officials at the japan national tourism organization say more than 1.2 million people visited japan inpril. that's up more than 33% from a year ago. they say a promotional campaign for april's cherry viewing season also helped attract more tourists. the number of visitors from the philippines jumped almost 130%. those from mainland china rose mar than 90%. the officials think the trend will continue in may. they'll step up efforts to get more people to visit japan this summer. >>> more and more of what people do every day gets tracked and then stored in databases. most of that information is never seen again. but specialists in south korea are tapping in to big data, and they're finding some big benefits. here's nhk world's anna jung. >> reporter: it's 2:00 a.m. in seoul, but this bus is crowded with people heading home after work or drinks with friends. the city night owl service of 44 buss from midnight until 5:00 a.m. about 6,000 passengers use it. the city government wanted to make the service's nine groups more efficient. so it decided to employ big data. the government began work

five of them returned to japan in 2002. hundreds of other people are suspected to have been abducted by the north. as we just mentioned, north korean authorities have promised to launch a comprehensive fresh investigation into an issue dating back decades. japanese officials promised to lift some sanctions in exchange for a new probe. japanese chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said they promised to launch a fresh investigation as we mentioned earlier. the investigation also includes japanese nationals who were allegedly abducted to north korea, but were not officially recognized as abductees. >> negotiators from japan and north korea held talks in stockholm. those discussions followed up on a meeting they held in march in beijing. thousand, aft now, after the talks japanese cabinet members talked about kis duszed measures. they considered lifting some sanctions on the north in phases if authorities in pyongyang showed a willingness to launch an effective probe. the north koreans have pushed for the lifting of sanctions

bases in japan? now, my second question has to do with russia, and i think it stems from your comments about russia seeking to expand its influence, not only in europe, but globally. we saw a graphic example of that just in the last two days with the news coming out of shanghai of this big chinese-russian natural gas deal, and xi jinping's speech proposing a continental security alliance involving, among other countries, china, russia, and iran. i would note that president rouhani of iran attended the shanghai conference. this got very little news coverage, but i think that is significant in and of itself. since the collapse of the soviet union, we know that every time there is a high level meeting between russian and north korean officials, north korea presents an extensive shopping list of modern weapons that north korea would like to purchase from russia, especially modern tanks and modern fighter military aircraft. now, you mentioned in your remarks that north korea, in these areas of weaponry, b

starting with news on japan's economy. the number of new condominiums put up for sale in the tokyo metropolitan area in april showed the biggest drop in just about five years. researchers at the real estate economic institute say nearly 2,500 condos went on the market in tokyo and three neighboring prefectures last month. that was down almost 40% year on year, and marked a third drop in as many months. the plunge reflected brisk sales last year when consumers tried to beat a consumption tax hike in april. higher construction costs also prompted real estate developers to limit the number of condos for sale. researchers predict that new condos coming in to the market will continue to decline because of their higher prices. >>> on to the markets now. investor sentiment in asia has been a little bit weak. bourses in tokyo, shanghai, and sydney all ended lower. indonesian shares also faced selling pressure after reaching this year's highs during the day. now the nikkei here in tokyo down just over 0.6%. 14,006. that's the lowes

now japanese government said that japan seek normalization with the dprk and during this process japan also tried to resolve the so-called unfortunate past with the korean people. so such a change of the japanese government to deal north korean issues, well for pyongyang is quite welcome. so therefore this time they agreed to reinvestigate the abduction case. also already this year the north korea clearly emphasized that their efforts to -- the economy as well as to improve their people standard of living so therefore they need very good international circumstances, and in that sense, they hope to improve the relationship with japan. so this is one of the reasons why north koreans very much to accept the japanese request. i think with such a deep investigation of the abduction case, actually it's not something new. so actually since 2008, when we basically agreed upon to start the investigation, so it means in a sense that both government were to consider, to examine how to make up the agreement, how to proceed and how to make some good result. so therefore the ones that this investiga

a country that has -- that japan would support must be in close relations with japan. as well, the attack on that country must be a significant threat to japan. they say requests for help from that country are also essential. prime minister abe has just held a news conference. he says japan needs to be able to exercise its right to collective self-defense to secure the lives of the people in the country. >> translator: in order to protect our lives and enable ourselves to maintain peace, we should always be ready to deal with any circumstance. we must also deepen our cooperation with other countries. that would strengthen our ability to deter attacks and prevent japan from being involved in war. >> abe went on to refer to criticism that the policy change might lead the nation to war. he clearly denied the allegation, saying his government will uphold the pass fichl which the constitution stipulates. abe says he wants to start discussing the issue within the ruling parties. >>> a maritime dispute in the south china sea is sparking violent protests in vietnam. anti-chine

into japan, and then another one as this rainy season begins. and this front bringing strong winds, 105 kilometers per hour, and also rain fall, 155 millimeters of rain during the past 24 hours for yamaguchi. it looks like the rain will continue as the system pushes toward the east, and notice how far down this stationary front extends. down into southern china, hong kong seeing a lot of rain and flash flooding and it looks like this will continue. we are in the rainy season as this system continues push towards the east. tokyo you're going to see some rain with a high of 26 on tuesday. shanghai at 25. taipei, more rain with a high of 31 degrees. let's wrap things up, look at europe. you see here an extensive frontal system for the eastern portions of the continent. that's bringing some heavy rain, and also some gusty conditions, and also another low that's bringing some strong weather over into the northern portions of the continent, and it looks like plenty of rain to talk about, all across europe. everywhere from paris over into kiev, and so

netanyahu is on a four-day visit to japan. this was the first summit meeting between the two leaders. they discussed the breakdown in the peace talks between israelis and the palestinians. they also agreed on the importance of achieving peace through a two-state solution. the leaders want to strengthen cooperation and security and defense. they said they'll aim to improve business relations, too, and will start looking for future negotiations on an investment agreement. >> translator: i want to broaden japan/israel ties. our nation has major potential working to the with prime minister netanyahu. >> i know that you are committed to bold reforms that are already moving the japanese economy forward. and i believe that israel can be your partner. >> netanyahu will meet with japanese business leaders and will visit the ancient capital of kyoto before he leaves on thursday. >>> every year hundreds of start-up companies are created in israel. the country offers a wide variety of support to young entrepreneurs. now the doors are open

technology, knowledge, and experience. >> japan's finance minister also suggested that japan should host the adb's 50th general conference in 2017. >>> organisms are crossing the pacific ocean on debris from the tsunami that hit japan in 2011. officials at japan's environment ministry want to find out how they could affect ecosystems on north america's west coast. the tsunami caused about 1.5 million tons of debris to wash out into the pacific ocean. ministry officials say almost 400,000 tons of that could reach the west coast of the u.s. and canada by october. people in the region have already found shellfish and algae made it to japan on debris that has washed ashore. ministry officials worry about how the organisms could affect local ecosystems. they'll carry out research over three years starting next month with experts from both japan and north america. >>> survivors of the northeastern disaster have found that a key to the recovery effort has been the kindness of strangers. more than 1 million volunteers from japan and around the world have helped out in the affected area. som

what does it tell us about the rate in japan? in japan?ory >> it is been quite disappointing.eople were expecting the trade deficit to shrink. strength of imports has been quite surprising over the past three or six months. conversely, the exports have not really responded as much as we expected to the currency weakness. it has been quite disappointingly flat. we have not seen a response from the government. do you think this adds to the impetus for the boj to take further action? >> yes. unlike 70 cntries around the region, i'm a focus on the current account itself. i am focus on the growth impact that has been coming from the currency appreciation. it is not been as much as expect it. profits have done wonderfully well. you have seen that in the earnings that have been coming out in recent weeks. against the boj is sitting there at inking saying it does not look as if we have enough growth omentum. maybe there's enough to overset this. there is not enough to push them toward the inflation target. they're wondering if they will be able to do more. what else can they do? shoul

he has never been sixteen japan. cysts sis our next destination is the mc even decades the highest point on top of the g mile interests. the nation is only two hundred ninety two meters and a trail to the summit is easy. i can. i am. he steps lead to the summit the reason the blessed dead coral are human. most of its coastline is rocking with you beaches. your hunters and scoured every nook and cranny of these rocky shore. i am i'll go into the southern part of the aisle. the way we passed the past year with the free roaming herds of cattle. i will call me from dos reis to warrant much wind of this island is famous for its tender delicious meat the southern tip of the aisle. until quite well the key stocky like us. what team is surrounded by crystal clear sea. got the jokes you can see how small the island a total area is around seven square kilometers. you can walk from one end to the other in about an hour lol. eight a center like i was too short. the glitzy years and fifty meters the eye. speak to go with the utmo

/japan security treaty. scenes from japan's turbulent post-war history featured in an ongoing retrospective in the work of photo journalist sasamoto. >> translator: those pictures were all taken during the upheavals of the post-war period. i hope many people see them and learn what happened. >> reporter: sass moto was still in her 20s when she started working as a photo journalist. she continued to work as a photographer even as she approaches her 100th birthday in september. >> translator: i feel if i tell people i'm 100, they'll say, can you still push the shutter button, or can you still see okay. that's why i haven't talked about my age up to now. >> reporter: sasamoto says people often think she's 20 years younger. for more than 30 years now, she's always had a glass of red wine with her evening meal. >> translator: it's so good. especially when the moon is out. i do like to have a glass while looking at the moon. >> reporter: her curiosity never wanes. every day she jots down notes about things she not

move bars in japan, baseball on japan, strip joints in japan. this was macarthur's view. if people around the world which is emulate us come that they would be okay. and you know, he can be a fun read, but that was his view and pretty much ready. >> did he ever attend to -- [inaudible] number learns the philippine language. >> now, he learned enough to kind of barely get along, but he didn't need it because the philippine political elites spoke english and still do. you're not going to talk to anybody else. so far as i know man was not a master of languages. he says that in about where america was at the time of pearl harbor, that our greatest expert in the military. marshall was i at least he knows about the japanese. he never spoke the language, but he did know about the japanese empire freezer generals were they were there tendencies were. she really did at the japanese military. but as far as being an expert on asia, as i said previous, the virus produced. the buyer is very low. >> you mention macarthur's father was the commander in the philippines. just reading the b

endorses recent increases in japan's defense budget, and other actions that will enable japan to bear greater responsibility under the alliance. now the bill will be sent to the house, and the senate for approval. >>> many japanese companies are expecting the biggest profits in fiscal 2013 since the global financial crisis. japan's earnings season reached its peak on friday. about 18% of the companies listed on the tokyo stock exchange, or 438 of them, have announced their earnings for the year that ended in march. analysts at snbc nikko security expect the operating profits of all listed firms to total about $390 billion. that's up about 30% from the previous year. big winners are electronic appliance, auto, and steelmakers. as well as real estate firms. they benefited from the yen's decline, and a nationwide shopping spree ahead of the sales tax hike last month. but in the current fiscal year the companies are bracing for slower profit growth, because of concerns about emerging economies. and here is how major steelmakers did in fiscal 2013. japan's biggest steel manufacturing nippo

he said he hoped for a change in japan's path of the constitution that would enable japan to defend an ally under attack like the united states. china fears the proposed change could mark the first step towards a new era of japanese militarism. both countries fought a war in these waters 120 years ago. china came off worse. and while the prospects of another conflict are remote, analysts fear a dangerous pattern is starting to emerge. adrienne brown, al jazeera. scott hideler is live in singapore where that conference is happening. scott, i believe shinzo abi has spoken. what has he said? >> yeah, he really kind of mapped out what media in japan were calling the abi doctorine. this is something he has been focused on. >> that's really expanding their reach, japan's reach in the region. and specifically, you can look at it in the defense arena. >> that's why he is speaking this dialogue because this is where the security and defense leaders from the region and outside the region come here to discuss what's been going on. he says that they want to play. japan wants to play a more proacti

he's the eldest son of a line of chief priests in western japan. he's been officiating there since 2005. the couple met in april, 2007, when princess noriko went to worship. the princess will be the first woman from the imperial family not directly descended from an emperor to get married since 1945. now the engagement could re-ignite debate over the rules of the imperial system. any princess who marries a commoner has to leave the family. the emperor's daughter lost her title when she got married in 2005. eight princesses are single. six are old enough to marry, so the imperial family could shrink. some people worry it will eventually be too small to handle official duties. government officials have studied the possibility of changing the system. they considered allowing princesses who marry to start their own branches of the imperial family. >>> now let's get the latest bus stories from ron madison. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe has renewed his commitment to bring more women into the labor force. he also stressed that his administration

over whether the country can exercise his right to collective self defense that allows japan to use armed force to defend allies under attack. he also ask warmer weather obvious candidate is trying to radically change japan's security policy colder climate and doesn't see china as a threat to canada japan and other countries in the region worried that china keeps spending more money on defense. organisms are crossing the pacific ocean on debris from the tsunami that hit japan in two thousand and eleven officials that depends upon a ministry to find out how it could affect ecosystems on north america's west coast. the tsunami caused about one and a half million tonnes of debris to wash out into the pacific ocean. ministry officials say almost four hundred thousand tonnes could reach the west coast of the us and canada by it over. people in the region have already found shellfish and algae native to japan on debris that has washed ashore ministry officials worry about how the organisms could affect local ecosystems. that area of research over three years starting next month with exper

sea, administered by japan, but claimed by china. beijing reinforced its claim, declaring an air defense identification zone over air space. since then military jets have been harassing one another, sometimes metres apart. japan is growing more assertive as well, emboldened by support from president obama. last month he said he would oppose any moves to undermine japan's control of the islands. two weeks ago prime minister shinzo abe appeared to raise the stakes, hoping for a change in the passivist constitution, allowing them to defend an ally under attack, like the united states. china fears the change could mark the first step towards on era of jap yeses federalism -- japanese federalism. both fought a war. china came off worse. the prospects of a clon flict is re -- conflict is remote, a dangerous pattern is feared to emerge. >> a senior fellow at a school of studies in sipping pore says the marr -- singapore says the maritime dispute includes many kupt yes. >> -- countries. >> things have hotted up with vietnam and china squarin

. >> we get started with news from the bank of japan. policymakers there say inflation is on course to reach their target of around 2%. but they don't agree on when that will happen. bank of japan board members project inflation in fiscal 2015 will reach 1.9%, and 2.1% year after that. the minutes of their meeting last montd show six policymakers were optimistic the target could be reached on schedule. the other three expressed caution. the majority said that companies would pass higher costs on to consumers and that would nudge inflation higher. they noted that many companies have agreed to raise workers' basic pay. some policymakers did not agree that the 2% target could be reached within two years. one of them predicted that retail prices would rise more moderately. >>> well, some businesses in japan are feeling the pinch from last month's consumption tax hike but at least one group are happy and that is restaurant managers. restaurant chains brushed off the impact of the hike in april, posting a second straight rise in monthly sales.

currently, there is no such airport in japan. in germany, lufthansa is betting heavily on two of the world's largest commercial aircraft. the latest model of the boeing 747, and the massive airbus a380. one of the company's executives explains why. >> we have to see the position of frankfurt and also our hub in munich, and maybe in zurich, vienna also in the lufthansa group system so we have a possibility to connect a lot of european cities from these huge hubs, which means if you compare this with tokyo, tokyo is not a hub like frankfurt when it comes to servicing so many neighborhood countries. >> reporter: the situation in japan means airlines there are counting on smaller and more maneuverable planes. >> translator: japanese airlines are doing well financially. for example, japan airlines has just posted a profit of $1.5 billion. as far as our earnings are concerned, japanese companies have adopted a sounder strategy than their overseas competitors. it does seem wiser to be shifting towards midsize aircraft. >> reporter: for

maybe i will find some nifty stuff costs from that sent from japan. employees at the stores say purchases by foreign customers doubled in april from a year earlier an account for more than ten percent of the shops monthly sales. japanese travelers have kissed the last goodbye to one of the most recognizable faces of the aviation industry the last bowling seven four seven owned by japanese airline has left the country to be de commissioned in the united states the departure of a jumbo jet marks a radical change of strategy for japanese airlines. the air. the boeing seven forty so that made its debut in nineteen seventy. at one point to an upgraded more jumbo jets than any other country in the world. plane spotters flock to tokyo's hunted the airport in the march to witness the arrival of last month's decline. i feel it the fact that i had a good thank you for all these years the boeing seven forty seven minutes double deck designed to revolutionize the commercial aircraft industry. it saddened to hear fuselage could accommodate more than five hundred p

two years ago, anti-japan demonstrations raged across china.t the time, nagaya's company was collaborating with a tv station in shanghai, but the tensions caused the project to stall. so company officials shifted their focus to taiwan. taiwan shares friendly ties with japan. and it's also considered a gateway to mainland china. nagaya is trying to target young women in china by making the show available online. and that idea is appealing to japanese business executives who want to sell their products overseas. one recent show introduced a scooter as a kind of fashion accessory. the company that made the scooter saw it as a strong advertising medium. >> translator: we're hoping the show will give taiwanese people a better chance to become familiar with our product. >> translator: the show can be used not only to promote products, but it could also fill a variety of other roles. >> reporter: japanese business executives are faced with a shrinking market at home, so they're exploring ways to make inroads overseas. tying up with the entertainment i

this is decisive break for japan. he just -- the reinterpretation of the rules. >> it is a fairly sent rest -- sent rest center left party but supports the current constitution, that is skeptical about japanese missions overseas that doesn't really of japan's military, and therefore he needs support. he can't control the upper house, he doesn't have an alternative to a coalition, so he has to find a way to accommodate them. and the other thing is that many ldb members about his own party need supporters to hold their seats in far limit, so they are also skeptical about moving too quickly with these changes. to not push too fast, he basically it can be happy with any change he gets any compromises he can secure within -- >> yeah. >> so there are i think the proproposal we have is seen in an ideal world proposal, but the final look might be very different. >> it does seem as though they would be happy. >> it is right. the u.s. government for decades now has wanted to see japan embrace more alliance. for the moment it's

bank of japan, no more stimulus.y they have less intention to really go forward with easing. bank of japan is optimistic that qe has worked. the magic level will be 100 in terms of the conclusions. 101.32 at the moment. the bloomberg top headlines. u.s. authorities are seeking more than $5 billion from bnp paribas to settle investigations in dealings with sanctioned countries according to people familiar with the story. oficials suggest the ban money in and out of the u.s. might be part of a settlement. the former chief executive of jpmorgan's chinese investment bank has been arrested in hong kong. arrest maye said his be linked to probes into the bank hiring practices in asia. a bundesbank board member says he sees new risk to financial stability. dombret spoke with bloomberg m.d. said generous bank currencies and the search for yield and a low-interest it.ronment are adding to >> the real estate market in some european countries are pretty high. corporate bond valuations seem stretched and high. at the same time, t

japan is a serious treaty ally. japan hosts u.s. warships, even, you know, it's going to be hosting a u.s., i think, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. you know, japan has four times as many major warships on the high seas than the british royal navy at the moment. so japan is a serious military power. and were japan so get into some sort of shooting incident with china, that would raise the danger of dragging the in. because, you know, we're bound by treaty to help defend japan. >> i want to ask one more quick question before i go the audience, and this is this: you have compared the south china sea to the caribbean, you've given us a historical analysis that when the united states came to dominate the caribbean, it was a springboard for a leading role in the world. if china were to succeed in dominating the south china sea, would china then go on to dominate the world? >> no, i don't think so. if it could dominate the south china sea, a number of other things would be happening as well. they would essentially neutralize taiwan. tai

navy, those dolphins came from japan.are not allowed to import them anymore into the united states. the [ inaudible ] institute threatened to file a lawsuit against the u.s. fisheries for allowing this. but they are shipping them to other areas. japan is the size of california, and has 51 dolphin areums, and most of them are very sub standard, and they die, and they simply get more. that's the economic underpinning is the capture and sale of live dolphins. i have a graphic here that explains how it works. here is this blue line. this is the dolphin meat. the sale of dolphin meat is dropping dramatically. it was actually 2300, many porpoises. last year they killed 700. >> for meat? >> for meat. >> that's because it is about supply and demand just like any other product. and if the japanese people become aware the product is contaminated they will stop buying. but the green line is the sale of live dolphins. dolphin. >> how do you know that? >> because i have the contract faxed to me by two of the city commissioners in tieg

practically in japan you'll sleep. all new yorkers. a survey. it didn't the manchester police expertise to you. all that though i hope to get into the food the greens restaurant sits in the shadow of new york's main bus terminal. it's your average urban neighborhood. it seemed the train station in tokyo where he first learned to make ramen. the name reminds him of a second home everyday new limits on its feet for twelve dollars members. repeat vegetables garlic and ground sesame don't think that the regional meet him. the restaurant's signature cakes. so where did that come in and ramen. me with spicy soup and loaded with garlic and then the remote in a mix between a soft boiled and fried prawns which we read they were so nice to visit. like the noodles soup. it's also been completed. he is going on. we heard. the summit chicken broth. spicy chicken the evil one. there was no parental. maybe speeches when released. she's also from new moon due to the restaurant together three years ago. she's an indispensable partner in the business. a study of

rain now you can see where it is just lingering south of mainland japan. you still have cloudy skies from tokyo down through kyushu. even showers tuesday across southern japanese islands. but as we go ahead into midweek high pressure is going to work its way in and break that up a little bit so we're going to be seeing some warming temperatures and even some fairer weather. that will be changing later on in the week and that's first going to be seen down here towards southeastern china. that front still stretches back here towards the west and even around hong kong by thursday into friday. you're going to be seeing some heavy rain showers, even that threat of thunderstorms, same goes for you there over towards taiwan as that next system starts to develop and you can see it right here on that 72 hour accumulation. look at that rainfall stretching in down towards the south. that's where you're going to be seeing the heaviest rain showers. you still have some showers off towards the north. northeastern china, northern portions of north korea. that's going to

he welcomes japan's readiness to build up an in home security partnership with the eu as part of japan's overall policy to continue with more actively to build peace and security some idea what he had to present both below we have agreed to cede closer coordination of johnny's assistance. oh and eu security missions. i also chose the anti piracy operations off somalia and the leaders agreed to support a free and fair presidential election in ukraine scheduled for may twenty fifth. he also reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation on the high seas and in international airspace. their marks were in connection with china's increase maritime activity in east asia the leaders agreed to speed up negotiations on the japan eu economic partnership agreement. ahmed told reporters the japan wants to reach a broad agreement on the treaty by the end of next year. the leaders also agreed that senior officials from japan and the u will discuss peaceful uses of outer space and ways to effectively regulate the cyberspace. i learned. theirs are possible the tropical system near mexico this week o

operators are itching to get into japan.ll of the big players will be there for a gaming conference. that starts on wednesday. thisemporary arts behind exhibition in hong kong. at the end of the week, we are coming to the end of india's elections, what has been a marathon, certainly not a sprint. five weeks of voting, 800 people eligible in every prospect of change in government. thursday, we will see the australian budget. let's have a look at it. he is in sydney. it is all about austerity, isn't it? the politics has led everybody to believe. this is a government delivering its first budget. it has a few more years up its sleeve and i think they really warned the constituents for a tough budget. i do not think the market is expecting anything too drastic. i do not think the currency markets are expecting anything that will significantly change the fiscal situation of australia. ,ome tomorrow night, asian time there will be very little reaction on the markets for what will be basically a tough budget, but not one that is ove

japan's prime minister is to keynote address.ising tensions in the child china sea -- south china sea are expected to be on the agenda. japan will be in the news on friday week that consumer prices for april. this came into effect at the end of this month. expect prices to have risen three percent. let's take a look at the key data out this week. we are joined now. let's start with this. thatis a critical figure will utilize the effectiveness of abenomics. this will give us an indication of this. we were talking about the, the fear gauge. this tends to be in the export sector. there is a small and medium-sized enterprises. is one of the reasons why people are a little optimistic. >> you are not as optimistic. explain. changeink a lot of the that you see in japan in terms of the acceleration of growth has really been driven by the bank policy and some of the fiscal spending measures that were introduced at the end of 2012. awfulally has not been an lot of change in terms of economic reform. as diligent asen pushing through as the

because they're japan. i like canada and japan, they're great countries, but it's not a goalings. >> charlie: we conclude with ram guha, his book india at the gandhi. >> if someone oppressed you before gandhi, you ask him to treat you like a human being or bash him. gandhi invented an alternative. collective solidarity, express to non-violent action. university, worldwide. the second thing and important thing why i think he's such a great figure is the ability to forge relations between rival religious groups -- hindu, muslim, christian, jew. >> charlie: a look at the world as it is and what it might be when we continue. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> charlie: jessica mathews is here. she is president of the carnegie endowment for international peace. it is a global foreign policy think thank headquartered in washington. her role includes government, nonprofit sector and journalism. the obama's foreign policy in the spotlight right now

to some extent, we have seen inflation in japan. japan imports fuel with a weaker currency. back to the headline number, 3.2%. one of the guest's points out suggests -- data suggest's companies passed on that sales tax to consumers and that is where the problem comes in. he yes, perhaps margins are protected. but margins -- volumes are questionable. suggestsa survey which only plananese firms on raising wages by less than one percent. wages, wage increases still sticky right now. pursue mark critz good to talk to you. david and grace in hong kong. ingles in hong kong. we will talk to someone with 30 years experience, next. ♪ >> time for today's company news. google is moving to comply with ruling which backs the rights of citizens to be forgotten online. they have created a committee of experts to advise it on the decision. which said people may ask search engines to remove personal information. microsoft and salesforce unveiled a cloud computing partnership. salesforce programs will become available for microsoft windows and phone operating software. -- it signals a thought

ethnic koreans who live in japan. that's on the table at the moment. japan saying that humanitarian assistance could be provided down the line. >> how is this deal going to go down over where you are in seoul? >> it's not being reacted to officially get by the government here. i think it's unlikely to be very popular. certainly the united states and south korea have been maintaining a hard line saying without concrete measures on denuclearization, there can't be any real engagement. the fact that there is now some engagement between japan and north korea will be looked on as a negative step in washington and seoul, however, both countries also being aware that this has been on and has been accelerating in the last few months, so it won't come as a surprise, and president obama was in the region. he visited tokyo and seoul a few weeks ago. this will be on the table. what will be difficult, though, is if north korea starts to ramp up its behavior, again especially if there were to be a fourth nuclear test as observers l

are doing specific negotiations with japan and, as you know, that, that japan has not directly intervene in the foreign exchange markets in more than two years, but the yen has depreciated significantly against the u.s. dollar. and while the depreciation hasn't shown an impact on the number of u.s. imports of vehicles, we shared some information with me on the numbers, it does provide a massive advantage for japanese automakers. in fact, at today's exchange rate there's an estimated benefit of $5700 on every vehicle. so it's a windfall in operating profit. it may end up in advertising. it may end up in research and development. it may end up in cutting prices. it may end up in cutting prices on vehicles and other markets where u.s. automakers are directly competing with the japanese in other markets around the world. and so the reality is $5700 of vehicles, no small thing. and i guess from, you know, to add insult to injury on japan, china and everything else, even though japan is not currently intervening, and i would ask if they are not currently intervening in exchange markets, why wo

the gusty winds across much of japan. it's now pulling off here towards the northeast, but it's still pulling in this very cold air behind it. especially in the upper levels. during the daytime we start to see this surface heating. that just makes the atmosphere very unstable. we could be seeing, well, more storms on friday. some of those producing hail and even some damaging winds. so really want to watch out for that. by saturday and sunday, some improving conditions. we do have a high pressure coming in from the west. that's going to be bringing some much sunnier skies out here. already doing so into korea, northeastern china. southeastern china, not the case. actually, widespread heavy rainfall out here. even over towards northern portions of taiwan. taipei, 417 millimeters in the past 72 hours out here. this is what it looks like on the ground. you've been seeing that very significant flooding. well, unfortunately some people did -- were caught off guard by this. a few campers there in southwestern taiwan had to be r

but to japan's neighbors, it still looks like the real thing, even though japan's not fired a shot against an enemy in almost 70 years. that could be about to change. >> the japanese constitution was created with the hope of bringing happiness to the people. currently, i do not believe that it says we should abandon our responsibility to protect the lives of japanese people. le prime minister declared support for a release of the constraints on military. he doesn't need the approval of parliament, all that's required is a simple decision by cabinet. the shift in defense policy comes at a time of rising territorial friction between china and some of its neighbors, most notably, vietnam, the philippines and japan. north korea is another cause of tension. any plan to redefine the role of japan's military will worsen relations here in china, where deep bitterness remains over. >>. as occupation of the country that began in the early 1930 said. the worry here is that only change in security policy could mark the first steps towards the new era of japanese militarism. >> i do not think militaris

we are out of time was a breaking news japan.eciate you coming in and helping make sense of the latest price that's out of china. we will be watching it closely as the market gets underway. yankee for your time. you breaking news out of japan. rising 19.1% in march from the previous month. but this in context. 5.8%mists were expecting a increase. quite a significant beat on that number. they were 16.1% compared to estimates of 4.3% gain. we will be looking ahead to the japan open in just a few minutes to get some perspective on what this all means. singapore traded futures are pointing firmly to a higher open today. the nikkei to dubai five finished the session friday lower to 1.4%. the yen right now slightly weaker. 55 levelsding at 101 against the u.s.- dollars. u.s..55 levels against the dollar. coming up next, it is the first trading day of the week. what our reporters are watching as it gets underway. the stock exchange comes your way after a short break. ♪ >> welcome to the stock exchange. we are taking a look ahead to the

let me turn to japan. dwelt on minister has a deteriorating security environment from his perspective. essentiallyg to normalize japan's defense posture and create a new post-world war ii identity for japan. shifting to a much stronger posture of proactive contribution to peace. he appreciates the vulnerability of the north korean missile and ostlear programs as m japanese have had. japan was extraordinarily vulnerable and remains vulnerable today. that is one reason why japan is going from 428 equipped destroyers -- from 4-8 equipped destroyers. that will be part of the missile-defense system. those destroyers were deployed in december of 2012 during the missile launch from three stage rocket launched from north korea that was accessible as well as in the spring. awarenessncreasing and the new midterm defense plan . they are improving air defenses although they may be missing opportunity. they have a whole series of that f-15's that- of dea they have been upgrading. they have procured missiles at 11 locat

japan and china are in a dispute over a group of islands known as senkaku in japan and diaoyu in japan. the area overlaps japan's air space. >> what language from u.s. secretary of defense in chuck hagel and china and how it's hand 8ing the territory dispute. the u.s. sees this as destabilizing that could have international ramification. the defense secretary went on to say that china needs to back off this. he welcomed a move by japan where the prime minister said they want to become more involved in peace and security in the region. japan is an ally of the united states. the united states also said it is upping it's pivot to asia. in fact, the defense secretary said that in just six years, 60% of air force and navy from the united states will operate out of the region. this is obviously something very important to them moving forwa forward. >> the pakistani government report an attack in the west. fighters crossed over from afghanistan and attacked a military post killing one soldier. >> the chief minister of india's state has called for investigation into the gang rape and murder of

in japan, minds from the last bank of japan meeting. we also have earnings from nintendo and softbank. and eu japan summit taking place in brussels wednesday. indonesia, we finally get the parliamentary election results. shares of twitter slipped a touch. employees will be getting their first chance to cash out with concerns rising about slowing user growth. is it a good time to hold or fold? morgan brennan has this report. >> on tuesday in some 480 million more twitter shares are becoming eligible for sale. that is over four times the number currently trading on the nyse. but twitter has been vocal about its biggest shareholders have no plans to sell, holding at least 50% of outstanding shares. among them, the ceo and co-founders, bench mark capital, skrchlt p morgan asset management. so we looked at 1 # 1 other social stocks big lockup expirations since 2011. on. >> prices have finished up 2% the day before an expiration, down just under 2% the day of. down again just under a percent the day after. take facebook's first big lockup exp

now moving into japan. that high pressure system bringing some very pleasant weather to japan. temperatures in tokyo around 24 degrees. that's the warmest that it has been for this year so far. it looks like the pleasant weather will continue for the korean peninsula into japan. meanwhile in china we have a cold front that's going to be moving toward beijing. and that's going to bring gusty winds into the korean peninsula as we go later on this week. we also see some showers down toward hong kong in the southern coast. another low pressure system developing in central china. that will also move toward the south and east and bring some wet weather as we go into the next couple of days. hong kong with a high of 25. 24 in taipei. seoul, you'll be a little bit windy with a high of 22 coming up on friday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended forecast. >>> before we wrap up, farmers in saite near tokyo are busy shipping a popular gift of the season. mother's day celebrated on the second sunday of may here in japan. konosu city is one of the country's top pr

knowledge is some predicting a major earthquake non western japan they say such a tremor. mace and a massive tsunami waves to what the philippines and other asian countries. university of tokyo assistance with assets totaling one hundred and conducting research as part of a national project he stimulated tsunami waves that currently countries them around japan. it would be generated by a magnitude nine level clay tell of the nong khai it off the deep beneath waters south of japan the relationship that tsunami waves we reached the philippines and other southeast asian countries in the retail four hours after the quake. more and then a four meter high tsunami may hit wide areas of the region in mindanao island the philippines and tsunami could rise as high as eighty meters. the study showed tsunami will also meet in the chinese coast. one to two meter high tsunami with the shanghai and surrounding areas. nine hours after the quake. you can join japan should think of old joined coping that used together with the station and pacific countries. in a sea of tokyo professor time

the bank of japan is cornered, steve, what do you mean?t create inflation. and when you have all demographics, you have no movement in the labor market and have been saving nations, the last thing you want is high inflation. and that will play into why i think dollar/yen is going lower first before it goes higher. because i think japan is in a situation where they are now on the current account deficit meaning they have to recap some of the savings they have had over the last few decades. >> you said going lower, what sort of targets and then going higher? just explain that. >> i think the inability of the bank of japan to follow through on this policy because of more qe i don't think will be taken too positive in the market. it doesn't have any bearing in terms of the economic growth and certainly not in the inflation expectations. so i think the dollar/yen is mainly driven by funds from overseas. and the fact that we don't get the substitution from fixed income to equity. and you have to remember japan equity is almost entirely owned by

japan, as abe said in london, japan needs to create more productive jobs. in spades for the united states. the other thing is, japan is actually doing labor reforms, doing fiscal reforms in the united states. that's only the fed pumping in money in japan. arrow two is fiscal spending that's been done and arrow three is slow but it's actually picking up speed. i think we will always see that in asia. that's a trialed error situation. there won't be any big bang type of arrow three type of approach. but it'll come. it's happening. we are optimistic about the third quarter of this year. >> yes. when you look at the small business, surveys of small businesses, though, they're still fairly pessimistic. that's going to be such a key component of getting investment in and creating more jobs and wages. when do you think they're going to turn around in their confidence and feed into the wider economy, if indeed, they do? >> that's a persistent problem in japan. this has been a problem for decades. and the basic reason there is overregulation. there has to be somethi

i am going to take you straight to japan. the bank of japan does nothing. the yen getting stronger. the dollar getting weaker. japan there were big bats might not hit the inflation target of two percent and the bank of japan would have to do more. he is giving no signs there is more stimulus to come. if you are betting against him you are betting against again as well. outbank of england minutes today. this is the one to watch. the division between members about the amount of spare capacity in this economy. they think it is going to drop to 78 cents. that is a stronger pound against a weaker euro. >> one company on the move, the shipping and industrial giant raised its 2014 outlook for underlying profits. for a little more detail, the chief executive joins me on the phone from copenhagen. us. great to have you with you have raised for your bad news fort is investors. what i really want to know is do you feel the recovery taking hold around the world is firmly entrenched? what is your view? >> we had a slightly more negative view then the consensus in the market. below still a little

, criticizing japan on every conceivable issue they can think up, challenging japan on issue after issue after issue. an example of that being what recently went on down in the capital of my present home state, richmond, virginia. seems to me, the u.s. needs to be expressing its own unhappiness and directly challenging these elements in both countries. to tone it down, to back off. the kinds of things they are doing and hope to do more in the future. we have not done that, and i think because we're not done that, and there are many things we could do by the way which i don't have enough time to detail now, but by not doing these things, this issue has gotten worse and it has approached, as general gregson pointed out, a point of really debilitating security and military cooperation now among tokyo, seoul, and washington. >> thank you, larry. anyone -- grace, please. please line up. >> hi. my question also gets to the historical discussion. and that is, do you think united states should specifically pressure japan to be more germany like in apologizing what happened with world war ii? aft