the superbug has also infected 24 people at fujita health university hospital in central japan since february this year. it had been suspected that the superbug came from foreign countries. however, the two hospitals say the first patients thought to be infected had not traveled abroad. an expert on infectious diseases says the bacteria may have already been spreading in japan. >> japan has been ranked bottom among oecd member nations for public spending on education as a percentage of gdp. the organization for economic cooperation and development published a report on tuesday that reviews member countries' education policies in 2007. the report says spending on education by japan's national and local governments accounted for 3.3% of gdp. the figure was unchanged from the previous year and was 1.5% below the average for the member nations. japan's ratio was the lowest among 28 comparable countries and was less than half the figure for iceland which was ranked the highest. meanwhile, household contributions to education expenditure in japan stood at 21.7%. for higher education, japan

the bug infected 24 people at fujita health university hoital inichi prefecture central japan, since february. it had been suspected that the superbug came from foreign countries. however, the two hospitals say the first patients thought to be infected had not traveled abroad. an expert says the bacteria may have already been spreading in japan. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.