduwa. most of the trees on her farm were destroyed. after building her husband's grave on her land, she set about growing cinnamon again. her husband dreamed of building a new house. >> translator: my husband's grave gives me energy. i always feel his help. he protects us. >> reporter: but her road to recovery has not been easy. the government donated cinnamon saplings. but for three years, her income was only about half of what it had been.

until the trees grew large enough to harvest. her neighbors supported her during these times of hardship. a wholesale agent who had worked with her husband continued to buy the spice from the surviving frees and he paid more than the going price. >> translator: i also have children around the same age. so i wanted to support her. >> reporter: with the help of her son, she now produces more cinnamon than before the tsunami. and this year, she was able to realize her husband's dream of building a new house. >> translator: although it's still painful, i am very happy to realize my husband's dream. >> reporter: she attended the commemoration ceremony, carrying a flag representing her community.

ten years after the indian ocean tsunami, the survivors are gradually regaining their former lifestyles. nhk world, hikaduwa, sri lanka. santa is making his way through asia, as well. he's been stopping in thailand and india, where people are already celebrating. more than 90% of thai people are buddhist, but that hasn't stopped many from enjoying the festivities. in the central province, santa appeared bigger than expected. elephants in costume greeted students. they found a novel way to hand out toys and snacks. >> translator: it's so much fun.

>> elsewhere in asia children shared the christmas spirit in mostly hindu india. this christian school supports orphans and other disadvantaged children. with india boasting a nobel peace prize winner this year in children's rights advocate kailash satyarthi some observers say more people are now more interested in children's education. >> translator: i think this opportunity for me, because like me, many would be dead in the world, as well, not cared for, not having any shelter. but still, i would like this good opportunity to study, also. >> that w asia every weekday live from bangkok, only on nhk world "newsline." british human rights activists say u.s.-led air strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in syria. and they say most of them are

militants with islamic state or al qaeda. officials with the syrian observatory for human rights say at least 1,171 people have died. and at least 52 of them were civilians, including children. i.s. militants reportedly executed 100 foreign fighters who tried to escape from their stronghold of raqqah in northern syria. analysts say the group's morale seems to be weakening, but they say the air strikes that started in september are only having a limited effect because the militants are hiding among civilians. members of another human rights group say islamic state fighters are committing crimes against humanity in neighboring iraq. workers with amnesty international say the militants have been abducting women and girls of the yazidi minority. they say the captives are being forced to marry, being sold, or

traded as gifts. workers are the rights group interviewed more than 40 yazi yazidis. they say militants abducted hundreds, possibly thousands, of women and girls. many of the victims were taken to iraq's second largest city mosul. and they say some of the girls were so traumatized they took their own lives. amnesty officials are calling on members of the international community to take action to support the victims. u.s. authorities have indicted five men for smuggling dozens of guns on commercial flights. prosecutors say the group includes a delta airlines baggage handler and a former delta employee. the prosecutors say the five men are aged between 24 and 54. they say from may through december the former delta employee took 17 delta flights from atlanta, georgia, to new york. they accuse him of smuggling 153 assault weapons in carry-on bags. the prosecutors say the delta

baggage handler set the process in motion by first getting the guns past security at atlanta airport. he allegedly dropped bags containing the firearms at a rest room near the departure lobby. the prosecutors say the former employee then collected the bags and boarded the flights. they believe he got cheap tickets because his mother was a delta employee. they criticize atlanta airport for lax security. >> they can put guns on the plane this time. they could have easily put a bomb on one of those planes. >> investigators believe the former delta employee has been smuggling guns on planes for at least five years. the president of nicaragua has launched one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the world. daniel ortega has authorized workers for a chinese firm to start carving out a canal linking the pacific and atlantic

oceans. >> translator: this project is for the people of nicaragua, and it's also a project for the whole world. >> people in charge of the project say the $50 billion waterway will span 27 kilometers and accommodate ships of up to 400,000 tons. they say that's much higher than the panama canal, which can only take ships of up to 150,000 tons. executives at the hong kong-based chinese firm signed the deal to operate and manage the canal for up to 100 years. they deny their company has links to china's government but analysts say china may use the arrangement to wield greater influence in central america. many people in nicaragua oppose the project. they say it will cause extensive damage to the environment.

space authorities in russia are celebrating the launch of an experimental rocket. they hope to use it for delivering commercial and military satellites into orbit. the angara a-5 took off from the space center in northern russia. it was carrying a mock satellite and delivered it into orbit on schedule. it is the first russian heavy rocket to be developed since the fall of the soviet union. it's said to be able to carry a payload of up to 24 tons. president vladimir putin monitored the launch from moscow. he hailed it as proof of russia's leading role in space exploration. he said the rocket will strengthen defense, reconnaissance, navigation, and communication capabilities. russian space authorities are trying to compete with the u.s. and china. they've been using spacecraft designed in the soviet era but putin has encouraged them to develop new rockets, and build a center in the far east to launch manned space flights. parts of hawaii could

possibly see a blizzard heading into christmas. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here to explain. jonathan? >> hello, gene, yes. what a wild concept to talk about, a blizzard in hawaii. but it certainly is possible as we go in to the next couple of days. we have an area of disturbed weather that's bringing a lot of moisture. but on the higher peaks, that's where we're going to see enough cold air to where snow, heavy snow and blizzards to be possible. the area shaded in this dark red, orange color over on the big island, this is where we're going to see the possibility of those blizzards. so blizzard warning is in effect as we go through christmas eve. the rest of hawaii looking at flash flood watches, and flood advisories because of the act of rain that will be falling. so here's a look at the forecast for the next three days. in honolulu you will just see some wet weather. a lot of it wednesday through friday. so you'll be wet through christmas day. but on the higher peaks we're going to see the possibility of some snow on wednesday,

transitioning over into more of a rain-type forecast for christmas day and windy conditions coming up on friday. meanwhile, a very different story when it comes to the weather in the deep south of the united states. we're talking about very strong storms that produce tornadoes. and i want to take you to one location down over in mississippi wrr a series of tornadoes ripped through the ruz gulf coast tuesday leaving four people dead and numerous people injured. one of the hardest-hit areas was in columbia, mississippi, where this video was taken. the entire commercial district of the town was damaged. the governor of mississippi has issued a state of emergency. expediting the inflow of the resources towards recovery. so, here's what we're looking at as we go in to the next day. as we go into christmas eve, the focus of seeing the severe weather will shift toward the east. because the mechanism continues to progress. but, all along the eastern seaboard we're looking at a chance for thunderstorms in areas under this orange color facing marginal risk for severe

weather. so you have the possibility of seeing some strong thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and we cannot rule out the possibility of an isolated tornado simply because this system has a history of producing them from tuesday. we are also looking at some messy travel conditions, especially around chicago, the great lakes region, because of the cold air filtering in. if you're flying through chicago o'hare or midway, look out because you may be dealing with a lot of delays and cancellations. the northern rockies also dealing with snowfall as we go through christmas eve. the southern plains and central plains will see drier conditions. temperatures around 7 for oklahoma city. 13 in houston, and if you are traveling to the major metropolitan areas for christmas, christmas eve looking wet for chicago atlanta and new york. very warm and sunny in l.a. then by christmas day, most of those areas will start to dry out. by friday all areas are expected to see sunny skies. very wet conditions for the northern portions of europe as we go over to the continent. we have the series of low pressure systems constantly filtering through. and that's producing the rain

and the snowfall. and eventually that will start to move toward the south, penetrating the high pressure system that's been keeping the southern portions of the continent dry. so expect to see some wetter weather as we go through wednesday and into christmas day. wrapping things up with a look at east asia, dry conditions over china and the korean peninsula. but this low pressure system northeast of japan consistently bringing in this northwesterly breeze. that's producing some of the snow on the western edge of hokkaido, and the northern portions of japan. so look out for the possibility of seeing some snow on christmas. tokyo staying dry, 11 for the high on thursday. 2 in seoul. 6 in beijing. wet weather down toward the south, closer toward the tropics. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

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

>> jordan confirms one of its pilots has been captured by an state. flying as part of the u.s.-led coalition and shot down in syria. the film at the heart of the scandal between the u.s. and north korea set to be screened. was pulled after hackers took on sony pictures. nato pushed ukraine to give up its neutral status in hopes of joining the alliance. and that that will complicate peace talks set for today. those are the headlines here on france 24. thanks for joining us.