i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay request us. we'll be back with more updates at the top of the next hour. . >>> a new day begins in kyoto, a city more than 1,000 years old. in a quiet area around the main street is a shop known for the japanese sweets. he's the current owner of the shop founded in 1893. wagashi sweets are hand made one-by-one. for their beautiful appearance, they are often called edible jewels. the wagashi that tommy is always making is called the star festival. wagashi, evolved from sweets that came from china about 800 years ago. it came to be offered with tea at tea ceremonies and proved to be something unique to japanese culture. back when sugar was a precious commodity, wagashi was a luxury only the noble class could afford. wasn't until the 17th century when the country became more stable that it became widely available to commoners. and it was kyoto that played the central role of making wagashi what it is today -- a sophisticated culture on its own. >> translator: the sweets we make here are not for ever

i'm catherine kobayashi. concern over the u.s. and global economies plunged share prices in new york by more than 500 points at one time on thursday. sale orders were posted immediately after the opening of the market. the dow jones industrial average dropped sharply at one point more than 500 points. the fall came after morgan stanley lowered their global economic growth. -- encouraged the views that it has become difficult for the boards to take credit easing measures. the index ended the day at 10,990.58. that's down over 400 points from wednesday's close. market analysts predict volatile moves on the stock market to continue as anxiety increases due to the future of global economies. in further rough economic news, key stock indices of european markets also plummeted by 4% to 5% on thursday over concerns on the future of european and global economies. the plunge in new york spurred sales in european markets. the key stock index fell by 5.8% in frankfurt, 5.5% in paris, and 4.5% in london. forecasts for institutions increased c

i'm catherine kobayashi. tension continues in libya. rebels are pushing for comomete control of the capital tripoli and the capture of leader muammar gadhafi. many citizens have already gathered in a square in the city center. celebrating their freedom from gadhafi's rule. the rebel landed council chief jalil spoke to reporters say the northeastern city of benghazi on monday and saying that gadhafi's rule has ended. >> translator: we will capture gadhafi alive. and give him a fair trial. >> jalil says his forces plan to quickly win control of tripoli and set up government there. however, gadhafi's troops are continuing tuing to resist. troops have gathered at a military facility that also serves as the leader's residence. he has not been seen since issuing a statement calling on people to fight back. the rebel forces have announced they detained gadhafi's son. the second son saif al islam is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity. the court has asked libya's opposition council to hand him over. now, united nations secretary moon h

i'm catherine kobayashi. the new leader of japan's governoring democratic party yoshihiko noda is to be elected at a session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the topmost. noda beat kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet will resign at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday, noda told colleagues that he wants to lee the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his attention to give major post to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership election. noda says he plans to select the party's secretary general first and hopes to announce his choice within a few days. so who is yoshihiko noda? here's a look at the man about to become japan's 95

i'm catherine kobayashi. the european central bank is likely to have spent a large amount of money last week to try to halt the crisis from spreading. the ecb has bought 22 billion euros or about $31 billion in government bonds. it didn't disclose the countries, but it's believed to be predominantly sovereignties of italy and spain. the move came after prices plunged earlier this month to their lowest since the introduction of the single currencies. analysts say the focus is now on whether the central bank can continue such measures given the amount of bonds circulating. >>> google will now enter the handset business. the giant announced its biggest acquisition to date monday. that it will buy mobile phone maker motorola mobility for $12.5 billion. google said it will run motorola mobility as a separate business and continue to offer the android software to other handset manufacturers. motorola mobility was split from the parent company motorola this year. it will allow the company to strengthen its patent po

i'm catherine kobayashi. tension continues in libya. rebels are pushing for complete control of the capital tripoli and the capture of leader muammar gadhafi. many citizens have already gathered in a square in the city center. celebrating their freedom from gadhafi's rule. the rebel landed council chief jalil spoke to reporters say the northeastern city of benghazi on monday and saying that gadhafi's rule has ended. >> translator: we will capture gadhafi alive. and give him a fair trial. >> jalil says his forces plan to quickly win control of tripoli and set up government there. however, gadhafi's troops are continuing to resist. troops have gathered at a military facility that also serves as the leader's residence. he has not been seen since issuing a statement calling on people to fight back. the rebel forces have announced they detained gadhafi's son. the second son saif al islam is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity. the court has asked libya's opposition council to hand him over. now, united nations secretary moon has ask

i'm catherine kobayashi. the new leader of japan's governoring democratic party yoshihiko noda is to be elected at a session of the diet tuesday afternoon. the democratic party held a leadership election on monday with five candidates running for the topmost. noda beat kaieda in a second round runoff by 215 votes to 177. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> all members of the kan cabinet will resign at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. noda has been working to select party officials and cabinet members. after winning the party leadership on monday, noda told colleagues that he wants to lee the election fight behind and unite the party. he indicated his attention to give major post to party members who supported other candidates in the leadership election. noda says he plans to select the party's secretary general first and hopes to announce his choice within a few days. so who is yoshihiko noda? here's a look at the man about to become japan's 95

i'm catherine kobayashi. stocks were sold across the board in new york on monday sending the dow industrial average down more than 600 points. amid concern about the global economic slowdown triggered by the u.s. credit rating downgrade at the end of last week. president barack obama delivered a speech on monday but it was lacking fresh content and stocks continued to fall. an earlier statement by the g-7 finance ministers and governors also failed to calm investor concern. the dow fell 634 points to 10,809. it was the first time for the dow jones industrial average to fall more than 600 points since 2008 in the aftermath of the lehman shock. prices show no sign of bottoming out. they also say investors are eyeing changes in policy from the federal reserve's committee meeting on tuesday. the sharp drop in stock prices drove investors to gold and bonds. gold hit a record high of over $1700 an ounce. bonds from the u.s., italy, and spain also rose. the dollar fell to the middle 77 yen level on the new york fore

i'm catherine kobayashi. both diets have elected the new leader of the democratic party yoshihiko noda as the country's 95th prime minister. >> translator: the house of representatives has decided to appoint yoshihiko noda as prime minister of japan. >> the lower and upper houses named noda as japan's sixth prime minister in five years. noda was elected democratic party president on monday. he will replace naoto kan who has occupied the country's top post since june of last year. noda is working to select cabinet members. now, here's a closer look at the new man taking the reins in japan. >> reporter: noda acquired his plan to become lawmaker after -- >> translator: i want to end the culture of many politics. >> reporter: he was elected to the diet in 1993 as a member of the now-defunct party. notice of a makeshift podium in front of a train station for two decades to appeal to voters? sheba prefecture. he did this everyday until he joined the cabinet last year. >> translator: i often see noda distributie ini

i'm catherine kobayashi. the european central bank is likely to have spent a large amount of money last week to try to halt the crisis from spreading. the ecb has bought 22 billion euros or about $31 billion in government bonds. it didn't disclose the countries, but it's believed to be predominantly sovereignties of italy and spain. the move came after prices plunged earlier this month to their lowest since the introduction of the single currencies. analysts say the focus is now on whether the central bank can continue such measures given the amount of bonds circulating. >>> google will now enter the handset business. the giant announced its biggest acquisition to date monday. that it will buy mobile phone maker motorola mobility for $12.5 billion. google said it will run motorola mobility as a separate business and continue to offer the android software to other handset manufacturers. motorola mobility was split from the parent company motorola this year. it will allow the company to strengthen its patent po

i'm catherine kobayashi. stocks were sold across the board in new york on monday sending the dow industrial average down more than 600 points. amid concern about the global economic slowdown triggered by the u.s. credit rating downgrade at the end of last week. president barack obama delivered a speech on monday but it was lacking fresh content and stocks continued to fall. an earlier statement by the g-7 finance ministers and governors also failed to calm investor concern. the dow fell 634 points to 10,809. it was the first time for the dow jones industrial average to fall more than 600 points since 2008 in the aftermath of the lehman shock. prices show no sign of bottoming out. they also say investors are eyeing changes in policy from the federal reserve's committee meeting on tuesday. the sharp drop in stock prices drove investors to gold and bonds. gold hit a record high of over $1700 an ounce. bonds from the u.s., italy, and spain also rose. the dollar fell to the middle 77 yen level on the new york fore

i'm catherine kobayashi. in response to last month's high speed train crash in china, the country's rail authorities will inspect one train model that's been involved in a string of problems. china's news agency said that the government will carry out full checks on the model that has suffered a series of problems. the model runs on the line between beijing and shanghai that opened in june. as a result, daily is fs services on the route will be diminished by 18%. also the maximum speed will be cut from 350 to 300 kilometers per hour. the top speed will also be reduced from 250 to 200 kilometers per hour on other lines. due to these changes, the ministry will alter train schedules starting tuesday. the chinese government said on wednesday that it will freeze approval of high speed railway construction for the time being. japan and china have agreed to work closely together after the recent talks between north korea and the united states aimed at resuming the stalled six party talks on the north's nuclear progr

i'm catherine kobayashi. an audio message purported to be from muammar al gadhafi has called on his supporters to fight while opposition forces continue to hunt for him. the opposition transitional council forces are searching for him with nato's help after taking control of the regime's core facilities. on thursday amidst heavy gunfire, about 1,000 soldiers surrounded buildings near the compound in tripoli where they claimed gadhafi and his family might be hiding. later in the day a satellite tv station run by regime loyalists broadcast an audio message reported to be from gadhafi. the man claimed in the message that he is in the capital and calls on his supporters to purify the city of rebels who he calls rats. >> gadhafi forces have continued their resistance by deploying snipers throughout the city. they also stepped up their defenses in the eastern city of benjarwat. the council is working to launch a transitional government and asking for international assistance. while battles continue in the libyan ca

i'm catherine kobayashi. concern over the u.s. and global economies plunged share prices in new york by more than 500 points at one time on thursday. sale orders were posted immediately after the opening of the market. the dow jones industrial average dropped sharply at one point more than 500 points. the fall came after morgan stanley lowered their global economic growth. -- encouraged the views that it has become difficult for the boards to take credit easing measures. the index ended the day at 10,990.58. that's down over 400 points from wednesday's close. market analysts predict volatile moves on the stock market to continue as anxiety increases due to the future of global economies. in further rough economic news, key stock indices of european markets also plummeted by 4% to 5% on thursday over concerns on the future of european and global economies. the plunge in new york spurred sales in european markets. the key stock index fell by 5.8% in frankfurt, 5.5% in paris, and 4.5% in london. forecasts for institutions increased c

i'm catherine kobayashi. in response to last month's high speed train crash in china, the country's rail authorities will inspect one train model that's been involved in a string of problems. china's news agency said that the government will carry out full checks on the model that has suffered a series of problems. the model runs on the line between beijing and shanghai that opened in june. as a result, daily is fs services on the route will be diminished by 18%. also the maximum speed will be cut from 350 to 300 kilometers per hour. the top speed will also be reduced from 250 to 200 kilometers per hour on other lines. due to these changes, the ministry will alter train schedules starting tuesday. the chinese government said on wednesday that it will freeze approval of high speed railway construction for the time being. japan and china have agreed to work closely together after the recent talks between north korea and the united states aimed at resuming the stalled six party talks on the north's nuclear progr

i'm catherine kobayashi. some municipalities are having trouble e aling with the dirty and dangerous aftermath of the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. sludge containing radioactive materials has been building up at sewage facilities. half of it remains in storage despite the government's plan to bury it. nhk asked local governments in 17 prefectures in northeastern and central japan how they're coping with the toxic sludge. more than 54,400 tons of it has accumulated at waste water treatment facilities. 75% contains less than 8,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium. that's the set limit for disposal by bereel. still much of the amount has been kept in storage at treatment plants. one reason is because some burial projects has been rejected by residents who live near sites. a large amount of contaminated sludge has accumulated and storage space is running out. the government has decided to keep it at six facilities. it explained the decision to residents through their community associations. >>

i'm catherine kobayashi. the opposition forces have announced the capture of siaff al islam on sunday. a witness says that antigovernment forces gained control of an airport in tripoli on sunday while government troops struck back fiercely with rockets and other weapons. the government counterattack appears to have killed many antigovernment fighters. a resident of tripoli told nhk that government troops are gathering in the district that surrounds the house of muammar gadhafi. government snipers are positioned on high buildings. gadhafi delivered a statement on state run television on sunday. he called on people to join the fight against the antigovernment forces. >> a spoke es person for the antigovernment says they are arriving in tripoli aboard ships. >>> all eyes on on monday's tokyo market after the yen surged to a record high in new york against the dollar. looking at the exchange market on monday morning, the dollar is traded at 76.79-80. on breaking the previous record 76.25 yen set on march 17th aft

i'm catherine kobayashi. libya's opposition forces have stormed the compound of the leader muammar al gadhafi in tripoli. most of the facility is now under their control, they're reporting. the assault on tuesday was carried out with support from nato air strikes. the complex was gadhafi's stronghold and residence. they entered the compound around 5:00 p.m. local time following a battle against forces to the leader. the rebels cheering for the day of liberation. they're stomping on gadhafi statues and destroying pictures. >> translator: we have taken control of 90% of the facility. we won a victory. >> fighting continues against loyalist snipers within parts of the compound. the antigovernment forces say they're searching for the libyan leader and will put him on trial for war crimes. the whereabouts of gadhafi and his family remains unknown. a nato spokesperson says the end of the gadhafi government is near, but the organization will continue air raids on libya in an attempt to protect civilians in the capit

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi. japanese government investigators have learned that senior officials in charge of fukushima daiichi were kept in the dark on march 11th about a key event at the nuclear plant. they were unaware the emergency cooling system for reactor one had been manually shut down following the earthquake. the reactor was equipped with an emergency cooling mechanism in the event the external power source was lost. tokyo electric power company officials told investigators that one worker suspected water had dried up in reactor one's system. he couldn't see the steam that signaled things were functioning properly. so the worker manually shut down the system to prevent it from being damaged. fukushima daiichi's chief masao yoshida wasn't informed. as a result, certain actions were taken on the assumption the system was working properly. yoshida reportedly said it was a major error he and other leaders did not immediately know about the manual shutdown of the cooling mechanism. tepco says the meltdown i

i'm catherine kobayashi. libya's transitional government says it is working to set up a new administration while searching all out for moammar gadhafi. pockets of resistance remain in parts of the capital tripoli. the leader of the opposition national council told reporters in benghazi on wednesday that it will launch a new administration to replace gadhafi's as soon as possible. he spoke the day after anti-government forces seized gadhafi's military compound in tripoli, effectively bringing his reign to an end. the council plans to transfer its base to the outskirts of tripoli soon. >> translator: we are offering a bounty of $1.7 million for whoever captures gadhafi. >> he also said that the council will grant special amnesty to government officials if they hand in gadhafi or kill him. but with fierce resistance by gadhafi's troops continuing in the south of the capital on wednesday, and gadhafi himself still at large, the rebel administration is not in the clear yet. >>> in tripoli, several foreign journali

i'm catherine kobayashi. in the new york stock exchange on wednesday, the key index ended over 500 points down amid concerns over the u.s. economic slowdown and europe's credit crunch. sell orders were placed over a wide range of issues as the market opened. the nose dive follows a rise of over 400 points in the dow jones industrial average on tuesday after the u.s. federal reserve said interest rates will stay at near 0% until at least the middle of 2013. market players say uncertainty over the financial markets is also picking up steam. at the new york foreign exchange market on wednesday, the yen at one point neared the record low at 76.25 yen per dollar set on march 17, a week after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. now investors are watching the bank of japan for a possible intervention to support the dollar if the yen surge continues. >>> japan's government is set to downgrade its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2011 to 0.5%, down 1% from its previous estimate. in december las

here is your three-day outlook. >>> i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. we leave you with footage of one of japan's best known summer events. the aomori nebuta festival. the annual event kicked off on tuesday in the disaster-hit tohoku region. ♪ nebuta giant lantern lit floats deck indicated the heroes and ancient warriors are paraded through the main streets of aomori streets in northern tohoku. some of this year's floats are designed to encourage the rebuilding efforts. they include mow mow ta rue, a boy from a traditional folk tale who defeats devils. the event organizer says about 390,000 people, 10,000 more than last year watched the parade on tuesday. ♪ the festival will continue through sunday. ♪ 1

i'm catherine kobayashi. in the new york stock exchange on wednesday, the key index ended over 500 points down amid concerns over the u.s. economic slowdown and europe's credit crunch. sell orders were placed over a wide range of issues as the market opened. the nose dive follows a rise of over 400 points in the dow jones industrial average on tuesday after the u.s. federal reserve said interest rates will stay at near 0% until at least the middle of 2013. market players say uncertainty over the financial markets is also picking up steam. at the new york foreign exchange market on wednesday, the yen at one point neared the record low at 76.25 yen per dollar set on march 17, a week after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. now investors are watching the bank of japan for a possible intervention to support the dollar if the yen surge continues. >>> japan's government is set to downgrade its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2011 to 0.5%, down 1% from its previous estimate. in december las

i'm catherine kobayashi. the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant says it has detected millisieverts of radioactivity at the site. it's the highest since the accident in march. workers of tepco measured the amount of monday nearly pipes at the bottom of a duct between the number one and the neighboring number two reactor buildings. tepco has stricted access to the site and the surrounding area. it says the workers who took the reading were exposed to a maximum of four millisieverts. the high level is because the pipes were used to vent air creating radioactive substances from the number one reactor on march 12th. it also detected 1,000 millisieverts outside in the debris as well as a maximum of 4,000 millisieverts outside one of the reactors buildings. a human exposed to 10,000 millisieverts would likely die within a week or two. tepco also says it has discovered about 700 tons of highly radioactive water on saturday in the basement of an onsite building near the storage facility for contaminated water. it

i'm catherine kobayashi. the reserve board said it will keep interest rates at its current levels until the middle of 2013. the bank was ready to do more easing if necessary. the decision was made at the federal open market committee meeting on tuesday afternoon. the central bank said in a statement that u.s. economic growth has been considerably weaker than expected. it predicts a slower pace of economic growth over the coming quarters and says the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. this marks a change from previous statements when the feds predicted the slowing economy was due to temporary disruptions in the supply chain following the march 11st disaster in japan. they said the u.s. economy would gradually pic up in the latter half of this year. the government is preparing to act flexbly depending on the monetary policy meeting. >> translator: the feds' moves will have an impact on japan. the government and the bank of japan need to respond flexibly over the outcome. >> the market committee bega

i'm catherine kobayashi. the reserve board said it will keep interest rates at its current levels until the middle of 2013. the bank was ready to do more easing if necessary. the decision was made at the federal open market committee meeting on tuesday afternoon. the central bank said in a statement that u.s. economic growth has been considerably weaker than expected. it predicts a slower pace of economic growth over the coming quarters and says the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. this marks a change from previous statements when the feds predicted the slowing economy was due to temporary disruptions in the supply chain following the march 11st disaster in japan. they said the u.s. economy would gradually pick up in the latter half of this year. the government is preparing to act flexbly depending on the monetary policy meeting. >> translator: the feds' moves will have an impact on japan. the government and the bank of japan will need to respond flexibly over the outcome. >> the market committe

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you for joining us. >> this program airs statewide on california public television, and is a "california's gold" classic. well, hello everybody. i'm huell howser, and here we are on catalina island, and what

in tokyo, i'm catherine kobayashi. an audio message believed to have been from moammar gadhafi calls on forces to fight while opposition forces hunt for him. council forors are searching for gadhafi with nato's help after taking hold of the regime's corps facilities. about 1,000 soldiers surrounded the building where they claim gadhafi and his family might be hiding. later in the day, a satellite tv station run by loyalists run a message thought to be from gadhafi. the man claimed he is in the capital and calls on supporters to purify the city of rebels who he calls "rats." >>> gadhafi forces continued their resistance by deploying snipers throughout the city. they stepped up their offensive near gadhafi's home town. the national transition council is working to launch a transitional government and asking for international assistance. >>> while battles continue in the libyan capitol of tripoli the oil-rich city has lost its luster. ucido futori has this report. >> reporter: the economic boom with its oil money. but now

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.