hello there. welcome. it's thursday, october 28th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. prime minister naoto kan leaves for vietnam on thursday to attend a series of asean meetings in the capital, hanoi. during the four-day visit, kan will take part in talks with leaders of the association of southeast asian nations. the prime minister is expected to express readiness to step up support for countries in the region. he's also scheduled to take part

in the east asia summit, where he'll confirm that the united states and russia will join the regional forum next year. the prime minister will meet the leaders of singapore and new zealand separately. earlier the two countries signed the transpacific strategic economic partnership agreement. kan has said he will also consider joining the framework, which in principle abolishes tariffs on all products. meanwhile, the japanese government is coordinating talks with kan and chinese premier wen jiabao, where they hope to discuss ways to improve bilateral ties. iraq's oil minister has called on japanese companies to invest and start businesses in his country. >> however, we do wish to see more japanese companies actually coming and working not only in the fuel development, also in the refineries and the electricity. >> husain al-shahristani made the appeal at a meeting with

japan's ambassador mitts owe sakaba on wednesday. sakaba, who's in charge of coordinating assistance for iraq's reconstruction, is making his first visit to the iraqi capital since he took office last month. >> translator: japan will continue to support iraq through its official development assistance. to rebuild the country iraq will also need economic growth to japan's private sector as well. >> iraq is anxious to receive japanese technology, but lingering instability is holding japanese firms back from doing business there. south korea and other countries have already won contracts with iraq to develop natural gas and other resources. last ditch efforts to achieve a break-through are continuing at the u.n. biodiversity conference in nagoya central japan on thursday but a deadlock is slowing progress. official working-level talks at the tenth conference of parties to the u.n. convention on biological diversity, or cop10, have been ongoing alongside

unofficial ministerial-level discussions. cop10 aims to set global targets for protecting biodiversity. the conference also aims to draw up rules on profit sharing among developed and developing countries from the sales of medicines and other products made from natural resources. developing countries want compensation from their richer counterparts for the exploitation of their resources, dating back hundreds of years. the two sides remain sharply at odds. to break the deadlock nambia is exchanging a launching of a new international fund to protect their ecosystems. on thursday evening japan's environment minister, ryu matsumoto, who chairs the conference, will suggest a compromise solution among the participants. japan hopes to broker political deals on the key issues right up until the last minute. the conference closes on friday.

a person calling him al qaeda leader osama bin laden has issued an audio message condemning a french law banning muslim women from covering their faces with veils. the audio message was broadcast by qatar-based television network al jazeera on wednesday. the network says the voice in the recording is bin laden's. the message slammed france's ban on full face veils. it also claimed a group named al qaeda against france carried out the kidnapping of five french nationals in niger in september. the recording also said france will be safe if it withdraws its troops from afghanistan. france has raised its alert level to prepare for possible terrorist acts in the country in the wake of the niger kidnappings. former argentinean president nester kir chner has died.

kirchner was highly praised for rebuilding the country's economy. local media report the 60-year-old kirchner died of a heart attack on wednesday at his home in southern argentina. kirchner took office in 2003, after the country's economy collapsed. he worked hard to reduce external debts and achieved economic growth of 8% to 9%. in 2007 his wife, christina fernandez, was elected to succeed him. kirchner was considered as a candidate in the next election, but his health began to deteriorate after two operations this year. the death toll from monday's tsunami off the indonesian island of sumatra has climbed to more than 270. a magnitude 7.7 quake hit the region monday night, triggering waves up to three meters high that struck the mentawai islands off sumatra's west coast. local officials say at least 272 people have been confirmed dead

and about 400 remain missing. ten villages have been inundated and about 4,000 families have lost their homes. the indonesian government has sent police and military personnel on navy vessels to help with rescue and relief efforts. but the island's telecommunication network has been cut off, and high waves are hampering efforts to land and unload relief supplies. many tourists are believed to be among the missing as the islands are a popular destination for surfers. also in indonesia, volcanic eruptions on the island of java have left at least 29 people dead and forced over 40,000 to flee their homes. mount merapi in central java erupted several times on tuesday evening, but the volcanic activity seems to have calmed on wednesday. indonesia's government says the victims died after being hit by fast-moving currents of hot gas and debris or from breathing in ash. 28 others suffered burns.

in the sieman district at the south of the volcano 4,500 people are sheltering in the buildings of a primary school, but there is not enough space to accommodate everyone comfortably. evacuees say hygiene conditions are bad and water and soap is scarce. local experts are calling for caution, saying the eruption may have not ended yet. mount merapi last erupted in 2006, killing two people. volcanic activity in 1994 claimed more than 60 lives, and a massive eruption in 1930 left over 1,000 people dead. south korea's new foreign minister has reacted angrily to a remark by china's vice president xi zhinping on the causes of the korean war.

kim was speaking on wednesday at his first news conference since becoming foreign affairs and trade minister on october 8th. xi said on sunday that the conflict, which began 60 years ago, was a great and just war for safeguarding peace and resisting aggression. xi made the remark at a ceremony in beijing to mark the 60th anniversary of china's entry in the war. xi is tipped to succeed president hu jintao after recently assuming the post of vice-chairman of the communist party's central military commission. north korea invited chinese military leaders to a ceremony in pyongyang marking the anniversary of the korean war. and now we take a look at the latest in business news. here's ines matsuyama. in ines. >> thank you very much, catherine. hello. tokyo stocks hovered around the previous day's close on thursday morning. the nikkei 225 ended the morning

slightly in the red at 9,381, almost unchanged. many investors took to the sidelines ahead of a u.s. federal reserve policy meeting next week. focus is now on what level of additional monetary easing america's central bank will implement. turning to currencies, the dollar's losing ground against the yen on speculation that the united states will take additional monetary easing measures. the dollar is currently trading between 81.62-66 while the euro is now at 112.66-71. sources say that the dollar is under strong selling pressure ahead of the fed policy's meeting next week. are and here's a look at the latest long-term interest rate. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year japanese government bond. in other major markets hong kong's hang seng opened up half i percent higher. it's currently up 0.2%. the shanghai key index for major blue chips is slightly in the red. and in shenzhen the sse composite is slightly up, 0.2%.

japan's prime minister naoto kan has revealed his intention to join the transpacific partnership, a proposed free trade agreement in the asia pacific region. but the news may not be well received among the government and business sectors in japan. the tpp is a framework for liberalizing trade between signatory countries in the asia pacific region. nine countries, including the united states, australia, chile and malaysia have begun discussing the pact. the aim of the partnership is the elimination of tariffs on all products. it prevents members from charging custom duties on any items. in a recent policy speech to the diet kan expressed interest in talks into joining the partnership. he believes the regional free trade zone will help japan's economic growth by stimulating trade and investment. many of his cabinet ministers have expressed support.

chief cabinet secretary yoesh yooeto sengoku said joining the tpp would represent a policy of openness. foreign minister sage yay maehara said the door to the tpp is being shut and that japan must not let politics get in the way of joining. but agricultural forestries and fisheries minister mitch hooeko cano and akihiro ohata are cautious. in the diet more than 100 lawmakers from the governing coalition parties recently met and agreed that joining the tpp would destroy japan's agriculture. prime minister kan is trying to compile a document for regional economic integration covering the tpp. he will deliver it at the asia pacific economic cooperation summit to be held in yokohama next month. consensus in his cabinet and the main governing party to realize the plan. aspiring members of the partnership need the approval of all tpp member states. as a condition of entry the united states will demand that japan opens its agricultural

market and reconsider plans to scale back postal privatization. the u.s. has already disclosed its conditions for allowing japan to join. they include slashing tariffs on agricultural products and easing restrictions on u.s. beef imports. washington is also demanding that japan privatize its postal services, including savings, said to be the biggest in the world. japan has recently scaled back the privatization plans. the u.s. criticizes that scaling back will undermine competition. china is cracking down on speculators that are buying up agricultural commodities and manipulating their prices. on wednesday premier wen jiabao announced measures to control agricultural product price increases to prevent inflation further. concerns over rising prices are growing in china. the country's statistics bureau announced that the consumer

price index in september grew 3.6% year on year. this is about the government's comfort zone of 3% for the past few months. in particular, food prices grew by 8%. speculative money is thought to have forced up farm product prices. under the new measures authorities will crack down on anyone who is trying to buy up agricultural products with the intention of driving up prices. they will also strictly control grain harvests this autumn as well as next year. last week china's central bank increased its benchmark lending and deposit rates for the first time in nearly three years to cope with inflation. and in addition to inflationary pressure, a real estate bubble is also raising concerns in china. nhk world's lin yee has an in-depth report on what's happening in china's property market. >> reporter: in shanghai condominiums are -- young

couples. most of them are thinking of getting married soon and thinking of buying a new home. the participants are considered middle-class in shanghai. >> translator: we'll give you a 7% discount today. >> reporter: the energetic sales pitch does not seem convincing to the tour participants. consumers are shying away from the real estate market in growing numbers. >> translator: i found a nice condo, but i want to watch the market carefully and wait until prices are within my budget. >> reporter: until april the real estate market in shanghai had been overheating. but since the chinese government imposed investment restrictions it's been going through a period of adjustment. the average price for one square meter of a new condo started to

fall after peaking in april. despite the decline, however, real estate prices still remain high for most citizens. 45-year-old chao yong works at a local factory. he lives with his family in an apartment that is only 58 square meters. the balcony has been turned into the daughter's room. there's little space left when her bed is put in. cha says his apartment is too small for four people to live in. his family's total annual income is about 10,000 u.s. dollars. cha says a newly built condo is way over his budget. >> translator: real estate prices in shanghai have risen

further. ordinary families and even white-collar workers cannot afford these properties. there's no way we can. >> reporter: in an attempt to meet the shanghai citizens' needs the municipal government has come up with an experimental budget housing system. the city provides low-cost homes to those who meet its income and area per person requirements. starting at the end of this year, families who satisfy the requirements will be moving into those homes. the cha family filed an application. after going through a strict screening process, it has become eligible to move into a new home. it has three bedrooms, a living room, and a combined kitchen/dining room. the price is around 80,000 u.s. dollars, about half the going

market price. the city government says it will build budget homes aggressively. for now, though, only a handful of citizens can realize their dreams. >> translator: unless the shanghai city expands such a system, low-income families will never be able to buy homes. >> reporter: there's no doubt that property prices remain high in shanghai. but experts say they could climb even higher over the long haul as people continue to pour into this commercial and financial center of china. lin yi, nhk world, shanghai. next is a recap of the latest market figures. ♪

♪ >> that's it for this edition of news biz. table tennis, also known as ping-pong, originated in england. over time, however, the english began losing interest. recently, though, a growing number of people from all walks of life have started taking up

the game. nhk world's igor rogelia has the story. >> reporter: in front of st. paul's kalth dral in central london business people from the financial district loosen up after work. >> it's a lot better than sitting at one's desk. i can definitely say that. >> you don't have to be really good at other sports to play. it's quite accessible for lots of people. >> reporter: cheap, fun, and a good way to unwind, ping-pong has come back in style following the recent financial crisis. fedja saric works for an i.t. company. dealing with difficult projects every day can be very stressful. >> what time is it, guys? >> 12:30. >> time to play some table tennis. >> reporter: he started playing three months ago after his office installed a ping-pong

table. a cheap and easy way to improve the workplace. it didn't take long for saric to become hooked. he and his colleagues formed a team and practiced every day for a tournament, which they went on to win. >> work long hours you just say like let's just play and it just breaks up even that 20 minutes. if you have a gym sponsorships for everybody, it costs a lot of money. so it's -- here it's cheap. >> reporter: ping-pong has also found its way into the city's nightlife. this bar set up a ping-pong table on the dance floor, and the customers seem to love it. bars like this are becoming more common across london. playing ping-pong with music and drinks has become a fashionable

night out. the game first appeared in upper-class dining rooms in 19th century london. after dinner the plates would be cleared and guests would play on the dining table itself. ping-pong, or wiff-waff, as it was also called, soon caught on spreading throughout the country and the rest of the world in only 20 years. while china might now be the country best known for the game, the english table tennis association is hoping to rekindle interest in the land of its birth. the group hopes to attract new fans in the run-up to the london olympics. >> maybe 20, 30 tables over there in community centers, in public spaces, outside the maritime museum there, in an art gallery in the center.

>> reporter: in the next two years the association hopes to install tables in a further ten cities across the country. >> the sport is going to have a profile like it's never had before. right from now until after the games. and it's really important that we do everything we can to take advantage of that. >> reporter: ping-pong is certainly making a comeback in london. time will tell if the game will attract a countrywide following. igor rogelja, nhk world, london. >> the english table tennis association not only hopes to get people playing for fun but also create interest in the game as a competitive sport and find sponsors before the london olympics. and now let's take a look at the global weather forecast with saki ochi.

>> hi, there. welcome to your world weather update. in east asia we have been keeping an eye on this storm system. this tropical storm system remains a very strong typhoon and pack winds of well over 160 kilometers per hour. gusts are hitting 200 and more. very intense storm system that is now getting very close to the southern islands of japan. already bringing in these tropical storm force winds to some of these islands including okinawa. looks like it's going to remain on a north-northeasterly course over the next couple of days. getting very close or possibly making landfall in central sections of japan this weekend. a little early to say just when and where it's going to land but we will be keeping a close eye on its progress. now, for the next 24 hours we're really concerned about the rain and the stormy weather that's going to be impacting okinawa islands as well as amami region in southern japan. already heavy rainfall has been falling. looks like that will intensify

over the course of today. and of course there's the strong winds, storm surges, high waves to also watch out for as well. now, ahead of that storm system we're already getting quite a bit of rain across japan. it's going to be a wet and chilly day across the country. more rain likely in the next couple of days, too, as the storm system heads north. on the other hand, it's going to be nice and dry for the korean peninsula as well as the majority of china. the southwest we do have this low here. just a little bit of rain, though, and that does taper off eventually. as for highs today, 21 in taipei. shanghai coming in at 19. a little bit of overcast skies. nice and pleasant in hong kong with 22 and some sunshine. as for the united states, in toward canada we've still got this circling system here. just over the great lakes. it remains in place. hasn't been moving a whole lot. still bringing those winds as well as the rain. and even snow for parts of central canada. ahead of that the east coast is also still dealing with some

remnant showers from this frontal line. it is on its way out. new england states will dry out first. a little bit of rain will still linger in the carolinas. also, there's the threat of some tornados across parts here from carolina in toward virginia tonight. little warnings in effect for you. up toward the west a new disturbance is coming in, so it's going to be turning wet for you again. highs looking at 29 in l.a., so getting quite hot for you. 18 in denver. then 22 in atlanta. finally, getting a look at europe, and in the balkans as well as for turkey you're going to continue to see those thundershowers and some gusty weather develop. otherwise, it should be a fairly settled and calm picture for continental europe. high pressure really in place here. that's really pushing the rain up to the north. so areas like the british isles, scandinavian peninsula, and then baltic states will see that rain ride through. also, winds are going to be accompanying all of that wet weather. however, temperatures remaining on the mild side. london coming in at 17.

16 for paris. 11 degrees in berlin. and getting up to 10 in stockholm. all right. that's a look at your weather for now. and here's is your three-day outlook. ♪ ♪

the 51st annual secondhand book fair has opened in tokyo's kanda district, which has long been known as an academic neighborhood. about 160 local booksellers have lined the sidewalks, offering more than 1 million technical and literary volumes for sale. the open-air market is a popular feature of the week-long book fair. collections of works by japanese authors from the late 19th to the early 20th century are on sale at 30% to 50% off. the event will be held until next wednesday. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back with more of your

updates at the top of the next hour. hope you stay with us.