welcome to "newsline." i'm shery ahn. u.s. president barack obama has admitted his responsibility for the democratic party's major setback in tuesday's midterm elections. the democrats secured the majority in the senate, but they suffered a historic defeat in the house of representatives, losing more than 60 seats. obama spoke at the white house on wednesday. >> over the last two years,

we've made progress, but clearly, too many americans haven't felt that progress yet. and they told us that yesterday. and as president, i take responsibility for that. it underscores for me that i've got to do a better job. >> obama stressed his willingness to work in a spirit of bipartisanship with the republicans. he said he's eager to hear good ideas wherever they come from and that if the republicans want to suggest legislative modifications, he's happy to consider them. meanwhile, house majority leader john boehner told reporters on wednesday that he has discussed fiscal spending cuts and job creation with obama. >> and we hope that he will continue to be willing to work with us on those priorities. >> boehner's remarks suggest that the republicans will soon urge the obama administration to change its economic policy. following the u.s. midterm

elections, concerns are being raised in russia that the election result might make ratification of a new strategic nuclear arms control treaty difficult. obama and russian president dmitry medvedev signed the s.t.a.r.t. treaty in april in prague. it commits the two countries to sharply cut the number of strategic nuclear warheads. ratification requires approval from lawmakers in both countries. at least two-thirds of support of the lawmakers in the u.s. senate is needed, but republicans that were alarmed by big cuts in nuclear weapons have increased their number of seats. konstantin kosachev is the chairman of the international affairs committee of russia's lower house, or the state duma. he says it will become more difficult after january for the u.s. senate with its new members to ratify the treaty.

the united nations has made an urgent appeal for $86 million to help disaster victims in two african countries. djibouti is suffering from a prolonged drought, while benin has been hit by extensive flooding. heavy rain has pelted benin in west africa on a regular basis since september. major floods have affected 2/3 of the country, forcing 180,000 people to evacuate their homes. the u.n. has called on the international community to donate $47 million to provide food, drinking water, and anti-epidemic measures. the red cross has been distributing tents and providing other relief. in djibouti the problem is a lack of water. the east african nation has been suffering from a severe drought for the past five years. the u.n. says it will need nearly $39 million to provide food and drinking water for

120,000 people. the european commission is calling on its member nations to compile plans by 2015 to build deep underground sites for the long-term storage of nuclear waste. a draft european union directive released on wednesday says eu members will be required to set up within the region final disposal repositories for waste from their nuclear power plants and research institutes. there are 143 nuclear power plants in operation in 14 countries in the eu region. but only france, finland, and sweden have worked out long-term disposal plans. the commission is asking its member nations to specify exactly where and when they will build a storage site and how they plan to manage them. it says they should not unfairly impose this burden on future generations. a prefecture in central japan has approved a plan to keep a nuclear reactor running for another ten years. the extension means the reactor

in fukui prefecture would become the longest serve's reactor in japan. the kansai electric power company's number one nuclear reactor at mihama power plant in fukui prefecture is the second oldest commercial nuclear reactor in japan. at the end of this month it will have been in operation for 40 years. fukui prefecture has skieded to approve a ten-year extension plan on condition the electric company and japanese government provide a mechanism to check the reactor's safety. the prefecture will soon announce a decision to the company. until now the longest-serving reactor in japan was at the suruga power plant in fuki prefecture. it has been in service for 40 years and will serve another six years. welcome back to "newsline" business. the euro's federal reserve board says it will buy $600 billion in

government bonds by mid 2011 to help further stimulate the u.s. economy. the fed made a decision at a meeting of its open market committee on wednesday. in a statement released after the meeting the fed said the pace of recovery and output in employment continues to be slow. household spending remains constrained by high unemployment and modest income growth. the fed will spend $75 billion every month through next june to buy long-term government bonds in an attempt to get the u.s. economy back on a recovering track and encourage consumer prices to rise. but the central bank will regularly review the pace and size of its bond purchases and will adjust the program as needed in accordance with the economic situation. it also decided to retain its ultra low interest rate policy by keeping the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to .25%. the federal reserve adopted a bold -- it will decide on a

course of action in a two-day policy meeting starting on thursday. japan's central bank moved up the meeting from mid november to immediately following. they're expected to keep the interest rate unchanged at virtually zero percent to support the economy in the fafs a soaring yen. they're also expected to hammer out specific steps to start its asset purchase program. the boj plans to buy up to about $430 billion worth of exchange traded funds and real estate investment trusts. following the fed's additional easing measures the dollar opened higher on the tokyo foreign exchange on thursday morning, hovering around the lower 81-yen level.

sources say the fed's actions were expected but the dollar is strengthening as u.s. private sector employment figures released wednesday were better than anticipated. the greenback is trading at 81.09-13 while the euro is trading at 114.50-55. and tokyo stocks are sharply higher on thursday morning following an overnight rise in new york. the nikkei 225 ended the morning session at 9,364, up 2.2%, or 205 points almost. investors took their cue from the u.s. federal reserve's massive additional monetary easing. export-related issues led gainers due to a weaker yen. and 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 opened 1% higher, is currently up 1.3%,

just below the 24,500 mark. the shanghai key index for major blue chips is up 0.8. and the sse composite in shenzhen is up 0.6%. struggling hollywood studio metro goldwyn mayer, or mgm, has filed for bankruptcy protection. founded in 1924, mgm has produced a number of popular films, including the james sxwond "rocky" series. but in recent years the studio has failed to come up with hit movies. most of its newest releases could not pull in the crowds. mgm filed for chapter 11 protection with the u.s. bankruptcy court in new york on wednesday after the company's restructuring was approved. in exchange for mgm stocks creditors will lend $4 billion to the struggling company. japan's sony acquired a 20% stake in mgm in 2005, but the electronics maker says the bankruptcy won't affect its bottom line since it's already written off the investment.

the world bank has raised its prongs of china's growth for 2010 from 9.5% to 10%. it says china's growth should soon ease to a healthy but manageable pace. the world bank released its latest china quarterly update on wednesday. its beijing branch says the country's domestic economy cooled and its monetary stance stands as being normalized. the bank says urban consumption has slowed. the slowdown was within range of expectations and with strong exports china's economic prospects remain sound. the bank estimates that in 2011 china's gross domestic product growth will stand at 8.7%. it says china's growth may slow a bit further as global expansion winds down and the government tightens its monetary policy. next is our report, one day packages to give city dwellers a

chance to immerse themselves in nature gaining in popularity. with the economy remaining stagnant people are attracted to tours which are fun but not costly. >> reporter: this is mount fuji, japan's highest peak. nestled in the foothills is alkigahara, surrounded by virgin forests that span 30 kilometers, dotted with the remains of lava flows, it's a scenic wonder. every weekend visitors from metropolitan areas flock here. from tokyo it only takes 2 1/2 hours to get there by train and bus. >> translator: please take photographs from this pathway. don't enter the forest as it's filled with dangerous hollows that are hidden by fallen leaves. >> reporter: this tour is dubbed the cave exploration in a sea of trees. all necessary equipment, including helmets, backpacks, and rain boots are free, making it easy for anyone to participate. >> translator: can you see the

dark area over there? that's where we're going. >> reporter: a tour guide with exceptional familiarity of the area takes visitors to out of the way spots that people rarely get the chance to see. >> this is really amazing. look. >> it's beautiful. >> reporter: the fee is about $70 per person. the tour has consistently gained popularity since its start four years ago. over 1,000 people have participated so far this year. >> translator: it's really beautiful inside the cave. you can't see anything like it in the city. it's a precious experience. >> translator: i totally forgot about work. so tonight i can go to sleep feeling happy and smiling.

>> reporter: this mountainous area is minakame-gumi prefecture, about a two-hour drive from tokyo. on one popular tour here people enjoy the splash and thrill of mountain river rapids. tourists don life jackets and helmets and surrender themselves to the power of the water. but descent takes time. 1 1/2 hours over 300 meters. the tour costs about $95 per person. >> translator: that's amazing. >> reporter: the number of participants has tripled in four years, with the operator predicting over 5,000 customers this year.

>> translator: it's just great to immerse yourself in nature for the day. >> translator: it's good to come out here and move around. >> reporter: this is mike harris, managing director of the tour company. in cooperation with local businesses harris offers participants about 30 discount coupons to restaurants, shops, and hot springs. that's helped bring nearly half the tour participants to this hot spring today. harris makes a point of developing deep ties with local businesses. >> translator: i think mike will be able to include the hot spring tour, take care of the customers, and drop them back at the train station afterward. >> we're just really trying to

give them the best experience, the best day that we can possibly give them in minakame, and we hope that will transfer into them coming up to stay the night, to stay one night, to stay two nights next time. it's going to be a bit of contribution for the town. >> reporter: a new wave of one-day nature tours is reinvigorating tired urban dwellers at affordable prices. by boosting business these romps in the wild are bringing a glimpse of optimism to local economies. >> next is a recap of the latest market figures. ♪

♪ and that's all for now in biz news. a record number of households in japan, almost 1.4 million, received welfare benefits in july. the number has risen by 11% in the past year. the labor and welfare ministry says due to the worsening job situation the number of households on welfare marked an increase of nearly 12,000 from

the previous month. among the increased recipients, more than 2,600 were elderly people. more than 1,200 were single mothers. and over 1,000 were disabled people. the largest percentage of recipient you households numbering 4,429 included the unemployment. the ministry said it will focus on helping them find jobs. a number of japanese companies have held job interviews in shanghai for chinese university students. the companies are looking to recruit chinese students to help expand their businesses in china. 17 japanese firms including beverage, cosmetics makers, and i.t. companies took part in the job seminar on wednesday. the event was organized by a major japanese employment agency. the organizer says it picked 500 applicants from more than 1,000 applications in a preliminary selection. the successful applicants will be employed directly by the japanese firm and not by their

subsidiaries in china. the applicants underwent interviews in japanese after being briefed about working conditions by the company officials. one student said the recent strained relations between china and japan has not affected her job-seeking activities. the growing number of japanese firms are seeking to employ chinese workers in manager yl posts, with the aim of expanding their businesses in china amid its robust growth. to reduce the number of car accidents caused by elderly drivers, the government has set up a system where senior citizens can voluntarily surrender their driver's permit. last year nearly 50,000 elderly gave up their licenses, but some seniors in the countryside are reluctant to stop driving.

in this report nhk world's asadi kajihara shows us why. >> reporter: 87-year-old tamayo takikawa has been driving for the last 40 years. but this month as she was peeling out of the garage she had an accident. >> translator: i didn't think a car was coming from that side. >> reporter: takikawa felt it wasn't safe to drive anymore. so she gave up her driver's license. from now on she'll have to get rides from her son and his wife.

>> translator: when i think about not driving anymore, i feel really sad. >> reporter: but not everyone is willing to give up driving like takikawa. 88-year-old katsumi konizawa lives with his wife. every morning he drives ten kilometers to attend to his plants. for over 20 years tanizawa has been growing flowers for grave sites. >> translator: i load the plants in a truck and deliver them to my customers. >> reporter: tanizawa has a stomach illness and drives to a

local clinic three times a week. the nearest supermarket is than a ten-kilometer drive from home. he says he's used to these roads but sometimes he has doubts about his driving. >> translator: you know, i think i can still drive to town for another year or two. but these days, well, let me tell you. i don't really like to drive on the highway anymore. >> reporter: but there's a reason why he has to drive. the local bus to the clinic and the supermarket only comes four times a day. the tanizawas have three children. but they've all left home, and they don't plan on returning.

>> translator: once i start to depend on others, i need to move in with my kids. as long as my body holds up, i want to stay here. >> reporter: tanizawa plans to renew his license this month so he can keep living here. sari kajihara, nhk world, tokushima. >> many prefectures, including tokushima, offer incentives to seniors to hand in their driver's licenses, including discounts on bus fares and taxi rides. but more has to be done to improve public transportation, especially in rural areas. now let's take a look at the weather with saki ochi.

hello there. welcome back to your world weather update. east asia's looking at some very nice clear skies. for the most part high pressure really covering a lot of china, the korean peninsula, and even in toward japan. very nice clear skies for you. there is a little moisture in northern japan but it's not going to be too much or that widespread. now, in the southeast, however, we are seeing a lot more activity in terms of rainfall. here's a closer look at two tropical depressions that we are looking at right now. one just off vietnam and another one in the bay of bengal. both producing quite a bit of rainfall now. tropical depression just off vietnam is going to remain in place, not move a whole lot for the next few days. it's going to continue to pump in a lot of moisture, too. mostly coastal areas of vietnam. looks like it's not going to get too far into the indochina peninsula. the rest of the region looking quite dry. however, it's going to stay quite showery for indonesia and the malay peninsula, including southern thailand.

seeing quite a bit of rainfall this week. looks like there's going to be a little bit of rain for you again today. and then in the bay of bengal, we've got the second tropical depression here. this one moving westerly direction and forecasts are calling for it to intensify into a tropical cyclone within the next day or so. either way, it looks like it's going to be bringing heavier showers to sri lanka, southern india in the days to come and we could be seeing stronger winds as well. could be turning on the stormy side for you here. as far highs on thursday, 16 in tokyo. the same also for seoul, getting up to 21 in shanghai. and then expecting 26 for taipei. now, over towards the americas, we're going to take a look at the caribbean. we've got our tropical storm system tomas with us moving slowly in a northerly direction. looks like it's going to start approaching jamaica and then heading -- the center of the storm likely approaching haiti about friday. so we could be looking at a lot of stormier conditions towards

the latter half of this week. winds will start affecting jamaica likely about late thursday and then really start turning stormy on friday for areas like haiti, dominican republic, cuba and in towards the bahamas. not only the winds or the high waves we're talking about. there is going to be that rain. heavy rainfall expected. the bulk of it affecting haiti. 120 to even 250 millimeters is expected to accumulate during the next couple of days. that could easily cause life-threatening flash floods. landslides. some very dangerous conditions. and a lot of people still in shelters here in haiti. looks like port-au-prince will miss the brunt of that storm system. but could be looking at very dangerous conditions in the days to come. now, europe today will look fairly settled for the southern half. just a little bit of rain showing up in southern italy in a little bit affecting greece. but otherwise, all the rain is going to be moving across the northern areas from the british isles all the way in towards western russia. pretty wet picture and it's likely going to stay that way. staying wet for the next few days.

as for highs, despite the rain it doesn't get too cold for you. london's highs remaining at 16. also the same in berlin. stockholm, too, rising to eight degrees. a wet picture but hopefully not too cold for you. all right. so that's a look at your weather for now. and here is your three-day outlook. ♪ ♪ and here's a recap of the

headline story. the united nations has made an urgent appeal for $86 million to help disaster victims in two african countries. djibouti is suffering from a prolonged drought, while benin has been hit by extensive flooding. heavy rain has pelted benin in west africa on a regular basis since september. major floods have affected 2/3 of the country, forcing 180,000 people to evacuate their homes. the u.n. has called on the international community to donate $47 million to provide food, drinking water, and anti-epidemic measures. the red cross has been distributing tents and providing other relief. in djibouti the problem is a lack of water. the east african nation has been suffering from a severe drought for the past five years. the u.n. says it will need nearly $39 million to provide food and drinking water for 120,000 people. and that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm shery ahn.

thank you for watching.