he referred to the new defense minister, gen nakatani. >> translator: i have appointed mr. nakatani to the appointment of defense minister. he's long been engaged in drafting national security policies and is well versed in the country's self-defense forces. he played a key role in the negotiations within the ruling coalition. from now on, with the help of mr. nakatani, we'd like to continue striving to seek the people's understanding and prepare the bills we aim to submit to the ordinary session of the diet next year. what's important is that we are going to have a national referendum after a constitutional amendment bill is initiated by the diet. and we must have a majority in the referendum to pass such a bill. that would be the moment of truth. it's the most important part or stage of the process of amending the constitution. we have to have public support. the question of which articles of the constitution are subject to amendment should be decided by public referendum. we want to make further efforts to seek public support for amending the constitution. i was able to m

abe has named former defense agency chief gen nakatani to the post. abe plans to speak at a news conference at 9:10 p.m. japan time. we'll bring you live coverage. >>> thee for operators in the u.s. are lining up to offer screen time for a film that triggered a major cyber attack and kicked up controversy around the world. sony pictures entertainment spokesperson say more than 200 venues will know somehow "the interview," a comedy about the assassination of north korea's leader. the studio faced criticism for initially canceling the release following threats of attacks on theaters. more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: the stars and co-directors of "the interview" jokingly cheered the decision on twitter. the people have spoken! freedom has prevailed! wrote seth rogen. victory! chimed in james franco. the people and the president have spoken! certainly many agree, freedom of expression came out the winner, albeit a bruised and bloody one. now, moviegoers will have to decide whether the world's most talked about film was worth all that talk. t