what's next? the north koreans grieve the passing of thehe leader. north koreans are embracing the future even as the mourn the past. state-run media announced the death of kim jong-il only yesterday. already they're running his successor kim jong-un. the central news agency posted an article saying his achievements will last forever. it also praises kim jong-un as

an outstanding theorist who wins 100 victories in 100 battles in leading the country's revolution in construction. the article adds that his philosophy embodies his father's idea and will and he stands at the forefront of the socialist revolution. this is the first time that north korean state media has griffin tribute to kim jong-un. kim jong-il's body will be visited until 27th. he was involved in negotiations north korea for many years. tanaka met. >> translator: i was surprised at the news of his death. there's no reason to believe north korea has solidified its

transition of power. we have to keep a close watch on the situation for the time being. i negotiated with north korea behind the scenes for one year. during the negotiations, the country made decisions through talks among officials. north korea is under dictatorship, but it seems to allow a group of officials around the leader to make decisions. north korea is not an ordinary society. for example, people are starving because of a food crisis. in a normal country, it wouldn't be surprised if people stage strong protests but the government used the threat of military power to stop demonstrations from even breaking out.

that means the success is on the mill tour to be controlled in a firm manner. this can represent a big opportunity or the beginning of a major crisis. it is kim jong-il who had the tough decisions on the nuclear program, and abductions of foreign nationals. what matters most is the leader's ability silence opponents in the military. to edge sure the company makes positive shifts in its policies. >> the foreign ministers of japan and the united states say peace and stability in the korean peninsula could be the priority after the death of north korea's leader. gave a news conference at the state department in washington on monday. >> we both share a common interest in a peaceful and stable transition in north korea

as well as an ensuring regional peace and stability. we have been in close touch with our partners in the six-party talks today 37. >> translator: we agreed that the death of kim jong-il should not negatively effect the stability and peace on the peninsula. for that reason, the japan, u.s., and south korea must monitor the north's political transition and be close with each other. >> gemba says they have to take steps towards denuclearization. south korea is on alert. our correspondent in seoul has more on that. >> reporter: the south will hold a parliamentary committee

meeting wednesday to talk about the impact of kim jong-il's death. the director will take part in that meeting. it collects information from the north. they'll discuss about whether the power success to kim jong-il, the son, will be done smoothly 37 they will also analyze if the north korea military will show any signs of provocation against the south. on monday, news that north korea fired short range missiles made the south nervous. seven hours prior to the announcement of kim's death. the south korean defense ministry say the tests have nothing to do with his death as it was scheduled beforehand. but they have put the army, navy, and air force on high alert. they also asked the u.s. military to step up its

monitoring activities on the north. south koreans are divided over whether the government should send condolences to the north. lawmakers hold a session on wednesday to deliberate on future al qaedas. -- actions. the development is likely to cautionary steps on how to deal with kim jong-il's death. nhk world, seoul. >> for more insight, we spoke from the national graduate institute for policy studies in tokyo. >> now, how do you think that kim jong-il's death will effect the politics and policies of north korea? >> kim jong-un became the air apparent to kim jong-il in 2010. so north korean leaders must have been preparing for this for

one year at least. so i think they will try to take a approach for success smooth power succession. on the diplomatic front, north korea will be busy taking care of its own domestic situation. so for the time being, it will be difficult for us to expect significant process. >> i see. now, as mentioned, do you think the power transition to kim jong-un will be successful? >> well, we don't know. but we can say that kim jong-il, his father, had 20 years from the time he became a successor to the time he actually inherented his power from his power. kim jong-un only had one year.

and in 1994 when kim jong-il succeeded in power, he was running affairs where kim jong-un has not been doing so. he might face difficulties in the process. >> that's is very short time. now, do you think he can control the military during his transition in power? >> well, kim jong-un has both position and title in north korean armed forces. he became a vice chairman of the central military commission in 2010. and at the same time he became a general of the north korean armed forces. so he is the leader. also he was, i think, involved in the decision making to attack south korean yeonpyuong island.

and he must have been talking to other top leaders having discussions and so he must have acquired some experience in running military affairs and making decisions. and also, it was the attack on the island that was important for two ways. one, because north korea can claim in the future that it was a major, major achievement created by mr. kim jong-un. and and also to attack south korea. even if they tried to eliminate kim jong-un and say he was a bad guy and we are the good guys. but it won't be possible because

they are also responsible -- >> they were in it together. >> yeah. so it would be very hard for army generals to betray kim jong-un. >> is his power succession solid? >> we have to remember that the fact even kim jong-il faced difficulties in his power succession process. in 1976, two years after he became official successor, he faced opposition from army leaders and party leaders and some -- you know, south korean inner circle. but kim jong-un might face same difficulties. >> so we have to wait and see what will happen. >> exactly. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. investors around the world bought the dollar immediately following the news following kim's death. for recent levels, let's ask ai

about it. >> did have an impact on asian rkt mas monday. but on the dollar exchange, it moved within a tight range with the yen. against the yen and the euro shortly after news of kim's death broke earlier on monday. the south korean wan fell by 1% for northeast asia. but in new york, the dollar/yen traded back at the lower 78 lowers. analysts say many market participants are refraining from active trading as they want to see how the situation unfolds in north korea. now, as for equities, tokyo stock prices are showing a modest rebound this tuesday morning. the nikkei is currently trading at 8,349. that's up a little over 50 points. a gain of .6 of a percent. we are seeing gains of a half percent on the broader topix as

well. taking cue from relative statement in overseas market as the death of the leader had a limited impact on sentiment. the upside is capped as many participants are holding back from active trading to see how the power succession will take place in the reclusive state. now to currencies. on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is moving in the lower 78 yen level this morning as they watch developments following kim jong-il's death. the u.s. currency against the yen is at 78.02-07 while the euro against the yen is at 101. the yield on the benchmark ten year japanese government bond is up just a touch this tuesday morning. the 17 eurozone nations will provide 150 billion euros or $200 billion in loans to the international monetary fund.

the move is seen as a call for non-european countries to follow suit and offer their help in tackling the debt problems in europe. the agreement was reached in a conference call of eu finance ministers monday. the prime minister of luxembourg. outside the eurozone will consider making contribution. the eu plans to extend as much as 300 billion euros to the imf. the statement notes the eu plans to urge other countries including the group of 20 nations to join in providing funds to the imf. but it is uncertain just how much support will actually be given. the scandal at olympus is looking to earn to boost its

capital. possible private investors may include fuji film holdings and sony. the long camera businesses are apparently drawing attention of potential buyers -- subscribers. this move comes after the company released last week its earnings report for the half year through september. the firm posted a net loss of over $400 million. the financial statements also show that olympus' net assets fell by around $1.3 billion. that makes the net asset figure around $590 million. it reflects the huge losses. the focus now is how on olympus will proceed with capital boost. the tokyo stock exchange put it on the watch list and whether to keep it listed as a company or not. saab will go out of business after a buyout negotiation with chinese companies ended in failure.

saab's parent firm, swedish automobile said it set up for bankruptcy in a court in sweden. the auto maker had been short of cash. agreed to sell all saab shares to two chinese auto related turns to turn the business around. but the but the two sides failed to agree on the deal and the chinese firms pulled out of the talks. western medias say the collapse of the deal is due to opposition from u.s. auto giant general motors. gm, a former shareholder of saab, supplies autoparts to the maker. gm is concerned buyers -- time to look at the latest market figures once again.

>> that is all for now in business knews. the japanese government is expected to formally approve the f-35 as the next mainstay fighter. holding a meeting during the day to confirm the addition. defense ministry officials reviewed three fighters on their performance and other factors. they are the fa-18 and the f-35 made in the u.s. and the euro fighter in four european countries. chief of staff iwasaki presented that the f-35 scored the highest. u.s. company lockheed martin and partners from eight countries developed the fighter jet.

the japanese government will pay to decontaminate more than 100 municipalities in eastern japan. but the plan is causing concerns in the communities. the environment ministry says it will clean up to 102 municipalities in eight prefectures with radiation levels above one millisievert per year. iwate prefecture, cattle farmers say they're worried that consumers will avoid all beef produced from those designated areas. >> in fukushima prefecture, a city is worried its tourism will be hurt if it's listed as a contaminated area. residents in other areas of the

city with less than one millisievert per year says it's unfair they cannot receive funds for decontamination work. time to check the latest in sports now with hiro morita. welcome into the sports report. in 2011, i had the opportunity to travel around the country east to west watching athletes do what they do best. some of them even let me in on the action. now that the year's drawing to a close, i've been thinking again about those people and places. here are a few i found especially memorable. japan has all kinds of sporting events throughout the year. but this one back in february was in a league of its own. >> reporter: the name of the game is snow baseball.

the rules are completely different than ordinary baseball. a tennis ball is used so that it stands out in the snow. and the team uniforms are garbage bags because players always slide into base. it is baseball sorts but the rules aren't quite the same. for example, the leadoff men of the inning can run for third base instead of first. >> we're going to win and be champio champions! >> reporter: i suited up and managed to hit the ball. but i couldn't generate much speed. maybe that's part of the reason our team didn't win the championship.

the event took place in tohoku region in northeastern japan at a time when fun was still easy to come by. all that changed within days. the major earthquake and tsunami descended on the region causing disruption far and wide. athletes had their share of difficulties too. the wheelchair basketball team from miyagi prefecture has been going for more than 20 years. it's produced numerous national team members. after march 11th, gymnasiums were turned into emergency shelters and volunteer centers. as a result, training sessions were relocated to a place an hour away by car. >> translator: we want to turn the disaster into a source of motivation and compete against the world. >> reporter: where there's a will, there's a way. that's the attitude i see in

theetz wheelchair basketball players. i'm so impressed with their determination to overcome the adversity. look out london, here they come. >> reporter: maria is someone who's always happy to be looking up. even if it means pedaling her mountain bike up a steep road. she's won the championships eight times in a row and hopes to compete in london. i followed her training regimen. but i don't see any medals in my future. harder than i lot. you need a lot of skills to ride with balance and create some speed. >> translator: i want to make it into the top ten. no matter what happens, though, i think i'll still be riding a

mountain bike when i'm up in years. >> reporter: pulling a six kilogram tire, mitsu morita isn't taking it easy. she's a record holder in the 100 meter and 200 meter races. she attributes her strength to what she eats. starting with four slices of pork for breakfast. and small fish as snacks. she intends to break the world record in 2013 when she'll be 90. what do you get from running? >> translator: it's something that keeps me going. the joy of life. >> despite all the upheaval of

2011, it was a year in which athletes continued to show what commitment and persistence can produce. with the london olympics coming up, we'll expect no less from 2012. >> that's right. hiro morita there with sports in review. we're feeling the winter chills here in japan. i've been reading the u.s. is struggling with some severe weather. let's go to sakai ochi who has the weather forecast. >> hi there. welcome to your weather update. for japan we're talking about pretty clear skies if you are on the pacific side of the country as well as a southern area of japan too. still escaping quite a bit of that precipitation. but for the sea of japan, coastline still looking at more moisture coming on in. there will be the chances of some blowing snow in areas. you do want to watch out for

that. clear skies will extend across the korean peninsula and china today. the indochina peninsula looks to be largely dry now. vietnam will showers. that will be in part due to our tropical depression in the south china sea. now washi has since weakened but for the philippines we're looking at a lot of monsoonal throw going on in. a lot of precipitation along the eastern coastline. northern areas in particular are starting to report heavier rain amounts in the past 24 hours. chances are scattered showers will be high for any part of the country. so areas in particular dealing with the aftermath of the tropical storm system washi. you do want to watch out for any additional showers. tuesday's highs. we're looking at 10 in tokyo. 19 hong kong. then heating up to 31 in bangkok.

over towards the americas, we are looking at plenty of activity moving through the mid-section of the united states. snow has been back in the southwest. central plains states. while in the south here across texas and towards oklahoma, showers and even some severe weather impacting the region. tonight it is on the move, however. looks like rain will spread into the mississippi valley as well as the midwest. chances of freezing rain. temperatures are starting to look pretty low in the area. for the pacific northwest it's british columbia that will be dealing with cold rain, freezing rain even as well as upper elevation snow. highs on tuesday looking at 3 in winnipeg and same in denver. 2 only in oklahoma city. that's going to be a big drop compared to monday. then east coast, 7 in new york. 9 in d.c. and reaching 17 degrees in atlanta. lastly, a look at europe. it is going to be a largely unsettled picture across the

region. we do have scattered showers and thunderstorms for areas in the southern italy as well as the balkan peninsula while this long frontal system is looking to set into continental europe. it is bringing a round of showers and snow for upper elevations. the alpine area in particular will want to watch out for the possibility of heavy snowfall. for the british isles, once again new showers coming in off the west. so ireland then scotland, too, looking at icy weather. highs on tuesday 8 for london. same also in paris. 2 only in vienna. things looking colder here. not above freezing in moscow. here's a look at your three-day outlook.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.