welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, september 29, 9 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. a my mistake earlier this month on a flight could have led to a serious accident. the government transport safety board says the flight wag tilted so far it was almost flying upside down when it made a nose dive. the dive took place on september 6th as the ana boeing 737 was heading toward tokyo's care port from okinawa. there were 112 passengers on board. no passengers were hurt and crew members incurred light injuries. these computer graphics were created by the transport safety board based on its analysis of the flight recorders. the nose dive occurred about an hour and aalf after take off over the ocean. the plane tilted heavily and plunged steeply dropping 1900

meters in about 30 second. the board says the plane tilted slightly right then dived sharply to the left. the nose of the airplane dropped by as much as 35 degrees and the plane tilted left ward by as much as 131.7 degrees. this was virtually flying upside down. the cause of the drop was one of the copilots hitting the wrong button. shortly before the drop, the copilot tried to press a switch to open the door to the cockpit for the pilot who was returning from the rest room. the switch is shown on the left of this photo. however, the copilot hit a different switch on the right which controls the vertical rutter of the tail fin. the plane was subjected to a g force of 2.6. that means that a person weighing 50 kill grams would feel like they weighed 130 kill grams. luckily the passengers were

virtually unaware that they were almost upside down. that's because they were presd down to the seats by the force of gravity and they could not see out of windows as it was a night flight. the board says it is likely the passengers felt as if the plane was rising instead of going down as if caught in air turbulence. a ana airways held a press conference on wednesday and apologized for what happened. the airlines said it'll cooperate fully by the investigation and work swiftly to reprevent a recurrence. people in shanghai are concerned after a collision on tuesday. no one died in the accident but

hundreds of people were left injured. the accident occurred in september ral shanghai when a train slammed into a slower moving one on the same track. 284 passengers were injured. service along the line resumed four hours after the accident. but was then partially suspended on wednesday so that an investigation could be conducted. by evening, subway authorities resumed operations after they said they had tightened safety measures. they say the collision was the result of human error and that subway employees had failed to comply with the rules. >> i'm scared of using the subway after the big accident. i want full safety checks to help with public anxiety. >> the handling of the accident sparked a surge of criticism own the internet. messages such as the lives of ordinary citizens are a joke and

there is no guarantee that similar accidents will not occur on different routes are pairing on a popular website in a show of growing public mistrust toward transport authorities. our reporter is in shanghai and he has been gauging public reaction to the crash. >> the accident on the subway route that opened to coincide with the expo, transport authorities say there were more than 500 passengers on the two trains. july's high speed rail crash in the eastern city killed 40 people. the government's handling of the accident provoked -there is now a similar wave of criticism. a satellite station in hong kong conducted an on-line survey talking to people across china on wednesday. it found that 60% of respondent's said that the accident was a result of

professional negligence that authorities have not learned any lessons from july's rail crash. many respondent's also voiced concerns over the rapid expansion of subway lines. they say that yet more safety problems might occur in the future. >> the frequent accidents are evidenced that they are not meeting their responsibilities for safe operations. >> the subway accident comes just two months after the high speed rail crash. chinese transport authorities face the challenge of finding out exactly why the accident happened in order to ease concerns and mistrust people have with the nation's transit systems. nhk world, shanghai. well, joining us now with the latest in business news, exambling to not large a loan to greece, what's the latest from euro zone members? >> catherine, they are one step closer to their goal.

lawmakers approve a plan to increase the size after euro rescue fund. the move comes despite the country's caution in extending more help for greece. finland's parliament voted on wednesday in favor of expanding the fund. the changes will allow the bail-out fund to buy up government bonds of nations in a budget crisis and boost the balance sheets of financial institutions. the funds will also help greece who is in excessive debt. there is a similar motion in germany on thursday. it may also sway decisions to be made by other nations facing opposition from citizens about another rescue package for greece. the 17 euro zone states aim it win approval for enlarning the rescue fund ahead of a g20 meeting in mid october as the european debt crisis is becoming a focus of the global economy. meanwhi

meanwhile, france aims to cut its budget next year it ease credit worries in europe. the french government unveiled a draft budget for fiscal 2012 on wednesday. it includes higher taxes on tobacco, soft drinks, and wealthy individuals. it also requires a reduction in government workers by over 30,000. government says these measures will result in decrease of 13.8 billion euros or about $18.7 billion compared with the previous year. it says the budget deficit proportion to gross domestic product will also decline by over 1% point to 4.5%. the government says another 1.3 billion will be saved through cost-cutting steps presented last month. as french lawmakers prepare it discuss the budget from mid october, labor unions have criticized it as being too tough. they plan it stage major protests next month. and now, time to get a check

on the markets. dow jones fell after three days of gains, due to ongoing concerns about the proposed bailout fund to euro zone economies. to see how things are kicking november japan this thursday morning, let's cross over to ramin. problems in the euro zone are keeping markets under a cloud but it looks like positive news for auto makers. >> yes, indeed, this up and down saga regarding the euro zone debt issues continues to dominate the markets. everyone is keen to see how germany votes on that bailout fund later today. having to look at the opening levels here for the nooe and topix, both indexes trading lower. there a slightest shift from sentiment, news from the euro zone could sway the markets. japanese auto makers looking to head into the right direction after numbers released on wednesday showed that domestic

production levels year on year rose in august. toyota also came out and said that output rose 12% as auto makers overcome some of those supply chain disruptions since the march 11 disaster here in japan. still, problems regarding the high yen and also attempts to lure back overseas customers with rebates and discounts may still remain big hurdled for big japanese auto makers. with the markets continuing to focus on sovereign debt issues, just having to look at currency levels right now, can you see that yen has gained again against the euro, currently trading around 103, mid 103 levels compared to 104 this time yesterday. it is also holding stubbornly around the 76 yen levels against the dollar. now, the questions about a global slow down also playing into commodities, with a 7% slide in copper prices which tends to be leading indicator for industrial activity around the globe.

and we also saw crude oil prices, wti oil prices, also falling around 4% after having gained or risen 5% just yesterday. so volatility in stocks, currencies and commodities really playing into the markets right now. surrounding the euro zone debt issues. a lot of questions remain unresolved according to market players. so we will see how that plays into the markets today. but for now, the nikkei and topix trading lower. back to you. >> thanks for that, ramin. that was our market reporter, ramin from the tokyo stock exchange. after apple released its ipad last april, other makers entered the market. now amazon.com, u.s. on-line retailer, said it will release its own tablet at less than half the price of a an ipod. amazon, largest retailers of electronics books said on

wednesday, it'll launch its tablet on the u.s. market in mid november. amazon says it will sell the new device for $199. that's well below apple's ipad which is priced at $499. in the tablet pc market, tap el continues to dominate with over 60% share. these devices are becoming popular as they are lighter than notebook computer and boot up straight away. they are determining whether amazon can catch up with its low price tablet. now time to get your recap of the latest market figures.

that is all for business news. back it catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. the leader of the fukushima daiichi power plants says there is high nuks on the number one reactor. the explosion is unlikely since there is no oxygen but it will begin to work drain gas beginning on thursday. they began measuring the gans on wednesday after finding it accumulating in pipes con flekted to the reactors containment vessel late last week. it found that density of

hydrogen was high at between 61 to 63%. the utility believes that the hydrogen is likely the remains of gas that caused explosions at the plant in march following the quake and tsunami disaster. it promised to check density of hydrogen in pipes at number two and number three reactors in line with instructiones from japan's nuclear safety agency. the environment ministry says eradiated soilcilities to in tokyo and seven prefectures in northeastern japan. the minister made the announcement on wednesday. >> translator: we would like to quickly decide on the locations of storage facilities. that will allow us to make progress in removing radio active substances. and not just fukushima, other prefectural governments should

also provide storage. >> local government have been trying to remove radio active materials since the crisis began at the fukushima daiichi plant. but they are struggling to find places to store mud and sludge generated bit decontamination. the environment ministry is planning it build the facilities in tokyo and four other neighboring prefecture and three in the toho region. they will explain the plan it each local government. the death toll pr march 11 earthquake and tsunami is close to 16,000. and 4,000 people are still not accounted for. next, we meet a man who spent more than six months searching for the missing. >> the captain of a japan coast guard patrol boat inmy myagi

prefecture. he has been searching for people ever since the disaster. he helped recover dozens of bodies. >> the search teams are gradually scaled down so people could w missing relatives must be losing hope. they want us to keep searching. >> a memorial service was held on september 11th. he was there. he himself has two missing relatives. his mother and his esdest son. when the earthquake struck, they were at home. >> they fled up to that shrine. >> the two fled to higher ground but the tsunami swept them away.

he remembered his mother and son when he visited the spot where the familily's house once stood. >> a ping-pong table in the shed reminds me of my son. >> he goes to the same place every time he has a day off. it is a beach nearby. he's been looking for things that belong to his loved ones. in may, he came across a backpack that his son used in elementary school. he says he will also keep searching for the bodies, not as coast guard officer, but as a father and son. >> translator: i've spent six months searching, but there may still be places i haven't looked. i still love my mother and my son. i hold them in my arms if i

could see them again. >> over 300 people are missing here. onodera is going to continue his search until he recover he the last remains of precious souls still drifting in the ocean. >> newsline is the place it turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11. we have two segments offering two unique segments on the fallout from earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings insight and information on the irm pact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead, examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on newsline. kenya has announced plans to hold a state funeral for nobel peace prize winner and

environmental activist who succumbed to cancer on friday. thursday and friday will be national holidays, national days of mourning. national flags will be flown at half mast at government buildings. the government is reportedly discussing how to bury her without using a wooden coffin, indifference to her green activism. her movement in 1977 gave impoverished women a chance it plant trees as way to generate income. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 2004 for her contributions to protecting the environment and helping women advance in society. she is well regarded in japan for her promotion of the japanese expression meaning waste full and a plea to not squander resources. she was repeatedly arrested for

criticizing the former dictatorship of her country and for advocating freedom and democracy. the earth's population is projected to reach 7 billion at the end of october. bringing greater challenges to human kind. the u.n. population funds says the planet's population has grown by average of 78 million annually over the last 50 years increasing from 3 billion to 7 billion. at a news conference on wednesday, the head of the funds tokyo office said developing countries will find it increasingly difficult to secure food, water and natural resources. >> all u.n. members must cooperate to counter problems in a world where w 7 billion people. no one can live without the influence of environmental factors. >> the fund planes it hold symposiums and photo exhibits on the population issue in various countries in october.

a woman in saudi arabia has been sentenced to ten lashes for defying the conservative kingdom's ban female drivers. they are determined to put the brakes on recent moves an increasing number of women to get behind the wheel. these images after woman flogged were taken in a mountainous region of northwest pakistan. this is a flogging carried out in so mallo five years ago. flogging is a punishment that is still used for various offenses in a number of conservative islamic areas. saudi arabia is a male dominated and conservative society. women are banned from driving out of concern that the free movement of women could lead it immoral behavior. on tuesday a court in the western part of the kingdom imposed a sentence of ten lashes against a woman who broke the

that boo. the woman is to be flogged for driving without a license. in recent monthes a number of women have protested against the ban, posting photographs and videos on the internet showing themselves driving. it is inspired by protests and calls for greater democracy that swept through other countries if the arab world in recent months. if rs. >> translator: let's drive cars and show our driving videos. we can inspire other women in that way. >> last sunday, the king announced that women would be allowed to vote in municipal elections. >> translator: women should take important roles in different parts of our society. >> but two days later, the court in jetta handed down the flogging sentence. religious hard liners angered by the king's decision to give

women the right to vote appeared it have pushed for this harsh sentence. many saudi women have been voicing their condemnation over the internet. one woman wrote that sentence was a slap into the face to all women in the kingdom. another woman wrote, there's no need to stop women from driving. the ruling is generating a lot of controversy inside saudi arabia and around the world. and welcome to your weather update. we have been talking about all of the tropical activity across southeast asia. satellites charts are showing well defined storm system here in southern china and on the pacific too. a small one right now but definitely looking a lot more organized in the past 24 hours and this will be another tropical start sift that we are keeping an eye on.

it is close to the island as well as the southern end of china bringing in those strong tropical storm force winds and it will continue to bring in a much more stronger gust over the course of today as that eye of the system just aimes it move over the island and then into the gulf. now it is still, it is expected to slightly weaken over the next couple of days. but it is going to be until saturday morning that it finally enters northern vietnam and we can see a tropical depression so it will be a windy next couple of days. you do want to watch out for that and rough sea conditions making the coastline quite dangerous. over towards in terms of rainfall, i should say, we are going to talk about quite a bit. mainly across the island, up to 24u7b milliters in the next 24 hours but surrounding areas too. like the southern end of china as well as in towards portions of vietnam can expect significant rainfall. watch out for that. even after these next 24 hours,

we will talk about a lot more rain in the area too. 48 hour forecast showing, while the heaviest rain doesn't last too much longer, just lingering showers across the wide area. once the grounds are well saturated, even small amounts of rain could trigger flooding as well as landslide. definitely an area of concern for the next couple of days. still recovering from the typhoon, we will see more rain move in over the next 48 hours. this is from our other tropical storm system. this is slowly gaining in strength and is expected to pick up speed too. wind speeds of just over a hundred miles an hour. and will get stronger as they aim for the northern end of the philippines. once again you will want to brace for stormy conditions as well as plenty of rainfall. otherwise, east asia will look at rain for this section of northeast china through the korean peninsula and that is

moving in towards japan in the afternoon hours we will see more showers for us southern areas. then in the north too a little bit more rain comes in. for tokyo, temperatures rise to 25 degrees. mean while, seoul will be on the cool side at just 19. over towards europe, clouds continuing to move through the scandinavian peninsula and they are heading in and through eastern europe but otherwise this high pressure area will keep things fine and dry again for the bulk of the consent inial europe as well as british isles too. highs raising to 27 degrees and london expecting 29 and paris definitely warmer than we usually see at this time of year. let's look at your weather conditions for now. and here is your three-day outlook.

that's all for this edition of newsline. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo, thanks for joining us.

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