. glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's monday, february 25th. shinzo abe is preparing to name a man with connections as the next governor of the bank of japan. shirakawa will step down next month. and abe is considering haruhiko kuroda as successor. he developed connections around the world while serving as vice finance minister from 1999 to

2003. he moved to the adb two years later and is serving third term as president. he is a strong supporter of more monetary easing. abe has said the next governor should be willing to pump more money into the economy and be able to negotiate with leaders of other central banks. many traders welcome monetary easing. it weakens the home currency. ai, good morning. >> good morning, catherine. it also weakens the home currency and lengthens stock prices and that's usually good news. that's why market participants are so keen to find out who the next boj governor will be, and as catherine said, it looks like it will be chief haruhiko kuroda. ramin is at the tokyo stock

exchange. ramin, how are the governors responding to the news so far? >> we've already seen a bit of reaction in the currency markets, so why don't we go to that first and then i'll bring you the opening levels for the nikkei and the topix. you can see the dollar/yen clearly in the 94 levels, 94.22 to 24. traders are really betting japan's central bank will deliver further monetary easing under this new governor. now, the dollar has kept above those 94-yen levels. let's look at the euro/yen. 124.21 to 26. it's also higher but trading likely to be a little bit restrained until the full repercussions of the italian elections play out in the markets. they think italy may not pursue current policies. we shall see. that sentiment may be borne out by the weaker yen today. let's have a look at opening levels for this monday, february

25. 11,569, up 1.61% for the nikkei, the topix up 1.44%. we're also getting from the foreign markets and that is boosting sentiment here. we had some key earnings which helped out. among them, hewlett-packard which jumped out on friday. we'll watch out for the tech sector as well. also, markets in general took prime minister abe's u.s. visit in a positive slant as well. so that might be helping. now, there is a great deal of focus, of course, on his policies for boosting growth in japan known as abenomics, which has sent the nikkei up to highs we've seen so far. markets really want to know if this is sustainable, and investors really need to see more action. now, the naming of this new bank of japan governor may really aid a lot of that sentiment, we shall see. but a pretty positive opening here. ai, i will keep track of ku currencies as well as stocks. back to you. >> thank you, ramin.

the nik kerks i up 1.9%. ramin touched on it, but the japanese prime minister cleared one hurdle to free trade negotiations in talks last week with u.s. president barack obama. shinzo abe is now back in japan where he'll work on building support at home for the trans-pacific partnership. abe and obama issued a statement on friday after their first summit. they said universal tariff cuts are not a pre-condition for joining the negotiations. japanese opponents to the ttp had said the tariff issue was a major concern. abe will meet with other members of the ruling liberal democratic party during the day to discuss the tpp talks. he'll also sit down with the leader of coalition partner, new komeito. officials have said they'll leave the final decision to abe and his government. u.s. trade officials must decide to allow japan to join the tpp negotiations. abe will keep in touch with members of obama's

administration while awaiting the right time to announce his decision to the japanese public. quick look at what's happening on the global economic scene this week. the search for a new central bank governor is the big focus in japan, as you know. prime minister shinzo abe is set to propose his top candidate for opposition party's approval. and from italy on monday, we'll have early results of the general election. we'll know whether the italian people are ready to continue with the current reform and austerity measures. we'll also be getting october to december gdp numbers from three countries. a second reading of u.s. gdp will be out on thursday. initial figures show the u.s. economy contracted 0.1% from the preceding three months. india will release its data on the same day. its pace of annual growth has been held down to the 5% level now for three straight quarters. and brazil's gdp is out friday. between july and september, it expanded 0.6% from the previous

quarter. and the nik kerkei is up 1.. let's see how other asian markets are opening. south korea's new president park kunei will be inaugerated on monday and will deliver a speech to the nation. the focus is how she'll mention policies to deal with dramatic issues. park officially became south korea's president on midnight on monday.

the ringing of a bell in seoul marked oet fishl start of her presidency. her inauguration ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. local time. she will make a speech in front of about 70,000 people. park will show her determination to solve economic problems the country faces. close attention will be paid to mention of diplomatic issues with both japan and north korea. south korea's ties with japan have deteriorated because of a dispute of which nation has sovereignty of the islands. they are claimed by south korea but owned by japan. after the swearing-in ceremony, park will meet delegations from other countries, including one from japan's deputy prime minister aso. the people who have interests in japan have run into some financial trouble. they've been unable to pay their

debts so the court has decided to auction off their headquarters. the association of korean residents in japan owns this property in central tokyo. the 10-story building with two basement levels sits on more than 2,000 square metres of land. the tokyo district core put the value of the property at over $28 million. the court announced it will accept bids for a week in mid-march then announce the successful one at the end of the month. a collection agency wants to clear more than $600 million in bad loans. relatives of japanese citizens abducted by north korea will demand the japanese government make more of a diplomatic effort to solve the issue. the relatives held a meeting in tokyo on sunday. he heads a group of the relatives. he said the international community is focusing on tougher sanctions against north korea for its recent nuclear test. >> translator: the japanese government has to create an

environment in which the abduction issue is always put on the negotiating table so that it won't fall into owe oblivion. >> negotiations between the two countries have stalled since north korea's most recent rocket launch and nuclear test. this had led the relatives to think the return of their loved ones has become more difficult. they have agreed to demand the japanese government make every effort to solve this issue as soon as possible. a japanese director has made a documentary about the history of japanese americans. the production team will donate dvd copies of the film to high schools in japan and the united states. a preview of japanese-american history unknown was held in los angeles. it's a compilation of three movies directed by jiwo suzuki. he has lived in the u.s. for

more than ten years. the 40-minute film tells a story of how 120,000 japanese-americans were put in interment camps during world war ii. the documentary also shows how japanese-americans joined the military to prove their loyalty to the u.s. and fought in the war in europe. the production team will distribute dvd copies to about 1,500 high schools in japan and the u.s. [ applause ] >> i guess the director really got them to open up for the film, so it really tells a part of the history that you don't hear very often. so i really hope this does get into the school system. >> translator: i hope the movie will help people in both countries to learn about japanese-americans who suffered hardships. >> the number of new aids patients reported in japan last year declined. it's the first time in seven

years that the number dropped from previous years. officials at japan's health ministry say 445 new aids cases were reported across the country in 2012. that was 28 fewer cases than in the previous year which saw the highest record of new aids cases. the ministry spokesperson says 417 aids patients were male while 28 were female. the largest age group was comprised of 144 people in their 40s. the ministry also says 53% of the new patients were infected through homosexual contact and 24% through heterosexual contact. 158 people were said to be infected with the aids virus but did not show symptoms. that is 52 fewer people than 2011. the health ministry is urging people to undergo health testing and to take preventative

measures. people in most parts of the u.s. who possess or smoke marijuana are breaking the law. but times are changing. washington state and colorado legalized possession for recreational use two months ago. now people in those states can smoke pot without fear of punishment. that's added to a debate that's raged across country for years. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the second floor of this washington state bar is open to smokers, including those who want to smoke pot. after the state legalized marijuana, the number of customers here increased by 30%. marijuana use has been spreading through american society for years. one survey shows that 29 million people over the age of 12 smoked marijuana more than once a year. some take it as a painkiller.

with their doctor's consent, people in 18 states and the district of columbia are allowed to smoke marijuana. some americans think that authorities could properly manage its use if they legalized it and imposed age restrictions on users. as financial problems in washington state grew worse, more people favored making the drug legal. state officials say they lost 12% of their actual. it's estimated that yearly 660 million to $825 million worth of marijuana are sold on the black market in washington state alone. state officials think we did

great marijuana sales, like they did in tobacco and alcohol, they'll see big jumps in revenue. >> one of the good things about it is there are significant amounts of revenue that comes in, and right now it's in a black market area. >> reporter: even so, many people strongly oppose to making pot legal. they believe users would be temtd to take stronger drugs. like this man was. he ended up mat i can. we built a facilitation unit in at 24. he took his first marijuana hit at the age of 15. he then experimented with different kinds of pills. he has been on probation. 14 other people here are receiving treatment for drug use. they all say that marijuana put

them on the road to where they are now. >> i regret using marijuana. i'm against it because i know that it's going to get a lot of people hooked on other drugs, and then, you know, they're going to downspiral. >> many parents and educators agree and they're mobilizing to oppose making pot legal. they're joined by local mpos stepping up their campaign against legalization. here they are trying to persuade high school students that easy access to pot will lead to serious problems. >> after a person does pot for a while, then the thrill isn't there as much so it goes to something stronger. >> it's really nice to know, like, the dangers and stuff about it and what you -- like,

how it affects you. >> opposition to marijuana legalization is picking up. as this debate rages on, it's forming lawmakers to wothink lo and hard about legalizing pot. nhk world, los angeles. it's been almost two years since the disaster in fukushima. the accideaccident at the daich power plant had many questioning nuclear safety. it also led to another complex issue, how to dispose of nuclear waste. the fukushima plant suffered a string of meltdowns in hydrogen

explosions. workers struggled to keep reactors school after the tsunami knocked out the electricity supply. but that wasn't the only problem. right next to the reactors are pools that store spent nuclear pool. the pool started to cool down. they had to pump it out so it didn't create a more serious situation: meltdown of the rods. they are the by-product of half a century of a the atomic generation. and it. japan has 17,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel that needs to be disposed. nhk world has been covering nuclear energy issues. he says developing suitable technology is not the only

challenge. >> japan's original plan was to recycle nuclear fuel, but technical problems have led the project to a standstill. the processing plant has never gone into operation. nuclear waste is a target for tens and thousands over the year. keeping spent here is a huge challenge. one idea is to bury the waste. it has to have many other countries. they say they have the technology to do this safely. japan's plan for underground barrier has been on the drawing board for more than a decade.

it would start by separating the waste into citiness. the citiness 1.1 centimeters high and 3 inches in diameter will be encased in concrete. the. they will be matt. he's the size of about 200 soccer stadiums. the problem is where to bury it. local authorities would have to give their permission. efforts to find a site began in the year 2000. the government had hoped stronger incentive. it is referred. up to 2 billion yen in

south-southeast, too many every 11 years, after launching the bid lg protsz -- process. it's asymmetry in many other parts of the world. only two have decided where to build long-term disposal site. finland and sweden. the united states has the largest number of reactors. so. but it won't be implemented 45 years from now. finding a place to safely store

nuclear waste was never going to be easy. the accident at fukushima has made it that much harder. this issue goes we i don't understand japan should. this country and others withie norm under the circumstances will have to deal with many amounts of waste and will have to in years to come. people in northeastern japan are reminded daily of what they lost on march 11, 2011. the earthquake and tsunami took away loved ones, homes, entire communities. survivors are moving a -- at the damaged nuclear plant and all along the pacific coast. "newsline" will bring you their

important story two years later. the world's oldest marathon runner ran his last race on sunday at the age of 101. val ja sing is a british runner who began his career at the age of 89. he took over the sport because of depression of his family members. he finished a 42-kilometre course when he was there. he said secrets to a long life are running kilometres and drinking tea. he finished in 108 minutes and 20 seconds. see the crowd when he went over the finish line. he said he'll remember the daf

his final run. he said although he's still in good health, he managed to retire because of his advanced age. the sun is out in knot. it's chilly and sunny here in tokyo, so runners enjoyed the tokyo marathon on their clear skies. unfortunately, people in the northwest are not experiencing popular old. snow fall depth has reached 532 centimetres. for this location, as i mentioned, heavy snow is like to continue this throughout the day. out toward the west, another area of heavy snow. it could be found across.

snow across southern china. this one will intensify and then hit toward the east, so western japan will be impacted by this rain on tuesday. here is your highs on east asia. only 1 degree for beijing, about 11 degrees on saturday, so a sharp drop on your monday. so what? 60 degrees and another chilly day for us in tokyo, about 80 degrees. on 15 degrees i'll fimly get a chance for the taste of spring in milgd. hagt clause over the northwest, and couple of these disturbances over the eastern seaboard. i want to show you a situation coming out of new south wales first. on sunday morning, winds reach

up, uprooting houses. emergency crews received more than 1,000 calls for help throughout the greater sydney region. electricity to 10,000 homes was cut off. the peak of heavy rain is over but light showers will continue across the eastern seaboard for the next couple days, so the risk of flooding will get even higher. to the north, more of concern is this location. this is tropical sumurasty. it could become a 3 or 4 when it reaches your west coast monday. winds and strong winds are going to affect this location within the next couple of days. rainfall total could be huge, more than 300 millimeters likely across some locations, surely enough to cause flooding and landslides. because it has been moving at a slow pace, the projected path could change so we'll keep you posted on the storm's progress. finally, north america, blizzard

conditions are happening across the four corners region. this system will head towards the east. meanwhile, severe weather is happening across the deep south region. this is going to be an ongoing story into your tuesday, at least. and out toward the west, snow showers for the northwest. the cascades may be seeing an additional 50 centimetres of snow into the next 24 hours. here's a high of 21 degrees for houston but very chilly up toward the north. only 5 degrees in oklahoma city. minus 2 in winnipeg. it will go up to 2 degrees on tuesday. here's your extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you for joining us.