above 40 degrees celsius. it is extremely hot in sydney. there are many wildfires throughout australia. most people in eastern australia experienced temperatures above the 40-degree benchmark. the high in sydney reached 42.3 degrees later in the afternoon. is there anything that you are aware of when it's very hot? >> drink a lot of water and stay out of the sun. >> reporter: the searing heat and dry air triggered wildfires in the southern state of tasmania. the flames are still flaring, and officials are trying to reach people who may be trapped. but the fires have spread to eastern australia. more than 100 have been reported, mainly in the state of new south wales. searing temperatures and strong winds are making it difficult for firefighters to put out the flames. >> there was an expectation, a hope, that something would abate these weather conditions as it moves across new south wales. the fact is that it is not. >> reporter: a firefighter was burned on his hand. authorities warn that the fires could reach residential areas. they are urging residents to stay on alert and evacuate, if necessary. takeo nakajima, sydney. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is making plans to change the status quo. he's seen his country's coast guard ships play cat and mouse with chinese government vessels in the east china sea, and he's watched north korean leaders launch rockets. abe is moving forward with plans to strengthen national defense. abe intends to scrap guidelines endorsed by the former government. defense ministry officials have drawn up their budget request for the upcoming fiscal year. they're looking for an additional 100 billion yen, more than 1 billion u.s. dollars. leaders are expected to use some of those funds to increase surveillance around the senkaku islands in the east china sea. the japanese government bought them from a private owner in september. china and taiwan also claim the islands. chinese government ships have entered japanese waters repeatedly since the islands were nationalized. abe and members of his cabinet will consider increasing the number of personnel in the self-defense forces, and they're looking at spending more on equipment. those chinese government ships entered japanese waters against this week. four maritime surveillance vessels navigated near the senkaku islands for more than 13 hours. later japanese officials demanded a halt to this kind of action. >> translator: through diplomatic channels we repeatedly protested and demanded the ships leave japanese waters. despite those requests, the ships kept cruising in territorial waters for a long time. it is extraordinary and extremely regrettable. >> japan's deputy foreign minister summoned chinese ambassador. he demanded the ships stop entering japanese waters. cheng said the demand is unacceptable because the islands are chinese territory. but he said he will convey the message to government leaders. japan's new defense chief brought up the senkaku issue when he spoke with his counterpart in the u.s. for the first time. the two agreed to work closely on the matter. the defense minister and u.s. secretary of defense leon panetta spoke by phone. onodera has been in the post since last month, and panetta leaves this month. onodera says he hopes to work closely with the u.s. to strengthen forces and improve deterrence. he says japan is dealing with it in a rational manner and says the government will take appropriate measures in response to provocative acts by china. panetta replied the japan/u.s. alliance is extremely significant and forms the basis of peace in the region. people in china took to the streets for a second day of protests against alleged government censorship. authorities responded by mobilizing police officers to the scene. about 100 people gathered on tuesday at the headquarters of the nanfang zhoumo newspaper in the city of guangzhou. reporters at the paper say local communist party officials forced them to change an editorial calling for greater democracy and freedom of speech. more than 30 police officers ordered protesters to leave. they asked reporters to show i.d. cards. no local newspapers reported on monday's protests. some papers carried an editorial from a communist party affiliated newspaper calling for calm. journalism is a tricky profession to practice in china. we went to the staff at "the global times" to get insight. the newspaper is affiliated with the chinese communist party publication "the people's daily," and it's known for hard-line stance toward foreign countries, including japan. nhk senior correspondent had a rare interview with the editor in chief of "the global times." they talked about japan-china relations and factors that influence chinese media. >> translator: there is no purely private media in china. chinese media are influenced by the government to a certain extent. however, it is incorrect to judge that all chinese media are pro-government. we never pick up either government or public opinions. we are trying to find a well-balanced denominator based on various opinions from any field. >> hu says staff at "the global times" listen carefully to public opinion. they exchange views with readers using the chinese social networking site wabo. he says his readers often disagree with his newspaper's reports. >> translator: people can now openly express their opinions in china. our daily and other newspapers tend to pick up more public opinion. i believe the chinese political leaders won't be able to determine diplomatic policies by themselves once they listen to civilian voices. china's diplomacy must reflect what the people think. if japan makes provocative statements or actions, anti-japanese public opinion will also affect chinese policies on japan. >> hu and staff at "the global times" have spent a lot of time covering the territorial dispute between japan and china. chinese government ships have navigated into japanese waters near the islands for months. then in december a chinese plane flew into japanese air space in the same area. japan air self-defense scrambled to the scene. "the global times" took a tough stance on the incident. >> translator: china is a very large country. and its society is complex. some have speculated the chinese government might have used japan as a common target to unify the country. did the chinese media see this as a possibility? >> translator: no, i don't think so. i don't think china uses japan because the increasing tension between the countries would cause problems here. it would not help unify the country at all. the problems with japan are a double-edged sword. china has never used external issues to unify the nation. i don't think chinese leaders will take such methods to achieve their goals. >> hu also expressed his expectations of japan's new leader, shinzo abe. >> translator: i don't believe abe wants soured relations with china. i think he needs to not only think but also to take appropriate actions. i want the japanese prime minister to improve relations with china through what he says and what he does. >> hu stressed leaders on both sides need to deepen mutual understanding. he added, the media also has a role to play in improving bilateral relations. china's rise brought it wealth. pollution threatens their health. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline." students at a university in north carolina got a surprise visitor, google chairman eric schmidt. they showed him how they look for information online by googling it. schmidt visited pyongyang on tuesday. he traveled to north korea with former new mexico governor bill richardson and seven others. he spoke with students at a university computer lab. schmidt has emphasized that he is traveling as a private citizen and not representing google, but some analysts say the visit was motivated by business. north korea wants to promote its i.t. industry and google is believed to be considering doing business there. the group met with north korean officials. richardson suggested that they discuss the release of a u.s. citizen detained in the country since last year. >> it's a good productive but frank meeting. >> they'll discuss their visit to north korea after they arrive. japanese prime minister abe and his government have confirmed the outline to revitalize the nation's sluggish economy. cabinet ministers took part in the first meeting of a new task force on tuesday. >> translator: japan has been tackling deflation for ten years. it's an effort over the course of human history. we must attack the problem with three main policies. implementing bold monetary easing, flexible fiscal measures, and a growth strategy to spur private investment. >> abe called for the cooperation of all ministers. the outline includes infrastructure projects for disaster recovery and prevention such as renovating aging roads and making school buildings earthquake proof. it also includes measures to help businesses invest in facilities for renewable energy and expand overseas. it will also improve the health care system. the emergency economic measures are expected to total over $225 billion. there will be a shortfall of around $55 billion. the government has decided to make up the difference with government bonds for construction purposes. the government hopes to have the cabinet approve the supplementary budget bill in its meeting on friday. the japanese finance minister says the government will buy bonds to be issued by europe's rescue fund. this is part of a plan to lead the yen lower and spur economic growth. the european stability mechanism or esm was established last october to support debt-strapped countries in the region. >> translator: japan in the future will consider esm bonds an important investment asset. along with other euro denominated bonds issued by major european nations. >> the government plans to use the foreign currency bonds to continue to buying esm bonds. government officials see the moreover as a way to stabilize the european economy and discourage traders from receiving the safety of the yen in case debt problems worsen. unemployment in the eurozone renewed record highs for four straight months in november. the jobless rate was especially high in the countries that continue to implement austerity measures. the eu statistics office announced unemployment in the zone stood at 11.8%. up 0.1 percentage points since october and highest since the euro was introduced in 1999. within the zone, spain showed the highest rate. it rose from 26.6% in spain. many young people out of work under half of those under 25 were jobless in the month. up 0.7 points since october. in portugal, unemployment stood at 16.3%. 14.6% in ireland. for greece, latest data up only to september. the jobless rate in that month, 26%. 0.7 percentage points higher than in august. smoke from electry call fire filled the cabin of a boeing 787 at a boston airport. it was preparing for its next flight no. one was injured. a mechanic spotted smoke rising from the back of the aircraft at logan international airport. the plane had flown in from japan. all 172 passengers and 11 crew members had disembarked. firefighters found flames coming from a battery pack under the passenger's compartment and put out the fire. the battery starts the auxiliary power unit. it supplies electricity while the aircraft is parked. investigators from the ntsb are looking into the case. the 787 is boeing's newest aircraft. japan airlines began flying it on some routes late last month. japan's transport minister has ordered emergency inspections on the batteries of all 787s in their fleets. the world's leading electronics makers are unveiling latest ultrahigh definition tv" las vegas. they are taking part in the largest electronics show that will kick off on tuesday. japanese companies are introducing the tvs in a bid to win market share back from south korean rivals. it has four times as many pixels as standard hdtvs. sony is rolling them out with an organic panel. and toshiba will unveil the tvs -- toshiba has revealed a plan to release tvs. it accounts for 90% of its large-screen tv sales by 2015. south korea's samsung electronics, the largest producer of lctvs has unveiled its new tv it will allow people to upgrade the function of their tvs and watch online video clips. we've been starting off the new year find out about people in japan who are considered frontrunners in their fields. the focus of our next story spent years working to secure peace in conflict zones. she says stopping people from fighting is just the beginning of a long process. she spoke with nhk world. >> translator: in a line that is often blurred, she found her calling. >> i need to do something for that. >> reporter: and do something she has. she's helped to dissolve ethnic tensions, and worked on demining projects in asia, all in hopes. achieving some form of peace. >> 50 or 60 years ago, the war was mainly between the states. after late 1980s, it became inside the states. en i what's happenings right now is the expansion of terrorism. >> she has adapted to that change through her work, the japan center for conflict prevention. it doesn't just mediate talk between states, it focuses on smaller groups or individuals that remain threatened. she realized that simply taking away weapons was just the beginning. >> finding the peace accord itself does not produce any peace. there are still lots of guns, lots of combat hanging around, so we would like to change the local population from the victim or the assault to the positive asian to change the society. >> reporter: the jccp now handled post-war rebuilding in east africa. this includes increasing security, vocational training, psychological training and ethnic reconciliation. how do you bring peace to two parties who were taught to hate each other for generations and generations? >> in kenya, we started on that project, that by inviting people from different sectors, that became a place whereby these former conflicting parties to be united and to communicate with each other. >> reporter: she never thought destiny would take her to the world's conflict zones, but it was this photo of the rwandan genocide that changed her life. >> if i had taken this photo, i would have given the food i had to them. what can we do? i do not have the answer. >> reporter: so she began searching, and for 15 years, she hasn't stopped. she's devoted herself to peace through many organizations, including the jccp. the group has completed dozens of missions, but she says there are limits to the success. >> i was in somalia training the local youth, for them to be able to assess the risks in the community for security projects. but during that exercise, there were ladies who were shot dead. i felt that even if we managed to create something positive in the community, there are some situations we cannot really save everything. >> reporter: yet she carries on, knowing each project brings a glimmer of hope. when do you know when to pass it on? >> actually, when people tell us that they don't need us anymore. >> reporter: but in all seriousness, she says that is her ultimate goal. >> when we started this project, there are some parents or school teachers who are actual victims of the war. they didn't trust the group yet. but as the children study changing, they also study changing, the adult study changing. and the school teachers started presenting this project to other areas affected by the conflict. when we saw that, we came to think that our job there is done. >> reporter: a small sign of success in region where is any success is a big step forward. rena nakano, nhk world, tokyo. a government panel is reviewing the possible size of earthquakes occurring in the sea of japan. experts have learned new lessons about the power of tremors. tsunami researchers meant to advise what municipalities could do to avoid tsunami damage. >> reporter: serious damage could result if tsunamis along the sea of japan. we need to re-evaluate safety measures. in 1993, a magnitude 7.8 quake off hokkaido and devastated a nearby island. a tsunami from another earthquake in 1983 spread across the sea of japan. in the 2011 earthquake, plates shifted simultaneously. the members will announce the results of the study in march. rachel ferguson here with the weather. >> hi there. taking a look eastern asia. fairly quiet. cold and dry. sunny across much of china and the korean peninsula. japan, more sea-effect snow. maybe another 40 centimeters. down toward the south of the philippines, getting hit hard. another round of heavy rain into wednesday that could cause flooding issues. temperature wise, zero for the high in beijing. minus 5 in seoul. staying on the warmer side in tokyo, and down in bangkok, beach weather. 33 degrees, hot and sunny. on into the americas and the pacific northwest and canada dealing with a stronger round of storms coming in. this one is going to be spreading snow inland, but heavy rain at the coast could cause minor flooding. experiencing gusts in bursts and could reach up to 100 kilometers per hour. enough to down electricity poles and power outages locally. down toward the gulf of mexico, a low has been developing here and it will spread widespread heavy rain across the south. 50 millimeters is going to be the normal. up to 150 in some places and that does spell flash flooding. concern for that there. severe weather in eastern texas will be spilling down over to the northeastern quarter of portion of mexico. you could see tornadoes and large hail embedded in the thunderstorms. temperature-wise, looking very warm with those southerly winds coming in across the south. 18 degrees in houston, even getting up to 11 in denver and a very comfortable 22 degrees in los angeles. into europe we go. still feeling pretty warm actually for january across the iberian peninsula and france. even central locations too. warm in the british isles, a cold front moves through bringing showers and precipitation across scandinavia. what's happening in austria. the warmer weather has brought a lot of rain instead of snow. rain has saturated the ground. take a look at this falling like skittles here. this is a landslide and the forest came sliding down a hill. fortunately, the road had already been cordoned off. nobody in danger there. but this was not the only place that landslides occurred across the country. a house buried under mud after a hillside came crashing down as well. pretty serious situation in central austria. and as i say, partly because of the warmer weather here, but we will be seeing temperatures falling toward the end of the week. take a look at what's happening right now. 6 degrees in vienna, will fall by sunday down to the freezing point which is much more like it for january. out across the west, 9 degrees in london. 7 in paris, but the east is certainly feeling very much like winter. minus nine in moscow and minus nine in kiev. here is the extended forecast. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani.

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