budgets to finance spending seamlessly over the next 15 months to restore a strong economy. he also says the bank of japan should adopt bold monetary policies in close coordination with his government. translator: the bank of japan s monetary policy is critically important in terms of foreign exchange rates and in achieving a 2% inflation target. i strongly expect the central bank to act responsibly. prime minister abe also spoke about nuclear power. he indicated his government will consider allowing utilities to build new plants. translator: the government will go over what we ve learned about the nuclear accident and check the progress of nuclear safety technology. i would like to carefully consider whether new plants can be built and it will take a certain amount of time. on diplomacy, abe said he ll give top priority to strengthening the japan/u.s. alliance. he said he hopes to visit the united states soon for a summit with president barack obama. translator: th
welcome back to nhk world newsline . japanese prime minister shinzo abe is starting off the new year facing a long to-do list, and as he sorts through it all, he s firming up his priorities. abe held his first news conference the year on friday and he underscored his dedication to strengthening the japanese economy. the prime minister says he plans to decide on a fiscal 2013 draft budget within this month. he also confirmed he will submit a large scale supplementary budget to the diet for quick enactment. abe says he wants the two budgets to finance spending seamlessly over the next 15 months to restore a strong economy. he also says the bank of japan should adopt bold monetary policies in close coordination with his government. translator: the bank of japan s monetary policy is critically important in terms of foreign exchange rates and in achieving a 2% inflation target. i strongly expect the central bank to act responsibly. prime minister abe also spoke about nuclear
they re trying to determine the fate of 10 japanese employees of engineering firm jgc corporation. the company confirmed friday that seven other japanese employees are alive. during the standoff, an algerian tv station aired audio recordings of communications between the country s security forces and the militants. the algerian government is under fire for failing to release updates on the hostages since confirming the deaths of 23 on saturday. officials say prime minister abdelmalek sellal will disclose more details at a news conference later on monday. dozens of hostages are still missing. japanese and u.s. regulators are investigating the company that makes batteries for the boeing 787. they are trying to figure out why the battery produced smoke that forced a pilot to make an emergency landing. officials with japan transport safety board and the u.s. federal aviation administration visited gs yuasa firm the pilot of an ana flight made an emergency landing in western
obtained. the piece aired on state-run tv in september 2010. they say it shows the blueprint of the tunnel used in the second nuclear test at north korea s test site in 2009. the photo shows the tunnel stretching horizontally from its entrance on the left of the screen. it then goes into a spiral and a nuclear device is believed to be housed at the end. the tunnel appears to have nine gates designed to seal in gas. south korean defense ministry representatives say radioactive material leaked during the north s first nuclear test in 2006, they believe that may have prompted officials in pyongyang to dig be a tunnel shaped like a fish hook for 2009. they suggest north korean authorities will use a similar design if they follow through with their threat to conduct a third test. asian governments are working hard to try to stop that from happening and they re hoping china can do something because it s north korea s ally. diplomats agreed they will continue to press authorities
president. this man will likely take on the role of premiere. he currently holds the second highest position in the politburo committee. the congress will start on tuesday. they will discuss the many problems they face from political corruption to the ning wealth gap to friction within neighboring nations. we ll be giving you insight and analysis all this week in our special series, china, change and challenge. we report from near the great hall of the people in beijing. reporter: a spokesperson for the national people s congress met reporters one day before its opening on tuesday. but she did not announce the country s annual defense budget. that s usually done the day before the congress. translator: the defense budget will be announced after discussion and approval by the national people s congress. strengthening of national defense is to protect the nation s safety and peace. not to pose a threat to other countries. reporter: china s defense budget has grown by do