the dollar fell slightly against the yen in new york, despite japan's intervention. the market is asking, will there be more interventions? welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japan took part in a solo intervention to weaken its curren currency. ai uchida, how successful exactly was that move? >> good question, catherine. we did see a big spike in the dollar/yen yesterday in tokyo trading hours but unfortunately we are seeing that trend weaken. the dollar lost some ground against the yen in new york on monday, despite the intervention by japanese authorities earlier

in the day to stem the yen's historic rise. investors began selling the dollar to buy back the yen on speculation that the u.s. federal reserve board may further ease monetary policy. the dollar hovered in the 78 yen range in new york and here in tokyo this tuesday the greenback is changing hands at 78.31-34 yen. the dollar jumped nearly four yen at one point in the mid 79-yen range on the tokyo foreign exchange on monday, after japan intervened in the currency market to stem the yen's appreciation. meanwhile u.s. treasury undersecretary leo brainard says unless there is extreme movement or excessive fluctuation in the currency market, exchange rates should be decided by the market. she then stressed her intention to closely monitor the situation, saying that there's no change in the u.s. stance. market observers in new york call for a close watch over

whether japan will continue intervening in the currency markets. >> translator: given the comments of finance minister jun azumi that suggest a firm commitment to stemming the yen's rise, market players are suspecting that interventions will likely continue. >> market watchers say despite japan's move, the dollar does remain under selling pressure against the yen. and moving on, the effects of europe's credit problems are spreading to the united states. a u.s. securities firm is seeking bankruptcy protection due to ballooning losses on european sovereign debt. new york-based mf global holdings filed for chapter 11 protection on monday. the firm's total liabilities amount to just below $40 billion. mf global engaged in a wide range of financial businesses including brokerage services for commodity futures and other derivative products. its assets include large

holdings of italian and spanish government bonds. the focus is now on how the firm's bankruptcy will affect the global financial system. and now it is time to get a check on the markets. overnight, the dow jones industrial average fell more than 2%, snapping three days of gains, but it did end october on a positive note. let's see how things are kicking off here in japan. for that we go to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. how are stocks trading this first day of november here in tokyo? >> first day of november, very good morning to you, ai. market is actually taking a little bit of a step back after those gains that we've seen in the last few sessions which actually left global stocks on a bit of a high for the month of october. we did see the dow up around 10%, we saw gold up around 6% and oil was up around 18% for the month, but let's have a look at the opening levels here for the nikkei and the topix, you can see there quite a bit of a drop there for the nikkei, 8,876, down 111 points.

we did see the nikkei up around 290 points for the month of october but it's really been bound to all the ups and downs regarding the eurozone more than the fundamentals of its own economy which has been the main argument for japanese authorities, when it's come to the yen, which is why they decided to make that unilateral move to weaken the yen yesterday and having a look at the currency levels again, this morning, as stocks kick off you can see there the currency, the dollar did as you said there move from upper 75 yen this time yesterday to around 79 at one point, but has backed off there. you can see there, 78.36-38. the euro in the meantime also hit hard against the dollar, but euro/yen holding there around 108.65-70 right now. it did come off a little bit against the dollar, though, giving back some of the gains following the eu agreement for eurozone debt issues we saw last week.

domestically here the focus, ai, also has been on earnings and yesterday after the bell, with he did see honda coming out and saying that its net profit for the july to september period almost halved, and that was on slow sales in the u.s. and japan, on the strong yen, and also it declined to give details on its outlook for the rest of the fiscal half year, also because of the flooding in thailand, panasonic, the electronics giant also said it swung to a net loss. later today we're going to have earnings from mitsubishi corporation, nomura holdings as well as hitachi and of course the ism manufacturing data to look forward to in the u.s. the nikkei now down over 100 points. back to you. >> thanks, ramin. the nikkei back in 8,800 territory. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. and now let me get you a look at some other market figures.

that's all for now in business news. back to catherine now >> thanks very much, ai. parts of the thai capital bangkok were still inundated with floodwater on monday as the water surged on the outskirts of the city. the flooding came within two kilometers of the capital's disaster relief headquarters after surging parts of of don muang airport. the thai government has been diverting water around the city's center using drainage canals. as a result, the water is spreading to the western and eastern suburbs. the runoff is approaching the bangchan estate where many foreign factories are located.

>> translator: i'm not sure how much water will come. i'm worried if we can keep operating. >> thailand's disaster relief headquarters says the situation is under control and the severe flooding seen in central thailand will not occur elsewhere in the country. the japanese government will give a grant of $12.8 million to thailand to assist in flood recovery efforts. the government says thailand urgently needs the aid as the flooding is spreading. japan has also sent experts to help drain the floodwaters from urban areas. many japanese factories in thailand have been forced into a long-term suspension of operations. the government has offered to allow thai workers suspended at japanese firms to work in japan. the government says it will offer further support to thailand after assessing its needs. south korea has postponed the ratification of a free trade agreement with the united states due to strong protests from

opposition parties. the government had hoped to approve the treaty by the end of october. the ruling party tried to convene a parliamentary committee to ratify the agreement on monday. but the meeting was canceled for fear that violence might break out between committee members. the ruling party decided to postpone the discussion. u.s. president barack obama has already signed a bill on free trade with south korea. the agreement will come into effect once it's ratified by south korea's parliament. the fta will gradually remove excise duties to benefit south korea's exports, such as automobiles, but the country's agricultural sectors and small businesses oppose the treaty, as they expect increased competition from imported goods. opposition parties also argue that the deal includes elements unfavorable to south korea and needs to be renegotiated. japan finds itself at odds with many other industrialized

nations when it comes to children in cases of divorce. the legal system grants custody to a single parent, usually the mother. courts in many other nations granjoint custody. parents here fight serious custody battles, some even abduct their children across international borders. some say the laws need to be changed. nhk's atsuko yuasaki has this report. >> we want to see our children! >> human rights, man! >> reporter: these parents say they are being cut out of their children's lives. they are demanding joint custody and visitation rights. >> translator: my wife took our children and has rarely let me see them. i've even considered suicide. nothing is worse than having your own children kept from you. >> translator: my husband took our son five years ago and disappeared. i don't know where they are now and i can't do anything about

it. >> reporter: kevin brown also feels powerless. >> children need both parents after divorce. to be happy. >> reporter: brown is a u.s. citizen. he married a japanese woman in 2002. the couple had a son three years later, but they separated in 2007. brown said his wife took off with their son. he contacted the police, who told him they could do nothing. he finally found them six months later. now, he can see his son, but only about once a month. brown says that's not nearly enough time. not only can he not see his son more often, his wife was granted

sole custody by the court. >> children are kind of shaped or molded by how their parents treat them, and i won't be a -- so far, i have not been a big part of my son's life. >> reporter: others are in a similar situation. akisa hirata says he's spent less than 15 hours with his young son over the past two and a half years. he was working in the u.s. in 2009 when his wife took their 5-year-old back to japan for a holiday. they never returned. his wife then asked for a divorce. >> translator: i hardly see my son. who, for me, is the most important thing in the world.

our ties have been cut. it's sad and heartbreaking beyond words. >> reporter: hirata returned to japan last year and moved into an apartment near his wife and son. he's ready for his child to visit, but the boy never comes. he petitioned for full custody, but in late september a family court sided with his wife. the judge said the child shouldn't have to endure a change of environment. >> translator: i'm not part of my son's life. i can't even walk hand-in-hand with him. i'm so sad. i feel like everything's been taken away from me.

>> reporter: some lawyers say many parents who cannot see their children are suffering from depression. a father in the middle of a custody battle with his wife ended up killing his son and committing suicide. these parents will continue to appeal that the separation between husband and wife should not apply to a separation between parents and their children. atsuko iwaski, nhk world, tokyo. >> a professor at xinhua university, we asked her about the current situation in japan with respect to custody disputes. >> the number of newly filed visitation cases exceeded 8,900 in 2010.

that is more than four times the number in 1999. there are many reasons for this increase. the major one is more fathers are involved in child rearing more actively nowadays. however, the system is still sole custody. that's quite clearly behind the times. japan is one of the few developed countries in the world to maintain this system. before 1980, most developed countries had sole custody, but empirical and longitudinal studies showed that maintaining contact with non-custodial parents is beneficial for the children's well-being.

that's prompted the change. that's one reasonjapan sticks to this system, because there is a strong belief that it is in the best interest of the child to be with one parent after divorce. so, it's quite common for courts to limit visitation for non-custodial parent to just several hours per month. some people are really worried about divorce cases involving domestic violence and the child abuse. so in those cases, we have to be really careful and have to pay serious precautions. however, the american system must be modified in many ways in japan to meet the needs of children of divorce.

first of all, the current visitation system should be changed. parents with no custody should be able to spend a substantial amount of time with their children, like weekends and long vacations with overnights. not just several hours a month. secondly, you shouldn't be allowed to separate or divorce without a parenting plan in place. finally, couples should be able to choose between sole custody and joint custody. >> that was kazuyo tanase, professor at kobe shinwa women's university. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the

fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. kyrgyzstan's prime minister almazbek atambayev has won a landslide victory in the country's first presidential election since the ouster of the former leader last year. the central election commission says that with nearly all votes counted from sunday's poll, atambayev has 62.8%, nearly 50 points ahead of any other candidate. the 55-year-old atambayev, together with outgoing president roza otunbayeva led to overthrow bakyev. more than 300 others died in the

country's south in the ethnic violence that followed. atambayev has served as prime minister since december of last year. he headed a coalition government launched after parliamentary elections held under the new constitution. atambayev campaigned with an appeal for national unity, promising to reject authoritarian rule and tackle poverty, but he's taking the arm of a nation with deep-rooted ethnic and regional tensions. kyrgyzstan is considered a stree location for anti-terrorism operations. the country's home to both u.s. and russian military bases but attention is focused on whether atambayev's ties to russia will affect the decisions he makes regarding u.s. relations.

unesco, the united nation's cultural body voted monday to give palestinian full membership. it's the first u.n. organization to do so. >> ladies and gentlemen, the general conference has thus voted to adopt the draft resolution and decided to admit palestinian as member of unesco. >> the motion, which required two-thirds approval, passed with 107 votes in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstentions. unesco can grant full membership to states whether or not they are full u.n. members. the paris-based body has been classifying palestine as an observer entity. palestine is also trying to win full u.n. membership. a debate on that issue is currently under way at the u.n. general assembly. israel's foreign ministry issued a statement calling the bid a unilateral move by palestine that goes against the road to peace. it said the decision was an unnecessary obstacle to the resumption of middle east peace talks. the unit states, the closest ally of israel, says it will

halt a planned $60 million payment to unesco. the transfer was due in november. >> today's vote by the member states of unesco to admit palestine as a member is regrettable, premature and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the middle east. >> the u.n. walked out of unesco and withdrew funding in 1984 over issues with its agenda and management. it returned to the organization in 2003. and now let's take a look at the global weather forecast with saki ochi. >> hello there. let's get a look at the weather conditions across the globe. we'll start off with east asia. things are looking pretty quiet and settled area. high pressure area covers japan, the korean peninsula and extends

into much of eastern china so all throughout the area we are talking about dry skies with a bit of sunshine. especially for japan. showing a warm up happening for the southern half of the country. it's going to be looking pretty pleasant today. for china inland areas, they are on the wet side. there will be a little bit more precipitation developing over the course of today toward the north here. that rainy area could be turning over into snow as it is getting quite chilly. now from the southern islands of japan and through taiwan and even the philippines, we will be talking about a little bit more tropical moisture in place. showers as well as thunderstorms are going to be a possibility throughout the day. for the indo-china peninsula, vietnam continues to look pretty wet, especially for central and southern areas, also parts of cambodia, too, may be picking up on showers. for thailand, not too bad. fairly dry for central and even northern sections, but down towards the south, across the melee peninsula we'll see a little bit more showery activity today. tuesday's highs are 33 in

manila. 33 degrees also in bangkok. should be looking at largely sunny skies, just a little bit of clouds and should remain dry today. 28 in hong kong. 18 for chongqing, a little bit cooler in beijing, highs remain at 15 degrees. for tokyo, 21 today, so slightly cooler than yesterday, but still very pleasant. over toward the americas, the northeastern united states is looking much calmer today as residents continue to dig out from all of that snow over the weekend, however, we are looking at this low pressure area that's going to be moving up northward aening lo the atlantic seaboard bringing in a couple showers for areas like the carolinas and parts of the mid-atlantic region. in eastern canada will see precipitation moving through ontario and in towards northern quebec. then the rainy area showing signs of developing across the rockies. that is looking to turn into snow especially for those upper elevatio elevations.

highs on tuesday, 27 in houston. quite warm in oklahoma city as well, but definitely cooler. in winnipeg, 8 degrees with morning lows falling below the freezing mark. lastly, a look at europe. still quite a bit of activity out towards the west. we've got this cold front that's been bringing rain and winds to the uk, as well as the iberian peninsula. it will sweep east over the course of tonight bringing in some lighter showers across western europe, and then a little bit more ample amounts of rain for the scandinavian peninsula, mainly across norway and as we look toward the northern end of the peninsula, we could be talking about snow rather than rainfall. for western sections, especially the british isles and iberian peninsula, another round of rain coming in the next 24 hours. it will be staying quite unsettled here. temperatures look like this for tuesday, 10 degrees in stockholm. 15 in berlin. single digits for kiev. as well as moscow, overall europe is looking a lot cooler. the warmest will be in rome with the high of 23 degrees.

expected for turkey it is looking at a high of 8 degrees. again, more sunshine should be returning, nonetheless, very chilly nights for those survivors. that's a look at the weather conditions for now. here is your three-day outlook.

our lead story it's been almost 24 hours since japan intervened in the currency markets. our business reporter ai uchida joins us with more. >> we're not seeing any major moves yet this tuesday morning. the dollar did lose some ground against the yen in new york monday despite the intervention by japanese authorities earlier in the day to stem the yen's historic rise. investors began selling the dollar to buy back the yen on speculation that the u.s. federal reserve board may further ease monetary policy. the dollar hovered in the 78-yen range in new york and now in tokyo the greenback is still changing hands in the 78-yen level, currently at rly four yen at one point to the mid

79-yen range on the tokyo foreign exchange on monday, after japan intervened inpr meanwhile, u.s. treasury undersecretary lea brainerd said unless there's extreme movement or fluctuation in the currency market, exchange rates should be decided by the market. she stressed her intention to saying there's no change in the u.s. stance. market observers in new york call for a close watch over whether japan will continue intervening in the curnc markets. >> translator: given the comments of finance minister jun azumi that suggest a firm commitment to stemming the yen's rise, market players are suspecting that interventions will likely continue. >> market watchers say despite

japan's move, the dollar does remain under selling pressure against the yen. spreading tohe united states. a u.s. securities firm is seeking bankruptcy protection due to ballooning losses on european sovereign debt. new york-based mf global holdings filed for chapter 11 protection on monday. the rm's total liabilities amount to just below $40 billion. mf global engaged in a wide range of financial businesses including brokerage services for commodity futures and other derivative products. its assets include large holdings of italian and spanish government bonds. the focus is now on how the fi's bankruptcy will affect the global financial system. and that is the latest in business. now it is back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ofxt hour on the currencies and other headlines of the day. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.