but that is likely to inflame local opposition to the noda administration's plans. the noda administration ordered the environmental assessment before the prime minister met u.s. president barack obama in november. in order to show that it's making some sort of progress. the futenma relocation deal was signed in 2006. the years of delay have irritated the u.s. government. it's believed that the u.s. president barack obama wants to see as many obstacles removed as possible before next year's presidential election. with the stalemate over futenma has stalled the restructuring of whole u.s. military forces in asia. because you know, moving the base is an essential part of washington's overall plan. that includes moving about 8,000 marines from okinawa to guam. the u.s. pacific territory is set to become a crucial regional hub for the american military. japan also needs u.s. help to counter the chinese military's growing influence in asia. china has taken an increasingly bold stance on territorial issues in japan's southern waters. on top of all this, the japanese gover

. >> the noda administration says that the tax hike is needed to reduce the country's huge fiscal debt. the nine lawmakers say this violates an election pledge the party made two years ago when it came to power. party executives have yet to accept the resignations. but the lawmakers say they will not change their minds. they say they will plan to set up a new party early next year. later in the day, one upper house lawmaker submitted his resignation, but the party has not yet accepted this one either. >>> at the top of the chinese government's priority list for this year was price stabilization. inflationary pressure eased after monetary tightening but economic growth started slowing down also. our reporter jamie unlog looks what happened this year. >> thank you for coming over. thank you. could you give us your brief evaluation of the chinese economy in 2011. what kind of year has it been for the chinese economy? >> it has been a very challenging year because the extent of demand is slowing and the government is active ly working to break the bubble. the impact wasn't obvious. then in