tokyo train stations, otemachi and ginza, are at the core of tokyo. there is a dramatic difference between the daytime and nighttime population in this area. according to the 2000 census, over one million people work here, but only 40,000 people live here. that means for every 26 people here during the day, only one is here during the evening, and those other 25 are commuting in on public transit. in tokyo, the government and private industry have worked very, very hard to develop a very efficient rail transportation system. and there's actually more use of public transit in tokyo, i believe, per year than in the entire use of public transportation in the united states. so public transportation in tokyo is exceptional. we're talking about something like 40 million individual rides per day. narrator: japan is a mountainous country roughly the size of california. this physical geography has contributed to densely populated cities, and made japan one of the most highly urbanized countries in the world. over 80% of its population lives in urban areas. tok

is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, what can you tell us? >> have good morning to you ai. stormy weather is expected for gentleman man with the fie toon. but relative calk here for stalks with the nikkei and topics opening pretty calmly. i mean, just dipping in and out of negative and positive. not any major moves. yet we did see the nikkei fall for three trading sessions on the back of the euro debt concerns. may trade in a narrow range so for today. the head of the meeting, wrapping up late every today. all of the turmoil about greece and questions about the euro zone debt has also meant that yen remains one of the safer assets around. and having a look at the currency levels as well, we can see that it it is still holding strong against the basket of currencies currently at the upper 104 levels against the euro and sticking to the 76 yen range eat getting to the dollar. the dollar may be sidelined ahead of the meeting and so we may not see that much of a range in the currency markets either during the t

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. good-b

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the very strong typhoon roke is churning closer toward japan's main island of honshu. people in central and western japan are on high alert. heavy rain is already falling in the region and there are growing fears of widespread flooding and landslides. ev evacuation warnings have been issued. 1 million people in aichi have been warned to evacuate alone. in gifu prefecture the authorities are telling more than 96,000 residents to leave their homes. rescuers are searching for two people, including a school boy. in hyogo prefecture, next to osaka, officials want more than 34,000 people to evacuate. people in some areas of miyazaki and oita prefectures in southern japan have also been warned to evacuate because of possible landslides. some residents had to be rescued by boat before their houses were inundated by the rising waters. >> translator: i feel so relieved. the rain is easing off now. i hope is it stops soon. >> one reason why typhoon roke is causing mu

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. yoshihiko noda and president barack obama have agreed to further develop the two countries' alliance. in their first meeting in new york, they agreed to continue efforts to proceed with the plan to relocate a u.s. air base in okinawa. nhk world has more on that. >> reporter: noda had his first face-to-face talks with obama on wednesday on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly meeting. the talks lasted for about half an hour. >> translator: i would like to thank on behalf of the japanese people the great assistance extended by the u.s. military to help japan recover from the march 11th disaster. >> i want to welcome prime minister noda and his delegation to new york city and to the united states. for what i'm sure will be an excellent working relationship with the prime minister, as well as his team. >> reporter: during the talks, obama reiterated that japan is one of the closest allies of the united states, and that the alliance should be updated for the 21st century. noda told h

and tokyo heats up to 30 degrees. over toward the americas and looking at a system moving eastward of the great lakes region, not moving a whole lot right now but it is gradually bringing in that rain more toward the eastern sections of canada as well as the united states. looks like it's going to be looking -- we're going to have much more widespread showers in the area. although that activity is starting to die down. so it shouldn't be anything too heavy. southeastern corner of the united states remains unsettled with the chances of thundershowers. also rain starts to develop in the central plains, or the lower plains as well. that's looking ahead in toward the midwest. now, up toward the pacific northwest, still some lingering showers in place. here's a look at highs. 22 degrees in seattle and 26 for denver. chicago slightly cooler coming in at just 16 degrees on thursday. and finally, a look at europe here. we've got this well developed low up north of the british isles. that's been bringing gusty conditions to th

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant says that high densities of hydrogen have built up in pipes connected to the number 1 reactor. tokyo electric power company says that an explosion is unlikely as there is no oxygen in the pipes but that it will begin work to drain the gas starting on thursday. tepco began measuring the density of the gas on wednesday after finding it accumulating in pipes connected to the reactor's containment vessel late last week. it found that the density of hydrogen was high at between 61 to 63%. the utility believes that the hydrogen is likely the remains of gas that caused explosions at the plant in march following the quake and tsunami disaster. it has also promised to check the density of hydrogen and pipes in the number 2 and number 3 reactors in line with instructions from japan's nuclear safety agency. >>> the environment ministry says it will build facilities to temporarily store irradiated soil

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. libya's new interim rulers have extended the deadline for ousted leader gadhafi's forces to surrender until september 10th. the national transitional council had warned supporters to leave by september 3rd. but has now extended the deadli deadline on sirte by one week. thousands of rebel troops are besieging sirte and advancing to two other loyalist towns. this includes a town southeast of tripoli and the desert town on saba. colonel gadhafi urged his supporters to fight on. >> gadhafi reportedly fled the city when the rebels gained control last month. the european union has decided to lift its sanctions on some of libya's assets to let the interim government rehabilitate the country. kathryn ashton said in a statement on thursday that the union's asset freeze on 28 libyan entities will end immediately. the sanctions lifted include a freeze on banks, energy firms, and six libyan ports. the freeze on assets of individuals including deposed leader muammar al gadhafi and his family as we

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> china has successfully put an unmanned experimental module into orbit as the thrst step toward the completion of a manned space station by 2020. china's first space laboratory tiangong 1 was launched from the jiuquan satellite launch center in gansu province thursday night at :16 p.m. local time. it's scheduled to dock with another unmanned spacecraft within two months. this will be the first step among a series of experiments planned by china to acquire the know-how for building a space station. premier wen jiabao observed the launch from the gansu province space center. president hu jintao and vice president xi zin ping watched the coverage live in beijing. china is celebrating its 62nd anniversary of the foundation of the people's republic on saturday, october 1st. the launch will help to promote the nation's space technology at home and abroad. however, observers say that a chinese space station could add to international concern over its possible mili

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. rescuers continue to search for people missing in western japan after tropical storm talas left 54 people dead and 53 unaccounted for. in nara prefecture, nine people remain missing after heavy rain triggered a mudslide over the weekend. some 200 member of the police, fire brigades, and defense forces are conducting rescue efforts in this city. searches are also underway in other affected areas. local residents were looking for their belongings in the wreckage of houses destroyed by landslides. >> translator: i hurt to fiope photographs of my husband and grandchildren. >> the land ministry has begun surveying four areas where landslides have created lakes in two prefectures. there is concern that pooled water may overflow and cause damage downstream. the ministry will inform local governments of the results to help them decide whether or not to evacuate residents. it will also work with local authorities to study ways to drain the water. the storm left a trail of destruction across we

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the number of victims of tropical storm talas in japan is increasing. as of tuesday morning, 33 people have died and 54 others are missing. mainly in the western part of the country. wakayama prefecture suffered the worst losses as a downpour claimed the lives of 21 people with a further 32 still missing. in nachi-katsura had a man found dead in a submerged car and another in a house. 19 are missing. in nara prefecture, many are missing. a woman was killed in a mudslide in the city of gojo. the storm destroyed at least 80 houses and flooded more than 16,000 across seven prefectures. talas was downgraded to a low pressure system on monday and is now moving northward over the sea of japan. the weather authority warns that the low pressure system together with the tropical storm in the pacific ocean could bring torrential rain to northern japan including hokkaido. >>> earlier we spoke by phone with brad towle. a canadian working in wakayama. he was stranded in a hotel in a mountainous ar

tokyo mitsubishi and desuna will reduce rates by 0.05%. the u.s. economic slow down and european debt problems are raising concerns among investors. this is prompting them to shift their invef frmts assets like stocks to low risk japanese government bonds. the move is pushing down the yield on the bonds which are a yardstick for long-term interest rates. the banks hope to promote home mortgages with lower rates to improve their earnings, which have become worse due to a decline in loans to businesses. >>> and now let's get a check on the markets. u.s. stocks ended higher wednesday marking four straight session of gains. but august overall proved to be a negative month after volatility the "globe" al markets and fears of economic downturn. to see how stocks are kick off on the first day of september, here in japan, we cross over to the tokyo stock exchange. how are stocks trading? >> thank you. just looking at open willing levels for the nikkei, it did break above 9,000, that's the first time in 20 two weeks. just a touch below that right now, but n

kyung lah, cnn, tokyo. >>> i have to say, nina, walking around tokyo for the last couple days, what doesstill strike you is the number of expats you do see here. there may have been a brain but there's still a lot here. i guess the competition is also going to increase. shanghai, particularly, hong kong, kyung lah mentioned singapore and india. these are the financial centers particularly that international banks and businesses want to get their toes into the water there. >> okay, andrew, going from tokyo and shanghai to new york now. in the years that followed 9/11, many people thought the only appropriate option for the world trade center site was a memorial. but one man had a different vision, a dream that it could once again be a thriving business hub. we'll hear from him after this break. [ hayden ] what if there was a makeup that didn't just hide your breakouts... but actually made them go away. neutrogena skin clearing makeup has our proven blemish fighting formula so it clears your breakouts. now that's beautiful. neutrogena®. i am an american. i am an american. i am an american.

in tokyo. i'm c chehene kobayashi. the u.n. security council has begun consultations amid heated lobbying forand against the application. the council held its first and formal talks on the issue on monday. palestinian leader abbas submitted last friday. the 15 members including the five permanent ones did not appear to have detailed discussions during the one-hour meeting. security council president of lebanon told reporters they will meet again on wednesday. a security council is required to vote on whether or not to issue a resolution recommending full membership for the palestinians. for the resolution to be sent to the general assembly, at least nine of the 15 council members need to vote in favor. and none of the five permanent members can exercise their veto. sources say china and russia are likely to vote for the palestinian bid as are india and brazil. but the united states has vowed to veto the move. the palestinian ambassador to the united nations told reporters that he understands that the procedures take time, but i

nhk reports. >> the 7.3 magnitude quake reached tokyo. headquarters were at a train station. >> held in tokyo -- [ inaudible ] officials guided stranded passengers and commuters to safety. about 700 people took part. the march 11th quake -- people left to stations in search of information when the train stopped. >> translator: many people were stranded at the station. the staff really couldn't help us because there were so much confusion. >> stations practiced helping passengers get off the train. and guiding them to a safe place. a crowd of people who gathered in front of the station were in two groups. those who could walk home and the others who could not. they were guide bid police officers. the officers were blocking roads and led people to shelters for a future quake. >> translator: i hope this experience will pay off some day. when an earthquake really occurs. >> translator: i want to know how many people the shelter can accommodate. and how far away it is. >> translator: on march 11th, we couldn't effectively guide the crowds of p

tokyo undertakes one of the biggest earthquake drills ever seen.nd how communist north korea is trying to kickstart a tourist industry. the british government has defended cuts being made to the armed forces on the day it has announced that more than 1400 people would lose their jobs. ministers argued is a way of default -- bouncing a defense budget and -- balancing a defense budget and keeping things going in the long term. >> last night, jets were again in action over libya, targeting a military barracks over tripoli. britain is stretched by wars on two fronts. with british troops still fighting and dying in afghanistan. but the government also has to get a grip on an energy budget that is spiraling out of control, and that means cuts in the equipment and personnel. the strength of the british armed forces currently stands at nearly 177,000. over the next few years, the three services will lose 17,000 personnel through retirement slowing down recruitment, but also redundancies. by 2015, the total size of the armed forces will have shrunk to 160,0

i'm ron madison in tokyo. dozens of people who once lived in the shadow of the fukushima diachi plant have had a drive today was a short-lived homecoming day of sorts. authorities allowed them to briefly enter the no-go zone. residents drove home to retrieve some of the belongings they left behind after the government evacuated the area in march. 227 people from 90 households went back in. it was the second opportunity for evacuees to go in. only two people were allowed into the no go zone. during the first tranth weaken back then. this time evacuees were able to use their own vehicles and took as many passengers as they could carry. >> translator: i brought back a heater, demidifier and a refrator. tnslato i i d the stuehich i dedicated to my ancestors. i won't be able to go back for a long time. >> after the visits, authorities tested the vehicles for radioactive contamination, trips home in private vehicles are expected to continue until late november. >>> well we're hearing now that german industrial giant

tokyo here at 29 degrees.e in north america, let's first talk about this tropical storm ophelia. which is moving away from leeward islands. so it is moving away from the land masses. it's a good news, however it looks lit's going to be tracking towards newfoundland, making landfall there maybe early next week. so we have to keep a close eye on this system. a couple oowreur is going to be very active his is where severe storm may be enthere. anehind that it's going to bery per hour in someea cuma gog er stnginelser , s ll ne he at. rextd forecast. >>> this just in, tonight china launched its first space laboratory module an initial step toward building its own space station. >> the tiangong lifted off from the jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest china. tiangong means heavenly palace in chinese. the tiangong will dock with another unmanned spacecraft that will be launched within two months. >>> and that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline," we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio

tokyo, 29. america, we've got a couple of low pressure systems ilbe bngg unrsrms towards the upper dwest d tao. ngss awell. now, this oklahoma city at 39degrees. houston, 38. new york, we're loing at 28 degrs. here in europe, showers in finland and bticsll the w wne rtrnlaweilbeeeing som activ weather er ayme h pumping up thunderstorms in the alpine. because of t atlantic he a your mpates grs. pa9. yedoras >> that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

tokyo governor says having the olympics here would be a way for tokyo to show the world how it's recovered from the earthquake and tsunami. tokyo hosted in 1964. it was to in the line to host in 2016 but lost out to rio de jier in row. and now here is your extended weather forecast. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. ♪ >>> yu-hu, whoa, hey, what are you looking at? want to fight? i am jumping spider and i know how to fight. we don't know why but humans around here are always trying to catch us. oh, no, there goes another one. since way back jumping spiders and humans have had a strange relationship. we live in the seaside city in futtsu in chiba prefecture, which is about an hour's drive from tokyo. >> translator: small ones. >> reporter: this man is here to catch us, too. >> translator: a cap? >> reporter: no, it's not a cap. kenji puts a colander on his head and hunts us day in and day out. >> translator: whoa! five or six millimeters. has to be double that size. >> reporter: he hunts a few hours every day but he's not after just any

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. a my mistake earlier this month on a flight could have led to a serious accident. the government transport safety board says the flight wag tilted so far it was almost flying upside down when it made a nose dive. the dive took place on september 6th as the ana boeing 737 was heading toward tokyo's care port from okinawa. there were 112 passengers on board. no passengers were hurt and crew members incurred light injuries. these computer graphics were created by the transport safety board based on its analysis of the flight recorders. the nose dive occurred about an hour and aalf after take off over the ocean. the plane tilted heavily and plunged steeply dropping 1900 meters in about 30 second. the board says the plane tilted slightly right then dived sharply to the left. the nose of the airplane dropped by as much as 35 degrees and the plane tilted left ward by as much as 131.7 degrees. this was virtually flying upside down. the cause of the drop was one of the copilots hitting the wro

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. rescuers continue to search for people missing in western japan after tropical storm talas left 54 people dead and 53 people unaccounted for. in gojo city, nara prefecture, nine people remain missing after heavy rain triggered a mud slide over the weekend. some 200 members of the police and fire brigades and self-defense forces are conducting the rescue effort in the city. searches are also under way in other affected areas. local residents were looking for their belongings in the wreckage of houses destroyed by landslides. >> translator: i hope to find photographs of my husband and grandchildren. >> the land ministry has begun surveying four areas where landslides have created lakes in nara and wakayama prefectures. there is concern that pooled water may overflow and cause damage downstream. the ministry will inform local governments of the results to help them decide whether or not to evacuate residents. it will also work with local authorities to study ways to drain the water. the

she now lives north of tokyo. before the disaster, she operated an english school but had to close it until things get better. now she can't be with her students whom she was very close to. >> whisper in their ear that you love them very much. >> once again, the poem is -- last month she started to teach english again in a town where she's living for the time being. >> i wanted to teach my students in fukushima a lot of things. they did a lot for me. now i want my students here to benefit from my knowledge. >>> next we go to our bureau in bangkok. we have the latest on what's making headlines. >>> relations between pakistan and the united states took a turn for the worst over the weekend amidst the on-going fallout from a recent attack on the u.s. embassy in afghanistan. pakistani prime minister issued a passionate denial of american allegations that pakistan had provided support for the militants responsible for the attack. >> we strongly reject assertions of complicity with hakani. the allegations are confusion

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> china has successfully put on unmanned experimental module into orbit as the first step toward the completion of a manned space station by 2020. china's first space laboratory tiangong 1 was lunched from the jiuquan satellite province thursday night at :16 p.m. local time. it's scheduled to dock with another unmanned spacecraft within two months. this will be the first step among a series of experiments planned by china to acquire the know-how for building a space station. premier wen jiabao observed the launch from the gansu province space center. president hu jintao watched live in bay ching. beijing. the launch will help to promote the nation's space technology at home and abroad. however, observers say that a chinese space station could add to international concern over its possible military applications. >>> in 1970, china became the world's fifth space power when it put its first satellite into orbit. its experience with weather and communications sa

and tokyo 30-degree mark for a change. over towards the americas, we've got rain moving through the eastern half of canada as well as united states. but it is looking like it is going to taper off as it heads to the northeast corner here. for the southeast it does look it remain pretty unsettled. behind another low falls right along the u.s.-canadian border. that too will pose a couple showers. we've got 20 degrees expected in vancouver. seattle heats up to 30 degrees. and los angeles too will be on the warm side. and finally a look at europe here. this is looking a little bit wet and stormy here for parts of central and eastern areas of the europe and we have been talking about mountains for parts of germany and austria. today this system is going to break up those so we will see that rain more likely head towards the south, italy instead will look at showers, even heavier down falls with heavy activity. the scandinavian region and the british isles are looking wet and on the windy side. here is a look at temperatures for

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the number of victims of tropical storm talas in japan is increasing. as of tuesday morning, 33 people have died and 54 others of missing, mainly in the western part of the country. a river in the town of nachi-kat nachi-kat nachi-katsura in wakayama prefecture suffered the worst losses. shinichi teramoto's daughter was washed away in the flooding. >> translator: i wish i could go out with the self-defense personnel myself to look for my wife. >> teramoto found out about his daughter before dawn on saturday. he was directing the town's disaster response when his wife called him. she told him saki had been washed away. that was the last time he heard from her. sometime later he was informed that debris from a flooded river swept away his home. this video shows his daughter dressed for a promotional event in june. saki worked for the town's tourism association. yesterday her family was supposed to told her engagement ceremony. >> translator: i spent about 30

bbc news, tokyo. >> is nothing sacred? big business has permeated every aspect of society, including religion. across latin america, a new brand of religious centers is challenging tradition. this religion now stresses merchandise as well as miracles. >> in the 1980's, she was a singer and had a tv show for kids. she even made it to the cover of playboy magazine, lives change. she became an evangelical christian. now she sings music. she runs a shop selling religious objects and is a proud member of the controversial universal church of the kingdom of god. the church claims a membership of up to 15 million around the world. all members are strongly expected to give at least 10% of earnings to the church. >> when somebody does not give their tie it to god, it is stealing from god. i go to the church. i give 10% of my money. if they use the money correctly or not is not for me to judge. >> the universal church of the kingdom of god, with its trademark enormous temples, is usually the best finished example of the business-lik

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says reactors at the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant will achieve cold shutdown within the year. the initial target was early next year. goshi hosono spoke at the international atomic energy agency's annual ministerial meeting in vienna on monday. >> the situation at the plant is moving steadily toward restoration. we will move up the existing target period and endeavor to achieve this cold shutdown by the end of this year. >> hosono said that decontaminated water has been successfully used to cool the troubled nuclear reactors. he also said spent nuclear fuel pools have been cooled in a stable manner. >>> toekz says the temperature in the number three reactor is below 100 degree celsius for the first time since the accident. this is the second reactor in which the temperature was reduced to less than 100 degrees, following the number one reactor. tepco says the lower temperature does not automatically mean the reactor achiev

the storm hit south of tokyo. authorities say there have been four deaths reported. >>> afghanistan's president says peace efforts will continue despite the assassination of the man in charge of them. he was killed in a suicide bombing at his home in kabul on tuesday. he was a former afghan president and the chief negotiator with the taliban. >>> the 66th session of the u.n. general assembly opens formal debate today. on the sidelines of that, the u.s. president meets separately with the palestinian authority president and israel's prime minister. barack obama hopes to avert a diplomatic showdown as mahmoud abbas presses for u.n. membership and recognition of a palestinian state which netanyahu opposes. >>> libya's new plflag drew a standing ovation. the general assembly overwhelmingly accepted to vote for the credentials of the country's new leadership which promises to form a new government in ten days. those are the headlines. i'm zain verjee, and "world business today" starts now. >>> good morning from cnn lon

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. >>> they've invest gated three prefectures battered by tropical storm thomas. the torrential downpours can cause landslides and flooding leaving a total of 100 people dead or missing. noda's first leg of the inspection was the town of nachikatsuura. he offered his condolences to the town's mayor who lost his daughter in the flooding and whose wife is still missing. the prime minister then visited the town of kiho in mie prefecture where many were isolated ba us of flooding. he then visited gojo in nara prefecture. concern is rising that the pooled water may burst causing more damage downstream. >> translator: the inspection allowed me to see the damage was mo serious than iimagined. >> he said compiling a third supplementary budget is one way of dealing with the crisis. he said that once he has a full understanding of the damage, he'll decide on what action to take. >>> the japanese government's mandatory power-saving requirement is now ov

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima. transportation officials in shanghai say human error is to blame for an accident on the city's subway system. two trains collided on tuesday injuring 284 people. one train rear-ended another on shanghai's number 10 line. four hours after the accident, officials in charge of the subway network resumed service. but in an about face, they suspended service running through the crash site and other sections of the system on wednesday morning to conduct checks. officials say they took measures to ensure safety. all trains started running again in the evening. transit authority posted an announcement online about accident. they said the subway signal system lost power and stopped working. an operator tried to manually run the train that caused the crash. that goes against protocol. the subway signal system is made by the same company implicated in the fatal high speed rail crash that happened in july in eastern china. in addition, a signal system failure on the same subway line in late july

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> forces loyal to moammar al gadhafi have attacked an oil facility, killing 15 people, as fighting continues in libya. the national transitional council laid siege to the ousted leader's hometown of sirte and his stronghold bani walid, southeast of tripoli. the council faces the task of rebuilding the nation. gadhafi vowed to fight to the end and never hand libya to traitors in a message aired by a satellite tv station in syria on monday. in a centralcy of ras lanuf, gadhafi troops mobilized more than ten vehicles, attacked a checkpoint at an oil refinery, killing at least ten guards. the council resumed oil production saturday to secure funds for reconstructing the country. >>> here's an update on monday's explosion at a nuclear waste processing facility in france. authorities say radiation levels around the facility are normal and that the furnace did not explode. the blast happened in marcoule, southern france at a building where low-level radioactive was

tokyo at 31, it will be on the humid and sticky side for a change. over towards the americas, good rotation here, this will be hurricane katia, bringing some dangerous rip currents to the east coast of the u.s., it will start heading out towards the sea, but we are keeping an eye on tropical storm nate in the gulf of mexico. remains at a slow, slow pace, about 4 kilometers per hour and expected to become a hurricane by friday and will bring in lots of rain to the yucatan peninsula and high waves. in the caribbean, of course, there is tropical storm maria. this one is expected to weaken a little bit as it moves through the leeward islands as a tropical depression, but after that it is expected to become a tropical storm system, so this will need watching over the next few days or well into next week. and finally, a look at europe, here, a lot of clouds heading out towards the east. lots of showers and thunderstorms moving through the northern half of europe this weekend. it is now starting to move into areas like western russia and eastern europe, but

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> a signal system has emerged as a possible cause of the subway accident in shanghai. the operator of the subway says it uses a signal system produced by the company blamed for a fatal railway crash in july. the accident happened on tuesday afternoon on the number ten line between yuyuan and laoximin stations. the rear end collision injured more than 270 people. the accident may have been caused by a flawed signal system. an automatic braking device had failed to work. a system failure on the same line caused a train to go in the opposite direction in late july. this was only days after the high speed railway accident that killed 40 people in zhejiang province. the president of the subway operator, yu guangyao, spoke to reporters op. tuesday. >> translator: the signals were not supposed to have broken again after the accident. >> shanghai residents criticized the frequent accidents. >> translator: the frequent accidents are showing they are not having safe p

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. thousands of people have been stranded by tropical storm talas which battered the western portion of japan over the weekend. 48 people have died and 55 others are missing. destruction is worse than the typhoon in 2004 which left 98 people dead or missing. the storm dumped record amounts of rain over much of western japan. wakayama prefecture suffered the worst damage. at least 35 people died there. as of tuesday evening, at least 2400 people were stranded in wakayama, nara prefectures. thousands of households are still without power. the storm destroyed nearly 100 houses in all. more than 17,000 homes in at least 19 prefectures were flooded. mudslides caused a lot of the death and destruction following the storm. the dirt and debris blocked roads and isolated villages leaving them without water and medicine. the storm stranded people in totsukawa. a phone was made available on sunday so residents could contact friends and family. >> translator: i want to call my daughter to tell her i

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye. >> "california's water" is seen statewide on california public television. >> this program is made possible by the generous support of fieldman, rolapp & associates. fresh water comes from fresh ideas. we have been providing both to the municipal governments of california for more than 40 years.

in tokyo, welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. >>> authorities in france reportedly dealing with an explosion at a nuclear facility. "reuters" says it happened at around 11:45 local time at a nuclear waste processing site in southern france. a news service cited the country's nuclear safety watchdog said 1% is dead, but that no radioactive waste has leaked into the environment. the blast injured four other people, one is reported to be in serious condition. around the time of the explosion, a fire reportedly occurred at the site, but was immediately extinguished. marcoule is a nuclear waste management site, it does not have any reactors. there are many nuclear-related facilities in the city. the asn said the explosion occurred near a furnace. france's electricity authority controls the marcoule nuclear energy waste management site. >>> this came in a short while ago, a field pipeline has exploded in kenya's capital, nairobi, more than 100 people are feared dead after the massive blast on monday in the east african nation. the pipeline runs through a densel

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. nine people, including three children drifting in a small wooden boat were rescued off the coast of japan on tuesday morning. the japan coast guard plans to interview the group claiming to be north korean defectors. the japan coast guard picked them up after fisher mann spotted the vessel in waters near the port of wajima on the north central coast. they said they left from a port in north korea last thursday and intended to drift to south korea. their long journey would have been across the sea of japan, known for its rough waters but all appeared to be in good health. the coast guard said they still want to go to south korea. the japanese government is now considering whether or not to send them. in 2007, a small boat carrying four north korean defectors was spotted in waters off aomori prefecture, south japan. they were moved to south korea at their request. >>> china officially recognized libya's new leaders. both sides agreed to uphold all promises signed during libya's previous

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. thousands of people heee stranded by tropical storm talas which battered western japan erhe ekd. 48 people have died and 55 others are missing. the scale of destruction is worse than the powerful typhoon in 2004 which left 98 people dead or missing. the storm dumped record amounts of rain over much of western japan. kamarecte ffedhe worst damage. at least 35 people died there. as of tuesday evening, at least 2,400 people were raedn wakayama, nara, and mie prefectures. roads have been covered by landslides and thousands of hoehdsreti who we the storm destroyed nearly 100 houses in all. reha7000om in at least 19 prefectures were flooded. mulides caused a lot of the death and destruction following the storm. the dirt and debris blocked ros d oledom villages, leaving them without water and medicine. the storm stranded people in the village of totsukawa in in a rah prefecture. authorities made an emergency satellite phone available on nd sredes ul contact friends and family. >> translator:

tokyo another hot day for us at 31 degrees for our saturday high. here in north america let's talk about the gulf of mexico. just thoroughfare we have a tropical depression that has a potential to become a severe tropical storm by later tonight actually we have tropical storm warnings just posted in the coast of louisiana and we're going to be seeing very heavy rain coming in associated with this storm, bulk of rain which is a very stationary one right see, slow moving system that will be packing up those buckets of rain. louisiana, mississippi, alabama we may see reason up to 500 millimeters and storm surge to really be careful of. vancouver 20 degrees but heat really builds up here. toronto 30 degrees. chicago heating up to 34 degrees. and even new york looking at 26 degrees. here in europe we're going to be seeing showers just over here with that low pressure lingering in western russia. nothing too significant but here we may see some thunderstorm activity which will be moving into the alpines because ahead of this system daytime heating may pop

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. cptioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: president obama called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes today as part of a ten-year plan to cut the deft.

tokyo. thanks for joi

in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima. >>> tonight the japanese government is telling some of the people who fled their homes because of the accident at the fukushima daiichi, that it is safe to return. it lifted an evacuation advisory affecting five municipalities outside the 20 kilometer no-entry zone around the damaged nuclear facility. the municipalities are all in fukushima prefecture located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant. the government's nuclear accident task force made the decision to lift the evacuation advisory on friday. all cabinet ministers attended the meeting. the task force noted the situation at fukushima daiichi has improved. it also pointed out five municipalities have drawn up plans to remove radioactive substancesrom local schools and hospitals and restore key infrastructure. >> translator: the government will do everything that it can in order to dispel concerns among residents who want to return home. >> this is the first time since thcrisis began at fukushima daiichi

it is friday, september 23rd in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we begin with the latest developments in global finance. central bank govern ors from nations are meeting in washington. amid concerns that the european sovereign debt crisis could trigger global financial turmoil, all eyes are on what measures the g-20 chiefs will announce. topping the ajend a how to respond to european credit worries triggers by the crisis in greece. they worry it might offset european banks holding sovereign bonds and deliver a serious blow to the global economy. concerns rocked the financial markets on wall street. the dow-jones industrial average plunged more than 500 points thursday. the average closed at 10,733, down 391 points, almost 3.5% from wednesday. the large decline came after the u.s. federal reserve released a krim economic outlook due to concerns over european fiscal woes. stock prices plunged on european markets. european nations are expected to clarify their stance on helping greece rehabilitate its economy. g-20 will report on the recent agreement

in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. japanese defense officials say two russian bombers took an unusual course circling around japan. the defense ministry says two tu-95 bombers from the russian air force approached japanese air base on thursday morning. fighter planes from japan's air self-defense force scrambled to track the bombers. the aircraft later flew southward other the east china sea and south of okinawa's main island. it skirted along the archipelago northward. they headed south on the japan seaside before leaving areas near japan. the defense ministry says the bombers did not violate japan's air space but it was an unusual route for any russian military aircraft. the air force has been active around japan recently. bombers and spy planes have approached japanese air space five times since last month. >>> a russian defense ministry spokesperson revealed to the interfax news agency that its bomber planes had in fact circled japan. the spokesperson said they were tracked. he said the russian bombers were doing f

looking at tokyo now, it is as if nothing happened. not a single tower here fell her nor in the north, closer to the epicenter. but people who were inside can't forget the fear they felt. some of japan's biggest buildings were developed by mori, making him a billionaire. but he says the era of ever taller skyscrapers is over. >> electricity, water, gas, they will lose them. people have to buy food, but the elevator won't work. even if you are safe, the infrastructure to live will have gone. before, five floors -- high floors were popular, but now it has changed. >> others say more technology is the answer. this test facility is running a precise simulation of how the march quake felt. they are confident special foundations and bracings can make their buildings to withstand anything. the challenge is to make them feel that way. >> there were no problems with building safety. but as you saw and experienced, swaying made people living high up afraid. there were cases of furniture falling down. we must reduce the swaying as well as improve

in tokyo. a group of north korean defectors have been transferred to southwest japan after they were found in a small boat in the sea of japan. the japan coast guard flew the defectors from central japan on wednesday. the group was three men, three women and three children. they were taken to a facility. the government is likely to send the nine defectors to a third country. they were spolted off the coast on tuesday. the group has told the japan coast guard it left north korea last thursday with the intention of heading for south korea. the group's leader said he belongs to the korean people's army. he says he catches octopus to raise money for the north korean military. now observers suggest there are various factors between korean boat people ending up off japan instead of sou korea, their intended destination. >> the members of the group, which includes three children, are apparently all in good condition after eating breakfast served. >> translator: i thought to myself, isn't that a north