welcome to." it's 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the new leader of japan's governing democratic party,

yoshihiko noda, is expected to be elected the country's 95th prime minister at a plenary session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the top post. finance minister noda beat economy minister banri kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet have resigned at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has already been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday noda told colleagues he wants to leave the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his intention to give major posts to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership

election. noda says he plans to select the party's sec. tear gen secretary-general first and hopes to announce his choice within a few days. we asked people on the streets of tokyo what we expect from the new leader. >> translator: i don't want the tax rise, but it is needed to rebuild after the disaster. >> translator: noda should stay on as prime minister for more than a year. he should change his party for the better. >> translator: he oversaw market invention to stem the yen's advance, but had he done it much earlier, the yen might be much lower now. i hope he will work hard in everyone's interest. we also asked for the thoughts of evacuees and other

residents in disaster-struck areas including fukushima. >> translator: i want noda to clarify whether evacuees will be able to return home. >> translator: if present circumstances continue, i can't foresee my future. i want noda to tell people what measures he will take. i want him to immediately carry out what he pledges. >> translator: i want noda to create jobs for people who lost work in the disaster. >> translator: i want noda to visit the disaster zone, see the devastation, and understand how the evacuees feel. noda's election as head of japan's ruling democratic party has caught the attention of other international media. they're focusing on how his low

profile is and the long to do list he'll face once he becomes prime minister. china's state run central television provided live coverage of monday's leadership election. the procaster called noda a dark horse. noda isn't as well-known in china as some of the other contenders. central china said if he's elected prime minister he may propose a grand coalition to make the diet function better but it adds he will have difficulty reaching a compromise with the opposition parties. state run television in russia is reporting noda will face a tougher task as prime minister. it says he'll have to shoulder a heavy burden, including addressing the ongoing nuclear crisis, ballooning government debt and a deteriorating economy. cnn is noting noda will become japan's sixth prime minister in five years.

it notes the leader isn't well recognized by the public about you that he's expected to make headway in fiscal reconstruction. employment data is a big focus this week both in the u.s. and in japan opinion u.s. figures will come out this week but here in japan numbers have come out this morning. ai uchida joins us from the business desk with details. >> thanks, catherine. the jobless rate worsened while job availability improved in july. the unemployment rate was up 0.1% to 4.7% marking an increase for the second straight month. the internal affairs ministry says the number of unemployed stood at 2.9 million. the figure excludes those of three disaster hit prefectures. job availability improved for the second consecutive month. there were 64 positions

available for every 100 job seekers in july. job availability for disaster stricken regions also improved. the ratio for miyagi and fukushima prefectures stood at 62. iwate was at 55. job offers from reconstruction businesses are rising but the situation remains grim in badly damaged coastal areas. a separate government survey shows temporary employees accounted for nearly 40% of private sector staff last year. that is at a record high. the labor ministry polled about 10,000 offices and establishments with five or more workers as of october last year. the results show that the average ratio of temporary staff including contract workers and part timers stood at 38.7%. that's up nearly one percentage point from the previous survey conducted in 2007 and marks the highest ratio since the polling began in 1987.

by business time, the figure topped 72% at hotels and restaurants while it exceeded 50% for movie theaters and retailers. nearly 44% of the respondents cited reductions in salaries as a reason for hiring temporary staff. over 27% said they aim to cut social security expenses. the labor ministry says firms will likely use more temporary workers in the future due to the effects of the march disaster and the yen's continued strength. tokyo stocks extended their gains on tuesday morning following an overnight rally in new york. the index closed the morning session at 8986, that is up over 130 points, a gain of just over 1.5% on the day so far. the bullish momentum on wall street carried over to tokyo, where investors are buying a wide range of shares, including exporters and banks. turning to currencies, on the tokyo foreign exchange the dollar is higher against the yen

this tuesday morning, hovering in the upper 76 yen range. the greenback currently at 76.88-89 yen, while the euro is at 59-65 yen. investors are selling the yen for the dollar after upbeat u.s. consumer spending data for july boosted market sentiment and sent new york stocks soaring. here is the look at the latest long-term interest rates, the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets gains across the board, hong kong leading the way with a 2% gain so far this tuesday morning, shanghai is up 0.8% and shenzhen is up 0.6%. japanese automakers are gearing up to introduce models that respond to a system that encourages safe driving. threw radio waves the system has

navigation devices in cars. when a vehicle approaches an intersection from a side street a signal is sent to the navigation device. the driver is warned about the oncoming traffic by both an alarm and a screen message. sensors were installed at 15 accident-prone intersections in tokyo and kanagawa last month. the japanese government aims to introduce the system nationwide. nissan motor had, has already developed an antenna that can be attached to current models to work with the sensors, and following suit, toyota's new models out this autumn will also include functions that will correspond to the system. japan's daiwa securities group is joining hands with taiwan to strengthen economic ties. the aim is to help japanese firms branch smoothly into mainland china. >> translator: we have agreed to strengthen economic ties between japan and taiwan.

i believe that it also helps further development of both economies. >> the announcement was made on monday jointly by daiwa president takashi hibino and taiwanese authorities. through cooperation with taiwan, daiwa will support japanese companies, conduct business in the region. this includes mediating tie-ups between japanese and taiwanese firms. daiwa hopes the efforts will help japanese firms make smooth inroads into the chinese market. this comes after taiwan and mainland china signed a free trade deal in january. meanwhile, taiwan hopes to raise its international competitiveness by inviting japanese high tech firms. the competition for business among companies that make water systems is intense. with so many emerging countries eager to buy the infrastructure, the market is expected to grow over $1.3 trillion. at the moment, japan trails

europe in water technology sales, but it's making moves to close the gap. nhk world's yoshio anima reports. >> reporter: singapore hosted the world trade fair for organizations involved in the water industry. at a july event japanese participants took up more space than other countries to promote their products. >> i'm very impressed that one thing about the way the japanese reduced the leakage. >> reporter: japan's water treatment acumen and other operators are considered world class, but setting water for entire cities is difficult. there is a growing trend around the globe.

private companies have set the system as a profit-making enterprise but japan has come up with a new strategy that involves municipal governments skilled in managing water infrastructure. they are having the japanese municipal governments getting private companies in the cities to sell and install the infrastructure. >> translator: japan's private sector needs to handle the on-the-ground work, after the municipalities have taken the business initiative. the money earned by private firms leads to tax revenues, so this will be a huge plus for japan. >> reporter: ho chi minh city in vietnam appreciates the new business model, with a population of over 7 million, the city is the hub of the country's growing economy.

but the aging infrastructure for the city's water supply can't keep pace with its rapid growth and the amount of water that leaks from city pipelines can reach 40%. the water pressure is also low. during peak hours, customers can barely squeeze out a drop. this has driven most families to install tanks on their roofs. they pump water into them overnight. osaka and ho chi minh city have started to develop a working relationship based on the japanese model. kyoshi miyochi is the director of the osaka city bureau. he spent two years traveling back and forth to the vietnamese city conducting surveys. the result convinced him that

osaka could use its know-how to help ho chi minh city. >> translator: the two municipalities are very similar in some ways, so the way i see it, our technology could really benefit ho chi minh city. >> reporter: ho chi minh's flat top ography's helps compensate for the water pressure but ho chi minh has linked many distribution reservoirs to compensate, they use pumps to increase the water pressure. this system impressed ho chi minh city agreed to provide it with comprehensive support to upgrade its water system. >> translator: osaka has

extensive experience, so we are hoping it can improve our system and reduce the amount of leaking water. >> reporter: the next step is for local companies to receive orders from ho chi minh city. in the meantime, osaka held a seminar for the vietnamese to promote the high technology of japanese companies. >> translator: as a private sector company, we have our limits, so it is really helpful for the local government to take the lead and pave the way for us. >> reporter: whether japan gains a foothold in the globe's massive global water market depends on theish innives of its local gormt. yoshio arima wshld world, singapore. >> other japanese municipalities are using similar methods to

make inroads into the water market. that is all for business news for now. back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. algeria's foreign ministry says the wife of colonel gadhafi and three of his children have fled libya to neighboring algeria. gadhafi's wife safia, his sons mohammed and hannibal and his daughter aisha reportedly entered algeria monday morning. a spokesperson for libya's national transitional council has criticized algeria and demanded the family's extradition. >> translator: this is an act of aggression against the libyan people. >> the whereabouts of gadhafi and his second son, saif al islam, are still unknown. libya's national transitional council has set up a unit to locate gadhafi and has offered a reward of about $1.7 million for his capture.

the european union has opened a humanitarian aid office in tripoli to deliver relief supplies to libyans. the eu announced on monday that an advanced team of four experts opened the office in the capital. they'll work with non-governmental organizations to deliver essential supplies like medicine and water. the union also says it plans to employ more loelz if necessacal. the effort is part to support the pro-democracy movement in libya. the eu will open offices in the city near the border and the eastern city of benghazi, the stronghold of anti-government forces and in europe this thursday, french president nicolas sarkozy will lead an international conference in paris. the participants will discuss how to help rebuild libya's infrastructure and provide humanitarian aid. the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission has announced that it

will conduct additional inspection of the nuclear power plant in virginia that lost external power during the 5.8 magnitude earthquake last tuesday. the quake was the first with a magnitude of more than 5.0 to hit the east coast state in more than 114 years. the north anna nuclear power station was about 20 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake. the commission is sending a team of seismic experts to the power station to determine the precise level of shaking and whether the plant needs to be reinforced. the station's reactors automatically shut down when the facility lost power but emergency diesel generators managed to cool the units. the watchdog later found the plant had experienced tremors that may have exceeded the level it was designed to withstand. last week's earthquake has raised questions about the preparedness of nuclear plants on the east coast, where large quakes were thought to be rare.

busloads of volunteers often drive to the affected areas of the tsunami in japan. they are cleaning up the mess and getting areas on their feet again. tour companies find the volunteers and for a fee drive the workers to the work sites. >> reporter: late at night in tokyo, the overnight bus terminal is busy. these passengers have signed up for a volunteer tour in northeastern japan. >> translator: i have a job, so i decided to use my vacation to take this tour. >> translator: i really wanted to do something to help. >> translator: my mother said she's going to do it. i wanted to as well.

>> reporter: on this no frills tour, participants sleep on the bus en route to miyagi prefecture, do a day's work there and return home overnight. most here have never volunteered before. they each paid $127 for the tour. after 12 hours, they arrive in ishinomaki city. the surrounding area was destroyed by the tsunami. rubble still clogs the narrow spaces between buildings. big removal vehicles can't get into the small spaces. as the bus drives through the devastated area, the passengers react. they're scheduled to work in the

stor storage room of a plant that processed seafood. they get ready to work. >> translator: today's work is to pick up the dirt and mud here and put it in these bags. >> reporter: the building floor is kegged with earth, left behind by the tsunami. when the mud starts to dry, it blows around in the air and sticks in people's eyes and throats. and when the shovels disturb the dry earth, damp earth is uncovered and smells of decay. the temperature reaches 29 degrees celsius. the volunteers take a break every hour to prevent heat stroke.

the owner of the plant stops by to personally thank the volunteers. >> translator: i know it's very hot. we're so happy that you all decided to come here to help uts. us. >> reporter: the volunteers have been working for five hours. finally, the layer of earth and mud is gone. >> translator: thank you so much for your help today. [ applause ] >> translator: you can't tell how badly it smells from watching the news on tv, so it was a shock, to be honest. i think we have to do this again. once is not enough. >> translator: it's been over five months since the disaster,

so when you're in tokyo, you tend to have less interest in what happened, even though you haven't forgotten the tragedy. i want to tell people in tokyo the disaster areas are still in very difficult situations. >> reporter: a lack of manpower slows the recovery of northeastern japan. self-financing volunteer tours have become a way of helping the devastated areas. hello there. time now for your weather update. across japan, it stays mostly sunny, though clouds are starting to move in from the west into northern japan this afternoon. of course, we have this very large storm system working its way across the pacific as well, slowly approaching mainland japan, typhoon talis. packing winds 120 kilometers per hour, gusts higher than that.

right now really impacting the islands of ogasawara, with torrential rains and rough sea conditions and also starting to bring in high waves along the pacific side of japan as well. set to make landfall in mainland japan, somewhere in central and western areas on friday and after that we'll continue to move in a northerly direction. now, meanwhile, looking at scattering of showers for the northeastern china, that's going to be pulling away. another round of rain, though, expected to move into the region on wednesday and thursday. now, let's focus on this other storm system affecting southeastern china just now. the center of the storm over the taiwan straits. it is packing winds of 83 kilometers per hour. and really impacting taiwan and southeastern china right now with very strong winds. it is going to be moving into fujian province tonight and significantly weakening after that. but even as the wind dies down, we're going to see the rainfall -- the rain really

heavy rain over the next couple of days, upwards of 100 millimeters is expected to fall along the coastal line here, also for southern taiwan as well with the ground already saturated and dealing with various flooding problems. and continues to enhance the southwest monsoon into the northern philippines as well. not out of the woods here either. temperature wise, 34 in hong kong. 31 in shanghai, warming up to 30 degrees in tokyo. now for the americas, looking at a scattering of showers for the intermountain west into the central plains, also severe from montana, southern saskatchewan tonight out to the east, still dealing with significant rain in quebec, canada, due to the remnants of hurricane irene. you see the new system coming in from ontario, sweeping across much of quebec into your tuesday. so staying quite unsettled here as well. looking at 29 degrees in d.c. today, warming up to 28 in new york city with plenty of sunshine.

28 in toronto, sunny and warm here as well. now, let's take a look at europe. we have that very large storm system moving into scandinavia, moving fairly slowly, so keeping weather conditions quite unsettled over next couple of days. looking very windy and thundery across the baltic states, the north coast of germany and poland and bringing a little bit of cloudy and wet weather to the northern end of the british isles as well. but for central, western and eastern europe, under the big high pressure system, it will stay dry for the most part, plenty of sunshine as well. the iberian peninsula starting off on a sunny note. by evening, we'll start to see the new system coming in from the west, the weather conditions quite wet for you. 32 degrees in madrid. 21 in paris. looking quite chilly in berlin, 17 degrees with cloudy skies. all right, here is your extended forecast.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.