members of shinzo abe's new administration said they won't let the issue undermine relations. foreign minister fumio kishida said he talked to his counter part by telephone. >> translator: various disputes could occur over specific issues over our relationship as neighbors but we hope we can overcome these challenges and strengthen our ties. >> prime minister shinzo abe is sending former finance minister taro aso next week. he's expected to meet with park geun-hye and deliver a letter to her from abe. relations between the neighbors have been strained since the south korean president visited the disputed islands in august. >>> it's been more than a month since israel and its almost jake movement hamas agreed a cease-fire in the gaza strip. more than 170 palestinians and six israelis died in the fighting. many were traumatized including children. >> reporter: one month into the cease-fire resentment against israel runs deep in gaza strip. militants are showing wreckage of a car in which a hamas commander was killed during an air strike. they are also displaying pictures of wome

we asked people in central tokyo what they expect from the abe administration. >> translator: i hope it will fix the economy and energize japan. >> translator: i want a new cabinet to use tax-free on the tsunami survivors. i really have a high expectation about this. >> translator: i want a new administration to listen to the voices of young people and do something new because nothing really seems to have changed. >> abe takes charge as japan is embroiled in some difficult relations with its neighbors. a former u.s. official hopes the new government will rebuild regional ties and those with the u.s. former deputy secretary of state james steinberg was a leading advocate for the asia pacific region. he welcomed abe's plan to make his the first foreign destination. >> i think there's no substitute for leader to leader discussions. given the delicacy and importance of issues in east asia now. >> steinberg expressed the concerns over the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands in the east china sea. china and taiwan claim them. >> the re-elected leader in the united states and new le

. >> reporter: the abe administration needs to define the legal role of the nuclear regulation authority created by the former government. the nra oversees nuclear safety but the full extent of its power and independence is unclear. >> translator: we'll check whether nuclear plants satisfy safety standards. but it's up to the utilities and the government to decide whether or not to restart facilities. >> reporter: prime minister abe's energy pledges currently lack detail. he says he'll decide within three years whether to restart reactors but he doesn't explain why he needs that much time. nor does he explain who will bear the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants if that happens. he also hasn't outlined a time frame and budget to expand the renewable energy market. >> translator: most important issue is to restore governance on nuclear safety. it is a chance for japan to rebuild trust. the new administration should swiftly present a clear direction. they need to quickly state the energy portfolio and decide on the use of nuclear energy in the first half of next year. >> reporter: peopl

. >> reporter: the abe administration needs to define the legal role of the nuclear regulation authority created by the former government. the nra oversees nuclear safety but the full extent of its power and independence is unclear. >> translator: we'll check whether nuclear plants satisfy safety standards. but it's up to the utilities and the government to decide whether or not to restart facilities. >> reporter: prime minister abe's energy pledges currently lack detail. he says he'll decide within three years whether to restart reactors but he doesn't explain why he needs that much time. nor does he explain who will bear the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants if that happens. he also hasn't outlined a time frame and budget to expand the renewable energy market. >> translator: most important issue is to restore governance on nuclear safety. it is a chance for japan to rebuild trust. the new administration should swiftly present a clear direction. they need to quickly state the energy portfolio and decide on the use of nuclear energy in the first half of next year. >> reporter: peopl

. >>> the abe administration is facing another big challenge, how to carry out its pledges to improve japan's economy while at the same time controlling government spending. concerns are mounting as the country entered a recession. this means the economy shrank for two straight quarters. the new government plans to immediately compile a budget for fiscal twefrmt the ruling liberal democratic party vows to place importance on public works project he is, which would make the nation's ground stronger against disasters. introduction and promotion of renewable energy is also a pledge to go ahead with these policies, the government will have to continue issuing bonds, as no major increase in tax revenues can be expected. >>> u.s. lawmakers will resume budget talks as the year-end deadline for the fiscal cliff looms. u.s. president barack obama is cutting short his christmas holiday to carry on the negotiations to avert drastic budget cuts and tax increases. obama is scheduled to return to washington on thursday in time to restart talks. the u.s. president is asking congressional executives

item no. 6, discussion and possible action to update current administrative bulletin ab-007, high top van parking quifl facilitation. >> before you is a change to administrative ab-007. the code has changed and the wording, the present code does not mention high top vans any longer. if you are to build a new building now, you would need to have the 98 inch or 8 foot 2 or all accessible parking. so this is just to bring the current code language and the administrative bulletin in line in existing buildings, not new buildings, but existing buildings we can continue to use the existing van spacings that are in the buildings for parking, for the van parking, and it would meet the equivalent -- it would be equivalent to facilitation for existing buildings the way we do it now. that's really what the language is about. >> okay, thank you for updating us on that. do we have to take action on that? no? okay. >> i believe there is action authority, wasn't listed that way, but it is an action item. >> so we'll take public comment first, then. >> is there public comment on item 7? seeing none, i

what priorities will leader shinzo abe push forward in this administration? >> mr. abe has to push two things, one is social security process coupled with the consumer debt. the other is stimulate the budget economy in japan. however, mr. abe seems to be very careful about running this country and the ldp seems to be very much determined to keep, maintain coalition with the new komeito and from one issue to another, depending the issues, the ldp seems to change the partner for corporations from the new party, restoration or the euro party or even dpj. >> let's talk about the voter turnout. it was the lowest it's been since world war ii. why did so many japanese skip out on casting ballots? >> okay. i think millions of japanese voters are still fed up with the way the lpj run this country in the old style. they were disappointed of the incumbent, the dpj. at the same time they were still doubtful of the new parties therefore the voter turnout went down to 59.32%. >> so how did the low turnout affect the outcome? >> it helped the ldp because ldp has a very strong organ

during their meeting abe urged him to consider setting up policy accord for 2% inflation target after the new administration is established. he declined to elaborate on his discussion with abe. the central bank's policy meeting starts from wednesday. abe repeatedly called for bold monetary easing during his election campaign to help defeat deflation but the boj governor stressed the central bank has been providing the largest amount of market liquidity among advanced countries, implying the boj has already taken sufficient monetary easing. abe told business leaders he plans to pull through on promises and pull japan out of inflation. >> translator: we have to beat deflation, curb the strong yen and grow jobs. we'll do anything to grow the japanese economy. i deeply believe reviving the economy will lead to a stronger japan. >> members of the japan business federation want japanese negotiators to join talks on the transpacific partnership free trade deal. abe said he'll study the issue thoroughly. >>> time to get a check on tuesday's markets. most european shares are higher, tracking gains in new york. inves

after it is inaugurated on december 26th, the abe administration is poised to act quickly to boost public works spending and press for bold monetary easing. with the ldp, there are growing calls for the 2012 budget to $120 billion to fill the economy's supply/demand gap. the ldp and its coalition partner are like to go ahead with increasing government bond issuances to help finance the package. already, abe is trying to tighten the screws on the central bank. he has pressed for a policy accord with the bj to set a 2% inflation target. to back up this strategy, abe has decided to take the professor emeritus of economics at yale university as special adviser to the cabinet. hamada is a supporter of easing monetary policy and critical of the policies of the boj. back to you, kelly. >> thanks for that. we want to take a quick look at what's on the agenda for asia tomorrow. meanwhile, australia's central bank will release minutes of its previous meeting. and on politics, the chinese delegation led by wang qishan will arrive in washington. >>> still to congress on the show, russia has joined th

but this all rests on shinzo abe's administration and the bank of japan delivering. should we expect they'll be able to succeed? >> it is a bit of an experiment. if they really change their target for the bank of japan to the 2% inflation target and they -- then they have to find these instruments to actually achieve it. because they've done what everybody else has been doing. they've printed money, they've created this huge fund to buy up assets, which, you know, they're ever increasing and they're ever increasing the rate of monthly purchases up to where it's quite similar to what the u.s. is doing. but still, they're not achieving a higher inflation rate. it does seem to take the government to spend more, as well. now, the government has been running huge deficits for a while. >> i still find it fascinating looking at the basis of the actual market. given as you say we're about to enter a recession again. you brought a very, very divided and different government scenario which hopefully will be sorted out. but whether or not the japanese underperformance on the ni

during the meeting abe urged him to consider setting a policy accord for a 2% inflation target a. the new administration is established. he declined to elaborate on his discussion with abe. the central bank's policy meeting starts from wednesday. abe repeatedly called for bold monetary easing during the election campaign to help stop inflation. they will had the largest amount of liquidity among advanced country. he implied they have taken sufficient monetary easing measures. abe told business leaders he intends to follow-through on the promises and pull japan out of deflation. >> translator: we have to beat deflation, curb the strong yen and create jobs. we'll do anything we can to grow the japanese economy. i deeply believe reviving the economy will lead to a stronger japan. >> members of the japan business federation want japanese negotiators to join talks on the trans pacific partnership free trade deal. abe said he will study the issue thoroughly. abe took time this morning for a telephone call with u.s. president barack obama. they talked about meeting next month in washington. it would be abe's f

administration. the new prime minister shinzo abe will take up office later in the day. analysts say the b.o.j.ill likely further boost its monetary easing measures. the dollar is currently trading at 85.26-31 yen. ai uchida joins us now from the business desk for more on that. so ai, investors have been trading the dollar-yen quite dramatically over the last several weeks. >> that's right, catherine. just a month and a half ago that pair was trading in the mid 79-yen range. almost six whole yen weaker in just six weeks. a dramatic move indeed. so going forward, what can we expect? well, we spoke to disaburo nezo for his outlook. he is a senior executive fellow at fujitsu research institute. >> the yen's future is not so much the weakening but rather i think there would be some counterbalance. that is, already yen current rate, 85 yen per one dollar, is rather reasonable level. i think the japanese exporters have been worrying and saying that yen has been too expensive but probably i think most japanese businesspeople are more or less agree that current level of 85 is rather reasonable level ev

abe criticized the party repeatedly for damaging this relationship. how do people in the obama administration look on it now. >> reporter: the revolving door to the japanese prime minister office has made it difficult for those to cooperate on an issue. they want a reliable partner. they'd like to see an end to the volatile issues. >> what do they want them to address? >> reporter: people in the obama administration face a high priority. they have been troubled by the increasing tension between japan and china over which country owns the senkaku islands. it could unsettle dynamic in a region. they want to see measure security policies and sophisticated diplomacy to calm the situation. >> our pleszage to the new japanese government will be the same to the former japanese government, which is we want to see both japan and china avoid provocative acts. we want to see them talk to each other and work this through by dialogue. >> reporter: now japan has a dispute with south korea. they would like to see the japanese put aside their differences. american diplomats rely on the partners of both count

they hope abe and park will be able to meet after her inauguration in february. >>> barack obama says people in his administration have an obligation to prevt mass shootings. he launched a task force less than a week after a school shooting in connecticut. >> i will use all the powers of this effort to help advance e t efforts aimed at preventing a tragedy like this. >> vice president joe biden will lead the task force which will include other members of the cabinet. he said there's a growing consensus among americans to ban the sale ofilitary style assault weapons. he says it supports stricter background checks on buyers. last week a gunman walked into a school. he killed 20 children and six adults. obama has been struggling with another file. >> the u.s. fiscal cliff crisis and the republicans and democrats talks between the republicans to avert still not making much progress. president obama has rm asked to make further compromising. >> i have gone at least halfways in meeting some of the republicans concerns. what separates us is $100 milli million. >> the white house presented a comprose plan earlier is week

. >> he also expressed his support for abe's plan to restore the council on economic and fiscal policy. the panel was closed under the noda administration. >>> an afghan police woman has shot and killed an american civilian adviser in afghanistan. the incident is the latest in a string of attacks in the country by local soldiers and police. our correspondent in bangkok has the examples. >>> the attack occurred in kabul on monday. the police woman was immediately detained following the incident. the motive behind the shooting is not clear. a female officer of the local police force approached and shot dead an american who was working as a security advisor at police headquarters and in a separate incident a police officer shot and killed five colleagues in the northern province of jos john before fleeing the scene. afghan police believe the officer is a member of the taliban. more than 50 members of the nato-led forces in afghanistan have been killed by afghan soldiers or police officers. these incidents are casting a shadow over afghanistan-u.s. ties ahead of the withdrawal of international combat troops at the end of 2014. >> these are

abe urged the bank of japan governor to set a 2% inflation goal. that's after a new administrations established. the central bank policy makers say these aggressive measures could be risky, it could have a negative impact on the economy if prices go up without wage increases. they also worry an accord with the government would restrict the central bank's independence in setting monetary policy. >>> in the u.s. president barack obama and republican house speaker john boehner are scrambling to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. they're trying to reach an agreement on how to tax the wealthy. the president offered to limit tax hikes for people earning more than $400,000 a year. instead of his original proposal of $250,000. but republicans are calling for more concessions. >> what we've offered meets the definition of balance. but the president is not there yet. >> boehner said he will submit a bill to the house later this week proposing higher taxes only on people with income over $1 million a year. white house spokesperson jay carney said the two sides are close to a deal. >> the preside

really looking at the new administration, and if they can actually enact some of the election pledges that they put forward to boost the domestic economy. now, with shinzei abe set to become japan's next prime minister, a lot has happened in the currency markets already to reflect the aggressive inflation targets to boost the economy. so let's have the levels here. the weaker yen has really played into boosting the nikkei into the buildup of the elections on sunday, and currently right now, the dollar yen at 84 even to .5 on the offer side. i can tell you it was trading at the 82 levels last week, so the yen getting weaker there on the dollar. let's have a look at the euro/yen as well. that's trading at 110.55. it actually popped up to 111 a couple hours ago before the stock market opened. it's come down a little bit, but you can compare that to 109 when stocks closed on friday, and 105 yen this time last week. many analysts believe a target of 2% inflation and his intentions to push for more baggage could keep the yen on track. in fact, a lot of analysts i've spoken to in the past week say there may be a total shift on the outlook for the yen previously see

administration. >> reporter: they think the bank of japan might act more aggressively, such as setting an inflation target in the upcoming meetings. that's just what the new political leader abe is asking for, but he warns that it might not be a silver bullet to cure the economy when the country has such a huge debt. >> the board is instructing the staff to come up with a new inflation target, to say inflation framework for the policy. so they may change the current framework of the inflation objectives. to say 2%. that's a possibility. at the same time, it may have a side effect. long-term interest rates may rise because people expect the inflation rate tends to be higher in the long run. >> reporter: he thinks that a balanced and well thought out action plan is necessary to get out of deflation. >> we have to get out, but in order to get out you have to raise taxes. also, avoiding the weak economy. so you have to have the right policy mix to gradually increase taxes and at the same time, use part of the revenue to stimulate the economy. but the net effect has to be declining budget deficit. so you need this policy mix, increasing taxes and then use part of tax to stimulate

ab stoddard is a former editor for the hill. bush 43 has been fairly quiet throughout the first term of the obama administration. now the president has been reelected, george w. bush sort of comes out a little bit to make this big address, why? what is the timing about, do you think? >> i think the timing was shrewd. he really made a point of staying quiet during the first couple of years of president obama's administration, saying that he wanted the about the to be able to do his job, he didn't think he needed a former president to go out there and do somed tore ra some editorializing. he gave some peaches, enjoyed his life. he was not the subject of any praeurbgsz in fact not the subject at all at the republican convention in tampa in august. as mitt romney was trying to win the presidentee again, george w. bush was really a recluse. i think now that the election is over the republicans lost. he wants to have a role in one of his causes. immigration is a passion he shares with his brother jeb, former governor of florida who is thinking of his own political future and possibly a white house run and wants to hel