the prosecution argues lower house member ishikawa, who was ozawa's aide at the time, told ozawa the money should not appear in the financial reports to avoid public scrutiny. the prosecutor said ozawa approved the idea and asked ishikawa to deal with it accordingly. last month, a lower court found ishikawa and two other former ozawa aides guilty of falsifying accounts. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters throughout asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by mcot thailand. >>> thai prime minister, yingluck shinawatra, said her government will guarantee to rice growers a minimum $666 per ton for their produce. part of her election manifesto promise. addressing 600 provincial governors in back kong on thursday, she said the scheme would improve the lives of farmers. she asked officials to insure that only general farmers benefit from the scheme. thailand is expected to produce about 25 million tons of rice this year. >>> china's premier, wen jiabao has stressed the way to insure the stable growth is by supporting the country's medium and small-s

ozawa is a powerful politician, he controls the biggest faction in the ruling dpj. so noda does not want to make an enemy of him. so he's not speaking out about ozawa's trial for falsification of political funding reports. he's also taking a cautious stance on the demand from the political parties for ozawa to testify under oath before the diet. that runs counter to what the japanese people really want. 59% of people surveyed say ozawa needs to explain his case before the diet. some of the respondents might be even disappointed by noda's lack of leadership regarding ozawa's case. >> so what is noda doing to keep his approval rating from eroding any further? >> well, the prime minister is trying to show his leadership in other areas. noda abruptly instructed senior government official to make a decision as soon as possible on whether to join free trade talks on the trans-pacific partnership, or tpp. the former kan administration also wanted japan to get involved in the tpp. but it faced strong opposition from japan's powerful farm lobby. that could influence election

ozawa is accused of falsifying financial reports. the charges are in connection with a $5.2 million purchase his political organization made. three of his former secretaries including house of representatives member tomohiro ishikawa were also caught up in the scandal. a lower court found them guilty last month. the case has focused on whether ozawa conspired with and delivered some kind of orders to his former aides. he has consistently denied any involvement. it is expected that he will again profess his innocence in court. back to you, catherine. >> thanks very much, mitsuko. mitsuko nishikawa there outside the tokyo district court. "newsline" will be covering the trial throughout the day. do stay tuned for more details. >>> now, japan's nuclear power officials are trying to make sure they don't repeat a dangerous mistake. a utility company started construction on wednesday to protect its nuclear facility. it's following an order from the japanese government. seawalls around nuclear plants must be at least 15 meters high. that's t

ozawa is accused of falsifying financial reports. the charges are in connection with a $5.2 million land purchase made by his political funding organization. three of his former secretaries includiing tomorrow o hiro ishikawa were also caught up in the scandal. a lower court found them guilty last month. the case is focused on whether ozawa conspired with and gave instructions to his former aides. he's consistently deny nid involvement. it's expected he will again profess his innocence in court. >>> japan's government plans to decide whether to join u.s.-led negotiations on the transpacific partnership agreement. it will set up a panel next week to begin debate on the matter. last month prime minister yoshihiko noda told u.s. president barack obama in new york that his government would reach a conclusions as soon as possible. noda's democratic party also plans to begin its own discussions on a possible japanese participation in the agreement. japanese business organizations want the government to join the partnership. agriculture, fo

night in oakland, there were more than 60 tents camped out there for "occupy oakland" at the frank ozawa plaza. campers say they will be there until they say local governments fight joblessness. a protest in walnut creek this afternoon and in palo alto demonstration planned in front of the bank of america there at 5:00 tonight. then another one in san rafael at noon. here in san francisco, sfpd is getting by and we'll be monitoring to make sure everything goes smoothly. >> thank you. >>> anti-wall street protestors getting personal with manhattan's megarich the hundreds of them marched yesterday past homes belonging to billionaires like oil tycoon david koch and rupert murdoch to protest a big tax break that they are about to get. a state blanket tax on the wealthy is set to expire in december and take about $5 billion in annual revenue with it. >>> president obama says the fight over his jobs bill isn't over. it was rejected yesterday. all 46 republicans and two democrats voted against the $447 billion package. it needed 60 yes votes to move forward. the president says he will now focus

ozawa's lawyers argue there is no proof of collusion. >> he says $5.2 million used to purchase the land in question came out of his own pocket, is that right? so why are there doubts about his claim? the judges in the case involving former aides says the former leader failed to provide clear explanation regarding the origin of these funds. previous statement appeared contradictory. at one point, he claimed they came from one of his family accounts. later, he said they came from cash savings or that he withdrew from his own account. in court today, he didn't say where the money came from. we hear more from him in january when he is scheduled to take the stand. a verdict is expected next april. >> wait and see how things play out. thanks, koji. >>> residents of a major city in northern japan are on the lookout for unusual visitors. in recent weeks, a number of people have reported spotting bears in residential areas of central hoe kied oh. experts examined footprints of a bear, believed to be 1.5 meters tall. >> translator: at first, i thought it was a customer and stopped my cab. but it