Talked with many people and thoroughly examined the issue from every possible angle. Abe said government estimates suggest if all tariffs are eliminated among tpp member nations, the japanese economy would benefit. An the Prime Minister said now is the last chance to join the talks. He pointed out that the negotiations started two years ago. And he said its clear any rules participants have already agreed upon would be difficult to reverse. Abe stressed japan is for now just joining the talks. He promised to work out an agreement that suits the nations interests and use japans negotiating power to secure for certain sectors such as agriculture. Abe said many countries are opening up their markets including the u. S. , nations in europe and emerging economies in asia. He said if japan misses the opportunity to join the tpp, it will inevitably be left behind. The man who has previously served as general counsel of the office for the United States trade representative made a positive comment on japans decision to join the tpp talks. I think the United States has long wanted japan to join tpp. There are benefits for us from a Strategic Point of view from the standpoint of u. S. japan alliance. There are strategic benefits. And i think there are economic and trade benefits as well. Since it will lead to a more dynamic japanese economy. Thats good for u. S. Exports and trade. It will lead to the removal of longstanding barriers. Thats good for u. S. Industrial and Financial Services and agricultural exports. Meanwhile, the Chinese ForeignMinistry Spokesperson expressed concout tpp expanding without participation of china. She stressed that the process of integrating the economy in the Asia Pacific Region must be carried out step by step. The Chinese Government has so far not shown its willingness to participate in tpp. But it apparently hopes to benefit from the high growth across the region. Thats by expanding the free trade zone covering the asean nation, japan, south korea and other countries. Prime minister abes announcement has gotten mixed response from Business Leaders and lawmakers in japan. Japan Business Federation chairman kuroda welcomed the decision to join the tpp talks. He said the prompt decision based on the outcome of the recent japan u. S. Summit shows the Prime Ministers strong leadership and negotiating capability. About 80 opponents including a multiparty group of lawmakers held a rally in front of the diet building. Translator the government must not sell our country to the United States without a full explanation to our people. Many issues remain unresolved. People taking part in the rally held sitins in front of the diet building and handed out leaflets to passersby. Negotiators are working towards liberalizing trade around the pacific rim. Theyre trying to agree on how to eliminate tariffs on industrial and agricultural products. Delegates from the u. S. , australia and six other countries launched the talks three years ago. Representatives from canada, mexico and malaysia joined later bringing the number of spots at the table to 11. The total population of these nations is about 650 million. That accounts for about onethird of the worlds gross domestic product. The negotiators hope to conclude their discussions by the end of the year. Abe has faced opposition. In pushing this through, even from within his own party. But Party Members agreed it wasnt in their best interest to fight. More from nhk world. Abe has faced pressure from all sides in reaching his decision. He has said his number one priority in Foreign Affairs is strengthening ties with the u. S. And u. S. President barack obama has been urging japanese leaders to join the talks. Most countries belong to the world trade organization. But the wtos round of talks has been stalled since 2008. And negotiators have been unable to strike a major trade deal for years. That leaves japanese leaders with few choices in order to advance free trade with partners in the asiapacific. But theyre running out of time. Those who have been at the table want to reach an agreement by the end of the year. So the japanese would have to join now if they want to shift the discussions and win some favorable conditions. For example, they want exceptions on eliminating tariffs for race. U. S. Negotiators want a certain grace period for car tariffs. All of this will be determined during negotiations. Japanese government officials estimate removing tariffs would add 0. 66 to gdp growth. Some u. S. Economists say the advantages would extend beyond that. They estimate additional growth of 2. 2 by 2025. Critics, particularly those who work in agriculture, say theyll suffer. With the competition from abroad, erasing any benefits. Tpp member nations generally welcome japans entry. The participation of the worlds Third Largest economy is a potentially bigger market for exporters. But some trade officials are cautious. They say japanese negotiators at the table could slow down the progress. So the japanese could have a hard time winning concessions from their counterparts. A man with humble roots has taken the reins of power in china. Li keqiang climbed to the top rungs of the political ladder even though he came from outside the establishment. Now delegates to the National Peoples congress have voted him in as premier. Representatives from across china are meeting in beijing. Li replaces wen jiabao. Premier for the past decade. Li currently holds the second highest position in the standing committee. Party leader xi jinping took over on thursday replacing party leader hu jintao. Lis appointment almost completes the transition of power. Congress delegates will approve the cabinet ministers on saturday. Li is 57. He served as deputy to wen jiabao and has long been seen as a rival to xi for top posts. Li is from anhui province, a relatively poor area in inland china. He was sent to work in a farming village in his late teens during the turmoil of the cultural revolution. He studied law at prestigious peking university, then joined the partys communist youth league. Former president hu was in charge of the league at the time. Li followed in his footsteps and later became leader of the group. In 1999, li took charge of the henan province and became chinas youngest provincial governor. In 2004, he assumed the top party post of liaoning province. He became a member of the powerful politburo in 2007. Party leaders promoted him, along with xi jinping, by two ranks. He became first vice premier the following year, taking charge of energy, Social Security and other policies. Chinas citizens grew increasingly dissatisfied with the governments handling of a range of problems during wens ten years in office. Now theyre waiting to see how li keqiang could steer the country into the future. Nhk World Reports from beijing. Reporter the members of National PeoplesCongress Overwhelmingly approved lis appointment as premier. Wen was known as a leader with a common touch. But li projects a more elite image. Li also is from a different political base, the newly elected president , xi jinping. Some question how much influence li will be able to exert within the government. But one expert suggests that chinas approach to leadership is changing along with the names of the people at the top. I think the emerging leadership will be more group leadership, rather than the leadership dominated by a charismatic leader. So i would not differentiate xi jinping and li keqiang. Reporter on the political front, the public is intense its demands for freedom of expression. There have also been mass protests against pollution, inequality and corruption. Former premier wen often called for political reform, but the issue remained on the back burner during his time in office. Li must provide a direction to address this pressing issue. However, he says that if li tries to push through reforms, he will face an uphill battle. Whether or not a new administration or a new leadership can implement these reforms is very difficult to tell because there will be a lot of resistance to this. Business Leaders WithinChinas Communist Party might act as the obstacle to the reform because their interest has to be preserved. Reporter li will also assume the role of chinas chief negotiator with foreign governments, including those that are wary of china. But it remains to be seen whether li can flex his muscles in the international arena, as well as on the domestic front. Nhk world, beijing. Delegates to the congress will wrap up their business on sunday. Li is expected to hold a News Conference on the final day. Japans defense minister hopes the change of power in china will result in a change of attitude. Itsunori onodera wants to resume stalled defense talks. Translator japan and china have a number of issues to discuss, but i believe the two countries still want the beneficial strategic relationship to remain unchanged. Japanese and Chinese Defense officials have been discussing setting up a hotline. They say this would improve communication and divert potential misunderstandings. The talks have been suspended for several months because of strained relations involving a dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the east china sea. Japan controls the territory. China and taiwan claim it. U. S. And south Korean Military leaders are trying to show theyre ready to deal with any caction. U. S. And south Korean Armed Forces regularly conduct a battle simulation called key resolve in seoul. It is designed to improve chain of command and support capabilities in a context of Armed Conflict on the peninsula. Commanders can follow the virtual maneuvers on the screen. Authorities in pyongyang say they have been facing Cyber Attacks since u. S. And south Korean Forces have joined sides. They say they will not stand id idolly by. North korea has been blamed for Computer System trouble at a south korean back in 2011, and the hacking last year of a major newspaper website. Maker boeing says repairs on the trouble battery system aboard its 787 dreamliner jets should be completed in a matter of weeks. The head of boeings commercial airplane division, ray conner, spoke at a News Conference in tokyo. He said the process of putting the dreamliners back into service shouldnt take too long. We dont anticipate that being months. We were thinking more along the line of weeks as we do that. Investigators have found the batterys lithiumion cells became damaged in extreme heat. The manufacturer plans to change a the design of the battery system to prevent overheating. Boeing must obtain approval from the u. S. Federal Aviation Administration before the dreamliners can go back in the air. Japans transport safety board is also investigating problems with the jets, but officials havent determined why the batteries overheated. A the japanese government has endorsed legislation to join an International Treaty on child abductions. The Hague Convention sets rules to allow children from failed marriages to be repatriated in the event one of the parents takes them to another country. The cabinet endorsed the legislation on friday. The bills addressed the issue of children taken to japan by one of their parents without the spouses consent. They give authorities the power to take custody of a child if the parent refuses a repatriation order issued by japanese court. But legislation would also allow a parent to refuse repatriation if the child has stayed in japan for at least one year. And has adapted to the new environment. Exemptions could also be granted if the child is likely to be abused by the other parent. A the u. S. Government has been urging japan to join the Hague Convention as soon as possible. Japanese lawmakers will discuss the bills during the current diet session that ends in june. Sri lankas president says his country is slowly recovering of the 26yearlong civil war. But Mahinda Rajapaksa says a lot of work still needs to be done and hes calling on japan for help. After 2009 there were no incidents at all, no killings, no bombs, like in other countries. No suicide attacks reported. So people are safe, peace. Rajapaksa was in tokyo this week meeting with government and Business Leaders. Hes looking for support and investment from japan to rebuild his countrys economy. Rajapaksa says more jobs must be created for people settling in former tamil strongholds in the north, and east. The president denies allegations by the u. N. And human Rights Groups that Government Forces committed serious abuses at the end of the war. Without doing all that, theyre just issue a report, a onesided, biased report. He says his government is investigating the allegations. A study that kored british soldiers that served in iraq and afghanistan, show that after returns, soldiers with combat roles were more likely to be violence criminals than those with noncombat roles. The finalings show that young soldiers in particular were likely to commit violence offenses. Of the 3,000 surveyed, 20. 6 had a conviction for violence offenses. Now thats triple the number of civilian men in the same age group whose ratio stood at 6. 7 . There was also a case involving a Coalition Soldier who served in afghanistan. The u. S. Soldier stormed into civilian homes in the country and shot and killed 16 people, including women and children in march last year. The soldiers lawyer says he wont deploy to afghanistan and iraq four times. The incident helped focus attention on possible links between stress induced by frequent combat, and violent crimes, as well as on psychological care for soldiers. The researchers noted that 94 of soldiers in combat roles did not commit any violent offenses. They hope that their findings will help improve the Risk Assessment of violence among serving soldiers in afghanistan and elsewhere. Government officials and experts have met in the thai capital bangkok over the trade in endangered species. The 11day conference ended on thursday. The delegates for the convention on International Trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora held a plenary session. They voted to restrict the International Trade of three types of sharks and two species of manta rays. But the illegal trade of wildlife remains rampant. Poaching in cambodia has pushed to the brink of extension. Reporter this is the only mammal with scales. It lives mainly in Southeast Asia and africa. Land development and other factors has shrunk their numbers in recent years. This has prompted their listing as endangered species. The International Trade of the animal is prohibited. Poaching is a problem in western cambodia. This is the most frequent area where the smuggling case is still going on until now. The cambodian government and an International Activist group patrol together. They say they caught a poacher two days ago. Poachers often use rope traps. These injure the animals paws as the rope tightens. Chinese buyers pay high prices to use the mammal in delicacies and medicine. Poachers use these vehicles to smuggle the mammals and other animals. Officers found three mammals hidden in this wheel hatch. Poachers can pass road inspections because many officers only look inside the car and the trunk. This worker says smuggling remains rampant because people are desperate for money. Translator its too bad. The animal will always be in danger of extinct. As long as People Struggle to make money. If the situation doesnt change, they will disappear. Reporter authorities suspect poachers, carriers and traders. But they still havent discovered how they operate. 40 years ago, the convention on the International Trade of endangered species were left out. Now, the job of its supporters is to coordinate and increase efforts to stop fauna and flora from becoming history. Nhk world. A catholics in Southeast Asia have joined in celebrating the appointment of the new pop okay, here on newsline, lets now take a look at the latest market figures. Now im going to make way for robert speta who has all of the weather updates for us. Lets start in earn asia where things will be on the warm side. Looking pretty decent. This is going to bring in sunnier skies, and in the tropics, were seeing warm temperatures move there. There is one area of pressure moving in you will see rainfall here, and across the tropics. Its into the afternoon hours mainly, but nothing lasting or persisting here. This system will develop, it will move across china, continuing to strengthen and into Japan Bringing widespread rainfall next weekend. Its really not expected to put a dent into the temperatures. Actually by midweek in tokyo, its going to be around 25 degrees. Were already seeing that into western japan, southern portions of korea, and temperatures are continuing to reflect that. Even seven is a high here this weekend for you in mongolia. Lets look at the americas where its clear skies and mild here across much of the nation. There is a clipper here, but its called an Alberta Clipper because it is moving very fast. It is already here into saturday, clear over towards the midatlantic states. It will bring a wide swath or snowfall or freezing rain. Thats where the shot spots will be. If you have any travel plans out of here, call ahead of time with your flight. Make sure its not canceled or delayed. The rest of the u. S. , look at this, warm air, denver 22, Oklahoma City 28. All of these warm temperatures here, look at that difference between Oklahoma City and chicago. Lets look at europe, this is where really all of the rough weather is. In asia we talk about how mild, and north america, but this is a veer one. Already seeing reports of up to 140 kilometer per hour winds there. Youre going to continue to see heavy and high winds and heavy rainfall, and switching to snow has it pushes off to the east and west. Turkey you will get thunderstorm activity. Youll see a cool down. It will be dropping down and mixes with rain and now as this cold arctic air mass starts to drift. It brought snowfall, but that is changing over to rain and snow for you there. Low pressure continuing to rotate there. As it rotates, it will draw cold air from the north. Especially in northwestern uk, youll see about ten centimeters of snow there. Berlin just at four, and moscow at five. Thats a look at your world weather, here is your extended forecast. Ill have more updates for you at the top of the hour, thanks for watching