it's 7:00 p.m. on a thursday here in japan. welcome to "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. here are some of our top stories for this hour. an okay to a nuclear restart. a court in central japan has ruled that nuclear reactors of the power plants of the region can be turned back on. missing in action. an international ngo says a

japanese freelance journalist is being held by on armed group in engineer. the ngo is doing all it can to set him free. and big spending. japan's cabinet ministers have just approved the next budget plan of the country's largest ever. a court in central japan has allowed the restart of nuclear reactor reactors at the takahama plant. nhk world explains. >> reporter: the decision disappointed some locals who had proof for the redemption of the reactor. >> translator: judicial authorities have made the

decision, even though we experienced the 2011 fukushima accident, i'm really disappointed. >> reporter: they worry about the reactors in the takahama plants are brought back online. the government introduced new stricter requirements after the fukushima disaster in 2011. reactors at takahama and ori have been offline while they underwent screening by the nuclear authorities. they say that he doesn't see danger from the reactors that has threatened residents' lives. the main argument in the cases were, kansai electric power company says is based on scientific evidence and are highly reliable. it says that its safety precaution, based on that.

but with this, they argue the utility is underestimating the maximum strength of an earthquake. because of that, they want safety measures to protect the facility, and that that would not be enough. kansai electric relied on the fact that it met regulations. but in april, a court ruled that those regulations were not good enough. so far, the government has not changed them. and they say the government's regulation, reasonable. the company reacted to the decision. in a statement, it says that the ruling was in their favor because it had uninsured the safety of the reactors. residents are divided. >> translator: wit was a disappointing result. the judge adopted all of what

kansai electric insisted. we will continue our fighting. we won't be optimistic or pessimistic about it. >> translator: we need to start reactors to help our job situation. i've heard of many people struggling to find jobs after the reactors were hatted. >> reporter: due to the release, kansai electric into one of the reactors at takahama. regulators are screening over a dozen other reactors in japan in hopes of putting them back online but says it will highlight opinions over nuclear reactors are still divided. and some people's concerns over safety remains. nhk world. >> we'll bring you further developments here on "newsline." thanks. newly declassified documents are shedding light a memo from

japanese foreign minute still refers to the cost of return of the islands. the u.s. was supposed to have paid $4 million. >> translator: the memo tells us that at quite an early stage the japanese government began considering shouldering the cause the u.s. would have to pay. >> the u.s. controlled the islands seven years after world war ii. at the time of okinawa's return admitted in 2009 that japan had secretly agreed to pay cleanup costs. a japanese freelance journalist is reportedly being held by an armed group in syria. jumpei gentleman yasuda and a

guide reportedly crossed into syria from turkey in late june to report on the situation there. he did not return on his planned date in july. his whereabouts remain unknown. reporters without borders is calling for his immediate release. the international ngo said on its website tuesday that the kidnapping happened in an area controlled by the nusra front just a few hours after he entered syria. the group is affiliated with al qaeda. the ngo says the nusra group is demanding a ransom for his release. and the ngo is urging the japanese government to do everything possible to free him. the government is not confirming he's being held. >> translator: the japanese government recognizes that it's our important duty to secure the safety of our citizens. we're doing our best to deal with this matter, using various information networks. >> yas suda was asked if a ransom was demanded for his release. he had no comment.

yas suda had worked in combat zones such as iraq. kenji goto was executed by isis in january. japan will be paying less to u.n. budget. japan's u.n. ambassador acknowledged his country now has left economic clout. >> translator: japan's economic power is declining in relative terms. but i don't think we need to turn from joy to sorrow. what we're sieeing is a reflection of japan's true state. >> u.n. approved a budget of $5.2 million for the next two years. based on factors including gdp. the united states will still be

the biggest contributor. japan will still be the second biggest. china will overtake germany and france to take third place. the united states will soon be the biggest contributor to peacekeeping operations with a share of 28%. china will bump japan out of second place with a share of about 10. japanese leaders are planning to spend a record sum of money in a bid to get their economy back on track. gene otani joins us with that and a round of news from our business desk. gene. japanese prime ministers have signed off on their biggest government, they're going all out in the fiscal year that starts in april. and they say they're counting on a big increase in tax government from corporate profits to help cover the costs. ministers approved the draft budget of more than 96.6

trillion yen or about $800 billion. that's up about $3 billion from this year. they've earmarked a third of the money for social security. the amount they plan to spend there is up by $3.6 billion to help cater for the fast-ageing population. defense spend will go stop 5 trillion yen. more than $40 billion, for the first time. government officials expect to bring in morin $470 billion in tax revenue due to strong company earnings. it would be the highest amount since the end of japan's bubble era in 1991. and that means they can rely less on government bonds to generate revenue. but they say bonds will still account for 45% of the money in the budget. the governor of the bang of japan has put more pressure on profitable firms to share some of their good for tune. kuroda said it's essential for managers to react now to

increase wages and increase spending on plants and equipment. he said the economy is at a turning point and the end of deflation is in sight. >> translator: looking at recent developments in the world and japan, i can't help feeling it's very important that we make important decisions on higher wages and investment now. >> kuroda also said that the bang of japan. us cans waiting to take delivery of the first japanese plane in 50 years will have to wait a little longer. they won't get the mitsubishi jet for about a year after it's due to be ready. executives at mitsubishi said

that the firm is going to plan on delivering 2017. but they advised them to run extra checks. the president said mitsubishi needs to move faster. >> translator: we feel it's urgent to accelerate development of the jet to ensure we can compete with our rivals. >> airlines around the world have placed orders for 407 jets so far. recently agreed to transpacific partnership may have both positive and negative effects on the japanese tree. the government says it could raise japan's overall gdp, but some industries could face challenges. nhk has the story.

>> reporter: government officials reading the report on their estimate thursday on the meeting of council of economic and fiscal policy. >> translator: estimates say the tpp will hugely benefit our economy. we will make this a reality. >> reporter: the report says that once the agreement takes effect, it will enlarge trade and bring more investments to the country. helping to rate japan's productivity. it says the transpacific partnership or the tpp agreement will increase workers' wages, create jobs for some 800,000 people and raise japan's gdp by 2.6% or more than $115 billion. but the deal has some add jers effe adverse effects. the report says the tpp will lead to increased production

reports. as well as meat, pork, and dairy products. the report says the value of the production will fall as much as 1. $7 billion from the current 56.3 billion. for these, prices will increase with imported products and prices of japanese beef will also drop to some estimate. processed fish items like bonito and tuna are expected to fall as well. the government said it will enhance the competitiveness of the agricultural industry by helping to cut costs and by covering farmers' deficits. they hope that will help in the production level. but the report says that the tpp deal will not affect japan's product in either value or volume. as imports increase, the

government plans to buy up an ample amount of reserve rice stocks. experts are split over how tpp will affect the country. >> translator: what's important is that growth of the japanese economy will be revitalized by the transpacific partnership. then the impact on the agricultural sector will be limited. >> reporter: some contend that the tpp does not bring anything. >> translator: my estimate says gdp will hardly change, but enormous advantage will occur to agricultural and fishery products. the numbers reported by the government are something arbitrary. >> reporter: the japanese economy needs a boost to increase the country's growth. nobody knows yet whether the tpp will be the answer.

but we'll know for sure the deal will change the profit margins of many industries. the government will sign an agreement and will seek approval from the diet. nhk world. tokyo's stocks ended lower as the yen on major exporters. the nikkei stretched to a fourth straight session. for more, we go to mayu yoshida. >> many investors are away for the holiday season. and shares are going higher. many of us took the money off the table after the 19,000 market. the markets closed lower. 18,789. and topix down 0.65%.

the nikkei has risen about 8%. expanding to a fourth year. there are always winners and losers but one of the worst performers of the year was definitely toshiba. it went down 60% since the accounting surfaced. and on thursday, it fell another 1.3%. and another loser of the day was medical product maker kyowa hakko kirin. it dropped. the bottom line it's all about trading with only one week left for the year 2015. i'm mayu yoshida from the know. >> thanks. many shortened their trading hour or took the day off for the holiday. in china, the shanghai

composite fell 0.65%. closing at 3612. it will request companies to provide more closure. sydney, s&p, 1.28%. kospi retreated. hong kong extended gains for a fourth day supported by higher oil prices. here's a look at some other business stories we're following. officials at china's central bank said they'll extend trading hours for the yuan market. they have said the early close is limiting the appeal of the yuan as the global reserve currency. u.s. traffic safety

officials have dents fied an eighth death linked to faulty takata air bags. they say a motorist died sarpt of a ruptured air bag. the car was under recall but had not yet been fix. >> some companies in china are seeing a silver lining in the population woes. officials have ended the decades old one-child policy to boost low birth rate. >> reporter: a crowded auto sales store in beijing. since october's announcement that the one-child policy is changing, consumers are changing how they buy. larger vehicles are increasingly popular. >> translator: when you go out with a bigger group you can use the back seats as well. >> reporter: roomier cars have enough space support an extra

child seat and any other items that might be needed with a second baby. >> translator: we're now allowed to have two children, so i want to have a second. this car is more practical. >> translator: young couples who plan a second child prefer this type of car. sie the announcement of the new policy, customers are increasingly interested in them. >> reporter: the chinese communist party hopes to push up the birthrate. but some experts say this will not be easy. they cite high education costs and other programs. still, businesses are betting that china will produce more children. advertisements like this one have sprung up in beijing. most sales have been for

two-bedroom apartments, one each for parents and child. but demand is growing for an extra bedroom for the second baby. a real estate agency in beijing is trying to capitalize on the tailwind from the change in government policy. >> translator: i have a three bedroom apartment in the new building. are you interested? >> reporter: this is one of the apartments currently on sale. at 140 square meters, it boasts two bathrooms as well as three bedrooms. >> translator: it used to take us three to four months to sell big apartments like this, but they now get snapped up within a month or even a week. >> reporter: other businesses are following suit. some have figured out that mothers with two children will need more help. this software application lends a hand when kids get sick by

providing online counseling from a doctor. 1,000 reputable doctors from beijing are available at a few swipes of a smartphone. the service has 3 million users. china's app for download. this company is trying to grow on the back of the changing government policy. >> translator: experts predict 100 million babies will be born in the next five years. that will bring huge growth in our app. >> reporter: the firm plans to develop a new version of the app along with tailored services, such as doctors able to deal with specialized medical conditions. it remains to be seen how the end of china's one-child policy

will affect the world's most populous nation, but it is already bringing huge opportunities for business. nhk world. earlier, we had a story on the mitsubishi jet mrj. executives at the industry have postponed it. it's not the industry, i apologize for that mistake. that's it for business news. i'm going to hand it bac to you, james. >> gene, thanks for the update. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has ainstructed his prime minister to visit by the foreign minister. abe is referring to foreign minister toe shehda on thursday. abe and the south korean

president had their first meeting last month. president park has been called for the issue to be resolved by the end of this year which marks the 50th anniversary of normalizing bilateral ties. relations between the countries have showed signs of improvement following a recent court ruling in south korea. some japanese diplomats welcomed a not guilty ruling in the case of a japanese journalist charged with defaming president park. you're watching "newsline." live from our studios here in tokyo. now for weather, deadly storms have claimed lives and property throughout the southern u.s. as jonathan oh tells us in the weather update. well, it it looks like in terms of the messiest of the weather it's something that we'll going to pay attention to as we go through christmas eve. the syste is not over yet in terms of impact. look at the clouds that are well

developed and then the clearing line behind it. that typically happens when you have a very strong and vigorous system coming into the area. in fact, this storm has had a history of producing a lot of damage. d also, some tornadoes. here's a look at the doppler radar as of approximately 05 ucc. and you can see a line of storms that's rolling through a portion of kentucky, in through the ohio river valley. and ahead of that, another line of storms crossings over the appalachian mountains, south carolina and georgia. this system has had a history of producing tornadoes. in fact, one particular one has such an extended track, approximately 230 kilometers building into the edge of mississippi crossing over the border into tennessee. and this is something that has left a lot of problems in its wake. and so, this is going to be a difficult time here for those who are getting ready to start

the christmas holidays but now are dealing with damage and destruction. in fact, a few people have died from this particular system from the latest reports that we have received. and we're going to look at the possibility of even more severe storms as we go throughout the day on thursday. the reason why, we have a lost warm air that's been charging into the deep south. and as we go through the time period, coming in, it's winter time, we have that huge clash that takes place. and that instability is going to lead to possibly even more heavier rainfall and thunderstorms as we move throughout christmas eve. and this has been an issue. a lot of traveling taking place as for people trying to go home for the holidays. it's going to be something that people have to look out for. anything from chicago, new york. atlanta, there are some major travel points to look at. even some flash flooding concerns will be taking place for christmas eve. now, on the flip side, we have a

very different weather system. another low coming onshore that's bringing cold air, heavy snowfall as part of the equation. for those looking for a white christmas, it's looking like it but it may actually be how much snowfall takes place. vancouver, rain in seattle and even seaboard through christmas eve. as we go into christmas day, looking at wet weather from d.c. snow from denver, westward to the pacific northwest. as we look at the forecast for europe. a change in the weather pattern. a lot of drier portions into the central portions of the continental. another major system into the atlantic, that's going to bring rainfall, possibly snowfall into the far northern areas. looking at the windy conditions and rain. london, paris, look out for active weather coming up on thursday. drier. a look at east asia. we see some clearing over japan

as low pressure departs into the area. looking for a nice christmas forecast. and high pressure from china into the korean peninsula for christmas day. hope you have a good day wherever you're watching.

along with an in-depth look at the day's news comes to you at the top the hour,

>> the u.s. launches new airstrikes to help afghan forces beat back the telegram. -- beat back the taliban and. citizens being warned about a potential terrorist the threat in the chinese capital of beijing.