in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. roke is heading towards the main island. people in western japan are on high alert. heavy rain is falling in the region and there are glowing fears of widespread flooding and landslides.in southern japan, r have been warned to evacuate because of possible landslides. some residents had to be rescued by boat before their houses were inundated by the rising floods. >> i feel so relieved. the rain is easing off now. i hope it stops soon. >> one reason why typhoon roke is causing such concern is because western japan is still recovering from a previous storm that hit the region earlier this mop month. let's go to the weather desk with the latest on this storm system. saki, where is the storm headed

and what can we expect today? >> well, you can see very active clouds covering much of japan and this is what is bringing all the rain. here is the forecast path for this typhoon. it is getting very close to central sections of japan, likely making land fall here within the next couple of hours. by midday. you can see by the evening hours it starts approaching the area including tokyo before quickly heading up north. it will track right over the country and it is just going to be very stormy over the course of today. right now, it is a very strong typhoon so it's packing winds of over 160 kilometers per hour with gusts much, much higher and of course it is pack rain. heavy rain has been inundating southern sections. now it will focus on central and northern areas of japan though the next 24 hours we are talking about ample amounts of rain up to 400 millimeters possible for the area. elsewhere looking at 300 for northern sections then central

sec tees and this area has ben scene a lot of rain already. more to come. so you do want to stay well alert above the situation. >> all right, well as sakai mentioned, the typhoon is approaching easterna pan. nhk is at one of the biggest train stations in tokyo. we heard from the the last hour, how is it looking now? >> well it is still calm here. in front of train station in central tokyo, it began raining last night but the rain and wind aren't so strong at the moment. this is the busiest station in tokyo at this time of day. can you see commuters carrying umbrellas as they head to walk places. the typhoon is still far away from tokyo. but it has already caused traffic disruption. the sign board says, the trains

have been cancelled between the northern prefecture and northern japan. the travel has also been affected, more than 200 domestic flights have been cancelled so far. as the typhoon comes through though, more rain is on the way. including downpours of 18 millimeters per hour. a woman told me she is planning to visit northern japan for sightseeing but isn't sure if she can make it. the typhoon's closest approach to tokyo is expected around rush hour. people are very concerned about how the weather will change as the typhoon approaches. >> all right, thanks very much. susan is there. it looks like tokyoites must brace for the typhoon. we will keep you up-to-date on

treeky throughout the day. ai, we are in the third quarter of this year. however economic concerns linger locally. how does this run intoing nom iks for 2011. >> economic activities have been weakening remarkably. the imf on tuesday released its latest report. it revised its world economic outlook to 4% down by 0.3%age points from three months earlier. the reports said economic risks have clearly been increasing, citing growing credit problems in europe and temporary drop in production in japan after the massive earthquake and tsunami in march. the imf downgraded its outlook for the u.s. economy to 1.5% as a result of continuing weakness in the housing market which it says is a key to economic recovery.

as for the euro zone economy, the fund revised ilts outlook to 1.6%, down by 0.4 points. for merging economies such as india and brazil have also been lowered. the record upgraded its growth outlook by 0.2oints to minus 0.5%, say prague ducks has been rapidly recovering from the impact of the march disaster. housing starts in the united states for august fell 5% from the previous month. this shows continued weakness in the housing sector, one of the keys to achieving a full-fledged u.s. economic recovery. the commerce department says august housing starts stood at an annualized 571,000 units. that's below the market consensus of around 590,000 units. by region, new construction of homes declined 29.1% in the

northeast. and 3.3% in the south. meanwhile, the figure rose 2.6% in the midwest and 2.2% in the west. building permits, an indicator of future construction, increased 3.2%. and this just in, here in japan, trade balance in august fell into the red for the first time in three months. the finance ministry on wednesday put the trade deficit at 775 billion yen or 10.2 billion dollars. experts in august rose 2.8% from a year ago in yen terms. that's about $70.4 billion. imports were also up 19.2% to about $80.6 billion. month on month exports increased for the first time in half a year. this is due to the recovery of supply chains. especially in the automobile industry. the negative balance, however, drew from imports of

surging prices of crude oil liquefied natural gas. imports rose for a 20th consecutive month. now time no get a check on the markets. wall street ended marginally higher as markets await news from the fed when it wraps up its two-day meeting later today. to see how trading is kicking off here in tokyo this wednesday morning, let's crass over to ramin who is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, what can you tell us? >> have good morning to you ai. stormy weather is expected for gentleman man with the fie toon. but relative calk here for stalks with the nikkei and topics opening pretty calmly. i mean, just dipping in and out of negative and positive. not any major moves. yet we did see the nikkei fall for three trading sessions on the back of the euro debt concerns. may trade in a narrow range so for today. the head of the meeting, wrapping up late every today. all of the turmoil about greece and questions about the euro

zone debt has also meant that yen remains one of the safer assets around. and having a look at the currency levels as well, we can see that it it is still holding strong against the basket of currencies currently at the upper 104 levels against the euro and sticking to the 76 yen range eat getting to the dollar. the dollar may be sidelined ahead of the meeting and so we may not see that much of a range in the currency markets either during the tokyo stock trading hours. we should keep an eye out on the tech sector. we did see the nasdaq dragging lower and philadelphia semi conductor index trading lower as well. however, in after hours share trading of oracle rows around 1% after posting 30% jump in its first fiscal profits, quite a bit there. apple shares hit a new record around $420 a share, in the

anticipation of its new iphone and other products. so we will keep track of related shares now. apple now the biggest company in the u.s. by market capitalization. well look at related shares here in japan. a lot of component makers which make components which go into a lot of apple products, makers such as toshiba, we will keep track of those as well. also noeko electric power. hold a news conference later today. they will talk about compensation measures for businesses affected by the march 11 disaster. also tepco planning it streamline its works force by 3,000 to 5,000 workers. but for now the nikkei margin leap in the positive. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that. that was our market reporter ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. let's take a look at some other market figures.

that is all afor this hour n business. now back it catherine. thank you, ai. afghan president rabbani was killed in kabul tuesday evening. a major explosion occurred near rabbani's home before 6 p.m. local time. a government spokesperson told nhk that the perpetrator exploded a bomb he was carrying when he visited rabbani. he said the blast killed the former president. rabbani was elected president in 1992. he was ousted by the taliban when the islamist militant group took power four years later.

rabbani's headed the country's high peace council said up by karzai to negotiate with the taliban. karzai is visiting the u.s. to attend a u.n. general assembly. his office said he will cut short his trip and return home np obama called rabbani's death a tragic loss. he also pledged continued is you pour for bringing stability to the country. china expressed support for palestine's bid for full u.n. membership. >> translator: china understands respect and supports palestine's bid for u.n. membership. >> chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that seeking independent statehood is a natural right for palestinians. he said it's the foundation for peaceful coexistence between palestine and israel. china's backing will certainly

boost palestine's bid for u.n. membership. a recommendation from a security council member such as china, is required. another permanent member the united states is threatening to veto the bid. u.s. officials are saying it'll obstruct the resujs of peace talks with israel. plan president abbas told ban ki-moon that he will submit application on friday. it is likely to continue until the last minute. world leaders have pledged to help libya's national transitional council rebuild the country at a high level u.n. conference. top leaders and ministers from more than 60 countries attended a meeting in new york on tuesday. participants included u.s. president barack obama, french president sarkozy and japanese

foreign minister koichiro gemba. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says the u.n. will cooperate with the council in maintaining peace and security in libya. >> the united nations will support you in every way we can. these include the political and electoral process, constitutional reform, public security -- >> libya's new red black and green flag replaced the old one at the u.n. headquarters following the transfer of the country's representation to the ntc. police will be investigating cyber attacks on computer servers at japan's leading defense and equipment maker mitsubishi heavy industry. police are suggesting that hackers in other countries, including china, were involved. mitsubishi says it detected a

virus on 83 servers and personal computers at its 11 pro duck sites. these include ship yards. mitsubishi says it has not confirmed any leads. the target sights information about manufacturing destroyers, submarines, missiles an nuclear power plants. tokyo metropolitan police departmentntends to launch a full scale investigation after they receive an official report from mitsubishi on the damage. meanwhile, beijing denied any involvement. speaking to reporters on tuesday, china's foreign ministry spokesperson said such allegations in japan are groundless. he also said the claim might harm international efforts to enhance internet security measures. in addition to mitsubishi heavy industries, three more japanese defense equipment makers say they have come under cyber attack. ihi corporation says that several employees began

receiving e-mails carrying viruss in 2009. it says the number of such attacks has been on the rise since the march 11 disaster. the maker tells employees within to open attached files that look suspicious. it has also enhancedecurity measures. mitsubishi electric and could you sauky industries confirmed several other e-mails sent to employees. they say their data was not leaked. a semi governmental body says viruss are off then disguised as busy mail from government offices or a customers. a survey by the industries in may showed 33% of japanese companies have come under cyber attack from e-mails. 40% of them said their systems were infected. with the indian government

aiming to spend an impressive $1 trillion on much-needed infrastructure to further boost economic growth in the south asian country, japanese businesses are hoping to gain greater access to this promising market. the india-japan global partnership sum that took place in tokyo earlier this month drew business and political leaders from both countries against a bath drop of infrastructure improvement plans from india. forthcoming five-year plan which will go into effect in 2012 foresees massive outlays on things such as transport networks. >> the j india economic partnership agreement that took effect seven weeks ago has given momentum to the interaction between the two countries. japanese prime minister noda speaking at the summit stresd the need to strengthen relations with india. >> translator: japan wants it

contribute to infrastructure building efforts in india. which will have a positive impact on the fast-growing economy there. >> the summit was held to mark the 10th anniversary of the global partnership. japanese interest is focused on a mega project known as the daily mumbai industrial corridor. it links two important cities through road building and the construction after new railway line for freight. expectations are running high for the mega project, which is aimed at creating a huge industrial zone, water and power supply and airport and other infrastructure. >> we recognize that daily metro, which is a great story, is a product of japanese technology and japanese companies have a major role and we invest that in this creation of new cities and in this building of new india, the cap

hemnes companies will also play a major role. >> some of those from the sub continent taking part in the summit, were however, critical of hesitancy on the japanese side. >> japanese people are actually, you know, they are slow, i can say. >> the japanese node to open and understand the market and come in there. >> one prominent figure in india's community who headed the confederation of indian industry says the japanese companies need to indianize to succeed on the sub continent. >> i feel the need to localize, that's the key. because the products which they make for the market, may not be saleable in india. i think indian market is different. it is very value conscious. so the more time japanese companies will spend in

understanding the local market, will give them huge returns. >> india is a vast nation with a population of 1 ppt.2 billion. its explosive mark coat give japan a jump-start for its ekpon my. both nations are working hard to find ways to benefit from each other's strengths. >> earli >>. >> can you tell us more about the sum snit. >> yes it was the biggest meeting of its kind. it is a huge market and gentleman japan's cutting edge technology makes the two countries complimentary, raising for the future. there are a number of factors in which both countries can benefit from taking part in india's nation building. the gross demand for energy and

eco friendly creates opportunity for corporation for example. >> it increasing in the young. so if you can bring young talent into japanese small and medium scale enterprise, it will revive japanese market industry. >> you know, india is reinforcing ties with a number of countries. how should japan go about strengthening its relationship with india. >> the agreement between south korea and with india, a year ago, because the volume in japan and india, trade between japan and the country has research of 40% agreement. japan should run from south korean manufacturers at adapt to indian market. japanese manufacturers should try to figure other ways to use

in the areas of expertise. what is crucial is that they must conduct market research and to get the a better sense of india and how it works. in my experiencing the importance of face-to-face meeting cannot be underestimated. the best way to understand one another and what the other side wants and one thing that impress me at the summit is a remark by the industry chairman. >> our vision is that we transfer, on a massive scale, small and medium scale business, from japan to india. not only to serve the indian market but together to really try and solve the world markets from india. >> india wants it move ahead economically and socially.

and has a wide range of partners in international community. japan could easily be left behind if he doesn't care advantage or opportunities that now are beginning to present themselves. i always encourage tlem to move quickly when speaking to indian people. it is this drive that makes india exhilarating. >> do you project the indian economy to keep growing as it has? >> it does grow 8.3% annually over the past five years. but it is a number of problems like inflation and gaps between rich and poor and instability. i think that the forthcoming india will be a problem or a sign that india's future cost of growth.

>> right. thanks for your perspective. appreciate it. >> and welcome back to your weather update. we are looking at weather in east asia. and of course the activity will be across gentleman opinion. can you see the clouds from the typhoon system as well as the frontal line. also really subtle conditions. as well as much of china settling conditions. we look towards the south. more across southeast asia. so the endo china peninsula, there will be widespread showers and thunderstorm and heavier down pours. will be possible. and across portions of vietnam. for temperatures on wednesday looking like this, 25 degrees in tokyo so it will be a wet and cool side today. 23 degrees. 27 in beijing. warmer. 18 meanwhile, is down right

cool. for the americas, clouds are moving out of the eastern seaboard. things are settling for the northeast corner of the united states. however, there is plenty of activity in the southeast showers and thunderstorms while we have this low that will be moving into the great lakes area bringing in more unsettled weather as it goes. winds are on the strong side too for the northern plaips. out west fairly dry picture except for the british columbia, that is, with still looking at rain that will start heading into more southern areas. vancouver too looking at some rain. on wednesday, highs still on the cool side. vancouver, 19. seattle is u7 to 26. l.a. hits 27 degrees. meanwhile, out east, 24 for both new york and d.c., atlantaa too coming in at 26. pretty mild conditions, widespread for the eastern side. finally, i look at europe. your activity is moving south ward across the ball kin peninsula.

areas like greece, that is going to be heading into turkey for the next 24 hours. up north, just a lot of rain moving through the scandinavian peninsula. winds will be on the strong side especially for the northern end. scotland, watch out for that windy weather. otherwise a temperatures looking like this, 22 in vienna. 23 for paris. on the cool side. madrid up to 31. all right, that's a look at your weather conditions for now. up next is your three-day outlook.

that wraps up this edition of kwt newsline." i'm catherine ko

>> "california's gold" is produced in association with kcet los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by--