chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga told the group will visit pyongyang soon. he says they're still working with their north korean counterparts on a timetable for the trip and he says they haven't ruled out the possibility of a visit this month. >> translator: we want to make the investigation go forward. we would like to express our stance that resolving the abduction issue is the most important task. we will directly ask questions to the person in charge of north korea's special investigation committee. we have decided it is worthwhile to go to pyongyang to hear the latest details on the investigation. >> suga says the delegation will likely be made up of the people currently involved in the talks. he says the abe administration will continue exchanging ideas with the families of abductees. and he stressed that the government will do their utmost to achieve the return of those kidnapped. it's expected that the head of japanese foreign minister's asian affairs bureau will lead the delegation. during high level talks in china in september, north korea suggeste

omutfor suga- weado movethe price oft to retailers aonsumers. do uicissi of misomeeoe wereayinga.was of such significance weado movethe price oft atslit hadrastic eecwodwide weas angomeesictions created sugar shortages in the 1970s, sending shock was ugh e industry. itook a ofugar to sweetenhe bilons sending shock was of drinks so every year. in t united states, we drink the equivalent of soft inks yearererson. coke aloneought mo sugar than anyone else. . robert barry tracks sweetener prices of soft inks yearererson. cokefor e departmentugar of agriculture. than anyone else. in the case of coca cola, which was usingabout a , every one-cent increase means abou$2miion. when sugp sen ces a pound in979, soft drink makers were sperate for anlternative. every one-cent increase it came from oneamerica'smost a. sen ces a pound in979, the ocess of extractinghigh fru, sperate for anlternative. cs was peecd by chemist at royalro. jesse meye, the editor atc,who, iidentay,martha jones, w wos r coke, who atc was innovative abu the she ma sureats oductry jesse meye, the editor atc,who, iidentay,

cabinet secretary yoshihide suga says the government will consider upcoming gdp data before it decides on a further hike in the consumption tax. preliminary gdp data for the july-september quarter will be out next month. the abe administration raised the tax from 5% to 8% in april. it's scheduled to raise it further next october to 10%. but some members of the main ruling liberal democratic party have expressed caution about another tax hike. >> translator: the ldp will discuss the future direction of the plan during an exchange of opinions at the party's tax reform panel. >> suga says the prime minister maintains his stance of making a final decision on the tax, after studying various data, including the gdp figures. >>> well, japan is soaring as the destination for foreign travelers. tourist numbers hit a record in september due in part to the weaker yen, and an increased number of air routes. officials at japan national tourism organizations say more than $1 million travelers visited last month. that's up about 27% from a year before. tourists from mainland china topped 246,000. tra

the chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said the document was not issued by the government.e said it was published by the organizers of the asian women's fund to solicit contributions from the public. suga added that it was posted on the foreign ministry website to clarify developments on the issue. >> translator: the document has been removed to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding. external links to the fund's website remain on the foreign ministry site, so anybody can access the fund's website. >> a lawmaker in a debate at a lower house committee earlier this morning. foreign minister kishida said he would consider whether to delete the document or add some explanation. >>> the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant says there's been a surge in the levels of radioactive substances in ground water. the reading of cesium is the highest ever measured on the coastal side of the plant. officials at tokyo electric power company say last week's heavy rainfall from a typhoon may be the cause. they say water taken from a well contained two types of cesium. they say the leve

suga also says japan hopes to receive an initial report by the end of december. >>> now, families of the abductees have heard what happened during the meeting in pyongyang. they say they're disappointed. chief japanese delegate june itchy ihara and the abduction minister have talked to the families. jam tanny says the delegation told north korean officials that resolving the abduction issue is japan's top priority. she says the visit was meaningful, but a representative of the family disagreed.top pri. she says the visit was meaningful, but a representative of the family disagreed.japan's. she says the visit was meaningful, but a representative of the family disagreed. >> translator: many of us pointed out that the visit to the north could be risky. in the end, pyongyang didn't give us any new information about the abductees. i feel really disappointed with results, even though it's what we'd expected before the delegation went there. >>> in other news, kurdish peshmerga fighters from iraq have now joined the campaign to save a syrian city from islamic state. turkish leaders allow th