welcome to "newsline." it is wednesday, october 19th. 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. japan's prime minister noda is visiting south korea and will meet his counterpart in the capitol of seoul wednesday. >> translator: i want to have thorough discussions on future oriented japan, south korea

ties, including an economic partnership agreement. >> noda will likely urge south korea to resume negotiations for an economic partnership agreement. the proposed free trade pact has been suspended for seven years. he will also discuss how the two countries and the united states can resolve north korea's nuclear program and issues. noda is expected to hand over a set of ancient korean books, with royal protocol that have been kept in japan. it is believed he will invite lee to japan in a bid to continue the high level talks between the nations. decontamination work has begun on residential buildings in fukushima city tuesday. the cities is about 60 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant. high levels of radiation have been found in different parts of

the city. the decontamination work began tuesday. radiation levels there are relatively high. a team of professionals used power washers to clean rooftops and rain gutters. they also removed trees and topsoil from gardens. >> translator: i am hoping the radiation level will go down, but i think they should have started decontamination work earlier. >> fukushima city's ultimate goal is to decontaminate 110,000 residences, public facilities, and roads near schools in the next two years. authorities plan to ask residents and volunteers to help clean up areas where radiation levels are not too high. >> translator: things have finally started, but there are so many hurdles ahead. i think it will be a long battle. >> some of those hurdles include

securing the necessary man power and finding space to store radioactive waste. vietnam had a tsunami drill tuesday on the coastline facing the south china sea. it is a sign of how this year's disaster in japan has made ocean facing communities everywhere more alert. dao van hung has more. >> reporter: we never experienced a tsunami before, but what happened in japan was the worst tsunami evacuation drill. more than 5,000 people took part in the drill. many of them live near the coast. after a tsunami siren sounds, they follow directions from the police and evacuate on foot to higher ground and taller

buildings. rescue workers conduct search operations for the missing. troops and firefighters rescue people trapped in boats and cars. they worked out ways to cooperate with doctors. >> translator: it was horrible to see media reports about the damage done by the march tsunami in japan. i'll useless ons from this drill to flee safely if a tsunami comes. >> i think we'll make sufficient preparations thanks to this drill. we'll be able to evacuate residents swiftly, in case of a tsunami. >> a u.n. report released showed

a magnitude 8.6 was to strike the coast of the philippines, vietnam could be hit by a tsunami measuring three to ten meters high. "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 crisis. and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." the strength of the yen is having a serious impact on japan's export industries, and textile companies are struggling to come beat in the global marketplace. one company sees innovation as

the key to its survival by developing new technologies and searching out new markets. here is more on that. >> reporter: i am in sakai city. this city is famous for its textiles. the town has been a center of the industry for 150 years, and still plays a major role in japan's textile industry. for over a century, they have been manufacturing silk fabrics. the only way is to develop unique product that inspire fashion designers overseas. this high tech room required ten years of development. it can weave an image into fabric and reproduce any details picture accurately.

the new technology has caught the eye of designers that create world renowned fashions. also invented an original fabric that blends silk and will retain whatever shape it is given. this generated interest from an italian fashion house. during the last ten years, they made over 1,000 original items. sales increased six fold with over half originating overseas. >> the point is whether one can make something original or not. if we produce a unique fabric that no one else can make, we can compete. >> however, securing customers has become increasingly difficult in the face of the

yen. to reduce costs, they dropped the middleman agency and set out to show case its product directly at international trade fairs. it also developed a more reasonably priced product line to satisfy customers looking for cheaper prices but the same look at silk. down below is silk, above is polyester. cheaper polyester caught the interest of a european company. this month a major u.s. fashion house contacted him to place a very large order. but the united states is a difficult market where tough price negotiations are common. he has not found a way to meet their price yet, and is negotiating with suppliers to

reduce costs. >> translator: there is a limit to cost production without shifting production overseas. we have to develop a unique fabric that firms abroad will buy, even when the price is higher than other countries. >> the japanese textile industry is now at a cross roads to overcome a strong currency, it must compete on the world stage using a combination of fresh technology and readiness to depart from tradition. it is the story of an established company in search of new business model that will ensure its survival in difficult economic times. >> earlier we spoke with a reporter that filed that story about the impact the strong yen is having on japanese manufacturers.

>> what impact is the strong yen having on japanese industry as a whole? >> the rise of the yen is causing the industry to -- companies are moving to overseas where markets are bigger and costs are lower. in august, nhk surveyed 100 major japanese firms. 98 responded. nearly 30% said they have moved or were planning to move overseas or were interested in the option. about 80% manufacturers. the textile industry which i covered has also seen that major firms outsource production. this is dealing a blow to smaller firms as leading textile makers relocate overseas. small japanese suppliers are struggling. a town that thrived on the textile business is now worried about its future. >> what's going to happen to those small japanese companies?

>> compared to large companies, small firms canned do the work overseas because of the money and connections. and this leads to bankruptcy. a private research institute said that between january and august when the yen was a record high, 34 domestic firms went under because of the rising yen, up 21% from the same period last year. >> what do you think is a solution to stop that in japan? >> japan is built on manufacturing. there are things only japan can make in small towns of small shops and craftsmen. we have to find those traditions that define the japanese brand as there's much interest in europe where countries like italy successfully protected their luxury textile.

in covering this story, i learn the only way for japanese maker to survive is to identify what attracts the customers to their product, preserve it, and effectively market it to the world. a japanese anti-nuclear organization marked the 55th anniversary of its founding. the members have renewed their determination to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons. japan con federation of a and h bomb survivors, sufficienterers met. the average age is 77 they began by praying for the victims of the atomic bombings in 1945. second and third generation descendants of survivors also took part in the meeting.

one who is 31 spent ten years making a documentary about his late grandfather's campaign to seek recognition for them. it will be shown at a film festival next month. his grandfather died last year. >> translator: my grandfather and his friends have taken action against nuclear weapons. i hoped the film conveys their fighting. >> the group adopted a communique which stated it will continue to inform people about nuclear disarmament and how nuclear weapons created hellish experiences. internet bank fraud is becoming a serious problem throughout the world.

incidences peaked. losses reached $3.5 million this year. this is the highest ever in a single year. national police agency confirmed that 53 banks were victims of liposucti online attacks. user accounts have exceeded 46 million and the number continues to grow. >> translator: it is very convenient. i can transfer money any time. >> i was told to change my password, but i haven't followed that advice. >> a hacker steals the id and password of a bank account holder by using a virus to infiltrate the personal computer. a computer virus is often attached to e-mails disguised as a letter from the bank. if a user accesses the web page of the bank and inputs an id and password on the infected computer, numbers and letters go straight to the hacker.

the perpetrator can then transfer money to another account and withdraw it. the spyware attached computers in japan six years ago of the later it spread in europe and the united states. the expert says japan became a target again this spring. >> translator: the spyware has been floating around outside japan, but recently it may have been configured to attack japanese banks. >> one of the most effective defenses against such cyber attacks is to use a one time password. some banks lisa device called a security token that renews a password every minute. even if the password is stolen, it will become invalid a minute later, making it impossible for hackers to access the bank. >> the user needs to take appropriate anti-virus measures. if you think something is suspicious, you should immediately call the bank to

make sure about it. a unique concert was held in western japan tuesday in kyoto. the sleep concert, aimed to help people fall asleep by listening to relaxing music. the japanese society of sleep research organized the event to raise public interest in sleep. 24 people in the audience were connected to a monitor that keeps track of brain waves to check if a person is asleep. ♪ whenever 10% fell asleep, a sheep icon appeared on the screen in the hall. the eighth sheep appeared indicating that 80% of the test takers were asleep. >> i slept very well.

>> it's very interesting. >> we held this concert to let people know that sleep can be measured. we hope they can learn more about sleep as we spend one-third of our lives in this state. >> the research group says people with sleeping disorders can use the brain wave reading machine to help doctors diagnose their medical problems. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton made an unannounced visit to the libyan capitol tripoli tuesday. she congratulated the people on their uprising against the government of moammar gadhafi. it was clinton's first trip since the collapse of gadhafi's government. she met with the leader of libya's national transitional council. after the meeting, she told reporters that the u.s. government will offer about $11 million in additional aid.

the aid men will be used to treat wounded soldiers from the civil war and also go towards a search for stolen surface to air missiles. >> people must renounce violence, they must give up arms, they must be committed to a democracy that respects the rights of all, and then of course you have an inclusive democracy that includes people, but they must be committed to the goals of a true democracy. >> the national transitional counsel said they secured control of certain parts. these were the last strongholds held by gadhafi loyalists. his whereabouts remain unknown. a pro visional government yet to be established. clinton apparently wanted to show that the u.s. government fully supports the new libya. she encouraged libyans to in

august rate a new administration as soon as possible. islamic fundamentalist group hamas freed an israeli soldier after five years of captivity in exchange for more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners. giladshalit was abducted near the border in 2006. shalit was abducted near the border in 2006. they ld freed 477 prisoners. a second group to be released in two months. thousands of leaders and supporters cheered and fired celebrator gunshots when the prisoners arrived at the gaza strip on buses. there had been opposition in israel to the release of the prisoners. some of them were freed and however were responsible for terrorist attacks. but the swap was prompted by strong demand from the israeli public to security shalit's

release. military service is come pulse refor all citizens in israel. the deal is not likely to help the stalled middle east peace talks. hamas says it will continue its policy of armed struggle against israel. china's communist party has adopted a guideline to use the country's culture as a way to boost its soft power. the party ended a four day central committee meeting in beijing tuesday. it is held once a year to discuss key policies and personnel matters. the communist party of china issued a statement saying culture is emerging as an important part of china's comprehensive competitiveness in today's world. they feel the urgency of enhancing soft power and international influence of its culture. the party apparently hopes to counter the view that china is becoming a major global threat with its rapid economic growth and increasing military power.

it also decided to appoint vice president as a successor to the president during the national congress of the communist party in the second half of 2012. the congress is held every five years. the party also confirmed that new methods to control society must be strengthened to maintain social harmony and stability in aparpt attempt to reign in domestic public opinion before the leadership change next year. and now let's look at the market figures.

time to look at the global weather forecast. hello, welcome to your weather update. let's start with east asia. a high pressure system is keeping things dry and settled across much of china, mongolia and the korean peninsula. lots of sunshine for you. light to moderate rain will linger across inland china. meanwhile, strong northeasterly winds are creating thundershowers across the southern indochina peninsula and a separate system will continue to dump heavy rain on bangladesh, northeastern china as well as northeastern india and northern myanmar the next couple of days. as for japan, it is mostly dry, but the pacific side will see more cloud cover as the day goes on. temperatures looking like this.

we are expecting 19 degrees in tokyo and the same in seoul. 28 in hong kong. heading to the americas, it is mostly dry in the west, but very stormy in the east. a couple of low pressure systems are dropping heavy rain across much of the southeastern corner of the u.s. as well as the mid-atlantic region. risks of severe thunderstorms, large hail and damaging winds will continue throughout tonight here. we had toerpd watches in effect across the southern parts of the florida peninsula. the stormy conditions move northward and reach the northeast states in the next 24 hours. meanwhile, light showers are lingering across ontario and quebec but that should ease wednesday. it is mostly dry and settled in the central and western parts of the u.s. and canada. british columbia will see rain

due to a low pressure system and that will move inland wednesday. temperatures looking like this. hot conditions eased in l.a., 24 degrees and 22 in houston, 17 in oklahoma city. the northeastern states are on the mild side. 19 degrees in new york and 12 in d.c., dropping to 13 degrees in atlanta. finally let's go to europe. a couple of low pressure systems are dropping heavy rain across much of scandinavian peninsula. wet conditions will likely continue throughout the day on wednesday. and the associated front is stretching from the baltic states through germany and into france. you're seeing wet and windy conditions along the front. rain will move southward and reach this area, and today the alpine region will see the heaviest rain and you'll see heavy snow in the higher elevations. meanwhile, it is thundery and wet in and around the black sea but that should ease in the next

24 hours. temperatures are shaping up like this. the mediterranean countries are on the warmer side. 22 in rome and 24 in madrid, but dropping down to 12 in london and 13 in paris, and 12 in berlin. and it is going to be very sunny in moscow with only 6 degrees. here is your extended forecast.

states will soon feel a lot closer for people with money and means. a firm set up by richard branson, founder of virgin atlantic airways plans to launch a civilian spacecraft within a year. it unveiled the world's first commercial spaceport in a remote patch of desert in the western u.s. it includes a 3,000 meter long runway. alex starts off our coverage. >> a new era of space travel is beginning. virgin's new home is one step closer to the 2012 debut launch. virgin among other companies hopes to transform the concept of space, turning new mexico into the new home of private space flight and anyone into an astronaut. >> about 800 guests watched a

flyover by an aircraft at monday's ceremony. it will ferry a rocket carrying passengers to 16 kilometers. then the rocket itself will climb to more than 100 kilometers above earth. six passengers and two pilots will be on board. they will be able to experience weightlessness for five minutes in the two and a half hour flight. branson says the world's first commercial space trip will happen been a year. >> i would hope that 20 years from now children will be able to think i will be able to become an astronaut and they really will be able to afford to become an astronaut. it is up to us to bring the price to a level where they will be able to become astronauts. >> 450 people have applied to take a virgin galactic flight. tickets cost $200,000 each. a 69-year-old japanese man was invited to the opening ceremony.

>> translator: i hope i can travel to space soon. i want to see the earth while taking a spacewalk. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com