ch crews carrying out the grim task of looking for the remains of airasia qz8501 are facing new obstacles. they pulled more bodies from the waters near kalimantan island. but their efforts are being hampered by bad weather. indonesian authorities say on wednesday the bodies of three men and women in cabin attendant's uniform were found

bringing the total located to seven. the air craft was heading on sunday to singapore from surabaya in indonesia. the jet disappeared from radar screens while flying near kalimantan island during a storm. 162 passengers and crew members were on board. authorities have confirmed that the airasia flight crashed in to the java sea. they say pieces of debris found in the area were parts of the fuselage. they say deteriorating weather conditions have prevented search helicopters and ships from reaching the area. indonesian officials say rescue operations will resume as soon as the weather improves. they're being assisted with the help of singapore, malaysia and the u.s. which dispatched their naval vessels to the region. the people who run a nuclear plant in the northeastern u.s. have brought the reactors to a halt. vermont yankee stopped sending power to the grid after more than four decades.

state officials opposed continuing the plant's operation for safety reasons following the fukushima disaster. the 42-year-old reactor is the same type as the number one reactor at the crippled japanese plant. the plant's executives say the closure is for financial reasons. they say changes in the energy markets make operation too costly. they say the cost of thermal power generation is declining due to increased domestic production of shale gas, and investments to meet safety standards are rising. the vermont yankee will now undergo about 60 years of decommissioning. the u.n. secretary -- the u.n. security council, rather has rejected a resolution setting a deadline to establish a sovereign palestinian state. the resolution was submitted to the 15-member council by jordan. it also set a target of achieving israeli/palestinian peace within one year. the resolution received eight yes votes, falling short of the nine needed for adoption.

the united states and australia voted against the measure. britain and four other nations abstained. >> we voted against it because we know what everyone here knows, as well peace will come from hard choices and compromises that must be made at the negotiating table. >> the security council has once again failed to uphold its charter duties to address these crisis and to meaningfully contribute to a peaceful and lasting solution in accordance with its own resolution. >> the resolution was designed to move the peace process forward, as u.s.-backed negotiations had stalled. the woman at the center of the nut rage incident has been arrested. former korean air executive cho hyun-ah delayed a flight following an outburst over the way she was served. she now faces charges of violating the aviation safety law.

the court issued an arrest warrant after cho was questioned by south korean prosecutors. earlier this month cho ordered the aircraft to return to the gate at new york's jfk airport before takeoff. she was furious after a cabin attendant served her nuts in a bag instead of a dish. she demanded that a senior crew member in charge of cabin service get off the plane. the officials also arrested a managing director of the carrier. they suspect he forced flight attendants to give false testimony to defend cho. south korea's transport ministry came under fire after revelations that some of its officials leaked information to korean air about the investigation. a ministry official who worked for the carrier for more than a decade was arrested. more and more south koreans are growing concerned about online privacy. prosecutors launched a cyber investigation team in october to monitor information.

and now some people are looking abroad for social media providers. nhk world explains. >> reporter: internet users are protesting against cyber censorship. >> translator: south korea's legal system allows the authorities to freely sensor the content of e-mails and online messages. this infringes citizens' rights and is a threat to democracy. >> reporter: president park geun-hye heard the protests when she hit back at online rumors about her behavior after the april 16th he is wol ferry disaster. >> translator: rumors like this are disrespectful. they harm diplomatic relations, and the dignity of our country. >> reporter: prosecutors then announced plans to set up a team to monitor online information.

social media users saw this as a threat to their privacy. a growing number of south koreans are seeking what they call cyber asylum. that means they're signing up with foreign mobile messaging services which are outside their government censorship. kakao talk is south korea's most popular social media service. more than 90% of smartphone owners use it. cyber asylum has dealt kakao talk a serious blow. an opposition party official was recently indicted for refusing police demands to stop a protest demanding that park resign. he says police then monitored messages he exchanged with about 3,000 people on kakao talk. the co-ceo apologized for causing concern to users. the head of an online business body says there needs to be a balance between conflict and

interest. >> translator: trust is of the utmost importance for these services with huge numbers of users. but it's also important for businesses to follow the law. it's unfortunate that these two criteria collided on this issue. >> reporter: prosecutors say they won't monitor chats in realtime. but it's hard to win back trust once it's been lost. many users have switched to a german chat app called telegram. it had 50,000 users in early september. now 2 million people have signed up. >> translator: i won't go back to kako talk now that it lost the trust of the people. >> translator: it's tough to switch to another service. once you get used to one app. but since a lot of people are already using telegram i plan to join in and start using it, too. >> reporter: cyber asylum goes hand in hand with cyber

censorship. one expert warns of the dangers. >> translator: south korea's economic system relies on the internet. if the government regulates the freedom of expression most internet users want the foundation of the country's economy will be shaken. the government needs to realize this and deal with this danger. >> reporter: people in south korea are losing trust in online services. the big question is whether those services can win back that trust. kim chan-ju, nhk world, seoul. a declassified british document quotes a former japanese prime minister as saying his nation and china have agreed to maintain the status quo over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. files released on tuesday by the british national archives show the remarks were made to late british prime minister margaret thatcher. the two met in japan in 1982.

the document quotes him as saying he and china's late supreme leader deng xiaoping agreed that the two countries should cooperate on the basis of their major common interests, and leave aside differences of detail. suzuki says they both agreed to maintain the status quo over the senkakus without discussing the matter concretely. and he told thatcher the issue is effectively shelved. she was due to negotiate with china over the future of hong kong a former british territory, at the time of the conversation. the document says suzuki persuaded her to hold direct talks with deng on the basis of his own experience. a senior japanese foreign ministry official denies the existence of any such deal between japan and china. he told nhk the ministry has not confirmed suzuki's remarks. he said there has never been any agreement with china to shelf issues regarding the senkakus. and he said there's no change in the government's position that the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory, both in

terms of history and international law. china and taiwan claim the japan-controlled islands. a japanese university professor is turning to films to help solve a language problem. he's trying to get more of his students to learn chinese. and he's getting help from some special guest speakers from abroad. nhk world has more. >> reporter: haneda airport in tokyo. three young chinese movie actors flew in last month as part of an exchange initiative by a japanese university. in the film the three actors play contrasting roles, a girl who is suffering under the weight of her mother's expectations. a spoiled boy from a wealthy family who goes off the rails. and a street kid who survives by

pickpocketing. all reflect issues faced by children in modern china. >> translator: japanese people have a bad reputation in china. i want to find out what they're really like. >> reporter: the initiative was the idea of tatsuo yoshikawa, an officer at kaio university. he says the number of students learning chinese is dropping by a third each year. and those who do enroll have little understanding of daily life in china. yoshikawa has arranged an open screening of the film. >> translator: by meeting and talking with our visitors from china, i hope the students will find out for themselves what chinese people are really like. >> reporter: first, he gets his students to create subtitles for the film. this is a good chance for them to learn more about the culture

and lifestyle, underpinning the dialogue. before the actual screening, yoshikawa's plan is for the students to chat a bit with the actors. but the students are shy and hesitant to speak in chinese. >> translator: we did manage to chat a bit. it was fun talking.

>> reporter: next it's time for the film to be screened. the subtitles made by the students seem to make sense. yoshikawa has also invited the actors to address his chinese class so that the students can interact with them. the youngest actor talked about his hometown harbin. another demonstrated a folk dance from the minority. >> translator: i've never spoken with a native speaker before. this has motivated me to work

harder on my chinese. >> translator: i was worried they might not take me seriously because i'm just a kid. but they were all nice and listened to what i had to say. >> translator: everyone had a great time and some became quite close. i'm very pleased. the students have little opportunity to meet and talk with chinese people. i want to hold more events like this. >> reporter: face-to-face person-to-person, for these young people understanding each other starts from the chance to get together and chat. nhk world, yokohama. a russian opposition leader and kremlin critic has been sentenced in a high profile

fraud case. alexei navalny says he is innocent and local media say he will appeal. navalny and his brother oleg were charged with embezzlement. police say they took about $500,000 from two firms between 2008 and 2012. a court in moscow gave alexei a suspended sentence of 3 1/2 years. but he will not go to prison. oleg received a 3 1/2 year jail sentence, and they have each been fined about $8300. hundreds of supporters responded to navalny's call and rallied at a square near the kremlin. police arrested about 100 protesters.

local media reports navalny tried to join the rally but he was detained and sent home. government officials in washington condemned the ruling. >> this appears to be another example of the russian government's growing crackdown on independent voices. >> rathke says the u.s. is also concerned about russia's increasing restrictions on independent media, civil society, and minority groups. officials in jordan are seeing fewer people from outside their borders coming to visit. their tourism efforts are being hampered by the political situations in neighboring countries. so they've now teamed up with some japanese experts to help guide visitors back. more from nhk world. >> reporter: the old town of salt was once the capital of the former transjordan. the history of the town dates back to the 16th century. it is known for beautiful buildings, but not for any

significant tourist attractions. for two years, shimazu has been promoting salt tourism promotion. he is from the old city of hagi in western japan. for many years he has worked on projects aimed at stimulating tourism. >> translator: the information you provide to first-time visitors is important. >> reporter: hagi and salt are both historic and well preserved. the old district of hagi city still keeps its historical appearance, which dates back to the 17th century. local people prevent the entire town as museum and that attracts more visitors. now, shimizu and his team are applying their know-how to revitalize tourism in salt.

>> translator: did you make this? >> yes. it's hand-made. >> reporter: shimizu's group is planning to create a tour that enables the visitors to interact with locals. shimizu is determined that the tour focus on the city's history. so, he might feature this 17th century church. near the statue of the blessed virgin mary there is a space for muslims to pray. in many parts of the city there is evidence of peaceful coexistence between christians and muslims. >> translator: this is an ancient cultural heritage which people keep alive. it's important to emphasize that. >> reporter: shimizu and his team hosted a tourism training seminar in hagi city for people from salt. 25-year-old asir experienced the

charm of hagi by joining the creative city tours. she adopted shimizu's idea of city walk-about tour for salt. she went from door to door looking for people to support the project. she found a musician who can play traditional instruments. at this house, she came across traditional bridal attire that is 70 years old. the dress weighs ten kilograms and is more than three meters long. it is an important cultural object. asir and her team decided to let tourists try it on. >> translator: it exposes the bride's neck showing her femininity.

>> reporter: at first, many locals were hesitant to get involved in the project. but eventually there was some interest. >> hagi people they know they have a tradition. and we want people who are living in salt also to appreciate what they have. >> reporter: since the two mupts have started collaborating the number of visitors has increased five-fold. residents of salt also have rediscovered their town's history and that the people themselves are a treasure. hiroshi shimazaki, nhk world, salt. japanese workers are known

for putting in long hours at the office. many spend a lot of time behind desks, which takes a toll on their bodies. now they're being encouraged to be more active on the job to improve health and productivity. >> reporter: this is a major software development company in yokohama. about 700 engineers use computers for long hours. because of the sedentary nature of their work many are suffering from obesity and stiff shoulders. so when the company moved in august, it designed the new office to promote physical activity during work hours. a floor in the hallway has a series of lines corresponding to one's body height. for example, a 175 centimeter tall person is encouraged to walk with an 80 centimeter stride. that's because lengthy strides can burn more calories.

this chair has a small seat with a unique arm rest that moves in a wide range. this helps the body release tension by twisting the waist. these are balance balls that help employees straighten their backs for good posture. moreover, the office layout encourages workers to walk long distances. the office space of two floors is as large as 40 tennis courts. however, there's only one stairway they can use. a meeting room and storage for stationery are located upstairs. engineers' desks are downstairs. for meetings engineers have to walk down the long hallway and climb up the stairs in the

middle of the office. to finally reach the meeting room. they walk about 150 meters each way. japanese engineers usually walk an average of 2200 steps a day at the office. but on this day, engineer yak yam ma doubled that with more than 5,000 steps. >> translator: when i counted my steps with a pedometer, i was surprised that i walked more than i expected. >> reporter: the company believes that exercise can contribute to the health of employees and also improve business performance. >> translator: healthy employees are more productive. and this helps our company save on medical costs. >> reporter: this company is even promoting healthy eating

among its employees. >> translator: hi, this week's vegetables are here. >> reporter: the software firm uses a new service that delivers produce to the office. the refrigerator is filled with fresh vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, small ears of corn and blueberries. the company pays for the service and its employees can eat them for free during breaks. >> translator: i live and work away from my family, so this really helps me stay healthy. >> translator: we value the health of our employees. and a good working environment. because in this way, they will continue to work well and contribute to the growth of our company. >> reporter: recruiting skilled workers is becoming more difficult, especially for companies that force their

employees to work long hours, so one way to earn the public's trust and attract top talent is by offering various benefits that promote a healthy work life. people across japan are saying their good-byes to 2014 and preparing to welcome in 2015. some of them are busy making final new year's preparations to most millions of visitors at shrines and temples. and others are taking the time to slurp up a traditional end of year dish. workers at tokyo's meiji shrine are getting ready for large crowds. they've set up an offertory area front of the main building. one of the shrine's gates is adorned with big sacred arrows and large wooden plaques with paintings of sheep, next year's zodiac symbol. priestesses arranged good luck charms and other items to be sold to worshippers.

more than 3 million visitors are expected to offer prayers there during the first few days of 2015. passengers using an airport northeast of the capital sampled a popular new year's dish. about 300 of them tried locally produced buckwheat noodles and sake. many japanese people eat the noodles on december 31st. they're said to ensure a long life and good luck in the coming year. the meal was served to celebrate flights between ibaraki and taipei. and now here's the weather forecast.

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

ld secured victory. the ceremony took place at the newly elected parliament. >> i