welcome to "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. an update on the 6.5 earthquake that hit southeastern iran. at least seven people are reported dead and hundreds injured. the iranian sicenter said it hi the town of hosseinabad on monday.

it's estimated at a depth of 5 kilometers. more than 5,000 people live in villages near the epicenter and many are feared trapped. rescue separations are under way. in 2003, another quake measuring 6.6 killed 20,000 people also in the same province. the u.n. security council remains divided over north korea's artillery attack over a south korean island last month. envoys held unofficial talks last monday. japan and the united states demanded that the council condemn the north for shelling the island last month. china's deputy minister said that peace is in the interest of both the koreas and is urging

both parties to exercise maximum restraint. susan rice said because of the impasse it was not productive to continue discussing the matter. north korea has not reacted to south korea's live fire drill on monday. the north is showing restraint in order to engage the united states in direct talks. the south resumed their drills in the yellow sea had been suspended since the north's attack last month. the north threatened military strikes if the south goes ahead with the drill and said the consequences would be more serious than last month's artillery attack. the north korean issued a statement on monday dismissing the drill as not worth responding to. the u.s. governor of new mexico, bill richardson, is currently visiting north korea and said the north agreed fofto

have atommic energy inspectors. the north agreed to have other countries buy its 12,000 nuclear fuel rods. they are designed for nuclear reactors that use plutonium. these are seen as stems towards denuclearizizati denuclearizization. the united states has reacted cautiously to reports that north korea has agreed to allow u.n. inspectors to return to it its nuclear facilities. >> we've seen a string of broken promises by north korea going back many, many years. we'd be guided by what north korea does, not by what it does it might do. >> the u.s. government maintains that north korea needs to stop provocative behavior and take positive steps towards

denuclearization. the anti-whaling group is set for a new season of protests against japan. the group launched a new boat on monday to intercept whaling operations in the an arctic ocean. it left tasmania to join two other boats that set sail earlier this month. the boat is capable of traveling at 44 kilometers per hour faster than japanese whaling ships. it was built to replace a vessel that was destroyed in january. one official said the group may resort to more violent action than in previous years. >> its goal is to stop whaling in antarctica. >> to protect the whaling fleet, the japanese government will allow armed japan coast guard

officials aboard whaling ships for the first time in three years. a former ukrainian prime minister has been charged with misusing funds obtained from selling carbon emission rights. the ukraine state prosecutor said on monday that she used the equivalent of $290 million to pay pensions during had her tenure as prime minister. ukraine received the money from the japanese government last year in exchange for 15 million tons of carbon credits under the kyoto protocol. she is a fierce rival of pro moscow president yanikovich. she dismissed the accusation. japan and jabumpt te have

agreed to work together. naota kan met the president on monday. the two leaders agreed to improve military facilities. the president pledged to increase support for japan's ant ant anti-piracy. with japan's aging population, robots are helping and also in countries in germany and sweden as well. we explore the potential for the new relationship between sxhnz machines. >> reporter: as the saying goes, from birth to death, humans need to be touched.

robots capable of touching our hearts are becoming available. can robots serve as a human'sa best friend, replacing a living family pet? what is it that defines human communication? we're joined by the therapeutic robot and the man who invented it of the national assist of industrial science. please tell it us about paro. what can he or she do? and how do you come up with this wonderful specimen? >> he has many sensors. he's covered with them. if i stroke paro, he knows how and where i touched parro's body. also we've got sensors. he spends to my touch. inside, he has many temperature sensors in his body. they try to control the body heat to be very warm for the

people, to be comfortable. >> how does paro eat? >> paro has a rechargeable battery inside. we charge his body. this is -- so we can feed paro. >> you like that, don't you, paro? and the charge lasts for how long? >> 1 1/2 hours. >> that's quite long. how did you arrive at this idea that eventually produced paro? >> i did a lot of research on animal therapy and animals and humans' vital signs, like heart beats and also reduce the stress. >> why did you base your robot model on a seal? >> i developed the robot as well

this robot. i asked people to evaluate them through interaction. in the beginning, people had high value on cat robot and dog robot. they expected too much and they became critical by comparing the robots and the real dog or cat. in the case of seal, people don't have much experiences. they don't expect too much. i thought the seal robot is much more acceptable for the people than the cat or dog. >> you're making inroads around the world. paro has made full entry into the european market with the start of sales in germany. how has paro been accepted in europe? >> in the beginning, when people listen to the robot, people hesitated to interact or to see parro. but once they look at paro and

start to interact, they completely change. >> world leaders are showing interest in therapeutic robots. human robots are being developed. they can create human-like expressions. do humanoid and animal expressions differ from real humans? >> the robot should be expected by people, especially in western countries. people do not like human-type robot. it's very different for human type robots to be expected. >> to what extent can robots ary place humans in person-to-person communications? >> paro cannot replace the human. he encourages communication

between people. they have some association, thinking of past memories. for example, they may be remindeded of their own dog or cat. when they interact with paro, they have such kind of association. they may talk with paro or others the. by talking about is such association. >> i'm sitting here listening to. i can't stop touching paro. it's just a wonderful feeling. >> i'm trying to develop another paro. paro a is good for people with dementia, paro b is good for

people with families. >> thank you for coming in and sharing this wonderful paro with us. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, paro. >> in biz news, competition is heating up in the world's biggest auto market. major japanese car markets are planning to increase vehicle sales next year. ♪ they announced their plans for 2011 at an auto show on monday in the southern city of gumptan. sales are expected to top 1 million. that exceeds the previous forecast of 860,000. toyota motors has a target of

more than 900,000. next year, up 100,000 from this year. honda motor said it will increase sales to 730,000 next year. it plans to begin selling a new sedan specially developed for the chinese market. nearly 16.4 million new vehicles were sold in china as of the end of. this year. annual sales are expected to exceed 18 million. it's almost certain the country will be the world's biggest all theo market for the second straight year. japan's crude steel output fell in november, marking a first decline in three months. this comes as the recent expiration for state subsidies dampened demand for cars. the nation's crude steel production for last month stood at slightly below 9 million tons. that's down 5.5% from october. automakers reduced out put after

subsidies ended in october which led to sluggish sales in the auto market. >> translator: robust demand for steel in other parts of asia will likely limit the drop of crude steel output in japan. i think the decline will stay at 5% to 10%. >> the federation's chairman also says the further strength in this case of the yen below the 80-yen mark against the dollar could put an additional dent on production. fast food got a little faster. mcdonald's japan started a delivery service to reach out to customers who are too come to its outlets. they began the service at one of its outlets in tocktokyo. it receivers orders by phone and delivers items within ten minutes by motorcycle. mcdonald's japan is targeting stay at home mothers with small you children and business people

as its main customers. the company said it will conduct the trial at up to ten outlets over the next six months and may expand the service nationwide if if the trial is successful. more and more people in japan are opting for an alternative lifestyle called downshifting. these downshifters quit the workaholic rat race to pick up jobs they love, even at the expense of a steady thk. >> reporter: this 40-year-old has taken the downshifter's plunge. he opened his own pub in central tokyo seven years ago. it's tiny, only 20 square meters and seats about 15. he does everything from cooking to cleaning. it's a one-man show. the pub is only open between

6:00 p.m. and midnight, five days a week. his goal is to earn just enough money to live on. he's not aiming to make it big. he'd rather enjoy good conversation with customers than focus on profits. >> translator: i started my own business because i didn't want to live just for money. i'm only going to do what i really believe in. >> reporter: he worked in a sales division of a department store for more than sux years after graduating from university. he was always a top performer. but you with the weak economy, sales targets got increasingly difficult to meet. the pressure began to take its toll. >> translator: i tried hard to

stay upbeat, but outside of work, i couldn't help but feel lonely and bitter. it was like falling slowly, slowly down into an abyss. >> reporter: his life completely changed after he started working for himself. at the department store, he worked from morning to night. but now, he starts late in the afternoon. he spends his free time reading or doing whatever he likes. he rents several rice paddies in two tokyo suburbs. in total, about the size of a basketball court, where he grows his own rice. he did this mainly because his salary was cut 40% to $40,000 a year. it autumn he harvested 180 kilograms. this was more than enough to cover the amount needed, both at his pub and at home for one year.

he also grew soy beans on the banks of the rice paddies and fermented some to make miso. >> translator: it's so rewarding to eat what i have grown myself. because i grow it myself, i can feel confident that i'll never have to worry about starving. >> reporter: his downshifter lifestyle has been an inspiration to many. one of these is a regular customer at his pub. he used to work at a human resource consulting firm. >> translator: most companies fight hard for a bigger share of their market. when you're surrounded by fierce competition, you tend to focus only on personal gain. for me, it didn't seem right. >> reporter: he quit the consulting firm and launched a company in july that offers farm experience tours.

although his annual income dropped by half, he finds his new career challenging and worthwhile. >> translator: before i felt like a cog in a machine. but now, i've got my life back. it feels great. >> reporter: in november, he had a harvest party at his home and invited friends who had helped him with his rice paddies. he hopes to expand his network and spread the word about leaving leading a more fulfilling life even on a tighter budget. >> translator: now i enjoy both my job and my leisure time. i'm sure it's possible to lead a you rich life without having to deal with increasing sales targets.

here's the latest market figures. hi, again. welcome back to your world weather update. now for east asia, we are looking at pretty calm skies for china. a bit of a wet spot in the south. that will be a small amount at

most. a little snow spreading in the northeast. it doesn't look like it'll be getting too heavy today. the bulk of the moisture will be across japan. rain has been moving up from the south. that will continue to head in a northerly direction over the course of today bringing in showers. looks like it's going to be moving at a fairly slow pace. evening hours starts reaching central japan, including tokyo. it will continue towards the north on wednesday. pacific side, looking to pick up some locally heavy amounts of that. that might be something we need to keep an eye on. highs on tuesday will be mild for tokyo, 13 degrees. 9 in seoul. 13 also in shanghai. 24 in taipei. we are looking at 22 degrees in hong kong. across the americas. a lot of activity off the pacific. it's been pretty wet along the west coast as well as southern california these past few days. looks like there's a lot more

onshore flow going on. mountain areas are picking up quite a bit of snow. really hampering that holiday travel season here. more snow coming in also impacting parts of the northern plains as well as the midwest. if does turn over into snow or rain and possibly icy conditions in the deep south. also remaining unsettled out east too. a couple of snow showers are going to be possible here. staying chilly, 2 degrees in d.c. 3 in new york. we've got zero for toronto. finally, a look at europe. still pretty messy picture. lots of cold air bringing in wintry precipitation. it's been a pretty messy past few days. travel chaos tons impact a lot of areas across northern europe. here's a look at the situation some of these airports are having to deal with. here in the airport in paris, charles de gaulle, dealing with plenty of snow on monday.

workers, of course, going around-the-clock trying you to get runways clear. a lot of travel delays and cancellations reported in many major airports, especially heathrow. hard had it. delays and cancellations have been going on for several days. it might be lasting for a while longer. not good news as holiday season starts picking up. on tuesday, snow forecast showing the bulk of it toward the east. scandinavian peninsula. set to impact travel conditions again. lots of moisture from the south too. iberian peninsula, looking at rain and france. ta could be turning over into snow in the next few days. a big area of concern. meanwhile, we are talking about mild conditions in the mediterranean region. 17 for your high in athens. getting up to 18 in rome. we've got 15 for madrid. that's a look at your weather for now. i will leave you with your

three-day outlook.

once again, the headlines this hour. an update on the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit south southeastern iran. at least seven people are now reported dead and hundreds injured. the iranian center said the quack hit the town of hossenabad at 10:12 p.m. on monday. its focus is estimated at a depth of 5 kilometers. reports say the death toll could rise. more than 5,000 people listen in villages near the epicenter. many are feared trapped under collapsed buildings. in 2003, another quake measuring 6.6 killed more than 20,000 people in the same province.

buddhist temp nelles in kyo carried out their annual cleaning for the new year. the cleaning began more than 400 years ago. at this temple, more than 400 sxreefts worshippers garthd theo clean the two halls. they dusted the tatami mats and waved big brooms to clear the dust out. this top priest completed the ritual and traced the character are ritual for a peaceful life in the new year. before we wrap-up the program, we show you how monkeys

at a zoo in central japan are staying warm now that winter's here. how's this for a way you to cope with the cold? 160 monkeys gather around a fire every day. the zoo keepers keep the flames going. they also bake sweet potatoes, a favorite for the monkeys. when the food is ready, they scramble to get them. a few of the greedier ones take extra helpings. if the food is too hot, the animals dip them in a pond before eating them. the head of the zoo said the monkeys aren't afraid of the flames. in fact, their hair becomes dry and curly at this time of the year because they sometimes get too close. that clouds this edition of "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour with the latest news and weather. ÷+