first greece, now italy. the european debt crisis has claimed another leader. hello, welcome to nhk "newsline". italian prime minister silvio berlusconi promised to resign after an economic reform bill has cleared parliament. the presidential office made the announcement tuesday.

president giorgio napolitano met berlusconi after the prime minister lost the parliamentary majority during a routine vote. the budget bill was passed when the coalition bill garnered 300 -- 308 votes but failed to gain a majority in the house. many lawmakers abstained from voting. berlusconi spokes at a station his family owns. berlusconi cited the severe condition of parliament and financial markets as reason for his resignation. he said record low prices for italian government bonds were not a factor behind his

decision. berlusconi said parliament is paralyzed and the only option after his resignation would be a general election. to see how developments of italy is effecting market sentiment, let's go to the business team. >> thanks a lot. we saw a different sort of response to the news. market reactions differed on reports italian prime minister silvio berlusconi will step down. they continued to sell italian bonds on the european market due to italy's lingering uncertainty. prices of bonds hitting new lows since introduction of the euro with the yield briefly leaping to 6.7% tuesday. that is close to the 7% threshold that forced ireland and portugal to seek international bailouts. in new york, share prices rose on expectations that berlusconi's departure will speed up italy's reforms. the dow-jones industrial average

gained 0.8% on the day to finish 12,170. market sources say the prime minister's announcement he is intending to quit eased concerns for european credit woes. they are keeping a wait and see stance on how italy delivers on its reforms. and to discuss the unfolding euro debt crisis, we are joined by dr. martin schultz, senior research fellow at the research institute. thanks for joining us. first of all, what do you make of berlusconi's intention to step down? >> the europeans are cleaning up their governments. the greek on the way out, and mr. berlusconi finally had to resign. this is a problem in the middle of a crisis, but it is a necessary step to get public support and getting their act together. >> what about the european bailout fund, european financial

stability facility. one trillion yen. what do you make of this? >> well, this is the number that fixates markets. the question is will it ever be enough. 1 trillion is impressive and i'm very optimistic that europeans will be able to come up with this huge sum. the question is when the crisis is getting even bigger, when risks get deeper, when we lose trust in the incoming new italian government, will this be enough? it will never be enough. the europeans are doing -- they're producing a leverage. when the crisis gets deeper, the target floats further, they need to assert the capital markets and talk to investors in japan, asia, in the u.s. so the key is trust. will the mechanism be stable enough. i think they will come up with something rather convincing by next month. >> and even though speaking of a potential investor china seems to be dragging its feet, you're

still optimistic. >> they put a lot of money on the table and the crisis is unfolding all the time. everybody is looking at everybody. when will it end. europeans think it is a deep crisis, think it takes time to solve. international investors say it is a deep crisis, so be fast. in the end, everybody will meet somewhere in the middle. europeans will be more convinced and investors will realize they can't live without europe so they will bail out europe in the end. >> what about contagion on everybody's mind. european debt crisis, contagion, italian benchmark yield is refreshing its highs. so with european and american banks who have large exposure to the bonds, if they have to recapitalize, it will have an effect on the world economy. what will be the impact on asian

economies, specifically east asia? >> we already feeling this crisis and we feel it more every month that the crisis is dragging on. the main problem here is not so much the direct impact of the financial crisis so far in asia. the japanese financial system is very stable. the chinese financial system is very controlled, so there is no direct risk as in the u.s. or in particular in europe. what we are feeling right now that is with this crisis, it is gradually getting deeper into recession. that hits exports in china, it effects the world economy, and hurts profits for japanese companies because everybody is looking for safe havens. we really don't know where the crisis is going. i would be optimistic, but we don't know. everybody is buying the japanese yen, exchange rate goes through the roof. it produces a big problem for japanese companies, so for next year, we're seeing strong impact

from this crisis, whatever, whichever direction it is going. >> speaking of next year then, what would be the key focus for being able to contain this crisis as much as possible? >> well, first of all, the rescue fund needs to be really in place and be convincing. i would be optimistic this is working. next step is the incoming european governments need to make sure that they will be able to protect and support their debts so that this crisis and these risks are getting out of the market. the last and final step and this is very important, the europeans need to recapitalize their banks. it happened in asia, it was basically one of the most important developments during the asian crisis. it was the key to solving the u.s. crisis, and it will be the key to solving the crisis in europe. first steps are done, we need to see more on this account. this will be the job of european governments next year. >> dr. schultz, thank you for

your insight. look forward to having you in the studio once again. that was dr. martin schultz, senior economist at the research institute joining us in the studio. now let's check on the tokyo markets to see how stocks are kicking off. we will go to ramin mellegard. >> they are pushing greece out of the way. they took some positives out of that. let's see how that is reflected in the nikkei and topix. you can see following through from what we saw on the dow, the nicki 8,734. up 78 points. it it was dragged lower yesterday buyer olympus and other holdings. olympus shares trade limit down dropped nearly 30% yesterday.

it was the most heavily traded stock dropping around 15%. now just to tell the viewers, knew more a serves as one of the primary underwriters for olympus, so it was dragged lower after olympus. we will track developments today. let's look at the currency levels as you kickoff stocks this wednesday morning. following on from developments in italy, euro got a slight boost there. still around mid 107 levels. door yen, 77 .70-73. yen gaining a touch there. earnings in japan, toyota had numbers yesterday saying they had operating loss from april to september period, and like many other japanese companies during this earnings period, declined to give outlook for the fiscal year ending march, 2012 because of flooding in thailand.

another company due out today is pioneer, which has also been heavily effected by flooding in thailand, also its factories having been effected, so we'll keep track of that. also, trend micro, the world's third biggest mobile, online, anti-virus company, and rakutan, japan's biggest online shopping mall operator. still earnings due out, but a lot of focus on developments in europe. we will see how that all effects stocks today. back to you. >> thanks, ramin. that's the latest from business. back to you. the leaders of olympus admitted on tuesday the company used massive payments connected with corporate buyouts to hide investment losses. the issue of olympus' dubious corporate takeovers has now become a question of whether the company engaged in illegal accounting. investigators from a third-party

panel found the practice began in the 1990s. olympus president, shuichi takayama, says he's sorry. >> translator: we apologize and report that we've found facts that are different from those we announced at the news conference on october 27th. >> the company has dismissed executive vice president hisashi mori for his involvement in concealing losses from securities investments. olympus president, takayama, says the company started investing in securities in the 1990s. that's when people in japan were dealing with the collapse of the country's bubble economy. >> translator: most japanese companies at the time were struggling with stagnant sales and declining profits. they decided to invest in securities to try to improve their bottom line.

it seems our company has been hiding its losses since that time. >> a large number of japanese firms ended up with huge investment losses in the 1990s. olympus is believed to have used shady accounting to cook its books. a former securities company official tells nhk it was no secret. >> the accounting practice involves the sale of money-losing securities to other companies at prices higher than market value. that makes a corporation's books look better than they actually are. it's just window dressing, though. the hidden losses are still there. olympus officials continued to conceal the problem for many years. >> translator: those who are responsible for the cover-up must have thought the losses were very big.

they must have thought putting them on the books would seriously harm the company. >> investigators with japan's securities and exchange surveillance commission believe olympus came up with the idea of a corporate acquisition as a way to write off its investment losses. olympus paid about $845 million in 2008 to the u.s. consulting firm axis and a related firm. it labeled the money as an advisory fee for the brokering of the $2.8 billion buyout of gyrus group, a surgical equipment maker. the payout was 30% of the total transaction. that's unusually high. normally an advisory fee amounts to a few percent of the purchase price. axiam was created in the cayman islands, a well-known tax haven. it was dissolved just three months after it received the payment from olympus. it's believed to have been a paper company. olympus also purchased three

japanese firms between 2006 and 2008. the companies were said to have annual sales of $8 million to $26 million. olympus bought them for a total of $940 million. it's believed olympus paid the disproportionately high purchase price to hide its outstanding securities investment losses. japanese prime minister noda plans to set specific dates for gradually raising the . the agenda for the summit is likely to include participation in talks on the tpp, designed to create a free trade block in the region.

obama is expected to convey his terms that the u.s. is determined to step up its involvement in the asia pacific region. the japanese government sources say noda is expected to convey his administration's position on whether japan will take part in the tpp talks. meanwhile, about 6,000 protesters held a rally in tokyo to oppose japan's participation in the tpp talks. agricultural co-op tiffs and other groups organized a rally tuesday. the ruling democratic party hopes to draft a proposal wednesday on whether japan should join talks for the tpp. >> i feel a sense of crisis that i never felt before over this issue. if japan ever joins the tpp, it will cause irreversible damage to regional economies, job security, stable food supplies, and the medical system.

>> more than 100 lawmakers took part in the rally. the politicians included members of the ruling democrats and opposition leader of democrats. zblt united states and eight other countries aim to reach an outline agreement on the tpp at the apec meeting. flood waters continue to seep into the thai capital. residents are trying their hardest to work at increasingly difficult circumstances. on tuesday, nhk saw the water rise overnight. water reached five kilometers from the city center. some residents with the head for

business are finding ways to make money. fearing passengers across the water is one way. this boat taxi is operated by a man that normally runs a motorcycle taxi. he is earning more than he did before. >> translator: it's different from my motorcycle taxi, now i earn more than $65 a day. we don't have many customers. >> rubber boots are selling well. they don't normally wear this footwear, but they're getting more popular as people are forced to wade in the flat waters. >> i think the flat water will only get deeper and it is dirty, so i definitely need rubber boots. >> along one of bangkok's canals, residents are trying to lead a normal life, but it is getting harder by the day. >> you can't fight the water. i'm trying to keep going, but

it's tough. >> since the disaster started in late july, the death toll who risen steadily to at least 527, and with hundreds of thousands, the crisis is still far from over. in south korea, a growing number of people are enjoying the single life so much, they're putting off marriage for longer time than previous generations. this graph shows the average age of south koreans that marry for the first time. right now, it is almost 32 for men, and close to 29 for women. compared to 20 years ago, both genders were getting married more than four years later. we have a report on this phenomena. >> a musical is attracting big

crowds in south korea. >> single woman close to 30 is near marriage. >> i sat through the play thinking i've been there. i was moved by every line she said. >> i identified with a lot of the things about marriage and life. >> as south korea's economy expands, women put careers ahead of marriage. 30 years ago, about half of south korea's households had five people or more. now single people makeup one quarter of all households. the number keeps rising. this 31-year-old lives on her

own in seoul. she translates at the international events. she left her job at the company and in may became self-employed. gradually, work has increased. some months she makes twice her former income. she has a boyfriend, but has no plans to get married yet. even after marriage, she wants to keep working and spending time on her own. but she feels pressure to be a traditional housewife, especially now that she passed her late 20s and all in the time honored married age. >> it is not that i plan to be single forever and never get married, i just don't want to do it until i know that being married will make me happier

than i am now. >> more businesses now target singles, like this new restaurant in the financial district. 28-year-old man owns it. he lives alone. it is found people that live on their own often eat out. sometimes they find it hard getting enough nutrition. its menu is full of healthy choices like fish and brown rice. he offers salad and fruit for a balanced diet. >> it's an easy place for dining alone. >> i like the restaurant because it's relaxing. >> translator: an increasing number of people want to enjoy their meals alone. i hope to open more restaurants

here to single people. >> the real estate market now offers apartments for singles. this company in seoul started selling condos for singles in august. 90% have been sold. >> it's an apartment for one person, so when you move in, you don't need a lot of furniture or electrical appliances. a lot of apartments are too big for one. >> singles in south korea say marriage is a changing society. hello, time for your weather update. let's start off with east asia. a high pressure system is

blanketing japan, bringing dry, crisp weather across most of the country. the exception is southern islands there are heavy thundershowers. we are expecting another 150 to 200 millimeters by thursday morning, so watch out for flooding and landslides. rain will spread by this afternoon. meanwhile, we have a tropical depression over the south china sea, and this one is bringing heavy rain across these provinces and much of taiwan we are talking about 150 millimeters in the next 24 hours. and this system is moving slowly, so rainfall could be significant over the next couple days. and high waves at seas are a concern as well along the coast of this area. for the inched oh china peninsula as the system moves eastward, things are dryer across vietnam, cambodia, thailand. that's good news.

temperatures, we expect 35 in bangkok, 33 in manila, with a chance of afternoon showers. tokyo highs drop into the teens with 17 degrees, and 15 in seoul. heading over to the americas then, we've got an active front moving across the mississippi value. under that system, heavy rain. weather can be found in the southern plains. you will see severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, as well as tornados into tonight. this system will gradually weaken and head to the deep south region on wednesday. for the upper mississippi valley, rain will strengthen and reach eastern canada in the next 24 hours. you'll see freezing rain as well as snow in southeastern ontario wednesday. on the other hand, a high pressure system builds in, bringing dry weather in the western half of the u.s. british columbia will see another round of mountain snow

as well as coastal rain. wednesday's highs as follows. we expect 10 degrees in vancouver, only 2 in winnipeg. the east coast looking at mild temperatures. 18 in new york and the same for washington, d.c. finally, let's go to europe. this low pressure system brought deadly floods and mud slides in the mediterranean, but things are easing for southern france and italy. the western balance cans are having severe thunderstorms the next couple days. meanwhile, rain is moving into the british isles and the iberian peninsula. you will see scattered thunderstorms as well. meanwhile, a system is dropping south and reaches northern turkey in the next 24 hours. you'll see snow. temperatures are shaping up like this. we are expecting one degree in moscow. you will see a mix of rain and snow. still warmer than average in london with 15 degrees, and 16

degrees in paris, remaining in the 20s in athens and rome. all right. that's it for now. here is the extended forecast. japanese children from disaster hit areas sang their hearts out in a concert to show thanks for international support offered to japan. ♪

more than 80 students performed in tokyo tuesday. they have been practicing for two months for the concert. professional musicians also performed. guests included about 124 ambassadors for japan. the foreign ministry says japan received donations and supplies from 126 countries and regions as of mid september. on top of that, more organizations september medical teams and personnel for search operations in disaster hit areas. for the final number, participants and japanese pop song. >> considering what they have been through, it's really emotional. >> we wanted to show our heart felt thanks to all those that supported us. i really enjoyed singing for

everybody. [ applause ] that concludes this edition of "newsline." on behalf of our team. on behalf of our team. thank you for staying with us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the first program incompetent this lineup explains japanese food in an easy to understand why. followed by that, a documentary on life in china today. and not to be missed, the great summit which visits spectacular mountains of the world. the typical traditional japanese

menu is a bowl of soup, a main dish, two side dishes and rice. a chef teaches us a quick, easy way to prepare this menu. the city in eastern china has a wholesale market visited by merchants from around the world. so many traders come from the mideast it is known as the arabian city. we reveal the new aspect of globalization in china. and the highest mountain in russia's cam chok a peninsula. we go to the active volcano. the program features magnificent aerial views in new zealand. you'll feel like