Skip to main content

tv   Satellite News From Taiwan  PBS  October 28, 2010 6:00pm-6:30pm PST

7:00 pm
it's friday october 29th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. "the new york times" has reported that china resumed its rare earth metal exports to japan, the united states, and europe. the newspaper quoted this in its online edition on thursday, quoting several industry sources in china. it says the chinese government ended its unannounced export ban to these countries without
7:01 pm
explanation. china had been blocking shipments of rare earth metals to japan since mid september and to the u.s. and europe since october 18th. the materials are vital in making high-tech goods such as smartphones. the u.s. government indicated it would discuss china's suspension of shipments at the group of 20 summit meeting in south korea next month. it may also bring up the issue during bilateral talks with china. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says her country will strengthen its commitment to air-conditions's security and economy. clinton made the remarks in honolulu on thursday before setting off on a two-week tour of the asia pacific region. she reaffirmed the u.s. alliance with japan is the cornerstone of diplomacy in asia. clinton also said the u.s. will promote its cooperative ties with china. >> it is not in anyone's interests for the united states and china to see each other as
7:02 pm
adversaries. and we do look forward to work closely with china, both bilaterally and through key institutions as it takes on a greater role and at the same time takes on more responsibility in regional and global affairs. >> clinton called on china to address various issues including its currency and trade policies as well as north korea's nuclear development. the leaders of the ten-member association of southeast asian nations, asean, say their countries should adhere to the 2002 china asean declaration designed to ensure peace and stability in the south china sea. >> disputes in the south china sea must be resolved peacefully, must be resolved through diplomacy, and must be resolved in accordance with the applicable international law including the law of the sea. >> asean leaders discussed territorial disputes between china and some of its members at a dinner on thursday night.
7:03 pm
the asean countries intend to make detailed rules to resolve any problems based on the 2002 declaration. observers say they will ask china on friday to hold working-level talks on such rules in december. japan's prime minister naoto kan hopes to hold a bilateral meeting with chinese pre premier wen jiabao in hanoi on the sidelines of the asean meetings. >> kan says he would like to meet and reaffirm with wen that the two countries will deepen mutually beneficial strategic relationships. he would welcome the resumption of private sector exchanges that have been suspended or delayed following the collision of a chinese fishing boat with two japanese patrol boats near japan's senkaku islands, which china claims. kan and wen met briefly on october 5th when they were in belgium for the summit of asian and european leaders.
7:04 pm
at the time they agreed to restore mutually beneficial strategic relationships. but anti-japanese protests flared up in several chinese cities between october 16th and 26th. therack obama will not visit hiroshima and nagasaki, the two japanese cities struck by u.s. nuclear bombs, when he travels to japan next month. the white house said on thursday that obama will arrive in japan on november 12th for an asia pacific economic cooperation forum summit in yokohama. on the following day, obama will meet prime minister naoto kan to discuss a broad range of matters including bilateral issues and the nuclear programs of north korea and iran. but the white house says the two leaders will not issue a joint declaration on the deepening of
7:05 pm
bilateral relations to mark the 50th anniversary of the japan-u.s. security treaty. after the talks with kan, obama will travel to kamakura city near tokyo to see the great buddha statue which he visited as a child. white house, obama would be interested in visiting hiroshima and nagasaki sometime in the future, but he does not have any more time for official business since the focus of the trip is the apeck meetings. before the visit, he'll meet the chinese president hu jintao on november 11th in seoul on the sidelines of the group of 20 summit meeting. it indicated that the two leaders will discuss china's reported restrictions on exports of rare earth metals. myanmar's prime minister has hinted at the possibility that opposition leader aung san suu kyi will be released after the term of her house arrest expires next month. he made the comment during a
7:06 pm
meeting with philippine president benigno aquino in vietnam's capital hanoi on thursday. they're there for a meeting of the association of southeast asian nations. a philippine presidential spokesperson says seng told aquino his country's legal processes would take their course. on wednesday myanmar's foreign minister nyan win also referred to the possibility that aung san suu kyi may be freed after the country's general election scheduled for november 7th. nyan win made the reference during a meeting with other asean foreign ministers in hanoi. asean secretary-general surin pitsawan said they were told there would be no further reason to keep aung san suu kyi under house arrest. germany's lower house of parliament has passed a bill that would extend the life span of nuclear power plants despite nationwide protests. the chamber approved the bill on thursday by a vote of 308-289. under germany's parliamentary system the lower house debates
7:07 pm
and approves bills while the upper house votes only on bills related to the country's states. the ruling camp says the upper house does not need to vote on the bill but opposition parties say the bill needs the vote of the upper house because safety of the reactors is a state matter. the opposition parties say that if the upper house does not get to vote on the bill they will file an appeal with the federal constitutional court. the government had submitted the bill to parliament to revise the law. it allows germany's 17 existing nuclear power plants to operate on average for 12 more years. all right. now let's take a look at the latest in business news with ines matsuyama. ines. >> thank you very much, catherine. hello. some indicators were released in japan today. industrial output fell for the fourth straight month in september. that prompted the government to downgrade its assessment of the sector, saying it appears to be weakened. the industry ministry said on
7:08 pm
friday that the nation's industrial production index stood at 92.5 against a base of 100 set for 2005. that's a larger than expected increase of 1.9% since august. the ministry said the main factor in the decline was weaker production of transportation equipment and electronic parts and devices. looking ahead, a survey conducted this month says output of major manufacturing industries is expected to fall an additional 3.6% in october. but it's forecast to rebound by 1.7% in november. in japan the consumer price index fell 1.1% in september from a year earlier. this marks 19 straight months of declines. the government said on friday that the consumer price index stood at 99.1 against a reference value of 100 set for 2005. this excludes volatile fresh food prices. the downward movement comes as falling prices of electric devices such as televisions and computers outweighed the price increase of heating oil and gas.
7:09 pm
the japanese government announced the country's household spending for september. the index was unchanged in real terms compared to the same month last year. looking in detail, households of two or more people spend an average of about $3,400. the ministry said income at salary earning households with at least one person averaged $500 to $150. that was 100% higher than the same month last year. tokyo stocks head down on friday morning as the yen's strength continues to weigh on the market. the nikkei 225 closed the morning session at 9,206 points, down 1.7% or 160 ticks almost. selling was prompted by the disappointing september industrial output data released earlier in the day. to currencies. on the tokyo foreign exchange the dollar fell against the yen on friday morning on speculation that the u.s. federal reserve will take larger than expected monetary easing measures. the greenback is currently
7:10 pm
trading at 80.67-69 while the euro's at 112.20-24. market players took their cue from news that the fed surveyed financial institutions to determine the size of credit easing measures. japanese manufacturers are making more effort to deal with a strong yen as the currency hovers near the highest level in 15 1/2 years against the dollar. in midterm earnings reports released this week, a number of auto and electronics makers have raised the exchange rate forecast for the second business half year through march 2011. among electronics makers sharp revise the its forecast rate to 82 yen per dollar. that's its second upward revision this year. in july the company had raised its rate by two yen to 88 yen per dollar. nec and tdk also revised their rates by at least 70 and 80 rates per dollar. mitsubishi motor raised its
7:11 pm
forecast. they will also buy more parts from other countries. the measures are aimed at securing profits even if the yen stays strong for some time. japan's unemployment rate was 5% in september, making a third straight month of improvement. that's 0.1 percentage points better than august in seasonally adjusted terms. the internal affairs ministry said on friday the jobless figure totaled 3.4 million, down 230,000 from a year earlier. on the other hand, the number of people with jobs stood at just over 63 million. that's up 140,000 from the same month last year. its first increase in two months. separately, a report from the labor ministry shows job availability in september improved for a fifth straight month. the ministry says that 55 positions were available for every 100 job seekers.
7:12 pm
despite that minor improvement in the jobless rate overall the figure became worse among young people. the unemployment rate for people between 15 and 24 years old was 8.8% in september. that's 0.5 percentage points worse than the previous month. but some enterprising job seekers are trying to increase their odds of getting hired. nhk world's nahoko yamada has more. >> reporter: kenji omada attends a vocational school in tokyo. he studied mechanical engineering at university and graduated in 2008. he looked for a job in his senior year but could only find part-time work. so he decided to attend a vocational school to expand his skill set. >> translator: in this tight job market i've learned that it's hard to find a job without any practical skills. by attending a vocational school where i could take technical
7:13 pm
courses, i thought i'd be able to learn the job. >> reporter: with more graduates competing for fewer jobs and fewer companies hiring workers for life, more people are acquiring skills on their own initiative. more college graduates like kenji are choosing to enroll in vocational schools. the number of those registered here at this school alone has gone up by 30% since april. >> translator: people used to come to our school in hope of a career change. but now college graduates come straight after graduation because they cannot find jobs. that's a new trend and reflects the recent sluggish economy and tough job market. >> reporter: kenji has been studying electrical engineering for 1 1/2 years. he's acquired a license in electrical construction. this spring he started job
7:14 pm
hunting again and received an offer. after finishing school next march, he'll start working at a building maintenance company. he thinks that the technical knowledge and qualifications he's acquired have been extremely useful. the people who hired him agree. >> translator: people we take on right after college are more generalists than specialists. because we're in the construction business, people with this kind of training have an advantage. >> reporter: but taking a year or two off after university to expand one's skill set can backfire. japanese companies generally prefer to hire staff straight out of college. the longer a person is unemployed after graduating, the harder it can be to find a good job. yoko takeda, senior economist at
7:15 pm
mitsubishi research institute, says this situation must change. >> translator: the japanese government should work with businesses to improve the system and provide job opportunities for everyone. our aging society is facing a drastic reduction in the workforce. if these people can't find jobs and aren't getting trained, this could reduce japan's growth in the medium to long term. >> reporter: but she also cautions that the economy is not likely to improve significantly anytime soon. and that means that enrollment in japan's vocational school is likely to remain brisk. nahoko yamada, nhk world. next is a recap of the latest market figures. ♪
7:16 pm
♪ >> and that's all for now in biz news. deflation in the strong yen are hitting many japanese companies hard. some are forced to slash their budgets for research and development. but one company has come up with a way to get innovative ideas cheaply.
7:17 pm
>> reporter: a new kind of colander for squeezing out water. a couple who run a noodle restaurant invented it. the company that makes the device sells 7,000 a month. this tokyo factory is where the colanders are made. the company's main business is making gears for office data equipment. but most of the company's clients moved their manufacturing facilities to china and southeast asia, where labor is cheaper. the company's sales are now a quarter of what they used to be. the firm wanted to tap into a new market while keeping research and development costs low. so they asked local residents to suggest what to make. >> translator: many companies folded or went out of business because the parent company was no longer around. if we wanted to stick it out in japan, we realized the only thing we could do was
7:18 pm
manufacture things for which we could obtain the intellectual property rights. >> reporter: the company solicits ideas on its home page. the firm hands out prize money for the best ideas. and if a product makes it to the store, the inventor receives a share of the profits. these days products thought up by citizen inventors make up half of the company's sales. >> translator: when i meet inventors, i learn so much about demands in the market that i never knew existed. for me it's been tremendously beneficial. >> reporter: this opportunity makes citizen inventors even more motivated. kobo city holds an inventors workshop once a month. here retired engineers and homemakers bring in their inventions and brainstorm ways to improve them.
7:19 pm
some of the inventions brought here are already on their way to mass production. like this one. a metal piece is attached to a tire. when the tire rotates at high speed, centrifugal force prevents the device from making any sounds. but when the tire begins to rotate more slowly, there's no more centrifugal force, so the device starts to make a clanging noise. the inventor designed the apparatus for hybrid and electric cars. it has been pointed out that hybrid and electric cars run so quietly that pedestrians may not hear them coming. a high school student designed the apparatus. it's his first invention.
7:20 pm
>> translator: i have a pretty good time making stuff. so i think i want to keep at it. >> reporter: it's very easy to attach and inexpensive. i hope it will sell. >> reporter: japan hasn't seen the end of the recession. but maybe ideas like these will help revive the stalled economy. >> large corporations are also turning to amateur inventors. some companies even givous prize money for new product ideas. and now let's take a look at the global weather forecast with saki ochi. >> hi there, and welcome to your world weather update. now, in east asia of course we have been keeping an eye on our major storm system.
7:21 pm
here's tropical cyclone moving right past the southern islands of japan. it has been bringing pretty windy conditions to these islands here since yesterday. those are still ongoing today. we're hearing of some very stormy conditions and actually, let's get a look at the situation coming out of amami, oshima this morning. you can see very strong winds gusting through these islands. gusts of over 70 kilometers per hour were recorded in amami oshima this morgan. waves have been quite high as well. very rough sea conditions around coastal areas. wave heights are expected to reach seven to eight meters across these areas as the storm system passes by. now, the peak, it is going to be at its closest to these islands this morning before starting to pull away in the afternoon. however, after that it's going to continue in a northeasterly direction, possibly even getting closer to central japan and even the tokyo area.
7:22 pm
we're keeping a close eye on the system. for the next 24 thundershowers, meanwhile, the bulk of the rain is going to be affecting these islands here. and then all that moisture is going to be heading northward here. already a lot of wet weather moving in ahead of the storm system. so even starting tonight central japan will see showers start up. and then saturday those rains could easily intensify and we could be seeing some very stormy conditions as well. otherwise, east asia's going to stay calm and dry, nice conditions across the korean peninsula through much of china. even the indo-china peninsula looking a whole lot dryer today. highs are going to reflect those nice skies, 17 degrees in beijing, and 16 for seoul. getting up to 19 in shanghai and 22 degrees with plenty of sunshine in hong kong. now, across europe today it is going to be looking a little bit messy to the west. you can see big clouds at the edge of our screen. a well-developed active system is going to be moving in, first affecting the british isles. uk, ireland, we'll see rainfall. and then iberian peninsula too
7:23 pm
we'll see showers start up before that. it starts moving into western europe now. parts of the iberian peninsula. especially the coastline of portugal looking to see some very heavy downpours. that'll be something to watch out pr. will otherwise continental urm looking quite nice and settled. it's going to look a whole lot better for the balkan area as those storms pull away. up to the north, scandinavian peninsula will see more showers and windy weather, especially heavier downpours are going to beossible across southeastern sections of norway tonight. here's a look at highs. 7 for stockholm and 3 degrees nor moscow. 10 in warsaw. pretty cool conditions. london getting up to 14. and 16 expected in paris. getting up to 20 degrees, meanwhile, in madrid. all right. that's a look at your weather for now, and i will leave you with your three-day outlook. ♪
7:24 pm
♪ ♪
7:25 pm
♪ just taking a look at our top stories once again, "the new york times" has reported that china resumed its rare earth metal exports to japan, the united states, and europe. the newspaper reported this in its online edition on thursday, quoting several industry sources in china. it says the chinese government ended its unannounced export ban to these countries without explanation. china had been blocking shipments of rare earth metals to japan since mid september and to the u.s. and europe since october 18th. the materials are vital in making high-tech goods such as smartphones. the u.s. government indicated it
7:26 pm
would discuss china's suspension of shipments at the group of 20 meeting in south korea next month. it may also bring up the issue during bilateral talks with china. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says her country will strengthen its commitment to asia's security and economy. clinton made the remark in a speech in honolulu on thursday before setting out on a two-week tour of the asia pacific region. she reaffirmed that the u.s. alliance with japan is the cornerstone of american diplomacy in asia. clinton also said the u.s. will promote its cooperative ties with china. >> it is not in anyone's interest for the united states and china to see each other as adversaries. and we do look forward to working closely with china, both bilaterally and through key institutions as it takes on a greater role and at the same time takes on more responsibility in regional and global affairs. >> clinton called on china to
7:27 pm
address various issues, including its currency and trade policies as well as north korea's nuclear development. an nhk camera crew filmed the development of a tornado off the west coast of hokkaido, northern japan on thursday afternoon. in japan capturing a tornado developing is quite unusual. an nhk crew took the footage from a helicopter over the sea of japan 30 to 40 kilometers from the city of rumoi. the footage shows a slender funnel extending directly from the sea to gray clouds at an altitude of around 500 meters. >> translator: the tornado is drawing up sea water in a counterclockwise direction. the water temperature there was about three degrees warmer than usual. and then a strong cold air mass moved in. such conditions are likely to result in tornados.
7:28 pm
and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. lñxñx
7:29 pm

279 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on