welcome to nhk world "newsline." the very public standoff between journalists and a liberal newspaper china and government officials is grabbing more attention and making more headlines. staff at the nonfonjomo say they were censored and accuse the latest addition to taking a jab at the communist party. the weekly published second edition was out on thursday, the first time hitting newsstands since the allegations surfaced.

>> translator: i came to buy the newspaper to know what's happening here and to know the truth. >> translator: media restrictions are getting tighter. the government's propaganda division should be disbanded. >> editors did not run a story detailing their allegations that communist party officials forced them to change new year editorials counting for freedom and democracy and they did not mention the anti-september sore ship demonstrations happening this week. instead, editors wrote that even though the party has the right to control the media, it should change with the times. no demonstrators gathered on thursday outside the head office of the nonfonjomo. that's the first time in four days. authorities have been deploying dozens of police officers to detain protesters and harass journalists covering the rallies. the united states criticized the chinese government over the alleged censorship. foreign ministry spokesperson

hong lei told the country to mind its own business. >> translator: let me point out views and criticisms from overseas. other countries should not interfere with china's internal affairs. >> another newspaper is continuing to play a role in this censorship fight. the beijing news ran text of a speech by its publisher saying the daily will continue to faithfully record every page of china's history. the united nations and arab league envoy to syria is la meanting what he calls a lost opportunity to end the civil war. lakdar brahimi has been trying to find a way to bring government and opposition leaders today. president bashar al assad has refused to negotiate. assad addressed his supporters on sunday. he proposed a new constitution and a national referendum to approve it.

he branded his opponents puppets of the west. brahimi met with assad last month telling the bbc the president's proposals are no different from ones he's put forward before. >> i think that what people are saying is that family ruling for 40 years is a little bit wrong. so the change has to be real. >> opposition leaders welcomed the remarks. brahimi is set to meet with russian diplomats with close ties to the assad government on friday. rebel commanders have freed dozens of iranians in a prison exchange or prisoner exchange deal with the syrian government. the assad regime agreed to release more than 2,000 captives in return. it's the largest prisoner swap since the uprising against assad's government began nearly two years ago. iran's state-run media said 48 iranians held for five months arrived at a damascus hotel

after their release. opposition fighters seized the iranians near the city in august and initially threat upped to kill them. the rebels say the captives included members of iran's islamic revolutionary guard sent to support the assad government. the iranian officials contended they were shiite pilgrims visiting holy sites and demanded their release. turkey and cay dar brokered the prisoner swap. the syrian government officials say members of opposition groups are among the prisoners they are releasing. u.s.-led forces may be widening down their operations in afghanistan, but pilots are still flying mission after mission. last year they and their crews used thousands of bombs and missiles. spokespersons for the multinational forces say fighter jets, helicopters and unmanned aircraft conducted more than 1500 air raids. they dropped or fired more than 4,000 bombs and missiles.

that's 1300 fewer than the previous year. but they continue to identify and target taliban positions more than a decade after the start of the military campaign. the role of aircraft in the conflict seems to be growing. last year drones fired more than 500 missiles, 200 more than in 2011. u.s. commanders are hoping to transfer power to their afghan counterparts but the national forces lack the equipment and training to conduct air raids or reconnaissance. afghan president hamid karzai is visiting washington. he plans to ask the obama administration to provide the afghan military with advanced high-tech weapons. u.s. vice president joe biden says the white house is determined to act quickly and decisively to stop gun violence. biden heads a task force set up by barack obama after last month's mass shooting at a connecticut elementary school. >> as the president said, if our actions result in only saving one life, they are worth taking.

but i'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly. >> biden met with victims of gun violence and gun control advocates at the white house on wednesday. he emphasized that he would work with both sides of the debate to build a consensus on precisely which firearms restrictions are necessary. he said gun violence is a problem that requires immediate action. with americans starkly divided on the issue, biden is also scheduled to meet with pro-gun groups including the national rifle association on thursday. people in south korea took part in a nationwide drill to prepare for possible power outages triggered by cold weather. government officials called on people around the country to turn off lights and heat in homes and offices for 20 minutes.

people also participated in a muck rescue at a subway station in central seoul. 40 station workers, police and fire personnel practiced helping people trapped in trains. rescuers manually opened the train doors and guided passengers out of the car. the temperatures in seoul plunged to a minus of 12.3 degrees celsius. government officials are concerned that continued low temperatures could result in severe power shortages. they say the country's electricity reserves could fall to about 1 million kilowatts toward the end of the month. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is planning to get better acquainted with other leaders in his region. he's traveling to vietnam, thailand and indonesia next week. it will be his first trip abroad since taking office last month. chief cabinet secretary yoshido

says the members of the southeast asian nations will start next wednesday. >> translator: the strategic environment has been changing drastically in the asia pacific region. it is crucial that japan strengthen its cooperative ties with asean members to secure peace and prosperity in this area. >> suga denied suggestions from the media that china's expansion in the south china sea is the main reason for the visit. he and prime minister abe want to firm up economic partnerships with these fast-growing asian countries, which are leading global economic growth. abe is not only taking care of business overseas but his main focus has been to boost the economy here so japan can start growing again. ron madison in the studio with more on that. >> yeah, we have been talking a few days at areas they would like to see stimulus, gene, and now we hear senior officials of the ruling liberal democratic

party and its coalition party have agreed on prime minister abe's economic stimulus plan. the agreement came on thursday at a meeting atended by abe who was also the ldp leader and new komito leader yamaguchi. he calls this the first in preventing the economy's freefall. one of the three pillars of the project is disasterry building and disaster containment. these include road repairs and making school buildings quite resistant. the second is creation of wealth through growth that calls for government support on renewable energy and overseas expansion for businesses. and a third is a secure livelihood. a community revisitization through a sound health care system and other measures. >> translator: i want to see the ruling coalition pulling together and a strong yen as well as increased jobs and boost national income.

i hope to have the fiscal 2012 extra budget drafted to fund these measures as soon as possible. >> the cabinet is set to approve the economic stimulus on friday. japan's economy continued to run out of steam in november. a key indicator fell for the eighth straight month. the cabinet office says the coincident index was down 0.6 points in november to 90.1, that's against a base of 100 for the year 2005. this index reflects the current state of the economy based on the job market, farm production and other economic activity. the fall mainly due to a shop in machinery production including machines used to make semiconductors. the shipments of mole phones and digital cameras is also to blame. an indicator of future economic activity, the leading index was also down from the previous month. it dropped by 0.9 points now sitting at 91.9. the cabinet office officials will keep a close eye on the situation and see some bright

spots. that's a higher production of cars and electronic parts. china's global trade grew at a slower pace in 2012 than the previous year. the government's target missed by a pretty wide margin which showed the first drop in three years due to strained bilateral relations. china's customs authority say the country's overall trade in 2012 reached an all-time high of $3.8 trillion that works out to $2 trillion in exports and $1.8 trillion in imports. but the growth rate of about 6% fell short of the chinese government's goal of 10%. that's because export growth slowed down from 20% in 2011 to under 8% last year due to the ongoing european debt crisis. china's economic slowdown dampened imports as well. the country's trade with japan fell almost 4% from the previous year. the drop was the first since 2009 when the collapse of lehman brothers triggered a global

recession. now a chinese government official told reporters that trade is expected to show signs of recovery and the pace of trade growth will be higher than in 2012. the official also indicated that the tension over the senkakou islands will continue to impact bilateral trade this year. toyota's prius has been named the top selling vehicle in the domestic market for the fourth year in a row. the japan automobile association says pruis sales in 2012 peaked at more than 210,000 units, up more than 25% from the previous year. another toyota compact the aqua came in second thanks to government subsidies for fuel-efficient vehicles. subsidies did end last september. mira came in third with sales of nearly 220,000 units followed by the n box and the fit.

let's get a check of the markets now. asian investor sentiment was lifted thursday after china's trade data showed a rebound in exports for december. but in europe market players are kept in check ahead of the european central bank policy decision later on today. here's a check of major indices in that region. we still have a fairly mixed picture there with london's ftse 100 higher by .10%. gains of .20% for the frankfurt and the cac40 is down .20%. they are likely to keep their rate near the record low. they are focused on what mario drugge will say about the policy down the road a bit further. earlier in trading the nikkei index rose .70% on a weaker yen and pretty active trading, in fact, volume hit a 22-month high. let's get a check of currencies now. the yen continues its weakening

trend both against the dollar and the euro. right now we have dollar/yen at 88.12. the euro is at 115.444. triggers are selling the yen on speculation the bank of japan will take further monetary easing steps. and that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. let's check in now to see what's happening with the markets. ♪ thousands of people waiting

to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. vast tracks of land waiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy, but step by step people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time right here on "newsline." the people who oversee nuclear safety in japan are still finding their feet. they got to work at the nuclear regulation authority in september after the government merged two other agencies. >> reporter: he is doing a job that has not been done before. he's the new chair of a new agency. he says he's committed to making decisions based on the evidence, something he says that was hard to do before the accident at fukushima daiichi.

>> translator: we are not hesitating to make decisions based on objective scientific fact. honestly speaking, i understand there used to be other issues taken into account. >> reporter: those who work for tanaka say they are trying to avoid those kinds of pressures. inspectors for the nuclear regulation authority looked into a trench at the ohi plant on the sea of japan. they wanted to determine whether a fault running underneath the compound is active. the people who run the utility are questioning their work even before the release of the findings. >> translator: the inspection is still ongoing. we plan to explain how we view the situation when we can. but at this point our position has not changed that the fault is not active.

>> reporter: but the investigators are standing firm. tanaka says people don't understand all the mysteries of nature. he says he learned that lesson two years ago. >> translator: we lack the minds to humbly face the cause of various accidents. i have been weary of the culture not doubting the safety myth. the accident at fukushima provided a good opportunity to change that. >> reporter: japanese prime minister shinzo abe suggested his government may consider reintroducing more nuclear power and even allowing for the construction of new facilities. >> translator: the government will go over what we have learned about the nuclear

accident and check the progress of the nuclear safety technology. i'd like to carefully consider whether new plants can be built. it will take a certain amount of time. >> reporter: tanaka says he and his staff need to work without interference. >> translator: the idea to give certain independence to our organization came from the current leading party, even before taking power. so i believe the government will honor our eindependence. >> reporter: the investigators that looked at the ohi plant had hoped to release their findings this month, but they need more time. some consider their conclusions will be a success for the nuclear regulation authority. people want to know whether the regulators are doing their jobs or acting as a rubber stamp from the government. reporting for nhk world, tokyo.

the japanese rain dance is a foaling prayer far good harvest to the gods who control the weather. people in thigh the highlands have danced and drummed for the rain for over 150 years, but the custom could soon be extinct due to a falling population. a dedicated few are working to keep the dances alive. >> reporter: a conch horn sounds. two-meter high umbrellas. a powerful drum beat. all are part of a rain dance practiced in this district. this sits at the foot of the mount. the district is mostly made up of steep slopes and used to be

hit by frequent droughts. the town's people used to perform rain dances for days until their prayers were answered. more recently such dancing is taking place at local festivals. the community has treasured and preverveed the tradition. but due to depopulation, the tradition is on the verge of extinction. members of a local conservation group are aging. a local junior high school took over for them but had to close down two years ago due to a lack of students. group leader kozin ahada once thought the dance was doomed. >> reporter: there aren't enough people to keep this tradition alive. i thought it was over. >> reporter: who would stop the tradition from vanishing? students at another junior high

school in the same town stepped up. senior mihada is a native. he has done wide performances since he was very young. >> translator: i wanted to do the rain dance since i was in elementary school. i was worried it would die out. >> reporter: performers beat drums to bring rain clouds. the instruments weigh up to 15 kilograms each. takato had a hard time twisting his waist wildly, a signature movement of the dance. >> translator: use the drum's weight to turn. >> reporter: it was not easy to teach the inexperienced

students. but ahara felt that his efforts would pay off. >> translator: it would have been very hard to revive the tradition if it had been left to die. it's great that those people have resolved to conserve it. i really appreciate their effort. >> reporter: ichu held an athletic meet. at the event the rain dance got a new lease on life. the dance is the pride of the communi community. many local residents ask for the beat to be performed. takada drummed with all his might before a big crowd.

>> translator: the beat is so exciting. >> translator: i'm glad i did it. i want everyone to know that such traditional performing arts exist. >> reporter: the dance has come back from the brink of extinction thanks to a new generation. australia continues to suffer from drought and wildfires. meteorologist robert speta is here with more on that. robert? >> yes, we have actually been watching this for several days now and it does look like this is just going to continue to linger. first i want to show you a video out of southern australia of some of the wildfires. this is in the town of cruma where one was very dangerous. the firefighters were out there on wednesday to start the firefight because temperatures went down slightly in this region, but unfortunately it is still very dry. then going into the weekend we are still going to be seeing these temperatures rise back up. so it doesn't look like too much

of a break across much of this area as you can see on the satellite picture. just clear skies, so really unneeded here, but australia is not just looking at the severe drought. take a look at this. this is now severe tropical cyclone norelle continuing to push down to the south with winds near 140, gusting up to 195 kilometers per hour. if you are in the areas colored in, definitely need to start making preparations for this storm because it is bringing not just the gail force winds near the coastline but also the heavy rainfall. they are actually seeing reports of dust storms today because thunderstorms are blowing up in some of these outer rain bands from the system kicking up those dusts while the same area will be seeing the heavy rain. what happens is it is very parched and runs immediately into the river banks and creeks and then you see the sudden increase in water levels. we'll be watching this throughout the next several days. farther to the north as we look to eastern asia, things remain quiet here across much of china. i don't really expect anything significant as far as precipitation, but we are remaining cold.

farther to the snout t philippines, this has been bringing persistent rain near the philippines and we'll see heavy rainfall. in the past 24 hours, 180 millimeters has fallen here. then we are seeing the sea-effect snow off to japan also dropping the temperature in tokyo with a high of 8 on friday. right near the freezing mark through the overnight hours. meanwhile, farther to the west, beijing, we are up from thursday, a high of 5 to start after your weekend. now we'll look over to the americas, look at this swirl on a satellite picture. that's a strong cyclonic system. pulling all this moisture out of the gulf of mexico, that's bringing flash flooding risk across portions of louisiana. that is going to move over to mississippi all along this cold front. as that pushes to the east, even a few super cells could be developing out of that. with the risk comes with that a tornado or two as that continues to cruise off here. but behind it we are watching another low pressure area. and this one here is moving across the northern rockies.

that's going to bring snowfall but the big story with this one is a game changer because it will usher in the coldest temperatures of the season so far, all the way even down to portions of southern california. you're going to be seeing temperatures well below average. this is going to work its way to the east dropping temperatures below freezing, so if you are along the eastern seaboard, enjoy the warm weather for the time being because it is going to cool right off. now we'll take a look over to the british isles, you're going to see a break on your thursday. we are seeing some sunny skies move across the area, but on friday and saturday the cool air pressure is going to move in to kick up the winds and bring some heavy rainfall with any gail force winds near the west coast of ireland over to the u.k. as far as south as the iberian peninsula. low pressure is lingering near the baltic states to dump a few more centimeters of snowfall. gradually diminishing off but ushering in colder temperatures. over to warsaw you're seeing a high of 1. it is not going to reach the freezing mark on saturday and

sunday with a high near minus 3 for you. unseasonably warm there for you in london and paris. both a high of 7 and 9 on your thursday. now here's a look at your extended forecast. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk

from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com