's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the u.s. state department is backing a statement by japan's prime minister that he will inherit the stance of past cabinets on historical issues. chinese officials have abolished a quota on exports of important minerals after a global trade dispute. and more and more tunisian families are being torn apart as

members of islamic state recruit their sons. officials in the u.s. have responded to the japanese prime minister's new year address. shinzo abe said his administration will inherit the stance of past governments on historical issues when he delivers a statement later this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. >> our view is that the apologies extended by previous prime minister murayama and cabinet kono marked important chapters in japan's effort to improve relations with its neighbors. >> psaki indicated u.s. officials support abe's plan to inherit the statement of previous cabinets. she said the u.s. encourages japanese leaders to continue dialogue with their neighbors to resolve concerns over history. in 1995 then-prime minister tomiichi murayama expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology for japan's colonial rule and

wartime aggression. a 1993 statement by former chief cabinet secretary kono expressed sincere apologies and remorse to those referred to as comfort women. >> translator: the abe cabinet has been saying that it inherits on the whole, the stance of past cabinets on historical issues. including the murayama statement. we have explained our historical views to the united states and i believe it fully understands them. >> suga said japanese officials will assemble a panel of experts to work out the wording of the statement. the top executive at japan's sony corporation has corn democrated a cyber attack against a u.s. subsidiary. hackers targeted the company because it produced a fictional movie about north korea. president and ceo vowed that

sony will never bow to such threats. hirai made the remarks at an event in las vegas. he described the attack as one of the most vicious and malicious cyber attacks in recent history. >> i am very proud of all the employees and certainly the partners that we worked with as well who stood up against some of the extortionist efforts of the criminals. >> sony pictures entertainment produced the interview, a film that depicts the assassination of north korea's leader. executives canceled its scheduled release because of threats against moviegoers. but they reversed the decision after criticism from free speech advocates. >> freedom of expression freedom of association, those are very important lifeblood, lifelines of sony, and our entertainment business. >> kirai said the film can now be seen online as well as at more than 580 theaters in the u.s.

south korean defense officials have expressed concern over north korea's increased capacity to make nuclear weapons. the defense ministry has issued it's biannual white paper the first since president park geun-hye took office. the report points out the north is presumed to have some 40 kilograms of nuclear weapons grade plutonium. a ministry official said the north is unlikely to have already deployed nuclear weapons but its technology to make smaller warheads has advanced significantly. the north's first nuclear test was eight years ago. the ministry believes the north has missile capabilities that could threaten the u.s. mainland, and could develop ballistic missiles. president park has urged leaders in pyongyang to join talks after kim jong-un said it could be possible. kim jong-un said in his new year's address that he can no longer tolerate the tragedy of a divided korean people. he said he wants a turnaround in

relations provided seoul stop tensions. president park welcomed kim's remarks. but she also called on pyongyang to demonstrate its commitment to improving ties through action. >> translator: i hope north korea will come forward promptly for interkorean dialogue. i hope pyongyang will cooperate and make substantial contributions to specific projects toward peace and unification on the korean peninsula. >> last month the park administration proposed that the two countries hold ministerial talks in january on issues including the reunion of families separated by the korean war more than 60 years ago. south korea's i.t. industries compete with the best on the planet. its pop culture has millions of followers around the world. but the country still has a tense relationship with its northern neighbor. we give you the latest insight into what's happening across the

peninsula here on "newsline." rare earth no more. china is easing restrictions and ron madison has more on this story. ron? >> you know this has been a huge area of contention between china and several other trading partners. so now chinese government officials have scrapped a limit on exports of minerals that are coveted by firms worldwide. they say they'll remove their quota on rare earth needed to make smartphones and other high tech devices. developers in china produce almost all of the world supply of the minerals. until now they've been bound by export restrictions designed to preserve china's natural resources. representatives from japan, the u.s., and european union in 2012 filed a complaint against china. they said it was violating trade rules. members of the world trade organization panel last year ruled in their favor. the panel members said china had not shown the export quotas were needed to preserve stocks of the rare earths.

president xi jinping reportedly is keen to show china respects the rules of international trade, and supports fair competition in the marketplace. well the people at toyota motor are offering to share their patents on hydrogen fuel cell technology with other automakers free of charge. they hope the unconventional move will boost development of the fuel cell cars. toyota executives made the announcement in las vegas on monday. the company is sharing about 5700 patents. the technologies include hydrogen tanks, and its system for controlling the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. the patents will be royalty-free until the end of 2020. those related to hydrogen service stations will be available indefinitely. >> one of the things that we believe as toyota that we can do to help accelerate that development is open up our 20 years of research and development around this technology. >> toyota started selling its

first commercial fuel cell vehicles in japan last month. the automaker plans to make them available in the u.s. and european markets by the fall. toyota managers expect to sell only 700 units worldwide by the end of this year. they cite the high price tag for the vehicles, and the lack of hydrogen service stations. well investors around the world are pretty nervous. many see the plunging price of oil as a troubling sign for the global economy. they're also concerned about uncertainty in europe. so they're offloading stocks and that's been putting a dent in markets around the world. major markets in europe are trading pretty mixed at this time. london, though is leading the downward trend for some majors down by 1.25%. now all these indexes posted losses of between 2% and 3% the previous day. most major markets in asia finished lower today. japan's nikkei closed down more than 500 points or 3%. it was the first time in three

weeks that it's dropped below the key 17,000 level. south korea's kospi also losing 1.7%. its biggest one-day percentage fall there in a year. currency traders are trying to protect themselves from the fallout on the markets. they're seeking out the safety of the yen, as a result dollar/yen is down below 120 now. in fact it's at 119.03. traders are also responding to reports that greece might leave the eurozone. they're selling the euro against other major currencies. the euro hit nine-year lows against the dollar on monday. and right now is just slightly higher than that. it's also at two-month lows against the yen. the head of japan's largest business lobby has a message for executives across the country. he said they should give workers a basic pay rise. he said executives should offer the same 2.2% increase that they gave their employees last year. he was speaking at an annual gathering of almost 2,000 people from across the business sector.

the keidanren lobby hosts the event with the japan chamber of commerce and industry and the japan association of corporate executives. >> translator: this year we must raise wages for workers. the government bureaucrats, and all of us in the private sector have to do what we can to pull japan out of deflation. >> sakakibara says he'll urge successful companies to reward their workers when they hold labor talks. some executives said they'd be happy to do so. >> translator: we're aiming to raise wages by more than 2% in particular we want to reward employees in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s, who are bringing up children. >> translator: it's only natural for a firm to reward its

employees when the business is doing well. but an across-the-board pay raise is controversial. >> executives will meet with union leaders to hold talks later on this month. and that is going to do it for biz tonight. let's close things out with the markets. makers of electronic gadgets are gathering in las vegas.

they're rolling out their latest products at the international consumer electronics show. the biggest names in televisions are showing how they've put a new spin on a familiar device. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: asian manufacturers dominate the global market for tv. many of them have come to this year's show armed with tvs that contain new features and technology. sharp of japan has unveiled an ultrahigh definition 4k model. it has four times as many pixels as current high definition tvs. company representatives say the set even makes recorded images look better. it does that by showing the images at the equivalent of 8k resolution. sharp is positioning the tv as its flagship model for the higher end of the market.

executives aim to begin selling it in japan and in the u.s. this year. >> translator: we can't raise profitability merely by engaging in a price war. it's important to launch unique products. with our original technology at the core. >> reporter: lg electronics of south korea is showcasing organic electroluminescent televisions. the company has also rolled out a new product using quantum dot technology. company officials say the name refers to particles used to backlight the set's liquid crystal display. they say the tvs generate more colorful life-like images than other q4 models. >> this year will feature color prime technology in several series which will expand the color gamut that can be displayed by up to 30%. >> reporter: tcl of china also

unveiled a quantum dot tv. the company is extending its global reach and became the world's third largest maker of lcd tvs in 2013. executives say they'll beat their rivals by offering high resolution products at a low price. >> we are truly the first ones. we are taking the leap. one, two, three. >> reporter: the show is a chance for industry executives to promote other products too. some of the items on display this year include wearable computers, and audio devices offering better sound quality than regular cd players. manufacturers say they're confident technologies like these will sell. many of the gadgets are due to hit the store shelves soon. and then it's up to consumers to decide which of them will come out on top. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world.

tens of thousands of people in germany have taken to the streets. some are calling for tighter controls on muslim immigrants. others are promoting a message of tolerance. members of a group campaigning against what they call the islamization of europe have been holding rallies. but monday's gathering in the eastern city of dresden drew a record crowd of 18,000. many say they are concerned about terrorism on home soil. more than 500 people from germany have reportedly joined the islamic-state militant group. demonstrations were also held in berlin in hamburg, opposing the anti-islam movement. people appealed for an end to discrimination. in cologne the lights of the cathedral and the city hall were turned off to make a statement against racism. chancellor angela merkel said in her new year's address that hostility towards foreigners has no place in german society. members of islamic state are trying to expand their campaign

of radicalizing youths. reportedly they've already recruited more than 15,000 people from over 80 countries. but they're finding it easiest to target tunisians who make up the majority of the extremist groups new fighters. nhk world reports. >> reporter: people in tunis take to the streets to protest the islamic state militant group and to demand the return of their sons. >> translator: where have our children gone? >> translator: the people who recruited our children should be brought to justice. >> reporter: it's a four-hour drive from tunis. 27 young people have left this town to join the radical group. this girl's twin brothers khalid and waleed are among those who have enlisted.

>> translator: they have dreamed of graduating from college and starting families. just like other young people. >> reporter: after the emergence of the arab spring four years ago, khaled was expecting people's lives to improve once the dictatorship had been overthrown. but there is no improvement. the unemployment rate for young people has grown to almost 30%. there are no jobs even for university graduates. khaled started going to the mosque frequently. then two years ago, he disappeared. his family received a photograph a month later. it shows that khaled was fighting in the conflict in syria. soon his twin brother waleed started to change, too. waleed was using facebook to

communicate with someone who appeared to be an islamic state recruiter. the recruiter offered waleed a large amount of money to join the militant group. waleed disappeared last september. the family heard from him a month later. he said he was undergoing militant training in libya and waiting for the chance to go to syria. >> translator: it's not just my brothers. all the young people who have gone to join the islamic state are victims. it has exploited their weakness. >> reporter: the town's mosque is the radical group's biggest recruitment center. the radicals seized the mosque after the fall of tunisia's former regime. it has since been cooperating with the recruitment effort. najah says both of her younger brothers were radicalized at mosques.

a local ngo has been studying why people are joining the militants. group members are discussing how to prevent further recruitment. >> translator: it's not easy to stop them being recruited. another problem is we don't have enough funds. >> reporter: two days after we spoke to najah she received word her brother waleed has died. a funeral was held with an empty casket, since the family did not expect his body to be returned. the family still has no news of khaled. the other brother believed to be in syria. >> translator: i want the people to tricked and brainwashed my brothers to receive god's judgment. >> reporter: there's growing fear that the militant group will continue to attract young

people until local officials can rule out poverty, unemployment, and other harmful tactics. nhk world, tunis. analysts from a u.s. consulting firm have listed this year's ten biggest risks for the international community. they say topping the list is the politics of europe. they say as a new year begins political conflict among the world's great powers is in play more than at any time since the end of the cold war. analysts with eurasia group released the top risks 2015. the report says euro exceptic political groups are gaining power in europe and that friction among eu states is worsening. it also claims that the political environment is more challenging. it cites the russian crisis and terrorist threats from islamic militants. the analysts name russia as the second largest risk. they point out that the

country's economy is weakening due to western sanctions over the ukraine crisis and dropping oil prices. the third is the slowdown in china's economy. their report points out this affects the economies of brazil and other resource-rich countries that rely on exports to china. >> the russians the chinese, the europeans, the americans, are moving in very good directions, and i think that that is deeply unsettling. for the geopolitical environment, deeply upsetting long-term for the marketplace. >> bremer said he's sure 2015 will face big challenges. south african government officials are calling for urgent international action to protest -- protect rhinos rather. they've released a report saying poachers are killing the animal in record numbers. they say at least 1,020 rhinos are killed in 2014.

that's triple the amount compared to four years ago. the nation has the world's largest population of species. people in china and vietnam sell rhino horns at high prices. they use it as medication for cancer and other purposes. rangers at south africa's kruger national park are trying to protect the animals. they exchanged gunfire on monday with three alleged poachers. they say that intruders set equipment designed to cut off horns. investigators believe members of international crime organizations are also involved in the illegal hunting. they say some of them use helicopters and sophisticated weapons. conservationists want authorities to step up cross-border patrols. and they're demanding heavier punishment for the criminals. dry conditions are making it difficult for firefighters to stop a large blaze in south australia. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here to let us know if rain is on the way to change the situation. jonathan? >> hello, gene.

yes. this is definitely of some concern. any time we talk about very dry conditions especially for southern hemisphere where we're talking about summer we're also talking about the heat so a combination of heat dry and also windy conditions all those combinations tend to enhance the fire conditions. that is not a good thing. you can see here no cloud cover to talk about in the southern portions of australia. let me show you what it looks like on the ground level as we take a look at this video where firefighters are continuing to battle a bush fire which has destroyed at least 20 homes in south australia. . 7 families had to be relocated to temporary housing. temperatures are also continuing to climb as we go through tuesday. along with the dry air out of the interior that combination is the reason why we're having some concern. here is a little bit of the bright spot though. you can see here toward the north, we have a lot of moisture. in fact, we're monitoring this low that's developing that may be bringing some heavy amounts of rain towards northern

territories. but, notice the moisture also starts to push slightly toward the south, and moisture coming out of victoria and new south wales so hopefully that's going to put this fire at bay as we go throughout the next few days. it looks like at least scattered showers are expected if not thunderstorms, as we go from wednesday all the way through the rest of the week. and temperatures are also starting to cool down in some spots. that's going to help control the fire situation in southern australia. meanwhile we now move back to the northern hemisphere where winter is definitely in full effect. specifically over in japan we have this low pressure system bringing in some very chilly conditions. winter weather conditions for the toe hocho region into hokkaido. this will continue on into wednesday. and with the proximity of the low north of japan, and the high coming out of northeast china, the two, because they're close to each other, the winds are really picking up. so we are expecting the gusting conditions to continue as we head throughout wednesday. also chilly temperatures are in

the forecast. 10 degrees for the high in tokyo. negative 2 for the high in seoul. and 4 is also we're going to see as we go through wednesday in beijing. a little bit warmer down toward the south into manila and bangkok. chilly weather also a big part of the story in north america. we have high pressure in central portion of the united states. already, temperatures way below freezing in canada. this cold air is going to continue to move down toward the south, some snow is expected in the mid-atlantic states as we go through tuesday and the deep south, be ready by the time we go into wednesday, you're going to start seeing temperatures plummet into the single digits for highs and overnight lows will be in to the below freezing categories. look at this negative 19 for the high in winnipeg on tuesday. negative 9 in chicago. negative 7 in toronto. and snow again for new york and also as far south as d.c. with a high of only 2. now, we are also talking about a couple areas of some major snowfall taking place in europe. we have a low coming in from the north and west so that's going

to produce the chance for some snowfall, some areas up to 30 centimeters and another low is bringing some snowy conditions in to turkey. and so look out for that. gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour on the far western side of that low as we look at the possibility of some severe thunderstorms as we go through tuesday. 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.

't is making news at this hour. a rally swells to its highest numbers yet with 18,000 people taking to the streets. angela merkel has denounced the protest as racist. a major hit. the greek could end up leaving the eurozone. there has been clashes in bahrain between protesters and police