narrator: sako arrives at ginza a little before 9:00 a.m.ike most residents of tokyo, he expects the commuting network to deliver him on schedule each morning. two-hours is a long commute, even for tokyo. but the shorter 90-minute option is simply shared by too many residents of the metropolitan area. taylor: commute times in tokyo are exceptionally long, it seems, but if you think about, for example, commute times in southern california where you have people in their cars driving on three, four, five different freeways going 60, 80, 100 miles to their work destination and sitting in traffic sometimes for an hour or two, then you realize it's not actually that different. narrator: some people are attempting to rethink the concept of the ever-lengthening commute. hoping to ease the overcrowding in the capital area, small edge cities are under construction in several places. the goal is to create where people will live and work. in makuhari new town, in chiba, constructionf new housing has been going on for years. entually 8,900 units will be

un u uniqlo will open in ginza. it is opening stronger with the domestic demand and consumer spending following the march 11th disaster last year. quite a lot of interest on uniqlo. apple will sell its new ipad as of today also in the ginza district. that is a focus as well for users of that product. also, a lot of japanese companies make the components that go into the ipad. namely toshiba. we will keep track of the stocks. the nikkei and topix lower this friday morning. we will see if we can close above 10,000 for a third day in a row. back to you. >> ramin, thanks for that update. >>> the international monetary fund has officially approved a four-year bailout for greece worth 28 billion euro. that is nearly $37 billion. >> this morning, the imf executive board approved continued support for greece's ambitious economic program. the board stressed the efforts to improve competitiveness and restore economic growth will be key in overcoming the crisis. >> the imf spokesperson called on greece to steadily implement fi

year outside of japan. >> translator: we are truly delighted to open uni clothes flagship stores in ginza, one of the leading shopping districts. >> the company says it hope it is new store will enhance the brand image and name recognition with shoppers around the world. >>> and organizations supporting victims of crimes by the religious cult has demanded in court that the group quickly pay overdue compensation. all members released poison gas inside the tokyo subway system in 1995. the gas attack left 12 dead and thousands injured. in 2000, hom agreed to pay $11 million to the victims within five years, but $1.9 million of this amount remains unpaid and is long overdue. the support organization says that the cult now known as allaf, is still responsible for total damages amounting to $35 million. the organization filed the demand with the tokyo summary court on thursday. >> translator: they only think about their own interests. their attitudes haven't changed a bit from when they did the sarin gas attack. >> the organization also wants ban on sales of dvds that feature the teachings of t

in the fashionable district of ginza at this high-end department store, the number of international shoppers't only up, according to the manager, that part of the business is actually better than before the disaster. when 50% of those visitors are chinese, the store is mindful of the products that catch their eye, whether it's a brand of make-up or a type of cuisine. the tourism pitch goes beyond japan's borders. almost to the vibrant japan exhibition in beijing. where all things japanese from the food to the culture, even hello kitty, are on display. this perspective visitor says tokyo, osaka, kobe, she wants to visit many places. it's all part of an ambitious plan to triple the number of international tourists by 2016. a heavy focus on catering to their neighbors to the west and hoping that japan's struggling economy faces clear skies ahead. anna currin, cnn, tokyo. >>> you're watching "world business today," live on cnn. just ahead, just eight months after joining chelsea, villas-boas gets the boot. we'll have details on that. stay with us. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, par