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tv   Newsline  PBS  September 30, 2010 6:00pm-6:30pm PST

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hello. glad you could join us on this edition of newsline. a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. massive demonstrations by police led to the closures of hi at an international airport. police officers held rallies in ecuador's capitol, the largest
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city and elsewhere to protest the passage of a law that cuts bonuses for police and members of the military. the demonstrations prompted the closures of businesses and most schools in the city. the president was reportedly hospitalized from the effects of tear gas after attempting to speak at a police barracks. the state of emergency puts the military in charge of security. no one has been killed so far. the government is urging the public to remain calm. it's trying to appease protesters by arguing that police pay has improved significantly. china has reacted sharply. on thursday chinese commerce spokesperson said they are attributed the deficit to the unjustifiably weak, while many
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asian economies relish in trade surpluses. in june china let them fluctuate again, virtually pegging the currency to the u.s. dollar at an undervalued rate. the mood came amid criticism that china is intentionally k k it week. however, it's been held within a range of around 2%. chinese premier wen jiabao says china will not seek hegemony or domination. the remark comes over international concern over china's hard-line diplomatic moves. wen spoke before international ambassadors and diplomats in a ceremony on thursday, the eve of china's national day. his statement comes amid growing tension between japan and china following ship collisions near
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the senkaku islands. in the east china sea. the islands are administered by japan but claimed by china and taiwan. tension also remains between china and southeast asian nations over other disputed islands in the south china sea. wen has recently said china will not compromise when it comes to sovereignty and territorial integrity. wen's latest remark appears to be intended to allay growing concerns that china represents a threat. now the country, china, has the three say they mistakenly entered without realizing it. a fourth man is still being held. on september 20th, chinese authorities detained the four men on suspicion of entering a military district without permission and videotaping military facilities. the four are employees of the fujitake construction company in
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shanghai. of the four that were released, two were on a business trip from the head office in japan, and another works for the company's subsidiary. takehashi is still being detained. they were visiting to conduct a preliminary inspection related to the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons which were left behind by the japanese army during world war ii. after being released, the three men arrived in shanghai late on thursday and met with japan's consul general in shanghai for nearly two hours. they told the diplomat that they had not hired a guide and were conducting a survey and videotaping the area by asking directions from local people. they said they entered the military controlled district by mistake because they saw no sign
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boards and then they were stopped by a chinese official. the three also issued a statement in which they said they are worried about takehashi and hope for his immediate release. russia has rejected japan's request that dmitry medvedev, the president, not visit russian-held islands claimed by japan. medvedev gave up visiting the islands this week during his trip to the kamchatka peninsula. he said the local weather was not good for flying. however he promised to visit the islands in the near future and called them a very important region in russia. speaking to reporters on thursday, japan's ambassador to russia, masaharu kono asked him to cancel his visit. however, russian foreign ministry spokesperson andrei nesterenko said russia cannot
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accept the japanese request. the spokesperson said the islands are russian territory as a legal reality, resulting from world war ii. chinese premier wen jiabao says china will not seek hegemony. domination. a series of landslides caused by heavy rain have killed at least 23 people in southern mexico. the latest occurred in a mountainous village killing an el elderly couple. on tuesday a landslide buried houses in another part of the state. landslides on tuesday left three people dead and six people are missing.
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the government is calling on agencies to take all possible rescue and relief measures in affected areas. cigarette prices in japan are going up significantly due to a higher tax starting on friday, october 1st. the new tax increased the price of a cigarette by 3.5 yen or around four cents. major cigarette maker japan tobacco raised the price of a pack by about $1.20 to $1.70. for example, the price of a popular brand, mild 7, rose from about $3.60 to $4. that's $4.90 a pack. many smokers rushed to buy cigarettes in september, pushing up tobacco sales sharply. but japan tobacco expects demand to decline 25% for the year from october, compared with the same period last year. convenience stores are offering discounts on tobacco and also putting up more gum and candy products on their shelves for
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people trying to quit smoking, now that tobacco prices have gone up. now to the latest in business news. according to the finance ministry, funds used for the currency action in the month of september 28th came to about $25.5 billion. this was the first intervention in six and a half years. japanese authorities bought collars and sold yen on september 15th. but the amount for the single day was not made public. we have a number of economic indicato indicators. consumer prices dropped 1% from a year earlier. these prices exclude volatile fresh food which fell for 18 months in a row. the government introdpused fre -- introduced free tuition
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to private high schools. meanwhile, household spending in august grew from a year earlier. the internal affairs ministry announced on friday that households of two or more people spend an average of just over $3,500. meanwhile, income average nearly $3,900, which is up 2.7% from a year earlier. the internal affairs ministry said on friday the seasonally adjusted jobless rate improved by 0.1% from july. the number of unemployed stood at 3.37 million. looking now at the number of people with jobs, they amount it
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to nearly 63 million. that's also down from a year earlier by a smaller margin of 180,000. the labor ministry said job availability improved for a fourth straight month. 54 jobs were available for every 100 seekers. and new home building for august rose from a year ago for a third straight month. the land and infrastructure ministry says housing starts in august increased to 71,900. that's up 20% from last year when an all time low for p month was shown. this year's figure is the fourth largest on record. the construction of owner occupied houses for sale rose by 0%. lower interest rates on home mortgages helps the housing market but warns the sluggish trend may continue.
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the market gained some of its lost ground as players picked up all the sold stocks. to currencieses. the dollar is moving within a tight range. participants are refraining. the japanese authorities. the market direction is the last by japanese exporters. it has run its course. 46 to 50 while the euro's trading at 13095 to # 9. this is for the japanese government bonn. >> the international monetary fund said making big cuts in
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spending will slow growth in the short-term. the imf released a report on the effects of fiscal reconstruction in advanced economies including japan and the u.s. it says after two years it tends to push down by about half a percent. the deficit reduction also increases the jobless rate by a third of a percent. the report adds it to bring benefits of the longer term. the imf has repeatedly recommended developed nations to reduce their fiscal deficits. the latest report is seen as an attempt to show the effects of fiscal reconstruction and possible measures to deal with now to south korea's. the market has been expending fast, posting an average 10% growth since 2004. it shows how the population has
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used e-learning. >> a government sponsored exhibition called e-learning week was held last week. nearly 100 businesses participate in this. 30% of the participants were foreign companies. it was showcasing a wild range of tools using state of the art e-learning technologies. in the spotlight was called e-training. a system that provides a futuristic virtual classroom experience. this government-led project represents various cutting edge technologies. so the whole content of this magazine is right here inside this smart phone. you can click on one of those
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menus and read it through. elearning applications for smart phones were introduced. they are working to develop handsets in the increasingly popular field. >> translator: i thought e-learning was technically way beyond me. i found it easy to use, even on a mobile phone. it's very useful. >> i was surprised the content served more purposes now and are available on various devices. exports of electronish kitchen desks and blackboards are growing especially fast. the country's technology can produce a video clip and provide it online by using a camera, a microphone and editing equipment in the classroom.
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a japanese buyer visited the country to find out what an electronic desk can do and how the use it. some can provide them online for those who live in remote areas. that also causes timed legs. but this company says it can have a lecture for uploading simultaneously. >> translator: south korea has been actively using i.t. in education. we have to do the same in japan. >> they have been used by more than 120 universities in south korea. they've also been exported to other asian countries like china, singapore, taiwan and indonesia as well as mideast
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countries including saudi arabia. >> we are planning to promote e-learning through our products. >> i'm happy! >> the south korean government is testing more on e-learning system in elementary schools. in this the camera is connected to a classroom tla sends out feedback. the the teacher gives true or false questions on the electronic blackboard. the students a pressing the buttons on a gadget called finger pc. the results come out automatically. science class use augmented reality technology to produce 3d images on electronic blackbards
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and teach iing. >> this system provides images to enable students to understand complicated experiments or difficult words. it helps them to do better in school. >> the market is expected to increase 80% over the next three years. south korean government is spending $5.4 million this year to set other steps in motion to build up the industry in a driving force for exports. and here's a recap of the latest market figures.
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that's all for now in business news. in japan these days, more elderly people spend their final days in nursing homes instead of hospitals. nearly 50,000 people passed away in nursing homes last year. the number is more than double what it was ten years ago. next we'll see the increasing
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number of deaths puts caregivers under a great deal of emotional stress. >> reporter: 100 residents receive care at this special nursing home in tokyo. most have dementia. their average age is 87. every year, the home provides end of life care for the ten or so residents who are into their final days. this is one of the caregivers. >> translator: i used to shake them and say wake up when they looked like they might die. it is very difficult to be surrounded by people who may die at any moment. yes, it's very difficult. at first, i hoped it wouldn't
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happen during my shift. >> reporter: in august, while 99-year-old yaiko was under her care, she passed away. her son and daughter-in-law are in their 70s. when they could no longer look after the elderly woman at home, they brought her to the nursing home. >> translator: the end of life care was just what we wanted. so we asked the facility to take care of my mother. >> reporter: the family did not want her to be hooked up to tubes or a life support system so they managed to feed her by placing food in her mouth. she was fed a breakfast of bread and jam soaked in milk.
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she liked it and her caregiver thought about giving her the same meal three times a day, but before she was able to do that, yaiko passed away. her caregiver felt guilty. >> translator: i keep thinking about how i could have done this or that for her. this job requires loving devotion. >> reporter: a week after yaiko passed away, she visits the family. she wants to know if they are satisfied with the care she provided for their mother. >> translator: it was quiet and
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peaceful, an ideal way for her to die. we're so grateful to all of you. >> reporter: she says that the family's words made her feel better. just the same, she still finds it difficult to provide end of life care for the residents. >> translator: there's no right way. we are never sure if we can provide the care the residents want. i will never get used to it. >> the nursing home offers monthly support meetings for its caregivers. as more residents pass away, the facility tries to reduce the caregivers' emotional burden. as japan's aging population grows, more nursing homes are expected to provide end of life care.
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welcome back to your world weather update now. clear skies are moving across japan today, as that rain band pulls away. we are expecting some welcome sunshine today, to help push up those temperatures. equally sunny is going to be the korean peninsula. eastern china at least for this morning, there is a lot of rain gathering in inland areas that will head eastward, really start spreading across central sections as well as the northeast here, so it could turn a lot wetter in towards the evening today. down towards the southeast, philippines and then across indochina peninsula, tropical showers, thunder showers continuing, especially across vietnam, we're seeing a couple pink areas showing up, so heavier amounts of rain could be headed your way. as for highs on friday, 21 in beijing, 23 for seoul, 24 degrees in tokyo. should be quite nice and warm with that sunshine. 24 also in shanghai. definitely a much hotter picture towards the south. manila at 32 degrees. over towards the americas, it's still very calm and settled picture for a lot of western canada.
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the majority of the united states and even towards northern mexico. high pressure still the in t too much going on here, but t going to be e s, as well as shifng ltlatnow, picking up 58 e
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