"newsline."

i'm michio kijima in tokyo with the news at this hour. people in japan have had five different prime ministers over the past five years. soon they'll be getting their sixth. naoto kan says he's going to make good on a promise to step down from the top job after two key pieces of legislation are enacted. that will possibly happen in late august. >> translator: once the condition is met, the democratic party will quickly call a leadership election. then after a new party president is chosen, i will resign, and the diet will enter a new phase of selecting a new prime minister. >> kan survived a no confidence motion in june by promising to resign, but he refused to leave before the diet passed three bills he considers vital for japan's recovery. lawmakers enacted the first one in july, which was the country's

second supplementtry budget. two remain. one for issuing deficit-covering bonds and a second that promotes the use of renewable energy. a lower house committee approved the deficit-covering bond bill on wednesday and it is likely to be enacted by august 26. markets across asia bounced back on wednesday after two down days. 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's up 2.9% from a year earlier, the highest gain since

october 2008. the index is a measure of prices of goods traded among japanese firms. by category, oil and coal products surged 18% while nonferrous metals rose by 13%. the increases reflect a rise in corporate material costs, stemming from high prices of natural resources. the central bank says it will keep monitoring prices as the cost of oil and natural resources began falling this month over growing uncertainty over the global economic outlook. china's monthly exports marked a record high in july. china's general administration of customs said on wednesday that china's trade surplus reached $31.4 billion last month surpassing the $30 billion mark for the first time in 2 1/2 years. exports stood at about $175 billion in july. that's up 20.4% from a year

earlier. imports rose 22.9%, to around $143.6 billion. despite the strong figures, the chinese government is increasingly concerned over the dim economic outlook for the united states and europe. both are china's main export markets. nasa says the powerful tsunami that ravaged japan's northeastern coast in march also had an impact thousands of kilometers away from this country. the u.s. space agency says for the first time ever, observations show the big waves broke off chunks of an iceberg in antarctica. nasa says it observed the breaks from the sulzberger ice shelf in images shot from two satellites in the days following the earthquake and tsunami. the area is about 13,000 kilometers away from japan. pictures from march 16th show 125 square kilometers of new icebergs floating at sea.

nasa says the waves that reached antarctica were only 30 centimeters high at most but they likely affected the ice shelf because they hit many times. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi cries, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." china is testing out the latest piece of hardware in its growing military apparatus. its newly refurbished aircraft carrier has left on a trial voyage. the former soviet union built the varyag and china bought it from ukraine 13 years ago.

china's state-run xinhua news agency says the navy carrier left the northeastern port of dailan on wednesday. it says the sea trial will be short and that the carrier will undergo further rebuilding and testing after returning to port. china says the vessel will be used for research and training. last month a chinese defense ministry spokesperson said the country has a long coastline and broad marine areas under its jurisdiction and that the military has an obligation to protect the country's sovereignty and maritime interests. china is reportedly planning on building other aircraft carriers on its own. observers say the chinese military is increasing its ocean going capable to secure its maritime interests and sea lanes. japan's secretary yukio edano said wednesday he's closely watching the refurbished carrier's trial voyage. >> translator: i think japan is not the only country to take a keen interest in china's naval buildup.

southeast asian countries are watching as well. japan will work with those countries to seek higher transparency from china. british prime minister david cameron convened a second emergency cabinet meeting on wednesday to discuss ways to end the unrest in his country. it comes on the heels of four days of rioting in the u.k. on tuesday night no major disturbances were reported in london where security has been bolstered. but shops were attacked and cars set alight in the northern city of manchester in the country's second largest city birmingham. the rioters are mostly young people dissatisfied with government austerity measures and high unemployment. they're believed to be contacting each other through mobile phones and social networking sites to target areas with low security. the rioting began in london on saturday after a protest rally against a fatal police shooting

of a 29-year-old man turned violent. the independent police commission said on tuesday there was no evidence that the man fired at officers before he was killed, triggering fresh public criticism of the police. up next, the extended world weather forecast.

and that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye. ♪ this is the taroko express.

it's taiwan railway's newest train. 24-year-old hsu jui-ting is a conductor on the train. she always smiles brightly at the passengers. a 2008 college graduate, jui-ting has just started her career as a conductor.

we'll follow a new female conductor who has dedicated her heart to the railroad. with a population of 2.6 million, taipei is taiwan's largest city. taipei station is a railroad nexus. since it has a 120-year history, taiwan railways is a major transportation artery people rely on for their daily lives. but now the country's transport industry has entered an era of fierce competition. in january 2007, rival taiwan high speed rail began operating

a super express train. it can travel the 350 kilometers between taipei and kaohsiung in only one and a half hours. to compete, taiwan railways introduced its latest train, the taroko express, in may of the same way. the taroko is modelled on the 885 series of japan's kyushu railway. it travels the 200 kilometers between the taipei suburb of tsulin and the east coast town in two hours. taiwan's railway has employed young female conductors to enhance its image. they provide attentive service as only women can.

this is taiwan railway's new strategy. here is our heroin, hsu jui-ting. after graduating college, jui-ting passed a railway exam with a 1 in 50 acceptance rate. she was hired as an executive candidate, a future leader of taiwan railways. today, jui-ting works on a taroko added to the schedule. she waits for the train at a relay station. the train is pulling in. she will be on duty for its

six-hour round trip run. she exchanges information with her predecessor. a restroom seems out of order. she first confirms the departure and arrival times. making a train run on schedule is the conductor's most important job. after confirming the schedule she checks the restroom in each car. jui-ting is a little too eager. the room is still occupied.

she makes sure the faucets run properly. as the train's only conductor, she has to attend to 380 passengers when the eight car taroko is full.

the taroko express is a tilting train. it tilts hard when rounding a curve, so as not to lose speed. on a curve, the train shakes so hard from side to side that passengers can hardly stand. conductors have to keep working despite the shaking. they need to be tough. all seats are reserved to ensure passenger safety. jui-ting has found a passenger standing. jui-ting asks her to sit because of the danger.

this man missed a previous express and has taken this train instead. the taroko is taiwan's only tilting train. jui-ting is responsible for her passenger's safety. she has a good reputation.

passengers often take her photo. >> translator: she looks like a pop star. >> she's so popular that some passengers come especially to see her. since childhood, jui-ting has traveled around taiwan with her family by rail. she liked trains, but never imagined she would work for a railroad. a media major in college, she wanted to work in the tv or newspaper business.

but she couldn't find a job after graduation due to a financial crisis. on her father's advice, she applied to taiwan railways. with much so learn as a novice conductor, jui-ting studies railway law on the job.

jui-ting, thank you for your hard work. at 9:00 p.m., jui-ting returns to tsulin station after her shift ends. she has some business to finish at the marshaling yard office. she gives her daily report and hands over the money she received checking tickets.

when she works late, she can't return home. once every five days, she stays in a night duty room. jui-ting works by rotation, the same as her male co-workers. she says she can rarely meet her friends.

once a male dominated company, taiwan railways is now trying to increase its female staff. conductors were mainly men. one year has passed since jui-ting joined the company. many things still perplex her. after finishing work, she returns home. surprisingly, her father and grandfather are both railroad men. her father is still on the

active list. both men always tell her to put her heart into caring for her passengers. even at home, she can't forget about work.

the next morning jui-ting busily prepares for departure. today, she starts work from a marshaling yard near her departure station. jui-ting checks tickets as usual. she treats each passenger politely.

a passenger needs assistance. she wants to take him safely to his destination. she writes what she has to tell the destination station.

she says she will come again. jui-ting is trying to contact the station, but it's difficult to hear because of interference. she's worried whether her colleague got her message. in just ten minutes the train will arrive at the station. the train arrives at hualien

station, before she can make contact. she heads for the passenger's seat. he has gone, though she asked him to stay. there he is. what a relief. until the attendant comes, all she can do is stay with the man.

at last, the attendant comes. jui-ting sighs with relief. she has brought her passenger safely to the station. jui-ting seems to have gained a little confidence. serving passengers and taking them safely to their destinations is jui-ting's most important goal.