they are expected to issue a declaration at the end of the summit to be called the yokohama vision. nhk obtained a draft copy of the declaration. it expresses the results of apec leaders to further promote regional economic integration towards the target year 2020. the draft also says that apec will take concrete steps towards a comprehensive free trade agreement by developing and building current regional undertakings such as the transpacific partnership, asean plus 3 and asean plus 6. the asean plus 3 group includes japan, china, south korea, and the ten-member association of southeastern nations. the asean plus 6 group adds australia, india and new zealand to the 13 countries. the transpacific partnership originated in a free trade agreement among brunei, chile, new zealand and singapore. negotiations are under way to expand it with another five apec members, including the united states and australia. >>> ahead of the apec summit scheduled for this weekend, we have been looking at japan/u.s. relations here on "newsline." our series wraps up today with a story about nuclear cooper

the defendant dumped the bodies in yokohama port. prosecutors said the defendant deserved a death sentence for what they called a cold-blooded crime. they said the man killed one of the victims with an electric saw while he pleaded with his life. >>> in a lay judge trial, six randomly chosen citizens serve along side three professional judges to determine guilt and sentence those found guilty. >>> japan's space agency has confirmed that most of the particles brought back to earth by the unmanned probe hayabusa are from the itokawa astroid. it marks the successful attempt to bring back astroid particles from space. the high bayabusa returned home a seven of year journey in june. scientists collected particles from the unmanned probe and have spent months examining the tiny particles which are 0.01 millimeters across. the researchers say that the ratio of iron and magnesium in the mineral are similar to that of meteors that have fallen to earth. it was initially unclear whether the hayabusa was able to collect samples from the astroid

apec summit the twenty one members of the asia pacific economic forum are not gathering here in yokohama japan and.

apec summit the twenty one members of the asia pacific economic forum are not gathering here in yokohama japan and it's very much like the recently concluded g twenty that just happened in the seoul.

the defendant dumped the bodies of the victims in the water at yokohama port. prosecutors said the defendant deserved a death sentence for what they describe as a cold-blooded crime. they said the man killed one of the victims with an electric saw while he pleaded for his life. the defendant had admitted to all charges. in a lay judge trial six randomly chosen citizens serve alongside three professional judges to determine guilt and sentence those found guilty. earlier yuko fukushima spoke with nhk senior reporter koji nishigaki to get insight on this story. >> can you give us the background which led up to today's sentence? >> in japan lay judges have ruled on 800 cases so far, but this is the first time they've imposed this sentence. japan introduced the lay judge system in august 2009 to reflect the opinion of general public in dealing with serious and significant criminal cases. in the country there is a certain standard on whether to sentence a person to death. in a case like this, which involved the murder of two people and robbery, many district court ju

the twenty one members of the asia pacific economic forum are not gathering here in the yokohama japan and it's very much like the recently concluded g twenty that has happened in seoul with south korea basically they're going to be talking about how to revive the global economy and get out of the world.

. >>> ministers taking part in two of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum in yokohama will soon adopt an anti-protectionist stance in a joint statement to be released in the early afternoon. apec ministers are holding a plenary session, or a session where all members meet this morning. they are discussing how to promote free trade in the asia-pacific region to achieve further growth. they will soon release a joint statement. sources close to the ministers say the statement will warn that, well, the global economy is on a recovery track, rising protectionism is a concern. the ministers are expected to pledge to avoid trade barriers such as export restrictions until the year 2013. they hope to end curbs on resource and food exports, labeling such moves as protectionist. but the statement will most likely avoid naming specific countries. china has been criticized for restricting exports or rare earth metals in september. >>> in the leadup to the meeting we're taking a closer look at japan-u.s. relations. our business reporter ai uchida spoke with thomas clark, apec task force co-ch

twenty one members of the asia pacific economic cooperation gather here for a two day summit in yokohama japan to get down to business. despite its declared death socialism appears to be making a comeback in countries across the world many experts predicting the decay of capitalism. sifting ocean currents temperatures going up and down what's happening to our planet's climate and what is this world coming to which drives me answer that question right ahead. i know you're watching r t broadcasting live from the heart of the russian capital they already account for hot for global economic activity but they want more pacific rim nations are gathering in japan seeking to expand their influence and increase free trade. so there is a following the apec summit the twenty one members of the asia pacific economic forum are now gathering here in a yokohama japan and it's very much like the recently concluded g twenty that just happened in seoul with south korea basically they're going to be talking about how to rig.

bilateral relations but now tokyo is going to exercise its best at the forthcoming apec summit in yokohama how are the two countries going to get along well i asked the chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the federation council. japan's move to recall its ambassador in moscow has been criticised by the russian political elite but they don't believe it will seriously spoil relations between the two countries which have been through worse at least the russian foreign office says it was recalled its ambassador in tokyo another challenge to moscow's foreign policy these days is coming from the u.s. the democrats who launched the reboot relations with russia have lost majority control in congress have to losing the lower house to the republicans but they still retain control over the senate which gives some hope the essential bilateral documents like the new start treaty still have a chance of being ready fight. you very much for being with us well first of all i'd like you to comment on this on this route where we're with japan the it was calling of an ambassador for consultations is

yokohama japan. and still plenty to calm the sour here in our team clothing. and of the. sunday as an imperialist power republicans seem eager to throw countless piles of dollars at western fans mostly of the cost of social benefits. military assistance is what's expected to dominate the visit of the lebanese prime minister to moscow saad hariri will meet with his counterpart while they were putting later on monday and ahead of his trip are to talk to the lebanese premier on relations between the two countries as well as international issues such as russia's role in the middle east peace process and watch the full interview in some in about twenty minutes here in r.t. but here's a preview. therefore i think russia could play a very important role it does mean your friends in the arab world we need to use our relations with russia in order to communicate the arab stance on things to the international community because it is very unnerving to see that injustice done by israel to palestinians as well as to lebanon and syria who can no longer ignore this israel is trying to p

in japan as it stands the most of the kremlin is saying that president medvedev will be going to yokohama however the japanese side of said that it remains unclear as of yet if planned bilateral talks between the japanese prime minister and the president of russia will go ahead the japanese foreign minister had this to say on the recall of the ambassador. it is extremely regrettable that president medvedev visited the karylle islands even though japan had earlier notified russia that there could be a negative impact on bilateral relations we decided that ambassador kono should return home temporarily so he can brief us on the background of the visit. of constantine cos the chair of the heads of the state duma committee for international affairs here in russia was very critical of the move to recall the japanese ambassador he referred to it as one mistake and a litany of mistakes by japan concerning the canal island so we can listen to what he had to say right now. there's a scandal developing in our relations with both hands and is being provoked from the japanese side alone with the stat

made the announcement on sunday in yokohama in japan. but. we have already promised this stage of bilateral talks and of stores more to a truly go. the timeframe no depends on all the participants of the talks we're aiming to join the w t o next year it's more of a technical question our experts and their counterparts in geneva see a report of the working group can be prepared by the supreme twenty eleven the question is will we have enough time for the admission it will likely take place in the autumn it is difficult to forecast in this case the energy companies who are russia and bulgaria have signed a deal to build a bulgarian section of the south stream pipeline well gary i had wavered about taking part in the pipeline project which will supply russian gas to europe under the black sea russia's prime minister said bulgaria will quadruple its earnings for gas transit under the deal russia is also a building a nuclear power plant in bulgaria and is looking for european investors to help finance the project that's their signing marks the fin

yokohama japan. the outgoing u.s. senate is starting its last series of sessions before the newly elected members come in this january thing is going to look tough for barack obama the post-election period called a lame duck session this is the last chance for the president push his initiatives through the democratic majority was severely reduced following recent elections and one deal at risk is the nuclear arms reduction treaty with russia which could face strong republican opposition political expert dr dominic lieven says obama is desperate to make this tricky work to win points at home. for the moment everything's less important than internal battles on cap. hill. you know within the sort of american political elite there's simply obsessive lee hostile to each other and competing for power nothing else really counts and therefore you know international treaty is the whole range of foreign policy issues to simply become again essential to see in and who's out in washington well i think it's partly that they feel t

yokohama japan. and still plenty to come this hour here in our team clothing. at the. sundown as an imperialist power republicans seem eager to throw countless piles of dollars at us to fans mostly at the cost of social benefits. are they a way of saying sorry apologies service opens in moscow where anyone can pay to bribe the wrongs of the air relationships. and military assistance is what's on the table as the lebanese prime minister is coming to moscow saad hariri is expected to meet with his counterpart was a reporter during the two day visit had his trip are to talk to the lebanese premier on relations between the two countries as well as international issues such as russia's role in the middle east peace process and watch the full interview in about twenty minutes time here on our team here's a preview. and therefore i think russia could play a very important role does mean your friends in the arab world we need to use our relations with russia in order to communicate the arab stance and think through the international community because it is very unnerving to se

all right artie's toes are still alive in yokohama japan thanks for that report. well let's get some more analysis on attempts to pass this treaty our nuclear arms reduction u.s. chief negotiator on the issue believes the ratification process has dragged on too long and says it's now critical that it happens soon. i believe there is zero chance that we can get to the negotiating table any time soon on tactical nuclear weapons unless we get this treaty ratified and entered into force it will be a profound blow to the us russian relationship and will cause some difficulties in terms of advancing our national security agenda with with the russian federation there's been a very very strong effort to understand this treaty it's been many years since we've had a big strategic nuclear arms control treaty of this type before the senate there's been a strong due diligence what i'm saying is that body of information is there nothing has changed over the ensuing period while folks have been out for the election process it's time to take that body of material make the decisio

wants to have summit talks with china and russia on the sidelines of the upcoming epic meeting in yokohama this week. he hopes to set out japan's stance and win back domestic support by appearing decisive. but the only effective way out of the dual dilemmas may be to enlist the support of the united states. fortunately for kan, the obama administration has shown a willingness to help. >> thanks. >>> nhk world's political commentator. >>> japan's current account surplus in september was up by 24.3% from a year earlier. the rise is due to an increase in exports and marks the first increase in two months. the finance ministry released its preliminary report on tuesday. japan's current account surplus for september stood at $24.2 billion, up 24.3% from a year ago. this is mainly due to a rise in exports of autos and steel to asian countries. as a result, the trade surplus has increased $1.1 billion, up by 53.2% from last year. meanwhile, the income surplus was $14.5 billion, that's up 9.4% compared to that of a year earlier. >>> gold prices hit a new high overnight in new york, topping the $1,

more than 21,000 police from all over the country have been brought to yokohama to secure the venue. i asked our correspondent about the scale of preparations. >> 21,000 police officers as you say from all over japan. word has spread that some kids have been collecting each of the -- they meet the police officers from. what the leaders are hoping to talk about is free trade. the long-term goal of apec is to set up a free trade area right around the pacific rim, the most dynamic part of the world's economy. what could overshadow these talks is the ran cor from the g-20 that took place in seoul. there the disputes were over currency and exchange rates and trade imbalances. >> we're seeing leaders arriving at the summit. there were tensions between japan and china. >> those tensions are certainly very high on the minds of the japanese media here. the problem is there was a territorial dispute going on for over two months now on a small chain of islands in the east china sea claimed by japan and controlled by china. the rare earth is not being shipped to japan from china. they are elemen

chief white house correspondent richard reid is in yokohama traveling with the president. >> for america this is a job strategy. >> reporter: president obama made one last sales pitch in asia today, continuing the theme of his trip-- opening asian markets to u.s. goods. >> we don't want to lose the opportunity to create new jobs back home. >> reporter: the ten-day trip-- the longest of his presidency-- saw mr. obama take his pitch directly to india where he touted deals worth $10 billion between india and u.s. corporations, including military cargo planes from boeing. >> today's deals will lead to more than 50,000 jobs in the united states. (applause) 50,000 jobs. >> reporter: he and the first lady also took in some local culture. next stop, indonesia, where he lived from age six to ten. and where he hustled to leave the country as a cloud of ash from an erupting volcano approached the capital of jakarta. then it was on to two major economic summits. in south korea he failed to achieve a trade agreement but said he's confident it can still get done. >> it can be a win for the united stat

appropriate place to aspire to a nuclear free world where on the sidelines of the apec summit in yokohama since medvedev and the bomber reiterated plans to slash their country's nuclear arsenals and.

well we're here in the yokohama japan.

well we're here in the yokohama japan where the asia pacific economic cooperation forum is currently going on its.

seems an appropriate place to aspire to a nuclear free world on the sidelines of the apec summit in yokohamapreston.

the comments came at a meeting on the apec summit in japan artie's tests are cilia has more from yokohama.

the apec meeting well they're here in the yokohama japan where the asia pacific economic cooperation forum is currently going on it's going to be a two day summit today has.

twenty one members of the asia pacific economic cooperation gather here for a two day summit in yokohama japan to get down to business. despite its declared socialism appears to be making a comeback in countries across the world many experts predict the decay of capitalism. shifting ocean currents temperatures going up and down what's happening to the planet's climate and to what is this world coming to which tries to answer the question later in the program. and coming up in the business update putin meets his counterpart in vogue area which could signal what the first step of the construction of the south stream pipeline project might have more details in about twenty minutes time. i know that it's twelve noon here in moscow you're watching r t welcome to the program they already account for hall for global economic activity but now they want more pacific rim nations are gathering in japan seeking to expand their influence and increase free trade he's also there is following the annual apec summit the.

different summit same burning issues leaders of twenty one asia pacific economies have arrived in yokohama japan for the annual apec summit as will see the u.s. and china again log horns on the currency and trade disputes that dominated the g twenty in south korea russia says that china should be more flexible in its monetary policy but it warns any changes shouldn't be rushed out of the sea the agreements made weren't binding in notes and a solution is no nearer as artie's and he said now a reports from seoul. while the g twenty.

of apec and i should remind you that president will be at it has recently visited apec summit in yokohama in japan and we have close ties with thailand now what's happened with this gentleman with mr bush i think should be. you know should be discussed by lawyers it should be discussed by diplomats it should be discussed in a quiet manner and mr bush should answer all the questions of the court of the. questions which to my mind will not be easy i just want to add that foreign minister lavrov called it a call to what happened with boot absolutely illegal and then under and president did pressure from the united states and i should say that presidential advisor sergei p. which has said that russia does not want to justify mr. but before the investigation is over and before he answers all the questions of the court ok movie gives meeting with a comedy prior to the produce summit in lisbon russia has had to stop the s. three hundred sales to that we've actually caught all our diaz in the other the military sector will do you think that there is a chance that the three hundreds may may go bac

sent a personal letter to prime minister naoto kan saying he will attend next week's apec summit in yokohama. on thursday the russian presidential palace said medvedev sent the message to thank kan for inviting him to the meetings, which will be held on november 13th and 14th. in the letter the russian president emphasized the importance of apec's role in the asia-pacific region. he said he will actively participate in discussions on this year's theme, change in action, which japan proposed as the apec chair country. medvedev's letter did not mention his visit to kunashiri island on monday or the sour ties with japan since the trip. kunashiri is one of four islands off hokkaido claimed by japan. >>> a u.s. human rights activist says north korea is sensitive about the increasing number of defections. robert park returned from the country last year after being detained for more than a month. park was detained after illegally entering the north from china last december. he spoke to nhk in seoul on thursday. park said north korean authorities quizzed him daily, asking why he had entered the coun

maehara held talks with lavrov last saturday on the sidelines of the apec forum in yokohama.apanese officials told nhk that during the meeting lavrov referred to the joint declaration signed by japan and the soviet union in 1956. it says that two of the four northern islands will be returned to japan after a peace treaty is concluded. lavrov said his country is prepared to fulfill the promise made by the soviet union but it shall be based upon russia's goodwill. he added that he does not understand the reason why the soviet union signed such a declaration. maehara opposed lavrov's idea and emphasized the need to sign a peace treaty and have all four islands returned to japan. >>> japan and mongolia are expected to agree to upgrade bilateral ties to what is being called a strategic relationship that would cover a broader range of cooperation from economics to security. it would be the sail level as japan's relationship withas ind. mongolian president tsakhiaglin elbegdorj is now visiting japan and is expected to meet prime minister naoto kan on friday evening. the two leaders

. >>> ministers from the 21 apec members have begun discussions in yokohama on how to achieve further growth. the ministerial meeting of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum opened on wednesday. >> translator: as a center of growth, the asia-pacific region has helped repair the damage caused by the financial crisis. but apec needs reforms to adjust to the structural shifts in the world economy. >> apec ministers are discussing ways to promote trade and achieve growth without damaging the environment. the focal point is to discuss protectionist moves including delays in china's rare earth shipments as such issues are becoming global concerns. the top leaders of the apec members will hold summit talks on saturday and sunday. regional economic integration and a common growth strategy are on the agenda. japan is hosting apec meetings for the first time in 15 years. attention is focused on how japan will take the initiative in leading the discussions and reaching an agreement. >>> the european union says it will not start free trade negotiations until japan does more to deregulate i

. >> reporter: the president is spending the next two days here in yokohama, japan, at yet another international economic conference, but this time the white house is keeping expectations low. katie? >> couric: chip reid traveling with the president. chip, thanks very much. bob schieffer is cbs news' chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." bob, why do you think this trip has gone so badly for the president? >> reporter: well, first, it really did go badly, katie. and despite what the president said today, i think it had a lot to do with the shellacking the democrats took on election day. nations, especially asian nations, study our politics closely and, frankly, they know the president's in a weakened position and they simply took advantage of it. that's why the president got totally blindsided and there was no trade agreement with south korea as had been expected. but i have to say this: if it was bad over this there this week, it may be worse next week when this current congress comes back for this special session to deal with those extensions of the bush tax cuts. righ

at a meeting on the sidelines of the apec summit in japan artie's tests are cilia has more from yokohamait was the first talk of the a second day of the summit and.

yokohama japan. remember we've got more on this and lots of other stories on our web site r t v dot com also our web site right now details of a high speed revolution that russian the railways prepares to prime its trains to travel at least one hundred fifty kilometers an hour on most of its network was. when the pressure is on us college kids are turning to popping some pills the worrying rise of undergraduates on artificial stimulants who rapidly become addicts . israel's mulling over another temporary halt on building jewish settlements on palestinian territory in return for being given three billion dollars worth of fighter jets is washington's latest efforts to get it stalled peace talks moving again. the deal to hand over the new f. thirty five would give the israeli air force unmatched writing capabilities in the region the us is also offering to fight any international resolutions against israel at the united nations and will not ask for another settlement freeze when the deadline is up pales

all comes on the on the eve just about next week we see the apec summit taking place in japan and yokohama now we're hearing from the kremlin that president medvedev will still be attending the apec summit and the japanese side is saying that bilateral talks between president medvedev and the japanese prime minister will go ahead as planned and we can hear now from the japanese foreign minister about the recalling of his ambassador. it is extremely regrettable the president made very to visited the crew islands even though japan had earlier notified russia that there could be a negative impact on bilateral relations we decided not ambassador kono should return home temporarily so he can brief us on the background of the visit. well this diplomatic dispute is caused many politicians here in russia the term it is scandalous and it's something that will be ongoing for a little while yet but the islands have been pretty much disputed since they were first discovered by explorers in the seventeenth century now the dispute that we're seeing at the moment stems from one nine hundred forty five an

twenty one members of the asia pacific economic forum are not gathering here in the yokohama japan and it's very much like the recently concluded g twenty that has happened did so with south korea basically they're going to be talking about how to revive the global economy and get out of the woods for b. global financial crisis happened two years ago and so all the table if they're going to be talking about free trade agreements said opening up their economies further this has this is the very reason for the existence of a pact to begin with but of course all this is easier said than done coming on the back of the g. twenty where the fear of protectionism was hanging over the heads of the leaders now this is going to be much more of a child as they have to talk about concrete plans concrete steps they're going to be discussing existing free trade agreements there are pockets of these agreements within the pacific countries members of apec the u.s. is pushing for a agreement that twenty one members said this is going to be a bit difficult because having all twenty one members talk about

twenty summit in seoul to yokohama for the asia pacific economic cooperation summit the business summit is a ready brought some deals among them the signing of a contract between russia japan and china to construct a fertilizer plant in russia's tatarstan the first major facility in the region for the last twenty years and one of the world's largest of this type the project is worth one billion dollars would involve china's national chemical engineering quickly ration person it's a busy heavy industry suggests a russian state of mourning the apec summit is seen as another attempt to settle global financial issues like pushing for free trade after the g twenty failed to agree how to boost the world's economy. clearly there is a very ambitious agenda for trade liberalisation and the region and i think one of the important issues will be the degree to which countries follow and deliver on the commitments that they have with respect to this liberalization. another issue i think will be the issue of investments in the region and the possibility to again facilitate the flow of investment acro

nbc's lee cowan is traveling with the president and joins us from yokohama. lee?> reporter: well, lester, that statement came relatively quickli. in short, he calls her a hero of mine and a source of inspiration to all those who work for basic human rights in burma and around the world. the united states welcomes her release but said that we demand all political prisoners be released, not just one. that statement cominga t as the president wraps up his trip to asia, calling it a success. ♪ >> reporter: from an economic perspective, the president says what happens in asia doesn't stay in asia. and he wants american companies to surf the ripple effects back home. >> in today's interconnected world, what happens in japan or china or indonesia also has a direct effect on the lives and fortunes of the american people. that's why i came here. >> reporter: it's his last stop on a four-nation trip. meeting with a group of chief executives today, mr. obama outlined again just why americans should care. seven of america's 15 top trading partners are here, and 60% of the goo