glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, october 30th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. their current timetable calls for the process of removing spent fuel from the storage fuel to begin in 2017 and removing melted fuel to start three years after that, but officials have revised their plans. they say they'll now start to extract the spent fuel in 2019 and melt the fuel in 2025. radio active rumble has

accumulated inside the number one reactor since the march 2011 nuclear accident. workers began dismantling the cover of the building month to remove the debris. but their full pledged work to dismantle the cover will not take place until march of next year. researchers say they need to build new facilities and cranes and they say that will take time to do. the current timetable says complete decommissioning of the fukushima daiichi plant will take 30 to 40 years. people of the u.s. federal reserve have pumped billions into the economy every year, and now they've decided they're done. good morning. what can you tell us? >> well, catherine, as you know, this practice of buying billions of dollars worth of bonds was never meant to be permanent. it was a measure after the financial crisis of 2008.

policymakers have done three rounds of quantitative easing since. they have repeatedly said the end of qe3 would be dependent on the health of the labor market. the level is now below 6% and policymakers feel the time is right to call it quits. they reached decision by a majority vote. after a decision in the meeting they point to a more stable job market and underutilization is easing. the government bought up u.s. bonds and other securities to boost the money supplied by $85 billion per month. but in december last year they decided to cut back on their buying. they regularly reduced purchases by $10 billion. the focus will now be on when the fed will raise its key interest rates which are close to zero. in a statement, policymakers said they will maintain the

current rates for what they term a considerable time, that's the same language as in their september statement. all in all officials have spent six years pumping money through the market. they've been trying to revive the economy following the biggest bankruptcy in u.s. history. >> reporter: limon brothers lost global financial markets in 2008 when it went bust. officials at the u.s. federal reserve responded by cutting the interest rate to almost zero. but that wasn't enough to help the economy. so they upped the ante with some unconventional measures. they'd already been buying up mortgage-backed securities. they also started acquiring huge amounts of long-term government bonds, and they kept on buying them. it was only last year the american economy started to recover. personal spending and housing starts picked up. in june, the feds then-chairman made an announcement that surprised everyone. >> if the incoming data are

broadly consistent with this forecast, the committee currently anticipates it would be appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases late this year. >> reporter: the message threw global markets into confusion. investors started shifting thei and back to the u.s. the volatility in financial markets made officials more careful about how to phase out monetary stimulus measures. another six months passed before they decided it was time to start scaling back. since then, they've been steadily winding down the size of their purchases. >> good afternoon. >> in the middle of this year, they agreed to end the quantitative easing by october, but only if the economy continued to recover. six years after they embarked on this drastic course of action, fed officials have finally reached a point where they can see the finish line. investors around the world are trying to figure out what the fed's announcement means for the economy.

we spoke with michelle meyer, a senior u.s. economist at bank of america merrill lynch and asked for her take on the fed's decision. >> the fed decided to end qe as largely anticipated and that reflects the fact that the risks to the downside have diminished. when qe-3 was put in place as an open-ended quantitative easing program we were in an environment when there was a lot of uncertainty from the federal government threatening a debt default, threatening a government shutdown. the economic environment in the u.s. and also globally looked a lot weaker. we're in a much healthier backdrop now for the u.s. and for the global economy. there's still challenges, of course, but broadly speaking the economy has made a number of steps towards healing and towards that eventual recovery and healthier trajectory of growth. the next step, of course, is when does the fed finally start hiking interest rates.

they importantly kept considerable time in their forward guidance. but they changed the description of the labor market. they took out the phrase significant underutilization of resources. that was a step in a bit of a positive direction. the next step is when does the fed finally start hiking interest rates? i think we're still several months away from that. our baseline forecast at some point in the second half of next year they'll begin higher interest rates. but one of the things they'll be monitoring very carefully is the trajectory of inflation. we're well below the fed's target of 2% and some of the recent data showed downside risks to inflation and the fed acknowledgeded this in their statement, saying near-term risks are to the downside as a result of the decline in energy prices and other factors. the risk that would worry me is if global growth continues to slow. we've been surprised by the

weakness we've seen in the euro, and the weakness we've seen in developing economies as well. if global growth continues to weaken, if inflation globally continues to weaken, that will matter for how we think about the risks here in the u.s. >> well, in the markets currency traders are always the first to react. in their response to the fed's announcement was to buy the dollar against other major currency. against the yen, the dollar surged to a three-week high. good morning, what can you tell us? >> investors here should get a boost from the rise of the dollar against the yen. at one point it hit 108.90. that should really provide a boost here. 15,610.

up almost 0.4%. the nikkei rose to a three-week high on wednesday. and the dollar jumped higher. analysts say traders are buying the dollar because they now see an earlier time line for the fed to begin raising rates. some analysts say in the middle of in next year. the dollar rose to a three-week high against the yen. the tone was more aggressive regarding the policymaker's views on the pace of u.s. economic growth. so a lot of focus there on how the markets are playing out following the fed announcement. ai? >> and ramin, something else on investors' minds, many japanese companies will be reporting their investing. many have already come out with their earnings. what can you tells about them? >> exactly, there's a couple of names. let's start with them. now. to start, hitachi.

they have infrastructure related businesses, not to mention rice cookers. it raises outlet for the whole year and the net worth soared threefold from the year earlier. nintendo logged better than expected earning reports with strong sales of game devices. analysts say the upcoming christmas shopping period will be a quest whether nintendo can sustain the positive trend. on another note of interest, they will spend more than $600 million to take sizable stake in e-retailer snap deal. we'll monitor that as well. now coming up today, of course. further earnings reports here in japan, electronics sector, toshiba. also south korean mobile phone rival samsung will be reporting today. so with the fed meeting out of the way now, a lot of investors according to what analysts are telling us will be focused on

earnings and economic data. some of the fundamentals there will be taking center stage. i'll have a full round of how the shares will trade today and also some of the asian indexes as well. i'll have another update in a few hours. back to you, ai. >> great, ramin. we'll talk to you then. bill back next hour with more of your business headlines. here's a check of the market figures. japanese officials have

wrapped up talks in pyongyang with their north korean counterparts. they met to discuss the progress of an investigation into the fate of missing and abducted japanese nationals. the head of the japanese delegation says he reiterated his call for a swift investigation and a report of the results. >> translator: the purpose of this visit was to stress to north korean officials directly that the japanese government considers the abductions issue a top priority. at the same time, we expect to learn as much as possible about the details of the north's ongoing investigation. we heard their explanation on this point. >> ji ihara is japan's top diplomat, and they met with north korea's head of the special investigations committee.

ihara says the committee has four panels including one focused on abducted japanese. he says his team was briefed about missing nationals, those left behind during world war ii, and the japanese spouses of north koreans. there is also a panel handling the issue of the remains of nationals who died there near the end of world war ii. the chief of that investigation kim hyon choi gave an update. >> translator: we organized the investigation panel and conducted a thorough investigation of cemeteries and burial places containing japanese remains. we hope to report to the japanese side about the details and our findings. >> the talks lasted for more than ten hours over two days. it is the first time in a decade the two sides have met face to face in pyongyang. japan's government maintains at least 17 nationals were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s.

five returned in 2002. relatives of abductees are closely watching how the talks with north korean officials play out. >> translator: i strongly felt that we want to avoid a situation where other issues, aside from the abduction issue, will become the focus of the talks, and abductees will be left behind. >> iizuka says he wants to look carefully to see what kind of actions the japanese government will take after meeting with the north korean officials. officials at the world health organization say the number of people who have been confirmed or suspected to have the ebola virus has topped 13,000. they say there's been a substantial increase since the number of infections passed 10,000 last saturday. they say nearly 5,000 people have died of the disease.

assistant director general bruce illworth says the rate of new cases seems to be decreasing in liberia, the country hardest hit by the ebola outbreak. >> we're not seeing -- it hasn't dropped off a cliff like this. what we're seeing is a reversal of that rapid rate increase to the point where there seems to be right now. >> aylworth says the situation needs to be completely monitored before concluding that the situation is under control. a former japanese prime minister has held his second meeting in three months with china's president, xi jinping. yasuo fukuda is in beijing on a three-day visit. he is the chairman of the forum for asia. it organizes discussions among political, business and academic leaders. the meeting was held on the sidelines of the forum. only the beginning of the meeting was open to the media. xi said the forum has achieved remarkable results in the past

several years. fukuda said china should play a bigger role in asia, but he said with that would come greater responsibility. after the meeting, he told reporters he could not disclose the contents of the talks, but he was positive. >> translator: japan-china relations were not on the agenda. the conversation was more general. >> when fukuda last met xi in july, he passed along a message from prime minister shinzo abe. abe said he's open to the idea of holding a summit with xi on the sidelines of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum in beijing next month. chinese foreign minister wang yi told reporters he hopes japan's leaders will show sincerity in resolving issues with china. wang was briefing them on the upcoming apec meeting. foreign media asked him about the possibility of a japan/china summit. >> translator: it is a fact that

the two countries have issues and obstacles affecting the development of their relations. we cannot evade that. i hope that japan's leaders will focus on those issues and address them sincerely. >> wang apparently wants japan to make concessions on its perception of history and over its stance on the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the islands. the japanese government maintains they are a part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. the japanese government says there is no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved, concerning the senkaku islands. a hong kong assembly member has been criticizing the chief executive of the territory as pro-democracy protests continue. a key chinese government advisory body has now expelled james tien. he told reporters last week that the chief executive should consider resigning.

local media said it was the first time a member of the pro-beijing camp had urged him to quit. mainland media outlets report the chinese people's political conference frontative conference has revoked tien's membership. tien accepts the decision. >> translator: i urged the chief executive to resign because hong kong is getting a bit ungovernable. >> demonstrators had been occupying sections of major roads for more than a month. they're demanding beijing reverse its decision to screen candidates for the 2017 election to choose the chief executive. tien's dismissal is widely seen as a show of support for lien by beijing, and a call for pro-china groups to work together. a baby chim pan chimpanzee

at a zoo in japan is getting a lot of attention. she was born handicap and had to have special care. but that special care is helping her grow stronger. she was born partially paralyzed and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers but that special care has helped her grow stronger. nhk world's atsumi fujishia has that story. >> reporter: this is miyuki. she was born in july last year at the zoo in koichi prefecture. she was born with a disability. miyuki had a difficult delivery. her mother had never given birth before, and there were difficulties in her labor. so she was given an assisted delivery. but miyuki had no heartbeat when she was born. the zoo staff struggled to save her life. miyuki was placed in intensive care.

nobuhiro yada was one of the staff who kept a close watch on her. steadily, she began to grow. >> translator: we didn't think she'd survive, so we were very happy. >> reporter: miyuki's mother had been under when she gave birth and she's showed no interest in her baby been when yamada tried to introduce her to miyuki, she didn't recognize her at all. the zoo staff decided to raise miyuki themselves. when she was about a month all, their mother noticed there was something strange about her vision. it. >> translator: like human babies humans commute with their

mothers by eye contact with you miyuki's doesn't seem to be functioning properly. >> reporter: she also falls over a lot because the right side of her body is weaker than the left. professor hidekki takeshida studies the physical and mental development of chimpanzees in comparison with humans. >> in human terms, miyuki has cerebral palsy. the right and left sides of her body are growing unevenly. her growth rate is extremely slow. >> reporter: miyuki always tends to use her left hand as it's her stronger side. takeshida has come to rectify that.

for the first time, miyuki uses her right hand to grab the toy. >> translator: her desire to grab the object was so great she moved her right hand. it's the first time, and it's so good to see that. >> reporter: yamada has begun giving miyuki rehabilitation exercises to develop her right arm. >> translator: miyuki is very motivated and we're quite optimistic. i know this is going to take a long time, but i intend to stay positive and keep taking it one step at a time. >> reporter: miyuki is now very popular and many visitors came to see her grow strongly. atsumi fujishima, nhk world.

efforts to rescue more than 100 people in sri lanka after a massive landslide have been temporarily called off because of bad weather and the arrival of nightfall. the landslides struck on wednesday. it was triggered by torrential rain, and at least eight people have been confirmed dead. the disaster occurreded in the official of badulla in central sri lanka. at least eight people have been the disaster occurred in the district of badula in central scree lanka. officials reported about 300 people have been buried. the number was revised downward after some people were rescued and others found safe. hundreds of military personnel and other rescuers are searching for the missing. the monsoon season started in sri lanka earlier this month. weather authorities say the rain around badula had been heavy over the past four days. the governor urges residents on hillsides to move because of concerns of mudslides, but most

of them have remained, citing lack of funds. mai shoji joins us with more on the situation. >> catherine, i'm afraid i can't give you great news. the rain will be continuously plaguing sri lanka, the second round of the monsoonal season, this is a week before but really it doesn't look that staggering but the areas are receiving an amount about 120 millimeters have been falling across some locations in sri lanka. this is the area near the devastated locations. unfortunately, rain will be continuing at least into saturday, and it could be some sudden burst of showers on and off showers with thunderstorms also going to be of potential. so into the next couple of days, or even few more days ahead, we're looking at more additional rainfall of about 120 millimeters in and around the area so the situation i'm afraid could get worse and the search operations could well be hindered.

we have another system that is going to be affecting pakistan and india. this is neofar, likely to decrease in intensity before landfall but 50 to 250 millimeters of rainfall will be pulling in and it will be starting to impact these locations by thursday, certainly the life-threatening rip currents and storm surges are something to be aware of as well so we keep a close eye on this. out here across the east, a rain band is stretching all the way from central china and into eastern china and this has been an ongoing situation where landslides have occurred in kunan city in yunnan province. more rainfall, about 80 millimeters will be traveling in and around shanghai and then by the weekend it will be reaching over the korean peninsula and also western japan, so we'll start to feel those rainfall about sunday, in and around tokyo as well, but as for now, high pressure system is dominating much of japan, which

is bringing us really cold temperatures, the coldest day in tokyo was reported this morning at 11.9 degrees. hokkaido is already seeing about minus 6 degrees. beijing still quite hazy at 16 for your high. let's go over to europe, where in western norway an area where severe flooding is happening as well. look at this video. severe swamped western norway. wednesday two dozen people had to be airlifted after becoming stranded. many local roads have been closed as a result of the severe weather. officials say this is a 1 in 200 year flood event. at this time no serious injuries or casualties have been reported so that's the good news i can give you, but unfortunately the system is going to be pulling away but another round of heavy rain will be making its way from the british isles and into western norway, so this is what the four-day outlook looks like in and around bergen and western norway. pounding rainfall at least into sunday and the temperatures

quite low there as well. stockholm just at 8 degrees but meanwhile, looking at pleasant conditions across the central europe. paris at 19 degrees with partly sunny skies and the iberian peninsula, madrid reaching 24, lisbon same digits there, that's until another system pulls in by friday. i'll leave you now your extended forecast around the globe.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. blach

today's "asian voices" is brought to you from bhutan. we'll explore the charms of traditional bhutanes culture. the himalayan area of bhutan which is often called the land of happiness. the country has developed its own culture, influenced by tibetan buddhism.