hello there. glad you could join us. welcome to another edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, october 5th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. japanese prime minister naoto kan and chinese premier wen jiabao have agreed to mend bilateral ties that deteriorated after a collision between a chinese trawler and japanese patrol vessels in the east china sea. kan told reporters that he had a half hour talk with wen on the sidelines of the asem summit in

brussels on monday. kan said he stated that the senkaku islands are an integral part of japan and that no territorial issue is present. wen reportedly reiterated his position. kan said that the two leaders agreed that the current situation is not favorable and that japan and china should work toward establishing a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship. he also said they agreed to hold high level talks between their governments and resume private sector exchanges that were canceled or postponed after the maritime incident. now in his statement, prime minister kan has emphasized the importance of international rules on trade and natural resources.

he said to deepen relations between asia and europe and ensure growth, it's important for the participants to abide by common international rules, including those governing trade and raw materials. he also said it's essential for countries and regions to build trust and lay the foundation for peace and stability. kan's remarks are apparently directed at china. the country effectively banned exports of rare earth minerals to japan after the maritime collision incident. the u.s. ambassador to the philippines says his country is willing to help formulate a code of conduct between china and asean countries concerning a territorial dispute in the south china sea. china, the philippines, three other countries and taiwan claim sovereignty over the spratly islands. asean members are working on a code of conduct to prevent clashes and pave the way for a peaceful resolution to the

dispute. harry thomas held a news conference in manila on monday. he urged china and asean members to start talks on the code. he said the united states seeks to assure stability and freedom of navigation in the region. >> when the asean develops its goals and objectives if they ask for our assistance on specific items we'll be happy to assist, if asked. >> china has taken a tough stance against japan over the maritime collision off the senkaku islands last month. it's also intensifying its military activities in the south china sea. the u.s. diplomat's remarks are seen as an apparent attempt to contain china's moves in the region. a global census of marine life has found that the world's oceans are more abundant than thought, providing shelter to

250,000 species. the census of marine life involved a ten-year study by 2,700 scientists around the world. a final report was released in london on monday. the report identifies more than 6,000 potentially new species led in numbers by crustaceans and mollusks. it brings the known marine life to 250,000, excluding planktons and other microbes. new habitats were discovered, including a deep sea vent where a shrimp-like creature thrives in super heated waters over 400 degrees celsius. they found that the world's oceans are less habitable due to rapid changes in temperature and tidal currents in recent years. results of the census will be reported at the tenth conference to the parties of the convention on biological diversity that opens in japan later this month. the environmental group, greenpeace is demanding that

protected marine areas be increased to cover 20% of the world's oceans from less than 1% by 2020. greenpeace japan held a news conference in tokyo on monday. it explained its report emergency oceans rescue plan ahead of the u.n. convention on biological diversity or cop10 later this month. cop10 signatory countries are expected to discuss a new international target for expanding marine reserves. the report says a u.n. organization pointed out 19% of fish stocks have been overfished and 8% of them are exhausted. greenpeace suggests that preserves include 25 spawning waters for atlantic bluefin tuna such as the mediterranean sea and the southern part of the sea of japan for pacific bluefin. it also says that protected areas should ultimately cover 40% of the oceans. a large number of north american minks have been found living in the wild in northern

japan. experts say the semi aquatic animals pose a threat to the ecosystem in the area. between late august and october 1st, 52 male and female minks were captured along a river in the city. the minks are believed to be descendants of american minks that were brought to northern parts of japan after world war ii to be farmed for their fur. the breeding and sale of american minks had been prohibited in japan since 2006 when they were designated as an invasive species that could harm the indigenous ecosystem. a professor says that six to seven minks were found to be living along the river. he said the dense itity is higher than that of other mink habitats elsewhere around the world.

all right, ross mihara joins us with the latest. >> tokyo stocks hovered in a narrow range on tuesday morning. investors are standing by for results from the bank of japan's policy meeting. the nikkei ended the morning session flat at 9,382. that's up just about a couple of points. everyone's focused on whether the central bank will ease monetary policy further. speculation about the boj move is pushing the dollar higher against the yen. it's 83.53-57 yen to the dollar. and the euro is trading at 1.36 yen to the euro. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark, ten-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets, hong

kong's hang seng index down just a bit while equity markets are closed for the national holidays. the world's leading steelmakers looking to secure stable supplies. other industries of pushing up the prices of iron ore and coal. they expressed concerns that control over natural resources by a few major mining firms is raising their prices further, and that may weigh down on corporate earnings and the global economy. japan's jfe steel president eiji hayashida explained his firm's measures to secure stable supplies of resources.

india's jsw steel president, sajan jindal, said his firm will boost development of domestic mines to ease its dependence on major resource providers. the head of japan's biggest business group has asked the government to include a variety of fast working measures in a supplementary budget to spur economic growth. they include steps to create more jobs and secure a stable supply of a strategically important commodity, rare earth metals. chairman hiromasa yonekura of the japan business federation made the recommendations when he met economy minister akihiro ohata on monday. the government is now trying to work out a supplementary budget to get the faltering economy off the ground following the latest recession. yonekura also asked the government to provide companies with aid to set up research centers for the development of cutting edge technologies and take steps to promote investment and create more jobs. in return, ohata expressed the

government's willingness to consider the proposed measures seriously and to create a business environment where he said the people can work with hope for the future. competition in the highly anticipated market for 3-d television is heating up. major electronics makers in japan have been selling 3-d tvs that require special viewing glasses since this past summer. toshiba corporation is leading the way with a new model that gives consumers the full viewing experience without the need for spectacles. toshiba revealed its state-of-the-art 20 inch and 12 inch models ahead of its competitors. the latest technology and improvements of the display make the images three-dimensional without the use of glasses. toshiba plans to start selling the new sets in late december and aims to develop larger screen models in the future. electronics makers are eager to create new markets as cutthroat competition drives down the price of flat panel tvs. toshiba's new 3-d model is expected to impact sales and

development strategies of other firms in the electronics industry. now some researchers are taking this 3-d technology to a whole new level of feeling. we explain. in late august, thousands of video game developers from across the globe gathered at a yokohama convention. it's an expo devoted to the latest technology in the gaming industry. one of the biggest draws was a device that simulated a sense of touch for objects being displayed on a three-dimensional television screen. >> translator: it's pretty amazing. you really feel like you're touching something, even though there's nothing there. >> translator: it was very easy to tell the difference between moving inward and moving outward. you had a force that was pushing

one way or pull the other way. >> reporter: the tactile technology was developed by nakamura of the national institute of advanced industry and technology. he has been working on the project for nearly a decade, finding ways to create the sense of touch for images on screen. >> translator: when people see a 3-d image, they're automatically going to hold out their hand to try and grab it. i started the project because i wanted people to actually feel the image on screen. >> reporter: this is how it works. first, a tiny box with a black and white identification code is placed on the back of each index finger. the boxes are linked to six cameras surrounding the user. they monitor location and capture the subject's movements. the hands appear as yellow

circles on screen and respond to the user's moves. a two-centimeter device is placed under each index it finger. they're responsible for recreating the sense of touch and reacts to how the user manipulates objects appearing on screen. the user can select from five kinds of textures, including hard and soft. okay. so i'm figure to tougoing to to ball. and the texture changes completely. that's really soft. and this one -- this one feels like putty, right? you can even simulate the sensation of pushing as well as pulling an object on screen.

the device, placed under each index finger, produces tiny vibrations that recreate the sensation of touch. the devices are equipped with small motors that are commonly used for mobile phones. through intricate vibrations, the device makes you feel like you're reaching into the television set and actually touching an object on screen. >> translator: by properly controlling vibrations, i came up with a method to create sensations like pushing or pulling an object. i'm confident this technology can be applied to manufacturing a variety of equipment. >> reporter: working with game makers, nakamura hopes to put the technology into practical use in two to three years. so it's only a matter of time

and touch before developers lik closer to it reality. >> take a look at the latest market figures.

that is all for now on "news line business." recent research indicates one out of every several thousand people is faced with mismatched gender identity, having the mind of a woman in the body of a man or vice versa. this issue has been gaining attention in japan recently, so over the next few days here on "newsline," robert jefferson will be focusing on this topic in our "one on one" segment. >> today more and more young people are talking publicly about their true sexual identity. one such example is contained in this book titled "double happiness." the writer who was born as a girl went through years of psychological struggle before

coming to terms with the desire to become a man. now he is being invited to events around the country to share his experiences. he is fumino sugiyama. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you for inviting me. >> how do you feel about yourself now that you live and work as a man? >> i worked at a management restaurant company since last year and it's very natural for me. it doesn't matter, man or woman. >> what was your life like, what sort of difficulties did you have? >> when i was a child i hadn't been able to say about myself to somebody. i couldn't accept by myself. >> fake life as a girl? >> translator: i describe it as wearing a female body, like a costume. i didn't feel as though i was myself.

it was as though i was living my life wearing a mask. i always felt that living as a girl was not being true to myself, which meant that i wasn't fully alive. >> you filmed a personal account of your challenges and we'd like to take a look. you had your breasts surgically removed. >> when i saw my breast the first impression was, just i returned to my body, no change to my body, just return. so it's very comfortable, and it's very natural for me. after the surgery, i've taken hormone once every two weeks, and after that changed my voice or my muscle or, and hair. >> you're growing facial hair. >> a little bit. >> so no doubt your desire to

know more about your gender identity determination led you on a year-long trip.

>> so fumino, tell us, if you will, about the reactions of people you met around the world. >> they a little bit hesitate to ask something for me, to me. i say yeah, it's okay, so they ask, the same, almost same question all over the world, how about your family, or how about, do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend. >> translator: everybody says they've heard of something like this or they know that such people exist but it's their first time actually meeting one. >> you know, fumino so much has changed since you began this journey. >> i after i wrote the book, so many people who are like me contacted to me, and they asked for advice to come out or something. >> tralator: over 1,000 ople

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agies after the betweleinhe east chin. kan told reporters he had a half-hr t with nguyen in brussels on monday.

kan said he stated that the senkaku islands are an integral part of japan and no territori issue is present in the east china sea. winina's position. kan said that the two leaders agreed that the current situatn is not favorable and japan and china should work toward establishing mutually beneficial relationship. he also said they agreed it to hold high-level talks betwe their governments and resume private sector exchanges tle orr the maritime incident. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm i tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.

my colleague, gene otani, will be up it at the top of the ho ouup