tv Newsline PBS December 14, 2011 7:00pm-7:30pm PST
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homecoming. >> america's war in iraq will be over. >> u.s. president barack obama declares the end of the war with a tribute to american troops. barack obama has welcomed home soldiers from the war he opposed. all u.s. troops are set to leave iraq by the end of the year. obama marked the end of conflict before servicemen who fought in it. >> i'm proud to finally say these two words -- and i know your families agree -- welcome home.
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welcome home. >> obama addressed troops at ft. bragg, north carolina. he said u.s. forces are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq with a representative government elected by its people. obama admitted the war has divide americans from the beginning. >> since then our efforts in iraq have taken many twists and turns. it was a source of great controversy here at home. >> some 1.5 million u.s. soldiers were sent to iraq. 4,500 of them were killed. a japanese business survey shows sentiment is down for the current quarter. ai uchida with more. >> we are seeing a gloomy picture for large manufacturers. the bank of japan's latest tankan survey showed that it turned negative for the first time in six months. the strong yen and eopean debt
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problems are the main factors for the downturn. the headline index stood at minus 4 points. that's down 6 points from the previous survey in september. the fall is due to the continued strong yen that's squeezing exporters' earnings. and as well the global economic slowdown caused by the euro zone debt crisis. the recent flooding in thailand also affected makers' production and exports. the outlook for business conditions three months ahead worsened further to minus 5 indicating that firms are cautious. tokyo share prices are falling this thursday morning following an overnight decline in new york. the nikkei average is now at 8,409. that's down over 100 points. a loss of 1.3%. the topix is also trading lower by 1.1%. currently at 728. sources say that stocks are under selling pressure as worries over european debt deepen following a surge in
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italian government bond yields. the dow beat tankan survey from the bank of japan is forcing sale orders. little change against the yen this thursday morning. the greenback currently at 78.04 to 09 yen. but the euro dollar is at 1.2986 to 2988. euro/yen at 101.. to 40. market players are buying back the dollar prior to the year end as concerns remain over the euro zone debt problems. many participants are also waiting to see the outcome of a spanish government bond option scheduled for later in the day. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond is down over one basis point. south korea says a free trade deal with the united states will not likely take effect on january 1st as scheduled. the comment was made by south
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korean trade minister at a news conference on wednesday. he expressed his hope that the agreement would take effect by the end of february at the latest. kim says the delay is due to south korean lawmakers approving the agreement one month behind schedule. he also said the required legal translation work is delayed both in the u.s. and south korea. in south korea, rallies against the free trade deal continue. but government and industrial organizations are holding meetings for medium an small-sized businesses. the firms are being encouraged to take advantage of the free trade agreement. opec has agreed to raise crude oil output and that will be to 30 million barrels a day. the 12-member countries of the organization reached the agreement on wednesday in a meeting at its headquarters in vienna. oil prices have remained high since the political turmoil in libya.
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london and bench crude oil prices are topping $100 a barrel. opec's daily production target was 24.85 million barrels a day. but saudi arabia and other countries have increased production since june to prevent prices from rising. the agreement endorsed the saudi move. after the meeting opec secretary general abdullah al badri said thcurrent price level is good for both producing and consuming countries, and that it does not hinder worldconomic growth. meanwhile t head of japan's petroleum association akihiko tembou said prices aren't expected to change much from the current level. he predicts the price will move between 90 and $110 a barrel. let's take a look at market figures once again.
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that's the latest in business. it is back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. our new timetable says it will take up to 40 years to decommission the damaged reactors at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. nhk has learned about the timetable drawn up by the industry ministry and tokyo electric power company. it calls for the removal of used fuel rods from spent fuel pools in four reactor buildings in the next two years starting with reactor number four. the removed spent fuel will be temporarily stored within the compound. the timetable also says that work to remove the melted fuel inside number one through number three reactors should be completed in 25 years. then work will begin to
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dismantle the reactors and buildings. the schedule includes repair work to fill cracks in the reactors and containment vessels will contaminated water has leaked. the work will be undertaken in very difficult conditions, including high levels of radiation and will require the use of remote controlled robots. small businesses along japan's northeast coast are turning elsewhere to get their production and processing lines back up and running. they have faced delay after delay since the march 11th tsunami washed ashore. customers have slipped away. now some are going overseas to make their products. >> reporter: this man is taking his business on the road in an effort to rebuild. he manages the seafood processing company in kesennuma, japan. he came to this convention in china to turn things around.
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the tsunami last march washed away all of his company's plans. the company was unable to process seafood. managers were forced to lay off 84 employees, more than half their workforce. >> translator: i think it will take a number of years until we get back to where we were before the disaster. >> reporter: still, managers from 18 other small businesses hit by the march disaster are trying their best. they pitched their products to companies from all over china. the team is back to work. but it's slow going. sales have dropped about 80% since the disaster. he has no idea when his plants will get going again.
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so he and his colleagues are planning to move their processing to china to seek out new opportunities. a steady stream of representatives from chinese corporations stopped by his booth. nearly all of them sampled the shrimp. >> translator: it's tender and delicious. >> reporter: he headed out after a long day to a japanese restaurant. chinese customers are eating more and more japanese food. so he talked about a technique developed at his plant that preserves freshness. >> translator: shrimp turns black easily and the vitamin c
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we're using prevents this effect. actually, it helps to bring out the sweet taste of the shrimp. >> translator: let me try. the quality is good. some things are on the expensive side, but some are priced just right. overall i'd say we'd have no objections to purchasing these products. >> translator: i'm hoping that we can help our business grow by having one foot in japan and the other in china. >> reporter: he knows it be a challenge. he hopes going abroad will help his company and others recover what they've lost at home. reporting for nhk world, china. people working in the fishery up and down japan's northeast coast know all about those challenges. >> the disaster hit so many companies. the japanese economy trade and
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industry minister said it destroyed or damaged more than 30,000 factories, removing links up and down the supply chain. about 70% of large manufacturers were considering transferring their production lines because of the disaster. several months later those that remain are still struggling to get back. the japanese government has been encouraging companies to market their products in new places. the government is holding convention in china and other countries and inviting foreign buyers to trade shows that featured products if the tohoku region. so this expanding is likely to continue. >>. "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
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fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact 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." south korean coast guard officers can now shoot guns to defend themselves in confrontations with illegal fishermen. their commanders held an emergency meeting to respond to the killing this week of an officer. a chinese fishing boat captain stabbed him after he boarded a boat. the commissioner general of the maritime police agency mo kang in said that it had threatened the sovereignty of south korea and hurt the people's pride. he said from now on groups of armed fishermen in south korean waters will be viewed as criminal rings and will be treated harshly. coast guard officers will be allowed to shoot anyone who threatens them with a weapon below the thighs. officers involved in shootings will not be held accountable.
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the south korean government is expected to come up with comprehensive measures as early as next week to deal with illegal chinese fishing. japan's foreign minister koichiro gemba says he will try to set up a new framework for trilateral dialogue with the united states and china. >> translator: to have a strategic dialogue and partnership between japan, the u.s. and has become more important than ever. >> but gemba told reporters in tokyo wednesday that the japan/u.s. alliance will continue to be the cornerstone of the nation's foreign policy. the foreign minister said settling affairs in the asia-pacific region requires china's full participation. he added that japan has no plans to encircle or exclude china and that it is important to make joint efforts to secure peace and prosperity of the region.
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the visit of a japanese ship serves as a sign of those efforts. a destroyer will make a port call in china next week, the first in three years. the visit is part of military exchanges between the two countries. the defense ministry says the destroyer "kirisame" will arrive in the northern city of qingdao on monday and will stay for five days. the ship's crew members will make a courtesy visit to a chinese warship. the ship's crew will then visit "the kirisame." the two sides will also conduct communications exercises. japan and china began holding naval exchanges in 2007 to improve relations in order to offset any unexpected incidents. the exchange was not held last year. in september a chinese trawler collided with two japanese patrol ships off japan's senkaku islands in the east china sea. relations between the two countries soured. japan looks set to adopt the f-35 as its next generation fighter jet. the aircraft is being jointly
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developed by the united states and eight other countries. senior defense ministry officials on wednesday put forward their proposal to adopt the f-35. the plan won approval from the government and the ruling party officials. the ministry says its working team gave the f-35 higher marks on performance and other factors than two competitors, boeing's fa-18 and the euro fighter developed by four european countries. the ministry also considered which of the planes would allow japanese companies the greatest involvement in manufacturing and maintenance. the f-35 selection will become official at a national security conference attended by prime minister yoshihiko noda scheduled for later this week. time to check some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by rtm malaysia. the malaysian government says it has busted an international syndicate engaged in ivory
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smuggling. customs officials seized 15 tons of elephant tusks and suspected ivory handicrafts from port klang, 40 kilometers southwest of kuala lumpur last week. the street value is estimated at $1 million. the initial investigation shows that the banned goods originated in kenya and were bound for cambodia via the southern malaysian state. sri lanka and qatar have agreed to boost economic and cultural cooperation as well as to improve air connections. a deal was signed after sri lankan president raj ja paxon met with the prime minister in columbo on tuesday. he said that private firms from his country are interested in opening superluxury hotels in the capital and other well known tourist sites. an international horticultural exposition has kicked off in the northern thai
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province on wednesday. 30 countries are participating in the three-month-long event. highlights include agricultural conferences and plant contests. the organizers expect at least 2 million visitors including about 200,000 from overseas. the expo could also give a boost to the local tourism industry. many people in japan believe a long soak in a hot bath is an essential part of japanese life. people in other nations have embraced the joys of the hot tub. but now more and more americans are discovering the pleasure of bathing the japanese way. nhk world has more on that. >> reporter: for bill finley, no day goes by without a soak in his japanese type tub. bill says shower american baths are not nearly as relaxing.
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this is haines, alaska. bill specializes in making the tubs using western red cedar. its distinctive texture and aroma is similar to a kind of wood used to make traditional japanese bathtubs. ten years ago he was asked to build one by his customer. not knowing what it was at the time, he traveled to japan twice to learn from expert craftsmen and experience the bathing culture. >> i fell in love with that style of -- you know, the sort of afternoon soak at the tub. >> reporter: since then he's made over a thousand japanese tubs for people all over the united states. now bill's customers can enjoy the experience in their own homes.
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a customer in virginia ordered one for his japanese style home this fall. john vernon, who studied and works in japan over three years, is having his new tub installed so he can feel like he's bathing at a japanese hot spring resort or onsen. >> i mean, that's just -- >> my time in japan was really a very important part of my life. you know, japanese design and japanese style melds very well into nature. >> reporter: a number of americans also are finding out the joy of bathing in japanese baths at unexpected places. look at this. this looks like a gateway to japanese shrine, but it's not. let's go inside to take a look. this is 10,000 waves, a spa in the desert of santa fe, new
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mexico. >> oh, is that wonderful? >> beautiful. >> reporter: visitors can choose from 12 different bathing tubs to experience the culture. >> whatever, through work or paying the bills or all the problems, and then this place is like battery recharged like being a human being. >> reporter: the owner had heard about japanese onsen and decided to build one 30 years ago. >> what we're trying to give them is a little taste of what it could be like to do some of these things that they may not have as part of their ordinary life. >> reporter: he is influencing bathroom designs, too. this year's top award at a major u.s. design competition went to this bathroom in a home of suburban new york. the designer holly rickert said she installed it to re-create
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the natural calm of japanese culture. >> not just indoors. just this small space when the door's closed and the water's running, it really lends itself to completely removing yourself from that hectic day. >> reporter: by experiencing bathing in homes and resorts, more americans are discovering the new way of relaxation, japanese style. reporting for nhk world, new york. japan is starting to feel the winter chill. so i wouldn't mind a hot bath right about now. let's go to sake mori for the bigger weather picture here and elsewhere. >> hello. welcome back to your weather
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upate. it is moving in a western direction headed for the southern philippines. it looks like it's going to become a tropical storm by friday. stormier conditions are expected into the weekend. across the indochina peninsula, remaining very wet across vietnam and turning wet again across southern thailand. a large high pressure system is creating very dry and chilly weather across most of china. the exception is this inland area. showers will develop today. and across japan, a developing low pressure system is moving through the northern portions, bringing heavy snow to hokkaido. we're expecting up to 30 centimeters of snow by friday morning here. and this blustery conditions will likely condition for the next few days. and rain is falling across tohoku regions. some of the precipitation will change to snow starting tonight and strong winds are creating
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high bawaves long the coast. but a different story for the pacific side of japan. it will stay larly dry and sunny. warming up nicely in tokyo, we're expecting 16 degrees. feels like mid-november. the frigid air is coming in from the south pushing down temperatures. we're expecting minus 21 in ul am batter which is about ten degrees lower than average and zero in beijing and the same in seoul. heading over to europe, it's wet and windy again. several atlantic systems are continuously bringing very heavy precipitation as well as fierce winds. particularly windy across the areas like france, germany and poland. in northern germany, gusts could hit 115 kilometers per hour on thursday. and strong winds have been creating very high waves along the coast off the iberian peninsula. we have footage coming out of this area. northern spain, still another
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day of very rough seas on wednesday. residents have boarded up buildings to protect against the strong winds. warnings remain in place for the next few days as a new storm is bearing down on the same region thursday night. unfortunately, those stormy conditions will likely continue into the weekend. now, as for precipitation, heavy snow will continue across the northern british isles and the rest of the area will continue to see scattered or heavy showers. that will continue for the next several days here. meanwhile, a separate system is creating another round of stormy weather across italy in the balkan peninsula. thunderstorms, damaging winds as well as mountain snow are possible on thursday. we're expecting very mild temperatures in a wide area. warming up to 9 degrees in paris and 8 in berlin and way above average in moscow with 5 degrees
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your families agree -- welcome home. welcome home. >> obama addressed troops at ft. bragg, north carolina. he said u.s. forces are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq with a representative government elected by its people. obama admitted the war has divided americans from the beginning. >> since then our efforts in iraq have taken many twists and turns. it was a source of great controversy here at home. >> some 1.5 million u.s. soldiers were sent to iraq. 4,500 of them were killed. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.
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