"newsline i'm michio kijima in tokyo with the news at this hour. nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of japan's prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up 2 percentage points from the previous month when the rate marked a low since the democratic party took power two years ago. the cabinet's disapproval rating is 65%, down 3 points. among respondents who said they

support the cabinet, 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who said they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. asked when kan should step down, 45% said before the end of this month when the current diet's session is to adjourn. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of seven industrialized nations have released a joint statement on ways to stabilize financial markets. following the move, the japanese central bank is taking action. the statement was released on early monday morning after an emergency phone meeting. it says g-7 members confirm that they would take measures against problems concerning financial deficits, debts and economic growth. the members agreed to closely discuss the issues and cooperate to improve the situation.

in response to the statement, japan's central bank decided on monday to keep the yen in the banking system, which it injected last week. the central bank hopes to quell investor jitters by keeping overall market liquidity high. the boj says that the amount of funds in the market on monday is expected to exceed 4.7 trillion yen or $60 billion. the bank will keep a close watch on the market and supply funds when necessary. the international monetary fund welcomes the pledge by g-7 officials. imf managing director christine lagarde said the coordination between the g7 mashtss would help maintain market confidence. she said swift implementations by euro zones to reduce the u.s. fiscal deficit are further critical elements for financial stability. chinese media have published

commentaries critical of the u.s. government following the downgrade of the country's credit rating. china is the largest foreign holder of u.s. sovereign debt. the state-run xinhua news agency on monday quoted analysts as saying that risks of dollar devaluation increased after the downgrade. the agency says the u.s. has every motive to maintain a weak dollar because increasing exports seems to be a final resort for boosting the economy. xinhua said the u.s. should not forget its responsibility as an issuer of reserve currency to keep the value of the dollar stable. china's government run "people's daily" in its monday edition called on the u.s. and other western nations to lead the global economic recovery. the paper stressed that china's bold economic measures played an important role in the recovery of the global economy after the 2008 financial crisis.

u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon has met survivors of the japanese earthquake and tsunami and people who had to evacuate homes near the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. ban began his visit to fukushima with a briefing from the prefectural governor. he heard about the challenges of checking local people's health and cleaning up radioactive substances. ban visited evacuees at a shelter and gave them some words of encouragement in japanese and spoke to students at a senior high school. ♪

>> ban also said the u.n. will hold a summit level meeting on nuclear issues in new york next month. tokyo stocks fell on monday with the nikkei average dropping more than 2%. this was due to mounting worries about the global economy despite a g-7 announcement pledging to coordinate actions to stabilize financial markets. the nikkei average ended at 9,097 down more than 200 points from friday's close. market sources say sell orders surged due to growing concern that the downgrade in u.s. government debt will have a negative impact on the global economic outlook. they say attention is now on the u.s. policy committee meeting set on tuesday. share prices in other asian markets fell across the board on monday with some indices renewing the year's low. sell orders prevailed due to growing concerns that the region won't be unscathed by the u.s. and european debt crisis.

in hong kong, stocks were sold across the board. immediately after the opening. the benchmark hang seng index lost more than 2% from friday's close. in shanghai, the key composite index closed monday's session at 5,816. it's 3.5% lower. in singapore, the bench marc temporarily dropped 3.7%. in south korea, share prices declined due to large sell orders. the benchmark kospi closed at 1,869, losing 3.8%. japan has revived its rice futures market after 72 years. the tokyo grain exchange and the kansai exchange began trading rice futures on monday. in tokyo a pretrade reference price of about $170 for 60 kilograms

was set for the january 2012 contract. there were so many buy orders, they pushed the price above the daily fluctuation limit. no deals have been closed yet. rice futures trading began in osaka in the early 18th century. it was abolished in 1939 when the government tightened its control over commodities. rice futures trading is expected to make the buying and selling of rice more transparent, but a national group of agricultural cooperatives is not taking part. it says futures trading may cause volatility in the price of japan's staple food. private research firms expect japan's gross domestic product from april to june to shrink for the third conservative quarter due to the march 11th quake and tsunami. ten financial institutions and

research estimates the gdp will decline from .3% to 1.2% in real terms. the figure represents contractions of minus 1.4% to minus 4.7% on an annualized basis. the institute's tribute the contractions to widespread self-restraint by japanese consumers in the fields of shopping and traveling following the march 11th disaster. they say production and exports also dropped because of shortages of semiconductors and auto parts after the disaster. some of the firms expect japan's gdp to improve in the july to september period saying private consumption and supply chains are likely to turn positive. others say the recovery depends on foreign exchange rates and economic conditions in the united states and europe. up next, the extended world weather forecast.

and that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. 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 bonito.

choices included fried bonito balls and bite sized pancakes stuffed with bonito. most popular is bonito somosa. this is gaafaru, an island that feeds such madivians. 1200 people live on the island and it's well known for its bonito catch and almost all of the men work in the industry. mohamed is a novice fishermen in his second year at sea. he lives together with his

parents, his elder sister, and his mother moomima put a lot of effort into educating her son. after he graduated from the island's school, she sent him to an elite school in the capital mali for three years. but he failed to find a job and he returned alone.

>> that's a harsh thing to say. ahlaam looks a little uncomfortable. he got back on his feet who has been called the best fishermen on the island. he became attracted of the job of the captain who is in charge of a large crew. it's 11:00 at night and time for the bonito boats to set out.

of the crew of 15, ahlaam is the youngest. ahlaam's father strides on to the boat. from that instant, he is the captain. the crews' first task is to catch live bait. as the bait fish gather, the captain barks out orders. the captain has to the crew. the crew works together to raise fishing nets.

they keep fishing until the holding tank is full. deciding where to fish is an important part of the captain's job. before dawn, ahlaam, who had been napping, wakes up. fishing matches the rerility. ahlaam's rod is four meters long while the captain's rod is five meters. it requires great skill.

finally the fishing can start. the captain stands in the middle with ahlaam beside him. the day's first fish is quickly caught. then the captain captures one. on his next catch, the captain flicks the hook from the fish's mouth in midair. since they race by quickly, every fishermen tries his best to catch his share.

meanwhile he struggles to catch the hook and the captain watches him. ahlaam, hurry. while he struggles, the captain keeps landing fish. ahlaam seems to have caught something. but he's still having trouble. he couldn't remove the fishhook in midair.

he has also tangled the line around the fish's tail. once the school passes the boat, a crew member throws more bait into the water. once again, the ocean surface starts to churn. the bonito are gathering again. ahlaam finally seems to have found his rhythm but he still has trouble whenever he lands a big fish. after three hours of fishing, the captain signals that time is up. in three hours, ahlaam has caught 15 fish. he couldn't make much of a contribution and the road to becoming a captain is tough. the total catch is 400 fish.

not a bad number but many of the fish are a cheaper grade of fish. after the poor catch, the crew members are quiet. on board, mealtime preparations are beginning. it's 10:00. time for breakfast. today's dish is garudhiya, bonita soup. they also mix flakes with coconut to make a standard fisherman's dish eaten with a

squeeze of lemon. the port of mali comes into view. the fish market is right by the port. all 400 fish are delivered by hand, which is quite a task. the fishermen price and sell the fish directly without intermediaries. today each fish sells for 100 roofia, about 8 u.s. dollars. the market is also opened to the

public. ahlaam calculates the day's earnings. each fishermen receives a payment and bonus. there are four bonus ranks. in the maldives, the average monthly wage is about 370 u.s. dollars but even ahlaam earns $990. the daily allowance is paid on the spot. the captain receives about $60 u.s. ahlaam, at the bottom of the ladder, $37. even though he's the captain's son, he receives no special treatment. we asked the captain about the problems ahlaam had fishing today. the daily allowance is paid on the spot. the captain receives about $60 u.s. ahlaam, at the bottom of the ladder, $37.

even though he's the captain's son, he receives no special treatment. we asked the captain about the problems ahlaam had fishing today. it is friday, the islamic day of rest. by the road, an old woman breaks the bonito in flakes and in japan it's used but in curry it's used for soup. it's time for lunch.

his father can be quite strict. every friday ahlaam goes to meet a certain someone. they seem close, perhaps she is someone special.

ahlaam, introduce her to us. maisha umar has been ahlaam's girlfriend for to years. for the sake of both himself and his girlfriend, ahlaam needs to learn his trait quickly. that night, ahlaam is back out fishing. one of his senior workers is fixing a tip to the end of his rod. ahlaam is going to try a longer rod.

>> the boat arrives after fishing daybreak and ahlaam takes position with his new rod. the captain immediately lands a large fish. other crew members follow suit the captain seems worried about ahlaam's new rod. he can't even get a bite. the basic technique is to move the rod up and down when you can't get a bite. preoccupied with his longer rod, ahlaam has forgotten the basics. the up and down movement of the rod jerks the fishhook, prompting the bonito to bite. after some time, ahlaam makes his first catch of the day.

the captain catches another fish. they seem to have spotted a large school of bonito. the fish are biting instantly. they toss the bait into the water. we don't know whether the captain noticed ahlaam's longer rod, but ahlaam's has definitely taken a big step forward. in just two hours, the boat is brimming with 600 fish. even ahlaam, who hardly ever smiles, without fishing breaks

into a broad grim. after a catch, the atmosphere on board boisterous. we ask ahlaam what kind of captain he wants to be. there is still much he needs to learn before he can become captain. but he is looking forward to the day when he is known as captain ahlaam, the best fishing boat ahlaam, the best fishing boat captain on the island. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com