-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> this is "newsline." i'm catherine kobe yash pep we are picking up on the story from the last hour. the stories from tokyo stock exchange. the people who run the tse halted 241 issues. we're talking about sony, hitachi and komatsu. we have been looking into this story. tell us what's happening over at the tse. >> >> catherine, the tokyo stock exchange have told us there's been a glitch in the system

since the 9:00 a.m. open. one of the majors not trading like sony and sony has earnings today. now, we are getting updated on this every minute. we have romin. what can you tell us? >> thank you very much, ai. quite a lot of developments. some glitches occurred in the data distribution system. it stopped trading on 241 issues. the tse says that a malfunction occurred in the system server. it is now checking the cause and it's trying to restore it. the tse says some problems occurred in a part of the system called arrowhead. this made it impossible to provide information to investors around 241 issues including power companies and manufacturers, major issues affected include komatsu, hitachi and sony. as you said, sony coming out with earnings after the bell today. so it's not clear at this point

when the system will return to normal. the tse says for the nikkei and topics indexes information is being provided to investors as normal except on those 241 issues. ai, back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot, ramin. we've just gotten this in as well, theapor on stock exchange on hock cade o the northernmost island of japan. they've actually halted trading on all of their shares. there's only 74 shares that trade on the saporo stock exchange and they're experiencing technical difficulties. we'll keep our eyes open on how the stock exchanges do throughout the day. let's see how tokyo share prices are trading following all of this news. the ones that are trading actually opened higher this thursday morning following the overnight rise in european and u.s. markets. let's take a look. the nikkei index is currently up by almost 70 points at 8,879.

that is a gain of 0 .8% and it is currently at 765. this, of course, excludes the issues that are not being traded due to the systems failure. let's take a look at the currency market. the dollar is moving at a lower range at the lower 76 yen level as players are watching developments in the greek sovereign debt talks. the dollar yen and the euro yen at the bottom of the screen there at 100.37 to 42. speculation is building that greece and its private sector lenders are getting closer to a deal. participants are also waiting for the u.s. jobs data which is due out on friday. >> a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. now, in other news, the world's biggest social networking service, facebook is set to join

the u.s. stock market in a bid to expand its business. facebook's total market value is expected to reach $100 billion, making it the largest initial public offering for an i.t. company. the company has more than 800 million active users worldwide. registered members create personal profiles and other users as friends and exchange information. a commission wednesday shows facebook intends to raise up to $5 billion. facebook has not yet announced the exact date or on what exchange it will sell its stock. >> the european commission has blocked the planned merger of the new york and frankfurt stock exchanges. it took the step out of concern that the move to create the world's largest alliance for trading financial products would hinder fair competition. the european union's executive body decided not to approve the

merger of the nyse euro necks and deutch bourse on wednesday. it said the combinedec change would dominate 90% of derivatives making it hard for other players to compete. nyse euronext also owns bourses in paris, lisbon, bruss els and amsterdam in addition to new york. the two exchange operators agreed to the merger last february as more financial markets are seeking to realign in the face of increased competition. japan's sole maker of d-ram chips forecast a net loss of about $1.5 billion in the current business year through march. the strong yen is the main cause. the world's third largest chipmaker was created through a merger of the dram operations of hitachi and mitsubishi electric. to rebuild its business, the firm is considering a tie-up with leading u.s. chipmaker micron technology. it also plans to move part of its production at its leading

plant in japan to taiwan. the japanese government injected public funds into mill pita five years ago. dram chips are essential for digital equipment. japan's government is gearing up for negotiations with the united states on joining the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. negotiations with january and japan secured support from four of the nine countries involved including vietnam and brunei. japan will send senior officials from other agencies to washington for the u.s. negotiations which start next tuesday. >> they'll start preparing for preliminary talks on the conditions for japan's participation in the tpp free trade negotiations. the u.s. government is likely to push for a further opening on japan's agricultural and automobile industries with precise requests.

japan will decide whether to join the negotiations after assessing how the tpp will affect domestic markets. discussions with the u.s. will likely be a major focus on the final decision. let's take a look at market figures once again. >> we'll get you more updates on the tse as they come in. for now it's back to catherine. >> thank you very much, ai. >> a study suggests north korea's state-run media is working overtime to show the country's new leader is in

control and in command despite his inexperience. radio press says north korean media ran 15 news reports about kim jong-un in january. it's part of his role as supreme commander of the military. this is in sharp contrast with coverage of his late father. kim jong-il was not seen in official news reports for nearly three months after his father kim il son died in 1994. his frequent appearances suggest north korea's leadership is trying to show he is, in fact, experienced despite his age. nine of the 15 media reports or 60% were about his military activities. one showed him touring a tank division on january 1st. he officially became supreme military commander a day earlier. kim jong-un has made it clear he will press forward with the military first policy promoted by his father. state-run media is suggesting

kim jong-un will start following in his father's foot steps on the international front. he might have an appointment with one of his country's major investors. north korean media says an egyptian executive is now in pyongyang. chairman of o rescom telecom. the company launched mobile phone services in november 2008. the network is-ly controlled. it is building towering hotels in the capital. he met kim jong-il last year in pyongyang. the regime welcomed him with an official banquet. kim jong-un's guardian and uncle was there. there's speculation the new leader will meet as part of an effort to attract more foreign investment. as senior u.s. diplomat says north korea's new leaders must take concrete steps to halt the country's nuclear program before the u.s. will agree to hold

direct talks. kurt campbell made the comment in seoul after meeting with senior south korean diplomats. >> and we're still waiting to see whether the new government in north korea is prepared to take the necessary steps. >> the u.s. has called on the north to halt its uranium enrichment program and take other steps. campbell also referred to reports that china offered food aid to north korea last month, and he said the aid was part of china's effort to stabilize the north. >> we want to continue a close dialogue with china. we want them to share with us most of the perspectives and their plans. >> campbell also said the u.s. hopes to use chinese vice president ping's visit to washington later this month to urge china to help promote talks on north korea's nuclear program. thousands of u.s. and japanese

soldiers are preparing for the worst. they're running through exercises aimed at protecting japan from an invasion or a disaster. the annual drill is called yamasakura. the purpose is to enhance the abilities, the u.s. army and japan's self-defense force have. about 6,000 personnel from both sides are taking part. the commander of the u.s. army pacific spoke exclusively to nhk world about the drel and the current security concerns in this region. >> hi, how are you? >> lieutenant general francis rischinski has been the top soldier in the asia pacific region for nearly a year. he's now leading his troops through one of their most important an noonualannual yama. it is making sure that we have the process right and making

sure we have the systems right and then we can operate in a wide variety and wide spectrum of military operations and that goes from humanitarian disaster relief like we saw in march with the tragedy or defense of japan. >> the main objective of the exercise is to build better working relations with u.s. and japanese soldiers. >> but this year's drillects th administration's new defense plan for the asia pacific. the president announced earlier last month the american military will strengthen its presence in the region. the u.s. and japan invited members of the military to observe their exercise for the first time. the drill is based on the assumption a fictitious country invades japan. lessons could be used in the place of some of the region's real threats. north korea with its nuclear

development program and long-range missiles remains a major concern. >> first, let me mention the fact of the transition of power between gym kong ill and kim jong-un. we hope the transfer of the leadership will lead to more peace, prosperity and security for the north korean people. that's our hope. we always hope for more communications to ensure again, no miscalculations of intent, but we will always be prepared. we have forces on the korean peninsula. we have had forces on the korean peninsula since the armistice has been signed. we will continue to do that and we will continue to be prepared for any contingency that might arise. >> another sensitive issue in the asia pacific. china's growing power and influence. >> i think we've all seen the more recent growth and modernization of the chinese army.

i think we all should incorporate more communication and more engagement so that we understand the transparency and the intent of that modernization and that growth because no one wants a miscalculation and no one wants to make any miscues. so i think communication is the most important thing. >> i think they want the same thing we do. they want strength and stability and peace because nothing good can come of conflict, and we all want that. we just want to make sure that with open communications we can have better understanding and china can pass on its intent more clearly so that no mistakes can happen. >> peace is the goal, but soldiers are always supposed to prepare for the worst. american and japanese troops will continue their joint drill until sunday. nhk world, japan.

"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. "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. mill producers have announcethat screening tests for radiation will soon begin at about 180 dairy factories. this is in response to growing concerns among consumers. municipalities have been conducting radiation checks before raw milk goes on dairies and only a few will be checking the milk afterward, ever since the welfare ministry have decided to reduce safety standards there has been a call from consumers for more

screening. >> under the tougher standards milk will be allowed to contain 50 becquerels per kilogram. the japan dairy industry association says the screening will be conducted in tokyo and 16 prefectures in eastern japan. it will announce the results by the end of this month. >> bankers have come in for some heavy criticism in recent years. many people say greed in the finance industry is to blame for the world's economic problems. our next story puts a kinder face on the money game. it starts with the tsunami in march last year, a business in trouble and a group of investors willing to profit in some unusual ways. >> the business in distress is in eastern hokkaido. okudo is the company's president. he built it from scratch 20

years ago. >> the tsunami knocked out the plant's power unit and destroyed almost all of the machinery including the refrigerator. they had to get creative to keep his company going. >> this is the nozzle of a futon compressor. >> with this vacuum out of action, he made some adjustments to this home appliance. it's a clever work around, but no match for the proper machine. output fell sharply after the tsunami. >> translator: our production capacity is at 20th or a 30th of what it was before the disaster. >> these men may be able to help. they work for an investment fund for businesses that were hit during the disaster. he asked the fund to visit his factory.

after checking the facilities they presented a contract. kudo signed up immediately. >> i can't give up. if it was just me it would be okay to give up, but i have my customers. >> the next step was to recruit investors. the company set up a meeting in tokyo. the fund offers a number of projects, individual investors can support a company or product. one share costs about $140. the companies include a sake brewer and a shipbuilder. standing in front of 200 potential investors kudo makes his pitch. >> no matter what, we want to deliver a product to our customers. please, please give us your support and help our company.

>> what's in it for investors? part of the money contribute side a straight donation, but if kudo's company can make a profit, shareholders get to buy his product at a discount. there's also a special dividend for people that buy more than five share, a whole salmon free of charge. he hopes those incentives will help raise $800,000 to cover the cost of new equipment and materials. >> translator: in order to revive our company, i don't mind begging for people's help. not too proud to beg, and investors were not shy to contribute. in one month, kudo raised almost $80,000. at long last, the new vacuum packer arrives. the futon compressor can finally be retired. the machine gets tested right

away. >> i never thought this would upon that, but here we are with the new machine. we have to work hard to rebuild. i owe it to the people who invested in us. there's no way we can give up now. >> kudo has more fund-raising to do, but thanks to some compassionate investing. he has now taken his best step toward rebuilding the company. >> recovery in the northeast. all right. it's a very cold morning in tokyo, but people in other parts of japan are dealing with harsh winter conditions. say aqha mori joins us with her forecast. >> we've been focusing on snowfall on the western side of

japan. here's the snow accumulation as of this morning. they've received 264 centimeters which is double we normally see at this time of year and sakayo has reached over four meters and that's 1.5 meters higher than usually expected and a lot of snow-related accidents have been reported. i want to show you some video coming out of tohoku area. cancellations and road closures are troubling much of the area. this is from aomori prefecture where more than 50 centimeters have fallen over the last 24 hours. at least 100 cars have been stalled on the road due to heavy snow. the prefecture have asked the self-defense force to close roads. a deadly avalanche occurred last night killing three people. snow was 2.8 meters deep when the disaster happened.

the peak of the heavy snow is going to be today, but unfortunately we're expecting an additional 60 sent meters in this area. from tomorrow, even after tomorrow you're going see some intermittent snow showers. so that could, of course, raise the risk of avalanches even more. as we pull back, a light snow in central china is easing, but the southern sections will continue to see showers into the weekend. today's highs are looking like this. we're looking at a lot of cold temperatures to the north, minus 22 in ulan bator and minus 8 degrees in seoul. tokyo coming in at 5 degrees and those cold conditions will continue into tomorrow. not only asia, but also a lot of european countries have been dealing with frigid temperatures. very large high pressure system continues to pull a lot of cold air from the north. so warnings for extreme low

temperatures have been issued for many areas, and the cold air is colliding with warmer air from the south so we are looking at a lot of unsettled conditions to the south. in italy, heavy snow in the northern section and a thunderstorm in the southern areas will continue out today and we have a very active low pressure system that is moving into the balkan peninsula and bring in breezier conditions and some of them is moving into the western portion of turkey. here are the highs on thursday. we being see lots of blue and purple indicating sub-zero figures minus 15 degrees in moscow and minus 20 in kiev and in paris, highs will dip into the freezing mark and remember, these are the highs. so morning lows are going to be much colder than that and those frigid, cold temperatures will continue into the weekend so do bundle up. here is your extended forecast.

>> as we've been reporting, the tokyo stock exchange has stopped trading this morning. ai joins us again. traders are still unable to do their job. >> that's right, katherine. still unable to do it on some of their issues. according to the tokyo stock exchange it said they've experienced glitches in its data distribution system. the tokyo stock exchange has stopped trading on 241 of its issues. the tse says that a malfunction occurred in its system's server. it is nowec whiching the cause and it's trying to restore it. the tse says that some problems

occurred in a part of its training system called arrowhead. this made it impossible, that is, to provide information to investors on 241 issues including power companies and manufacturers. major issues affected include komatsu, hitachi and sony. the arrowhead is a new system which was introduced two years ago to revitalize stock trading. trading on the sapora securities exchange which uses the tse distribution system is also being halted. other exchanges in osaka, nagoya and puke wokka are trading normally. they opened higher on the tokyo ock exchange this morning. this follows an overnight rise on european and u.s. stock markets. the nikkei index now stands at 8,888. up nearly 80 points, a gain of .9%, and the broader topics

trading higher by 1%. the index values do not reflect the issues being halted right now. wednesday's stock values are being on these halted issues. now in the currency market, the dollar is moving in a narrow range at the lower 76-yen level. they're watching players in the greek sovereign debt talks. the dollar is now changing hands at 76.12 to 14 yen and the euro is trading at 100. sources say trading is light as speculation is building that greece and its private sector lenders are getting closer to a deal. participants are also waiting for the u.s. jobs data due out on friday. more updates about the tse for you next hour. katherine, back to you. >> thank you very much, ai. we will continue to follow this developing story from the tokyo stock exchange here on "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi.

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