japanese lawyer yoko hayashi became head of the u.n. committee on the elimination of discrimination against women. hayashi said women in some countries are playing a more active role in society but she knows there are nations where religious extremists persecute them. >>> the japanese foreign minister has drawn a distinction between japan and germany after world war ii. fumio kishida says the two countries should not be directly compared in terms of how they try to reconcile with their neighbors. kishida was referring to comments made by german chancellor angela merkel. she met with japanese prime minister shinzo abe on monday in tokyo. merkel said she was not in a position to advise japan on post-war reconciliation. then she explained germany's efforts to openly face the history of the holocaust. kishida said he understands that merkel also cited gestures by france toward germany after the war. he said she stressed the importance of neighboring countries reaching out. >> translator: japan and germany differ in terms of what happened du