why do people love the tokyo tower so much? let's look for clues to the tower's almost magical attraction. >> a great many people sent affectionate messages to the tokyo tower. this is 33-year-old nakano, a company worker in tokyo. he's one of the people who sent messages to the tokyo tower. he wrote that he wanted the tower lights turned on again. as a sales rep, nakano spends many hours driving. when he was new on the job he was under constant pressure to meet his sales quota. driving the car with no one to talk to, he had to face the challenge all by himself. but one day he saw an unforgettable sight from the metropolitan expressway. >> translator: my favorite view of the tokyo tower is coming into view very soon. on the left oh, there it is, the view opens up right here for a short time. yes, there are no tall buildings in the way. >> this brief, ten-second glimpse of the tower as he drives his car, is a special moment for him. the stately image of the tower standing in the middle of the tokyo metropolis gives hi comfort. >

in tokyo. welcome to newsline. i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. >>> tension continues in libya with opposition forces almost in control of the capital tripoli as government troops gathered near the home of the country's leader moammar al gadhafi. opposition forces gathered moment momentum and gained ground. oppositions forces say they will contain gadhafi's son. the international criminal court in the hague told nhk monday it contained information the son has been held. gadhafi called on his supporters to fed to the end. the opposition says about 20% of the capital remains under government control and the regime is still resisting the offensive. libya fell into civil war in february. since then, the whole african nation has been in turmoil. >>> moammar gadhafi has ruled libya for 42 years. he's the longest serving head of the state in the arab world. >> reporter: gadhafi took power in 1969 at the age o he led a bloodless coup against the king. he was initially a fierce opponent of the west. and he's lo

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the new leader of japan's governing democratic party, yoshihiko noda, is expected to be elected the country's 95th prime minister at a plenary session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the top post. finance minister noda beat economy minister banri kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet have resigned at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has already been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday noda told colleagues he wants to leave the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his intention to give major posts to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership election. noda says he plans to select the party's sec. tear gen secretary-g

photographers have come for magazines in tokyo. he willingly accepts interview to perfect the appeal of wagashi to as many people as possible. he's not quite happy with the white part. >> translator: should we switch it with another one? for tomizo, the wagashi he makes are like his children. he's strict with them -- in a loving way. in the afternoon, they start making the special wagashi that they make available only one day every year. wagashi are profoundly seasonal. they don't just reflect the ever changing seasons. the fact that each wagashi is only available at a certain time of the year is also a reflection of the spirit that cherishes each passing day. every tiny wagashi represents wisdom. they are now making the wagashi that will only be eaten on june 30. by eating it on this day, they say, people in kyoto appreciate their well being over the past six months and wish for happiness in the coming six months. this wagashi is called minazuki, meaning june. it's said that the triangular part represents ice to make people forget

the yen in tokyo on tuesday. this followed sharp losses overnight on wall street. prompted by growing concern about the global economy. finance minister yoshihiko noda is calling for measures to be taken to stabilize currency markets in addition to market interventions. >> translator: concrete measures must be taken to stabilize the yen's rise against the dollar and other major currencies. this is to prevent a further shift of japanese manufacturers to overseas locations. >>> also on tuesday the governor of the bank of japan said the central bank is aware of the strong yen comes from the uncertainty of the global economy. >> translator: it's widely reported due to moving efforts of the global economy. >>> the sell-off continued in the tokyo stock markets on tuesday with the key nikkei average plunging below 9,000 points for the first time in about 4 1/2 months. share prices in tokyo fell immediately after the start of trading on tuesday following the plunge on wall street. the nikkei average briefly lost more tha

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the reserve board said it will keep interest rates at its current levels until the middle of 2013. the bank was ready to do more easing if necessary. the decision was made at the federal open market committee meeting on tuesday afternoon. the central bank said in a statement that u.s. economic growth has been considerably weaker than expected. it predicts a slower pace of economic growth over the coming quarters and says the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. this marks a change from previous statements when the feds predicted the slowing economy was due to temporary disruptions in the supply chain following the march 11st disaster in japan. they said the u.s. economy would gradually pic up in the latter half of this year. the government is preparing to act flexbly depending on the monetary policy meeting. >> translator: the feds' moves will have an impact on japan. the government and the bank of japan need to respond flexibly over the outcome. >> the market committee bega

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the reserve board said it will keep interest rates at its current levels until the middle of 2013. the bank was ready to do more easing if necessary. the decision was made at the federal open market committee meeting on tuesday afternoon. the central bank said in a statement that u.s. economic growth has been considerably weaker than expected. it predicts a slower pace of economic growth over the coming quarters and says the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. this marks a change from previous statements when the feds predicted the slowing economy was due to temporary disruptions in the supply chain following the march 11st disaster in japan. they said the u.s. economy would gradually pick up in the latter half of this year. the government is preparing to act flexbly depending on the monetary policy meeting. >> translator: the feds' moves will have an impact on japan. the government and the bank of japan will need to respond flexibly over the outcome. >> the market committe

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. libya's transitional government says it is working to set up a new administration while searching all out for moammar gadhafi. pockets of resistance remain in parts of the capital tripoli. the leader of the opposition national council told reporters in benghazi on wednesday that it will launch a new administration to replace gadhafi's as soon as possible. he spoke the day after anti-government forces seized gadhafi's military compound in tripoli, effectively bringing his reign to an end. the council plans to transfer its base to the outskirts of tripoli soon. >> translator: we are offering a bounty of $1.7 million for whoever captures gadhafi. >> he also said that the council will grant special amnesty to government officials if they hand in gadhafi or kill him. but with fierce resistance by gadhafi's troops continuing in the south of the capital on wednesday, and gadhafi himself still at large, the rebel administration is not in the clear yet. >>> in tripoli, several foreign journali

back to you. >> from the tokyo stock exchange. a spokes person said the drop in prices of spanish and italian government bonds do not reflect the true state of the country's economie economies. european in an emergency statement issued on wednesday, the commission president said the decline is due it an increasing loss of confidence in the euro steming for the greek debt crisis. he called on euro members. this would reinforce monetary assistance to economies in fiscal difficulties. the crisis in greece affected italy and spain in the past few days that red to a plunge in the 10-year bond prices that have reached their lowest levels since the euro was introduced. italian prime minister berlusconi said they are on sound economic footing and the political system is stable. he added that the country needs economic reform to convince the market and ask lawmakers for their cooperation. here's a recap of the latest market figures. >> per that's all for now on business news. back to katherine. >> thank you very much. a few days for the ac

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the european central bank is likely to have spent a large amount of money last week to try to halt the crisis from spreading. the ecb has bought 22 billion euros or about $31 billion in government bonds. it didn't disclose the countries, but it's believed to be predominantly sovereignties of italy and spain. the move came after prices plunged earlier this month to their lowest since the introduction of the single currencies. analysts say the focus is now on whether the central bank can continue such measures given the amount of bonds circulating. >>> google will now enter the handset business. the giant announced its biggest acquisition to date monday. that it will buy mobile phone maker motorola mobility for $12.5 billion. google said it will run motorola mobility as a separate business and continue to offer the android software to other handset manufacturers. motorola mobility was split from the parent company motorola this year. it will allow the company to strengthen its patent po

in tokyo. new japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda has decided the key post in his ruling democratic party and plans to inaugurate his cabinet as early as friday. noda was elected prime minister by the diet on tuesday. he then offered the influential post of dpj secretary gen gal to koshiishi who is close to ichiro ozawa and former prime minister yukio hatoyama. noda picked the former foreign minister seiji maehara as policy chief. this is a former chief cabinet secretary. >> translator: i filled key positions in a way that unified the party and to show my commitment to work for the japanese people. >> on the formation of his cabinet noda said his priority is party unity. he's considering creating a philippines ter exclusively for administrative reform in order to slash budget spending. noda wants to ready his cabinet to address immediate issues such as the nuclear crisis in fukushima and reconstruction of the disaster-hit areas. earlier we spoke to nhk's senior political commentator about ja

in tokyo, trading at 79.10 to 12 yen against the dollar. market players say the focus is how long japan will continue with the intervention when the dollar remains under selling pressure due to worries over the economy. now the intervention by the monetary authorities has so far been unilateral meaning other countries have not taken part. about such a move the european central bank expressed a negative view. a comment was made to reporters on thursday after he was asked if he supports the solo action by japan to buy the dollar and sell the yen. trichet said market intervention should be based on multinational decision. a few days after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami in japan, g-7 nations intervened jointly as the yen surged to a record high against the dollar. new york stocks plunged across the board on thursday sending a key stock index down more than 500 points. the dow jones industrial average ended the day at 11,383. that is down 512 points from wednesday's close. the dow fell more than 500 points for the first time since decembe

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the european central bank is likely to have spent a large amount of money last week to try to halt the crisis from spreading. the ecb has bought 22 billion euros or about $31 billion in government bonds. it didn't disclose the countries, but it's believed to be predominantly sovereignties of italy and spain. the move came after prices plunged earlier this month to their lowest since the introduction of the single currencies. analysts say the focus is now on whether the central bank can continue such measures given the amount of bonds circulating. >>> google will now enter the handset business. the giant announced its biggest acquisition to date monday. that it will buy mobile phone maker motorola mobility for $12.5 billion. google said it will run motorola mobility as a separate business and continue to offer the android software to other handset manufacturers. motorola mobility was split from the parent company motorola this year. it will allow the company to strengthen its patent po

ramin mellegard from t tokyo stock exchange. now time to get you a look at some other market figures. >>> and that's all for business for this hour. back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. >>> members of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum will discuss measures that companies can take against disasters. the two-day conference starts on tuesday in sendai miyagi prefecture which was hit hard by the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. participants met at a reception on monday evening. about 100 experts and government officials from 18 countries and regions are attending the conference. >> translator: people in the prefecture will do all they can for early reconstruction. we would like to ask for further support for their rebuilding efforts. >> state secretary for foreign affairs takahashi said earthquakes hit many parts of the asia pacific region every ye. he said he wants to exchange information on initial responses to quakes, as well as reconstruction after disasters. he added that the government wants to develop a pla

it's inspired by tokyo's iconic asakusa district. the complex is located in the trendy pavilion kuala lumpur. 32 shops specializing in japanese art, food, fashion and retail products are now open. the staff are able to converse in simple japanese. every year, tokyo street will come alive during the numerous japanese festivals, such as tanabata and hinomatsuri. >>> hello. time now to check on the weather once again. let's head into eastern asia. now japan's been seeing lots of scattered thunderstorms across the country and a lot of heat. and that's going to continue as we head on into the weekend. just to the south there is a tropical depression now. there was an idea that this one might turn to tropical storm. i don't think that's going to happen. it will just remain a tropical depression. not causing too much trouble, actually, but maybe creating some swells and high waves for the southern japanese islands. now over across eastern china, we've seen some very heavy rain. this is the low pressure that's just moving across into the kor

in tokyo. libya's transitional government says it's working to set u a new administration while searching all out for gadhafi. pockets of resistance remain in parts of the capitol, tripoli. the leader of the council told reporters wednesday that it will launch a new administration to replace gadhafi's as soon as possible. he spoke the day after antigovernment voices seized gadhafi military compound in tripoli effectively bringing his reign to an end. the council plans to transfer its base to the outskirts of tripoli soon. >> translator: we're offering a bounty of about $1.7 million for whoever captures gadhafi. >> the council will grant special amnesty to government officials if they hand in gadhafi or kill him. but with fiercery siftens by gadhafi's troops continuing in the south of the capitol wednesday and gadhafi himself still at large, the rebel administration is not in the clear yet. in tripoli several foreign journalist held under house arrest by the libyan government have been released.

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the opposition forces have announced the capture of siaff al islam on sunday. a witness says that antigovernment forces gained control of an airport in tripoli on sunday while government troops struck back fiercely with rockets and other weapons. the government counterattack appears to have killed many antigovernment fighters. a resident of tripoli told nhk that government troops are gathering in the district that surrounds the house of muammar gadhafi. government snipers are positioned on high buildings. gadhafi delivered a statement on state run television on sunday. he called on people to join the fight against the antigovernment forces. >> a spoke es person for the antigovernment says they are arriving in tripoli aboard ships. >>> all eyes on on monday's tokyo market after the yen surged to a record high in new york against the dollar. looking at the exchange market on monday morning, the dollar is traded at 76.79-80. on breaking the previous record 76.25 yen set on march 17th aft

in tokyo, i'm catherine kobayashi. an audio message believed to have been from moammar gadhafi calls on forces to fight while opposition forces hunt for him. council forors are searching for gadhafi with nato's help after taking hold of the regime's corps facilities. about 1,000 soldiers surrounded the building where they claim gadhafi and his family might be hiding. later in the day, a satellite tv station run by loyalists run a message thought to be from gadhafi. the man claimed he is in the capital and calls on supporters to purify the city of rebels who he calls "rats." >>> gadhafi forces continued their resistance by deploying snipers throughout the city. they stepped up their offensive near gadhafi's home town. the national transition council is working to launch a transitional government and asking for international assistance. >>> while battles continue in the libyan capitol of tripoli the oil-rich city has lost its luster. ucido futori has this report. >> reporter: the economic boom with its oil money. but now

tokyo in the same digits 32 for your friday high. here in north amera, let's start off talking about this dangerous hurricane irene. this is a major hurricane and category 3 at the moment. it looks like it will be strengthening little bit as it pass through offshore of the florida peninsula. then weakening again whe it reaches north carolina. maybe even making landfall there it will become a hurricane then towards northeast. it may eveaknoer landfall there, as well. o iovgn northwest direction at the sed of 20 kilometers perur. it wil b bringing lots of rain isone, as well. 300 mrs ihe next 36 hours in bahamas. this is what we are lki. heavy rain will up the risk of flooding here, as. swellsould beenat y away froen. coastal side, if possible. temperatures are shaping u like this, still ver hot in phoenix at 44 degrees. here in europe, we're got very active low preur system here in the british isles. it looks very unstable. in france, germany and southern norway with is where we'll be seeing lots of unstable conditions. dry and hot ou

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> tuesday marks one month since the fatal high speed collision in china. the chinese government is trying to win back public trust by investigating the cause of the accident and conducting safety inspections to prevent a recurrence. its incident occurred on july 23rd when a high speed train crashed into another that had stopped on the tracks in the eastern city of wenzhou. 40 people were killed and more than 190 others were injured. investigators say they will publicize the cause of the crash by mid-september. they say the signal lights should have been red but it was green due to a flaw in the software. they also say the worker who was on duty at the time was not fully trained on the system. he failed to notice the error and did not take the appropriate measures. china's railway ministry says it has reached on agreement with the bereaved families of 37 people killed regarding compensation but some of the families say they were pressured into consenting to t

tok tokyo's already been affected with the outer bounds of this storm. we already had showers and sprinkles today. and chonqing looking hot there and seoul and tokyo looking at 27 degrees for our wednesday high. here in north america, we have a low pressure system in eastern canada bringing us showers and few storms and behind that system, high pressure dominates. the associated front and just -- in the front of this system is where we're going to be seeing some severe activity of thunderstorms and that will be pushing towards the east and towards the midwest. now, iowa seeing the bulk of heavy rain there but behind the system, though, very dry and warm weather to come for you. here are your temperatures. denver at 33 degrees. phoenix at 44. still excessive heat warnings still prevails there. heading over to europe, scandinavian peninsula and the balkans along the associated front for stormy activity. and if there are a few storms just along this front, the winds will be picked up up to about 85 kill meetee meters an hour. the british isles looking at su

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. >>> the work to build temporary homes for people in japan's devastated northeast is making progress. nearly half a year since the tsunami tore up cities and towns along the pacific coast, most of the shelters are now closed. but thousands of people are still living in public facilities in miyagi prefecture. the shelter at a high school gymnasium in the town of yamada in iwate prefecture shut its doors on wednesday. at one point 103,000 people were living there. now all the evacuees have moved into temporary housing units. >> translator: it was a big effort. it took a long time. >> most of the shelters in fukushima have also closed. the largest one in the prefecture vut on wednesday. about 2,500 people lived in this building in the city of koriyuma at one time. it got so crowded there was barely enough room for everyone to lie down. >> translator: i really hope i'll be happy living in temporary housing. >> it's a different story in miyagi p

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> in the united states, a debt limit deal has been approved and signed into law. we go straight to ai uchie da with business news this hour. >> very good morning. the u.s. senate has approved a bill that allows the government to raise its debt ceiling. president barack obama has signed the bill into lawng a de debt obligations, just hours before the deadline of midnight on tuesday. >> congress has now approved a compromise to reduce the deficit and avert a default that would have devastated our economy. and since you can't close the deficit with just spending cuts, we'll need a balanced approach where everything's on the table. >> the bill cleared the senate on tuesday with 74 votes in favor and 26 against. the house passed the measure the previous day. the bill calls for $917 billion in spending cuts over the next ten years, a bipartisan committee will be set up to consider ways to achieve an additional cut of $1.5 trillion. in return, the bill allows the g

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye. >>> sunrise over the indian ocean with only a rod and a line, these men are fishing for bonito. today's program on the fisher mohamed. he's on a second year on a boat in the maldives. on land, is he a trendy guy who rides a motor bike and has a big goal for the future. his role model is the top fishing boat captain who is also his father. what does he think about it. we follow a young fishermen in the maldives as he catches bonito with a rod and line. lying in the indian ocean, the republican of maldives has over 1,000 islands and a population of about 300,000. it is well known as a holiday resort. however, the country is also famous for bonito. bonito accounts for roughly 60% of the maldives total fishing tonnage and the country's largest export. in the local markets, merchants sell dry bonito. this food is only eaten in the maldives where it is believed to have originated and in japan. >> bonito is an essential ingredient of cuisine here. everyone is eating snacks from boni

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. concern over the u.s. and global economies plunged share prices in new york by more than 500 points at one time on thursday. sale orders were posted immediately after the opening of the market. the dow jones industrial average dropped sharply at one point more than 500 points. the fall came after morgan stanley lowered their global economic growth. -- encouraged the views that it has become difficult for the boards to take credit easing measures. the index ended the day at 10,990.58. that's down over 400 points from wednesday's close. market analysts predict volatile moves on the stock market to continue as anxiety increases due to the future of global economies. in further rough economic news, key stock indices of european markets also plummeted by 4% to 5% on thursday over concerns on the future of european and global economies. the plunge in new york spurred sales in european markets. the key stock index fell by 5.8% in frankfurt, 5.5% in paris, and 4.5% in london. forecasts for institutions increased c

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. that iland's new prime minister call f niol renciaonn sec ouing r veme's poci. she won last nts genal econf e pay. piche ouined are st aonnuio o governntpending programs that drew criticism during her brother's tenure. they include buying up rice to boost farmer's incomes and doubling jut lay to rural villagers. speaking to reporters, exiled prime minister said he will not advise the new government unless asked. >> if they nd any advice, they can just call me. i can give the advice. if they don't need, i will not get involved. >> he talked about whether he has intentions to return home. >> for my plan going back to thailand, i have no plan. when reconciliation happen, that might be. if reconciliation is not there, i don't want to cause any more conflict. >> he is scheduled to stay in japan until the end of the week on a special visa. he plans to visit areas affected by the march disaster echlt was ousted in a coup five years ago and convicted of corruption. now to libya. >>> anti-gove

the company had to close tokyo disneyland and tokyo disney sea for more than a month after a quake-triggered liquefaction damaged parking areas and rolling blackouts hampered operations. before the disaster the two theme parks were popular attractions for both domestic and foreign visitors. oriental land said the number of visitors fell significantly, even after the two facilities reopened, causing both sales and profits to decline. however, the number of visitors in july has recovered to the same level of last year. >> translator: i was worried about the sunken ground, but i'm surprised at the speed of recovery. >> in the oriental land an official says he wants to improve the balance sheet with cutting cost efforts. >> translator: i had expected the severe outcome because of closure of the parks after the march 11th earthquake. we want to boost our sales through various promotions. >>> today's "the road ahead" is about the business continuity plan. or bcp. a system of disaster preparedness. many businesses suffered in the march 11th quake and tsunami, but a company in one of the hardest hit

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. concern over the u.s. and global economies plunged share prices in new york by more than 500 points at one time on thursday. sale orders were posted immediately after the opening of the market. the dow jones industrial average dropped sharply at one point more than 500 points. the fall came after morgan stanley lowered their global economic growth. -- encouraged the views that it has become difficult for the boards to take credit easing measures. the index ended the day at 10,990.58. that's down over 400 points from wednesday's close. market analysts predict volatile moves on the stock market to continue as anxiety increases due to the future of global economies. in further rough economic news, key stock indices of european markets also plummeted by 4% to 5% on thursday over concerns on the future of european and global economies. the plunge in new york spurred sales in european markets. the key stock index fell by 5.8% in frankfurt, 5.5% in paris, and 4.5% in london. forecasts for institutions increased c

are the citizens of tokyo safe and for that matter what will the consequence of this enormous amount of radiation that not only is going into the atmosphere but in particular into the ocean which is it seems to be the basis of much of our food chain most of what what is this consequence going to be. will tokyo it's one hundred fifty miles from the site the danger zone is out to perhaps fifty miles so the people of tokyo at are at present relatively safe however take a look at the consequence of that accident the workers the workers at the site are like somewhere i worriers they know that many of them are not going to make it out alive because the radiation fields are lethal but the managers the utility managers are incompetent i get this mental image of homer simpson operating a nuclear power plant totally overwhelmed by what is happening there we have contamination in the food the vegetable in the milk in the area around the reactor in the water and it's a million times higher than the legal limit inside the water this is a never to. the spread especially because they're dumping ten

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the new leader of japan's governoring democratic party yoshihiko noda is to be elected at a session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the topmost. noda beat kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet will resign at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday, noda told colleagues that he wants to lee the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his attention to give major post to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership election. noda says he plans to select the party's secretary general first and hopes to announce his choice within a few days. so who is yoshihiko noda? here's a look at the man about to become japan's 95

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. stocks were sold across the board in new york on monday sending the dow industrial average down more than 600 points. amid concern about the global economic slowdown triggered by the u.s. credit rating downgrade at the end of last week. president barack obama delivered a speech on monday but it was lacking fresh content and stocks continued to fall. an earlier statement by the g-7 finance ministers and governors also failed to calm investor concern. the dow fell 634 points to 10,809. it was the first time for the dow jones industrial average to fall more than 600 points since 2008 in the aftermath of the lehman shock. prices show no sign of bottoming out. they also say investors are eyeing changes in policy from the federal reserve's committee meeting on tuesday. the sharp drop in stock prices drove investors to gold and bonds. gold hit a record high of over $1700 an ounce. bonds from the u.s., italy, and spain also rose. the dollar fell to the middle 77 yen level on the new york fore

. >>> coming up next a live update from tokyo on today's wild ride for the asian markets. >>> then it took a high-speed chase and some construction workers to capture america's most wanted famimi. >>> on top of all that, we'll also have new images from the red planet. >>> asian stock markets took another hit today. investors are worried about big european debts dragging down the world economy. the latest from tokyo where abc's fujiakiko fujita is stand by. >> reporter: we saw a mixed bag throughout asia. in tokyo we saw those modest gains on the nikkei wiped out and renewed concerns about the european economy. the nikkei ended the day down 0.6%. much like the hang seng in hong kong. concerns about the u.s. credit rating downgrade triggered the sell-off earlier but today those worries shifted to europe and a possible ratings downgrade in france. that convinced asian traders to unload bank shares and those of carmakers like nissan and to give you a perspective of how bad it's been in tokyo, the nikkei has fallen 8% in less than a week. we did see some good news in other parts of asia th

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the new leader of japan's governoring democratic party yoshihiko noda is to be elected at a session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the topmost. noda beat kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet will resign at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday, noda told colleagues that he wants to lee the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his attention to give major post to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership election. noda says he plans to select the party's secretary general first and hopes to announce his choice within a few days. so who is yoshihiko noda? here's a look at the man about to become japan's 95

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. stocks were sold across the board in new york on monday sending the dow industrial average down more than 600 points. amid concern about the global economic slowdown triggered by the u.s. credit rating downgrade at the end of last week. president barack obama delivered a speech on monday but it was lacking fresh content and stocks continued to fall. an earlier statement by the g-7 finance ministers and governors also failed to calm investor concern. the dow fell 634oints to 10,809. it was the first time for the dow jones industrial average to fall more than 600 points since 2008 in the aftermath of the lehman shock. prices show no sign of bottoming out. they also say investors are eyeing changes in policy from the federal reserve's committee meeting on tuesday. the sharp drop in stock prices drove investors to gold and bonds. gold hit a record high of over $1700 an ounce. bonds from the u.s., italy, and spain also rose. the dollar fell to the middle 77 yen level on the new york foreig

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. in response to last month's high speed train crash in china, the country's rail authorities will inspect one train model that's been involved in a string of problems. china's news agency said that the government will carry out full checks on the model that has suffered a series of problems. the model runs on the line between beijing and shanghai that opened in june. as a result, daily is fs services on the route will be diminished by 18%. also the maximum speed will be cut from 350 to 300 kilometers per hour. the top speed will also be reduced from 250 to 200 kilometers per hour on other lines. due to these changes, the ministry will alter train schedules starting tuesday. the chinese government said on wednesday that it will freeze approval of high speed railway construction for the time being. japan and china have agreed to work closely together after the recent talks between north korea and the united states aimed at resuming the stalled six party talks on the north's nuclear progr

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. an audio message purported to be from muammar al gadhafi has called on his supporters to fight while opposition forces continue to hunt for him. the opposition transitional council forces are searching for him with nato's help after taking control of the regime's core facilities. on thursday amidst heavy gunfire, about 1,000 soldiers surrounded buildings near the compound in tripoli where they claimed gadhafi and his family might be hiding. later in the day a satellite tv station run by regime loyalists broadcast an audio message reported to be from gadhafi. the man claimed in the message that he is in the capital and calls on his supporters to purify the city of rebels who he calls rats. >> gadhafi forces have continued their resistance by deploying snipers throughout the city. they also stepped up their defenses in the eastern city of benjarwat. the council is working to launch a transitional government and asking for international assistance. while battles continue in the libyan ca

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. stocks were sold across the board in new york on monday sending the dow industrial average down more than 600 points. amid concern about the global economic slowdown triggered by the u.s. credit rating downgrade at the end of last week. president barack obama delivered a speech on monday but it was lacking fresh content and stocks continued to fall. an earlier statement by the g-7 finance ministers and governors also failed to calm investor concern. the dow fell 634 points to 10,809. it was the first time for the dow jones industrial average to fall more than 600 points since 2008 in the aftermath of the lehman shock. prices show no sign of bottoming out. they also say investors are eyeing changes in policy from the federal reserve's committee meeting on tuesday. the sharp drop in stock prices drove investors to gold and bonds. gold hit a record high of over $1700 an ounce. bonds from the u.s., italy, and spain also rose. the dollar fell to the middle 77 yen level on the new york fore

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. in response to last month's high speed train crash in china, the country's rail authorities will inspect one train model that's been involved in a string of problems. china's news agency said that the government will carry out full checks on the model that has suffered a series of problems. the model runs on the line between beijing and shanghai that opened in june. as a result, daily is fs services on the route will be diminished by 18%. also the maximum speed will be cut from 350 to 300 kilometers per hour. the top speed will also be reduced from 250 to 200 kilometers per hour on other lines. due to these changes, the ministry will alter train schedules starting tuesday. the chinese government said on wednesday that it will freeze approval of high speed railway construction for the time being. japan and china have agreed to work closely together after the recent talks between north korea and the united states aimed at resuming the stalled six party talks on the north's nuclear progr

in tokyo. i'm cathinkoyai. japanese government investigators have learned that senior officials in charge of fukushima daiichi were kept in thda omah thbo a key event at the nuclear plant. they were unaware the emergency cooling system for reactor one had been manually shut down following the rtua. the reactor was equipped with an emergency cooling mechanism in the event the external power source was lost. tokyo electric power company officials told investigators that one worker suspected water had dried up in reactor one's system. he couldn't see the steam that signaled things were functioning properly. so the worker manually shut down the system to prevent it from indage fukushima daiichi's chief masao yoshida wasn't informed. as a result, certain actions were tak othasmponhe system was working properly. yoshida reportedly said it was a major error he and other leaders did not immedielkn aut the manual shutdown of the cooling mechanism. tepco says the meltdown inside reactor one started five hours after the e

are the citizens of tokyo safe and for that matter what will the consequence of this enormous amount of radiation that not only is going to the atmosphere but in particular into the ocean which is it seems to be the basis of much of our food chain most of what it what is this consequence going to be. will tokyo is one hundred fifty miles from the site the danger zone is out to perhaps fifty miles so the people of tokyo at are at present relatively safe however take a look at the consequence of that accident the workers the workers at the site are light somewhere i worriers they know that many of them are not going to make it out alive because the radiation fields are lethal but the managers the utility matters are incompetent i get this mental image of homer simpson operating a nuclear power plant totally overwhelmed by what is happening there we have contamination in the food the vegetable in the milk in the area around the reactor in the water it's a million times higher than the legal limit inside the water this is a never to. the spread especially because they're dumping tens of

we've got our reporter live in tokyo. and live in hong kong where the market opened at 9:30 in 27 minutes. let's start with tokyo where trading is already underway. it is already happening. what are investors there saying about this downgrade? at least as you can see the nikkei and how it is trading? >> reporter: let's start with the numbers. the market in tokyo did open down sharply, 1.5%. it is slightly recovering off that low. we're down about 1%. and in making some calls to traders this morning here in tokyo, what they're describing, the mood here as is tense. and frankly, all that bickering out of d.c. over the weekend isn't helping matters. they already feel fed up with washington politics. even on this side of the planet. because it is having a true economic impact in asia pacific. tokyo is the largest stock market here in asia. it is also the second largest holder of u.s. debt. what they want to talk about are some market fundamentals. they want to hear that there is going to be some sort of turn-around and what t

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. >>> resistance by forces loyal to libyan leader moammar gadhafi has continued in some areas of the capital tripoli after the virtual collapse of his dictatorial regime. anti-governmt forces seized control of gadhafi's compound in the capital on tuesday, but the leader's whereabouts remain unknown and his troops have continued to fight on wednesday. meanwhile, a national transitional council which consists of opposition leaders is taking steps to launch a new government. the council plans to transfer its base from the northeastern city of benghazi and set up a provisional government in tripoli. a senior member of the council mom mud ja bril has stressed the need to rebuild libya. the council will meet with the u.s. and european and arab nations in qatar on wednesday and ask them for financial assistance. it will also ask for cooperation in rebuilding the country from other nations at a conference to be held in turkey on thursday. >>> the u.

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. japanese government investigators have learned that senior officials in charge of fukushima daiichi were kept in the dark on march 11th about a key event at the nuclear plant. they were unaware the emergency cooling system for reactor one had been manually shut down following the earthquake. the reactor was equipped with an emergency cooling mechanism in the event the external power source was lost. tokyo electric power company officials told investigators that one worker suspected water had dried up in reactor one's system. he couldn't see the steam that signaled things were functioning properly. so the worker manually shut down the system to prevent it from being damaged. fukushima daiichi's chief masao yoshida wasn't informed. as a result, certain actions were taken on the assumption the system was working properly. yoshida reportedly said it was a major error he and other leaders did not immediately know about the manual shutdown of the cooling mechanism. tepco says the meltdown i

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. libya's opposition forces have stormed the compound of the leader muammar al gadhafi in tripoli. most of the facility is now under their control, they're reporting. the assault on tuesday was carried out with support from nato air strikes. the complex was gadhafi's stronghold and residence. they entered the compound around 5:00 p.m. local time following a battle against forces to the leader. the rebels cheering for the day of liberation. they're stomping on gadhafi statues and destroying pictures. >> translator: we have taken control of 90% of the facility. we won a victory. >> fighting continues against loyalist snipers within parts of the compound. the antigovernment forces say they're searching for the libyan leader and will put him on trial for war crimes. the whereabouts of gadhafi and his family remains unknown. a nato spokesperson says the end of the gadhafi government is near, but the organization will continue air raids on libya in an attempt to protect civilians in the capit

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. in the new york stock exchange on wednesday, the key index ended over 500 points down amid concerns over the u.s. economic slowdown and europe's credit crunch. sell orders were placed over a wide range of issues as the market opened. the nose dive follows a rise of over 400 points in the dow jones industrial average on tuesday after the u.s. federal reserve said interest rates will stay at near 0% until at least the middle of 2013. market players say uncertainty over the financial markets is also picking up steam. at the new york foreign exchange market on wednesday, the yen at one point neared the record low at 76.25 yen per dollar set on march 17, a week after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. now investors are watching the bank of japan for a possible intervention to support the dollar if the yen surge continues. >>> japan's government is set to downgrade its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2011 to 0.5%, down 1% from its previous estimate. in december las

here in tokyo, the key stock index rebounded to about 9,000 points. a surge in u.s. stocks helped provide the boost. the nikkei average ended the day's trading at 9,038. that's an increase of a little more than 1% from tuesday. the nikkei climbed 200 points during trading at one point, but sell orders increased after the u.s. dollar fell to the upper 76 yen level on the forex market. investors let go of export-related shares such as automakers. >>> in the rest of the asian markets, share prices showed a recovery on wednesday. south korea's kospi ended slightly higher at 1,806. up about 0.3% from tuesday's close. the market rebounded from big losses on the previous day when it touched a 13-month low. in shanghai the key composite climbed to 5,876. in hong kong, the hang seng at 19,783, after renewing a 15-month low at one point on tuesday. india's index ended at 17,130, up 1.6%. >>> the prices of goods traded among businesses in japan rose in july for a tenth consecutive month. japan's central bank said on wednesday the corporate goods price index stood at 105.7. that

we've got our reporter live in tokyo. and live in hong kong where the market opened at 9:30 in 27 minutes. let's start with tokyo where trading is already underway. it is already happening. what are investors there saying about this downgrade? at least as you can see the nikkei and how it is trading? >> reporter: let's start with the numbers. the market in tokyo did open down sharply, 1.5%. it is slightly recovering off that low. we're down about 1%. and in making some call to traders this morning here in tokyo, what they're describing, the mood here as is tense. and frankly, all that bickering out of d.c. over the weekend isn't helping matters. they already feel fed one washington politics. even on this side of the planet. because it is having a true economic impact in asia pacific. tokyo is the largest stock market here in asia. it is also the second largest holder of u.s. debt. what they want to talk about are some market fundamentals them want to hear that there is going to be some sort of turn-around and what they kn

i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us.