welcome to nhk news world line. the u.s. embassy announced the head of japan affairs at the state department kevin maher has been fired. visiting u.s. assistant secretary of state kurt campbell, in facted him of the

move on thursday in their talks on thursday. they say a former deputy chief will assume the post. maher reportedly told some college students in the u.s. last december that okinawans are masters of manipulation and extortion. he was referring to the relocation of a u.s. marines air space station in the southern most prefecture. in the talks with takeaki matsumoto, campbell said maher's comments are unacceptable and contrary to u.s. policy and its respect for the people of okinawa. japan's two major stock exchange operators will explore the possibility of consolidating their businesses. the talks will be aimed at bolstering japan's standing in the world equity market, amid growing pressure for realignment in the industry.

if they agree to integrate operations it will have a listing of 4,000 stocks, rivaling the world's leading forces. the two will likely aim to boost their edge by sharing system development efforts and expanding the lineup of financial products. the move is after the operators of the new york and frankfurt stock exchanges agreed to consolidate. attention is focused on whether japan's exchanges will be able to hammer out a viable plan to increase their competitiveness. japan downgraded the economic growth from october to december by 0.2 percentage points to minus 1.3% on an annual basis. the downward revision comes as corporate capital investment and spending fell short of previous estimates. the cabinet office said on thursday that the nation's gross domestic product sh rank 0.3% during the last quarter from the previous one market marking the first decline in five quarters

and that translates in to a 1.3% drop in annualized terms. nominal gdp was 2.8% annually. a government official said the latest data underscores the economy's sluggish growth at the time. he said while the economy is likely back on a recovery path, there are some risks. they include rising oil prices due to unrest in north africa and the middle east and political uncertainty inside of japan over the state budget for the coming fiscal year. meanwhile, japan's corporate goods price index inched up from a year earlier. marking the fifth straight month of increases. prices in iron steel were a major factor. on thursday they said the index was 104.1. that's an increase of 1.7%. compared to the previous month it is a 0.2% rise. it is a measure of prices of

goods traded among japanese firms. the rise is due to the advance in commodity price as tension continues in north africa and the middle east. higher demand from emerging economies is another factor. the president of the largest carmaker, toyota announced the midterm strategies on saturday. he said they will focus on emerging markets and eco friendly vehicles. translator: toyota wants to build up a well-balanced business structure by increasing our profits and emerging -- in emerging markets a as well as developed markets. >> reporter: toyota also said toyota aims to achieve worldwide sales of 9 million units by 2015. reaching that goal will mean sales over 10 million units for the toyota group, which in -- motors. this is the first time the

auto giant is eyeing the milestone they had set the target before. that was in 2007. >> 1 is 0 million vehicles is the number that toyota once set as the sales target. in 2008 the company sold more than general motors, becoming the world's largest automaker. for the fiscal year that ended in march of 2008, toyota posted a record operating profit of about $20 billion. but things took a turn for the worse. the global financial collapse of legalen brothers dented the need for cars especially in developing economies. for the first time in over 70 years, toyota fell in to the red. its operating loss came to $4.6 billion. while toyota struggled to limit the fallout from the financial crisis, a fatal crash in the u.s. sparked concerns and led to

investigations over the safety of toyota's cars. since then, a total of 10 million vehicles were recalled worldwide to address mechanical issues. translator: what is happening now is an extremely big problem. we are in a critical situation. >> reporter: but probes over speculated faults in toyota's electronics system continued. the automaker denied the claims. despite the recalls the company managed to return to profitability. posting an operating income of $1.6 billion through cost-cutting efforts. improving sales in asia were also a help. >> there is no electronic-based cause. >> reporter: last month, u.s. authorities concluded that toyota's electronics system was not at fault. and for the third straight year in 2010, toyota remained the

world's top automaker by unit sales. >> our business reporter emily wang is joining us in the studio. emily, 10 million. that's a lot of toyotas, and that's in one year they want to sell that amount. how are they going to do this? >> to summarize they are focusing on two key strategies. the first is reaching in to emerging markets, and the second is developing its lineup of eco friendly cars. the company says it will launch ten more hybrid vehicles over the next four years, while developing other echo friendly models. as for emerging markets, toyota aims to increase the sales competition situation from the 40 -- composition from the 30 to 40%. they plan toin crease production and develop new models exclusively for emerging countries and among them toyota has stressed the importance of china. translator: as for china and other emerging markets, we

expect them to be growth centers. we expect china to lead that growth and to account for about 15% of toyota's worldwide sales. >> emerging markets, of course, have been the darling in late in the auto industry. as you say, they are going to start building cars locally in those countries. are they going to be successful? >> compared to some carmakers who have made enrods early on, toyota is a relative newcomer. for example, in china, which is the world's largest auto market, toyota has a share of only 5.5% and ranked sixth. hyundai has a bigger market share than toyota. and in another key market, india. toyota's share is less than one-tenth of suzuki that is a japanese automaker. they had ventured in to the indian market nearly 30 years

ago. >> they are behind the game. are they going to be able to formulate a path going in to these countries? >> at this point, we are yet to see how far toyota can customize the vehicles to match local needs and how competitive their price points can become whether they remain the top automaker depends how successful it can be in the key emerging markets. >> thank you very much for your input. emily wang for nhk world. tokyo stocks meanwhile were down on thursday morning following an overnight decline in new york. here's a look at the nikkei average. ending the morning at 10473, down 115 points. exporters led the fall. investors are worried that crude oil prices may stay high amid ongoing unrest in africa and the middle east. look at the dollar. moving in a narrow range against the yen due to a lack of trading incentives. changing hands at 82.77.

euro 1.3902 to 3904. euro/yen 115.08-10. many market investors are waiting on the sidelines to see the outcomes of the policy meetings in the united states and japan. forces loyal to libyan leader moammar gadhafi continue to carry out air strikes on areas held by insurgent forces. gadhafi loyalists launched air attacks on an air attacks on wednesday. they also bombed the city of zawiya west of the capital. tripoli using tanks and warplanes. gadhafi is undergrowing domestic and foreign pressure to quit. on tuesday, anti-government forces again called on him to go saying they would not arrest him if he left within 72 hours. the u.n. security council is drawing up a draft resolution to

impose a no-fly zone over his country. opposition spokesperson told nhk by phone that the attacks by the government forces are intense and that gadhafi has no intention of resigning. the government reportedly sent a senior military official to neighboring egypt and other envoys to european nations including bell yum on wednesday. the move is seen as a countermeasure against increasing diplomatic efforts by the opposition to overthrow gadhafi. the european parliament is likely to adopt a resolution calling for the recognition of libya's new opposition council as the sole legitimate government. they visited the parliament asking for recognition and support from the international community. guy verhofstadt, a political leader in the parliament, who arranged the visit made the claim to reporters in stras bourg, france on wednesday. he said all groups in parliament agree to recognize the

newly-created council and said they will call on european union leader leaders to adopt a apartmently retz lucien. the united nations called on all parties involved in the conflict in libya to ensure that civilians, particularly children, are kept out of harm's way. in a statement re -- released on wednesday, valerie amoos said she is concerned about the discriminate nature of the fighting, particularly the use of heavy artillery. earlier in a speech on state-run tv, gadhafi called on all citizens, men, women and children, to go out on to the streets and clear away from the traders in benghazi -- or clear away the traders -- traitors in benghazi. it warned the pro government and opposition forces to abide by international laws and to protect civilians from harm in

the conflict. china's state-run media says the country has evacuated all of the 35,000-plus nationals from crisis torn libya. the government chartered 91 civilian flights and for the first time ever deployed air force planes a ena naval ship to evacuate what are mainly construction workers. the news agency extenss i havely reported the evacuation while it was taking place and plans to sell a documentary dvd based on the footage. on-line messages in china have been calling for demonstrations for political reform inspired by the uprisings in the middle east. china's government seems to have made the evacuation public in a bid to ease domestic sentiment and dampen potential protests. south korea is investigating an alleged sex scandal involving

three diplomates at the consulate in shanghai. the three may have traded secrets for sex with a 33-year-old chinese woman. on wednesday, a major south korean newspaper reported the diplomates are believed to have given the woman phone numbers for more than 200 south korean officials including president lee myung-bak . they are expected to have leaked information on his visit to the shanghai expo last year. kim sung hwan apologized before parliament on tuesday and wednesday while the former the council general was questioned about the scandal. it may develop in to a new source of friction as the woman reportedly has ties with the chinese government. minority christians protesting the burning of a church clashed with majority muslims in egypt killing 13 people and raising fears that sectarian tensions are escalating. the two sides threw stones at each other in a

christian-dominated neighborhood cairo on tuesday and wednesday. the health ministry says more than 140 people were wounded. security forces are trying to prevent further clashing by firing warning shots but chaos continues in many locations. christians staged demonstrations and sit ins since the church was set on fire earlier this month. their frustrations over oppression and discrimination have been mounting since democracy protests ousted hosni mubarak last month. the united nations says there were 2700 conflict-related civilian deaths in afghanistan last year. the most since the fall of the taliban regime a decade ago. the u.n. assistance mission released a report on wednesday saying the figure of 2777 dead is a rise of 15% from the previous year. attacks by the taliban and other insurgents killed 2080 civilians or around 75%. the u.n. says the targeted

killing of government officials and international aid workers has increased sharply as fighting spreads across the country. the number of civil yaps killed by afghan security forces or international coalition troops fell to 440, 40% in air strikes. u.s. forces plan to start to withdrawal from afghanistan in july but the latest report shows that despite last year's surge in troops the security situation in the country is deteriorating due to the the resurgence of the taliban. the u.s. space shuttle "discovery" made the final landing in florida marking the end of the 27-year career. it landed at kennedy space center shortly before noon local time on wednesday. it finished the 39th mission lasting for 13 days. >> touchdown. the end of a historic journey, and to the ship that has led the

way, time and time again, we say farewell, "discovery." >> "discovery" is the oldest of nasa's three spaceship shuttles and debuted in 1984. the nasa chief boldin greeted the crew members on the runway. the government decided to retire the shuttles by the end of the year. nasa plans to launch "endeavor" in april and "atlantis" in june. private firms will be commissioned to develop future spacecrafts. model trains have long been popular, but falling birthrates and the popularity of computer games are threatening the hobby. now model train buffs in germany are doing their best to keep the tradition alive. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: in germany, fathers have been giving model trains to their sons for years.

perfect replicas of real train cars. they look powerful and stable. >> reporter: marklin a world leader of model trains was founded 150 years ago. it is a major player in the industry. the company pays special attention to every detail of its trains. all models are assembled by hand. the trains are sturdy enough to last for three generations, but two years ago, marklin went bankrupt. it couldn't compete with computer games and other model distractions. new management took control in january, but profits were still down by 25%. >> it was shrinking from 2005 until 2008. and now days more money is spent on the certain kid and therefore

they have different options. >> reporter: but twin brothers are giving the tradition a boost. this railroad model museum is operated by garrett and frederick brown. they have been model train buffs ever since they were young boys. >> when we were small childs, our father made a present to us. he gave us his old trains, was all american. we built many tracks from the kitchen to the bathroom, and i remember all the game we played with our trains. >> reporter: they built the world's largest train railway, roughly the size of a 50 meter swimming pool the museum attracts 1 million visitors a year. controllers use monitors and mini cameras as they oversee the operation of the model trains.

right after marklin's bankruptcy two years ago, fredrik and garrit bought part of it. >> they have very much problems so i hope they are fine again at the moment an if it is possible with this exhibition to help them that the children likes to buy trains in the future, i'm very glad. >> reporter: this man and his son enjoy model trains in the attic. his son used to play pc games, but now he plays with his model trains every day. translator: i like model trains much better. all you do with a computer game is click the mouse. here i can make model train layouts by myself. >> reporter: there are some model trains that they treasure

more any other. they are the ones he inherited from his father. he will also buy jacob an updated version. translator: it will be fun to run my grandpa's old trains with my new trains. i'm really looking forward to it. >> reporter: in 20 years, jacob will be older and have a child of his own. my dream is to make a die ram ma together and play with model trains with my grandchildren. >> reporter: though the industry is going through difficult times, these model train buffs are keeping the business alive by passing the tradition down through their families. nhk world. prices depend on the model. the cheapest costs $100. in order to appeal to a wider range of customers marklin is

developing a new, more affordable line, that will be available this summer. here's the weather forecast with sumi zushi. hi there. welcome back to your world weather update. cold air remains in place across japan picking up the moisture producing plenty of snowfall again along the western side of the country. we are looking at 30 to 40 centimeter of snow accompanied by strong winds and possibly blizzard like conditions as well. the cold northernly winds making their way further south will keep the temperatures down across the pacific side of the country but good sunshine to look forward to. across the continent, high pressure system expanding out of northern china will keep the weather dry here. good spells of sunshine here as well through the korean peninsula and the cold air starting to leave the area. temperature will be climbing

nicely here. for the south of china, looking at some showers to develop in to the south and southwest, perhaps some snow in the mix over to the northwestern corner and unsettled outlook for the philippines, a lot of thunderstorms and heavy rain to con tend with, especially to the south of the country. 31 degrees in manila. 17 in taipei, 13 in shanghai. warming up to only 8 degrees in tokyo today. 7 in seoul. and then 15 in, pleasant and mild in beijing with sunny spells. now we head to the americas where flooding is going to be a major concern. numerous flooding reports coming out this week along the mississippi valley, but up in the northeastern corner in the u.s. as well. let's start off with some footage out of new jersey. you can see that many areas have been flooded here due to the recent rainfall. rivers have risen significantly. residents were forced to use

boats as a means of getting around. floodwater was quite strong, as you can see. it knocked down a refrigerator here. cleanup efforts are going on, but more rain is on the way. and of course it's not just new jersey but other parts of the northeast dealing with flooding as well. here's the potent storm moving across, very slowly. that's going to bring flooding rains to many areas. we have widespread snow across the north. er in great lakes torrential rains to the south for the mid-atlantic states and quite severe thunderstorms to look out for throughout the night as well. so, many areas again under flood warnings, flood watches do remain in place all the way from the northeast to the mid-atlantic states and we are looking at renewed flooding risks along the mississippi valley as well. do keep in mind that these warnings and watches, advisories can change fairly quickly. keep updated with what your local reports are telling you.

now, over to the northwest, plenty of winter storms in place across the pacific northwest. inland snow. many of the mountains and then down to sierra as well. northern california picking up a good deal of surf. to the coast it will be mostly rain. rain in vancouver and seattle as well but temperatures are not too bad. rain mild in los angeles today. 28 in miami. all right. that's all for me just now. here's your extended forecast now.

taking a look at our lead stories. the u.s. embassy in tokyo has announced that the head of japan affairs in the state department kevin maher has been fired. visiting u.s. assist tachbt secretary of state kurt campbell informed the move to japan's new foreign minister takeaki matsumoto on thursday in their talks in tokyo. campbell said rust deming, a former deputy chief will assume the post. maher reportedly told some college students in the u.s. last december that okinawa wants are masters of manipulation and extortion. he was referring to the relocation of the u.s. marines air station. in the talks, campbell said

maher's comment is unacceptable and contrary to the u.s. policy and the respect for okinawa. japan downgraded the economic growth by 0.2% to 1.3% on an annual basis. they downward revision comes as consumer spending fell short of previous estimates. the cabinet office said on thursday that the nation's gross domestic product shrank 0.3%. that translates in to a 1.3% drop in annualized terms. nominal gdp was downgraded by 0.3 percentage points to minus 2.8% annually. the officials say it underscores the sluggish growth of the economy at the time. he said while the economy is likely back on a recovery path there are some risk including rising oil prices due to the unrest in the middle east and

africa and political uncertainties in in japan over the state budget for the fiscal year. we will be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. .