hello, welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, october 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. nato ministers say they're sticking to a scheduled withdrawal of the combat troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014. the organization is under pressure to pull out early after a string of insider attacks

against its troops. defense ministers from nato's 28 member nations met in brussels on wednesday on the final day of a two-day conference. about 100,000 nato-led soldiers are stationed in afghanistan, mostly from the u.s. some nations want to speed up the pullout of the soldiers. but the meeting confirms there would be no changes to the withdrawal plan. nato ministers insisted that afghan military and police control an area covering three-quarters of the country's population. they also agreed to drop plans to train afghan troops and police to handle the aftermath of the combat troop withdrawal. nato secretary-general anders flores mussen insists it's based on assessment of the situation in afghanistan. >> it's not because isaf partners rushed for the exit. it's not because of lack of cohesion within our coalition. on the contrary.

>> but relations between na nato-led forces and afghanistan have been strained by insider attacks. afghan military and police or people wearing afghan uniforms have killed more than 50 foreign soldiers this year. people in north korea are marking the 67th anniversary of the founding of their ruling workers party. it's the first time the reclusive nation's leader kim jong-un has overseen the celebrations. workers lined up on the a hill in pyongyang to offer flowers to the statues of the late kim jong song and kim jong-il. state media oy reported kim visited the palace where the bodies of his grandfather and father lie in state. an editorial in the workers party newspaper called on the party to unite under the new leader in order to show its authority and power. it said the party is capable of accomplishing anything. experts believe north korea's new regime hopes to tighten its

control of the country while strengthning the role of the party. g-7 finance ministers and central bank governors will put eir heads together again to try to fd a way to keep the global economy from stalling. they're getting ready to meet in folk tokyo. their discussions are happening on the sidelines of the international monetary fund and world bank meetings. this is the first group of 7 meeting since april when ministers met in washington. they're trying to find ways to create steady growth despite europe's lingering debt crisis. representatives from eurozone countries are expected to look for support for the new rescue fund they launched monday. analysts say the global economy has been comparatively stable in recent months with financial rkets showing more solid movements but they warn china and other emerging economies are slowing down because of europe's problems. and those problems just seem to worsen day by day for eurozone members. a major u.s. ratings agency has

downgraded spain's sovereign bonds. they're now just above junk territory. standard & poor's cut spain's credit rating by two notches, from bbb-plus to bbb-minus. only one notch above speculative status. they also point out a fear that worsening unemployment and austerity measures may heighten social discontent, as well as friction between the central and regional governments. the smp says prospects for the bonds were negative, suggesting further downgrades could follow. spanish leaders asked the eu in june for financial support to boost the capital of domestic commercial banks which are weighed down by bad loans. they may have to ask more bailout funds because the country's regions are asking the central government for financial assistance. people around the world are feeling the effects of the global economic slow-down. but the poor and the young feel it more.

ron madison spoke with the manager of the world bank to learn what can be done to lessen the burden millions share. >> reporter: some region developing the fastest are seeing some of the worst cases of poverty, significant portions of the populations living in poverty. that figure is expected to decline in 2013 from 2010. but still, fully 24.5% will be living on about $2 a day. what more now needs to be done to address poverty? >> i think in the next ten years they acquire a lot of risks. first we may be difficult to expect the same strong growth in the next decade. second one, the quality of growth needs to be improved. how we will make each face growth will pull poverty out from the poverty level more and that will nip the design of the growth, which is much different. >> world bank has raised concerns about the rising cost of food around the world.

how much of an impact will this be having on the global economy? >> this is the continuous concern for us because food prices hit the poor directly and immediately. and that's why we've already in the past few years actually put this food price as the highest priority to be addressed. the policy combination for many countries in order for them to protect the poor is to build the social safety net. that is the first immediate response that needs to actually become the highest priority. the medium and long term is more how to invest more on increasing productivity and that has become a very tough issue because a lot of developing countries has not become organized. it will change the land for agriculture. so irrigation, productivity, seed, all the farm productivities is also needed. >> another thing we are seeing is high unemployment among the younger generation around the world. how concerned are you about this

trend? >> we are very concerned. fac teport thi year is actually about jobs. in the next decade we need to create 600 million new jobs especially for a country with a younger demographic composition like africa, subsahara, that problem is becoming even more. youth unemployment is the reason for the arab spring revolutions that happened. it is just another message that it is not only the level of growth which is important, but how growth that can create a decent job because job create the quality of life and respectability of society. we see the recommendation will be first on a policy level, the macrostability is needed. that is the necessary condition not sufficient. second one on the labor policy, they required to have a policy that create more equality of job. the third one is more the

affirmative policy that needs to be created in order to address a very specific local need. i think that is going to be an area which is going to be an option for the policymaker. >> okay, all right. thank you. >> thank you. >> ron madison will join us later in the day from the imf world bank meetings. we'll have live updates from the tokyo international forum at 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. japan time. that's midnight and 7:00 a.m. in new york, 5:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in london. now let's check on the markets. u.s. markets ended lower on concerns that slowing growth in china and the eurozone are hampering u.s. earnings. the dow jones average fell more than 150 points, or 0.95%, to 13,344. to see how that's affecting stocks here in japan, we go to the tokyo stock exchange. u.s. earnings reports dragging

down stocks on wall street. are tokyo stocks following suit? >> yes, indeed, catherine. we are seeing that. i'll come to the opening levels in a second. the real fear that is upcoming earnings may reflect the reality that a lot of companies have to scale back production and also cost-cutting measures have to be taking place, as well as lowering their growth forecasts. so that's really playing into a lot of sentiment and we're seeing that reflects in the opening levels. let's have a look at the exact levels for the nikkei and the topix for this thursday. you can see 8520, down .8%. and 710 on the topix there. so again, a negative start. let's not forget the nikkei was down nearly 2% yesterday. not only on declines on wall street, andorporaarnings concerns, also continuing concerns about slowing growth in china which has really been playing out in imf and world

bank meetings held just a couple of blocks away from the tokyo stock exchange. world bank and imf have made it pretty clear where they stand on china and japan downgrading their outlooks for china for 2012, japan for 2013. they've made it pretty clear where they stand on the eurozone as well, all of which adds more pressure on japanese exporters selling into those main xhes of china the u.s., as well as europe. and that's really after china gained back market share following the march 11th disaster last year. that has struck a lot of industry sectors from autos also to domestic sectors such as utilities and agriculture products. so that's really a big focus for japan. we also have japanese companies due out for their earnings later in october. again, investors' sentiment fears are of lower growth forecasts there, lower growt projtion due to operating

losses in china, the u.s., and europe on stagnant growth. so that's a real big focus there, catherine. >> we've seen the yen gaining in all of this. so still more pressure on exporters, no doubt. >> yeah, definitely. the yen, of course, we've been coughering that. and it's a key area for the government, as well as the bank of japan. they're very wary of the strength of the yen. just having a look at some of the currency levels right now. the dollar/yen, as well as the euro/yen, coming up there on the scre. 78.07-elev 78.0 78.07-11. following on from the currency moves, the focus at nhk world remains on the imf and world bank meetings as well as the g-7 meetings. we're going to have full coverage of day three, and we're looking forward to that. for now, another negative start ford nikkei and the topix. catherine, back to you. >> thanks very much.

the operator of japan's crippled nuclear plant says the latest probe shows fuel at the bottom of one of the reactors is being kept cool saying the water level in the containment vessel of reactor one is 2.8 meters, enough to stop the fuel from overheating. the pausch company used an en endoscope to peer inside the vessel at the fukushima daiichi plant. footage from the probe shows the surface of corroded scaffolding and water underneath. tokyo electric says it detected radiation of over 11 sieverts per hour in the container, high enough to kill in 40 minutes of exposu exposure. it adds melted fuel rods in the bottom of the reactor are stable thanks to the water level. the utility says the discovery means it's scheduled for decommissioning the reactor is still on-course.

one of the lasting legacies of japan's earthquake and tsunami is the crisis at fukushima daiichi. the accident forced thousands to flee the towns and cities around the nuclear plant. some foreign residents in the northeast ended up leaving japan but many have returned to the places they once called home. nhk world tracks one woman's journey. >> bear. brown bear. >> sarah jones is from texas. >> one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. >> reporter: she's teaching english at elementary and junior high schools. >> reporter: she was first drawn to japan by its natural beauty and culture. last year she was in the teachers' room at her high

school when she felt the most intense earthquake she'd ever experienced. she left the school and went home. sarah speaks some japanese. but she couldn't make out the insistent announcements on the tv. she looked up a word and found it meant "evacuation." she's close to the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, and residents were being ordered to flee. she took shelter at an elementary school more than 60 kilometers from town. >> i evacuated with people. i was the only foreigner here. and no one spoke english. so it's a little lonely, i think. >> reporter: in her notebook, sarah recorded information about the disaster from the news, as

well as of life at the shelter. she met some of her students and says she was surprised by how they behaved. >> the students were helping, watched the little ones or helped the old persons. everyone was having a very rough time themselves. but i was impressed that they also cared about the person next to them. >> reporter: she moved from shelter to shelter. but a week after the disaster, having no job to go to, she had to return to america. ten months later, sarah learned the elementary schools were hiring english teachers. she expressed to her family that radiation was not that much of a risk. reassured, they let her return.

>> after living he, i really came to love fukushima and the people that are here. when i found that they had an opening, i was very excited that i might get to come back. >> reporter: the evacuation order on is still in force. six months since returning, she distributes food and other goods to evacuees. >> i think as a foreigner it's a very good chance to show the people here that the world cares about japan. >> reporter: during her time here, she wants to make things a bit easier for those who can't go home. eventually, she'll head back to the u.s. but ask her when that will be and she says she doesn't know. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy.

they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struges and tir scesses on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." japanese businesses have been feeling the impact of a heated political dispute with china. chinese have boycotted their products because japan nationalized a group of islands in the east china sea. but that boycott doesn't appear to be having an impact on at least one popular product. one of asia's biggest flower exhibitions is under way in chiba near tokyo. many chinese are participating, even the relations between the two nations have deteriorated since japan nationalized the senkaku islands in the east china sea. >> translator: i admire japanese high technology. >> translator: business relations have not been affected much.

>> the flower show has attracted producers and traders from 25 countries. the organizers says 40 chinese companies are participating in the fair as initially planned. japanese companies have been trying to expand those sales in china. students in tokyo have held a memorial for a japanese freelance reporter killed while working in syria in august. the memorial happened at wasada university. she taught journalism there for the past four years. the students showed a film featuring interviews with her family members. her father, koji yamamoto, said she continued to report from war zones despite many difficulties. >> yamamoto's friends, including journali journalists and writers, spoke about her. they said she had a strong belief that people were waiting to see hare reports.

they hoped her messages would continue to speak to society. >> translator: as far as i can, i want to follow yamamoto's strong convictions and her self-imposed mission to work hard. >> yamamoto reported from syria, afghanistan, iraq, and kosovo. she focused her stories on women and children. yamamoto was 45. monks in thailand are trying to deal with an occupational hazard. the country's high percentage of buddhists gives them donations out of respect. but those gifts are becoming a weighty burden. >> reporter: thailand's monks are seeking a solution. the problem comes from the diet. they urgently need to lose weight. this is a 41-year-old monk at a buddhist temple in the suburbs

of bangkok. his morning routine involves making rounds of the neighborhood to ask for alms. he receives off onners of food at nearly every stop. the alms used to be mainly simple homemade dishes. but that's changing as thailand becomes richer. higher-calorie items such as sweets or meat, prepared outside the home, or aare on offer. by tradition, monks are supposed to eat everything they receive. but there's just too much. over 13 years, he gained 50 kilograms. he suffers from hypertension and diabetes. >> translator: people would be disappointed if i didn't eat. what else can i do but eat as

much as i can? >> reporter: on weekends, even more dishes arrive. followers deliver an assortment of meat, fried food, and other delicacies to the temple. they believe the food will reach the ancestors and other skedeced relatives when it's eaten by monks. >> translator: i made an offering for my deceased child and parents. >> translator: i hear the delicious food people bring to the temple makes monks suffer from hypertension or high cholesterol levels. even so, i want to make a delicious offering. >> reporter: a recent survey showed nearly half of the country's monks are overweight. a hospital for monks in bangkok

launched a program in may to fight obesity. it's designed to help overweight monks shed weight. paidat signed up for the course. thai monks are prohibited from exercising by their religious tenets. even jogging or aerobics is forbidden so they're encouraged to stretch to lose weight. >> translator: monks have a duty to start to diet. many of them suffer from diabetes. so they can't carry out their religious duties properly. >> reporter: paidat tries to avoid meat and fried foods, choosing vegetables and rice. after every meal, he goes into a private room and stretches. out collecting alms, he wears a

pedometer. his goal is to walk three kilometers instead of one kilometer he used to cover. >> translator: i used to need a few days of rest after i made the rounds. but now i feel all right. if i'm healthy, i can go anywhere and collect offerings and chant sutras in a forceful voice. i want to continue religious activities as long as possible. >> reporter: thailand's buddhist monks provide more support to the nation. thai's show religious faith by showering them with offerings. monks face a growing challenge to stay trim while accepting generosity with a full hea. nhk world, bangkok. >> changing times. people in northeastern japan may be choosing to stay indoors

today. residents there are dealing with stormy weather. sayaka mori gives us the latest in world weather. a strong low pressure system approaching the northern half of japan, starting to produce a lot of thunderstorms. we've got reports of 30 millimeters of rain per hour with gusts of over 80 kilometers per hour. already stormy but tngs will get even worse as the storm is swinging through the northern half of japan. we are expecting as much as 90 millimeters of rain to fall in the next 24 hours. that's quite a lot for these regions. in addition to that, tornados and hail are possible into your tonight. as for the rest of japan, looking dry, but as you can see, the osaka and tohoku areas may be seeing showers. out west, dry across the korean peninsula. clear skies to the east. southwestern china will continue to deal with lig showers. down towards the south, this low is what was once tropical storm

gaemi. today the heaviest rain is going to be found bangladesh, northeastern india, as well as the northern half of myanmar. out toward the east we're still monitoring prapiroon. the eastern half of taiwan, as well as okinawa islands, waves could reach five meters today. if it's going to continue to move at a slow pace. so again, rough seas could continue and it could move through the okinawa islands or taiwan early next week. we'll keep you posted on the storm's progress. temperatures are looking like this. quite warm for this time of year. tokyo out 26 degrees. looking at 19 degrees in seoul. out towards the west, 8 degrees in ulan bator. should be cooling down into minus 2 degrees as we head into your friday.

alright, finally let's go over to the americas, then. lots of wintry precipitation across canada. this low has been dumping heavy snow in southern quebec and parts of other the rest of quebec. back behind it another system is also producing snow. that's going to head toward southern ontario. we'll see as much as 20 centimeters of snowfall here. even northern parts of minnesota may be seeing a mixture of rain and snow. down toward the south, a big dome of high pressure is in place in the eastern half of the u.s. that means clear conditions and also frosty conditions mainly across the appalachians, the ohio valley, and tennessee valley tonight. out west, a slow-moving and upper cold low is creeping over southern california, bringing coastal rain and inland snow. temperatures looking like this. cooler than average in los angeles with a high of 20 degrees on your thursday. meanwhile, another chilly day

for you in winnipeg with a high of only 7. on towards the east, below average along the eastern seaboard. only 16 in washington, c. 14 in new york city. down towards the south, 31 in houston and 28 in oklahoma city. that's it for me now. here's your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.