five candidates ran for the top post after prime minister naoto kan resigned. none got the majority in the first round of voting. so there was a runoff between the two frontrunners, noda and economy minister banri kaieda. most of the lawmakers who voted for the three other candidates in the first round picked noda in the runoff. of the 395 ballots up for grabs, noda got 215. kaieda, 177. >> translator: let's all persevere and work hard for the good of the people so we can achieve political stability. >> japan's diet will vote on tuesday to decide whether the 54-year-old noda should become prime minister. it's basically a formality because his democratic party controls the more powerful lower house. soon after his victory, noda held his first news conference as the dpj's new leader. >> translator: i want to resolve the fukushima nuclear crisis, but it might take a long time. i also want to rebuild japan's disaster-hit areas and revive this country's economy. i will work toward these goals and achieve them. i hope to build relationships with the opposition partie

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 inine inine ining lt of the station. >> reporter: in the hope of accelerating the change in e in party. he lost the election but gained national recognition. noda attracted attention as a future leader along with former foreign minister mihara. he became finance minister when the dpj took power in 2009. he was promoted to the post of finance minister in june of last year when naoto kan became prime minister. one of the biggest challenges he faces is a strong

he will replace naoto kan who has occupied the country's top post since june last year. noda is working to select senior party officials and cabinet members. we asked people here in tokyo what they expect from the country's new leader. >> translator: he should have a clear direction as prime minister. >> translator: including the strong yen, there's many problems with our economy. i would be happy if priority was given to reviving japan's economy. >> translator: focus should be on rebuilding efforts due to the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. and improving relationships with the united states and other countries. >> here's a closer look at the new man taking the reins. >> noda acquired his ambition to become a politician soon after he graduated from university. >> translator: i want to become a politician to end the culture of money politics. >> reporter: noda was elected to the lower house of the diet in 1993 as a member of the now defunct japan new party. he became a dpj lawmaker in 2000. noda set up a makeshift podium in front of a train station almost every day for

but ban expressed skepticism about prime minister naoto kan's proposal to reduce the nation's dependence on nuclear energy. >> the government should determine that nuclear energy is stl regarded as one of the viable options for energy sources particularly in fighting against the climate change and also providing universal access to many poor people. >> reporter: later in the day, ban met kan in tokyo to ask him to participate in an international conference on nuclear energy in new york next month. nhk world, fukushima. >>> an nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up two percentage points from the previous months when the rate marked a low since the party took place. the disapproval rating is down three points. 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who say they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. as when kan should step down, 45% said by the end of this month. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted fo

but ban expressed skepticism about prime minister naoto kan's proposal to reduce the nation's dependence on nuclear energy. >> the government should determine that nuclear energy is still regarded as one of the viable options for energy sources particularly in fighting against the climate change and also providing universal access to many poor people. >> reporter: later in the day, ban met kan in tokyo to ask him to participate in an international conference on nuclear energy in new york next month. nhk world, fukushima. >>> an nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up two percentage points from the previous months when the rate marked a low since the party took place. the disapproval rating is down three points. 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who say they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. as when kan should step down, 45% said by the end of this month. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted

warnings from policymakers including prime minister naoto kan are keeping dealers wary of a bank of japan yen selling intervention. in commodities gold hit a record high in new york on monday, exceeding $1,900 per ounce. investors bought gold futures as concerns mounted over the economic outlook. >>> as japan's ruling democratic party prepares to select a new president, the government is putting off decisions on a temporary tax hike for rebuilding disaster-hit areas. the government's tax commission was due to options this month for securing at least $130 billion in revenue for reconstruction efforts, but with prime minister naoto kan poised to step down, the commission has decided to shelf the discussions until the dpj selects a new head who will most likely become the next prime minister. the rule party's presidential election will be held as early as monday next week. concerns are mounting the commission's move could delay the compilation of a third extra budget for rebuilding due to opposition within the dpj to raise taxes. >>> supermarket sales in japan grew year on year for a second

. >> reporter: prime minister naoto kan delivered essentially the same speech he gave in hiroshima three days ago. he insisted japan's energy policy must be rewritten and he repeated its call for a phase out of nuclear power. >> translator: regarding our country's energy policy, we have started rethinking it from scratch. regarding nuclear energy, we will deeply reflect over the conventional belief that nuclear energy is safe. thoroughly look into the cause of the accident and to secure safety, implement fundamental measures, while also decreasing the degree of dependence on nuclear power generation. to aim for society that does not rely on nuclear power. >> reporter: that will be easier said than done. nuclear power is one of the cheapest forms of energy in japan right now. but as people mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing of nagasaki many are asking what must be done to avoid creating more radiation sufferers. the answer will present in political and economic challenges. nhk world, nagasaki. >>> china has reported a sudden spike in inflation in july with consumer prices rising o

naoto kan says he's going to make good on a promise to step down from the top job after two key pieces of legislation are enacted. that will possibly happen in late august. >> translator: once the condition is met, the democratic party will quickly call a leadership election. then after a new party president is chosen, i will resign, and the diet will enter a new phase of selecting a new prime minister. >> kan survived a no confidence motion in june by promising to resign, but he refused to leave before the diet passed three bills he considers vital for japan's recovery. lawmakers enacted the first one in july, which was the country's second supplementtry budget. two remain. one for issuing deficit-covering bonds and a second that promotes the use of renewable energy. a lower house committee approved the deficit-covering bond bill on wednesday and it is likely to be enacted by august 26. >>> markets across asia bounced back on wednesday after two down days. here in tokyo, the key stock index rebounded to about 9,000 points. a surge in u.s. stocks helped provide the boost. the nikkei av

vice president will meet prime minister naoto kan and he'll also travel to sendai city to observe reconstructionefforts following the march 11th disaster. >>> the chinese government is denying international media reports that it gained access to a top secret american military helicopter. the stealth aircraft crashed in may during the raid that killed osama bin laden. media reports said pakistani authorities let chinese engineers see the wreckage of the helicopter. some government and intelligence sources said the engineers snapped photos and even took away samples from the chopper's tail section. the surface material is believed to hold the key to the aircraft's radar-evading capabilities. china's defense ministry describes the allegations as unfounded and absurd. pakistan and china are allies. they've both been at odds with the united states over the covert mission that resulted in bin laden's death. the obama administration didn't consult the pakistani government before it sent in american commandos to raid the former al qaeda leader's compound. >>> u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has

later on monday he will go to tokyo for talks with prime minister naoto kan. they're expected to exchange views on nuclear power generation. sources say the united nations want to ask him to serve as cochair of the committee. he is likely to tell kan -- on nuclear issues. >>> japan's defense ministry will soon start a field study in south sudan so it can decide whether or not to send to the african nation for a peace-keeping mission. south sudan became independent in july putting an end to two decades of conflict between the muslim government in the north and the mainly african christians in the south. the united nations has decided to send 8,000 peace keepers to south sudan. it has asked japan to send forces to help the country build infrastructure such as roads and bridges. nhk has learned that the defense ministry plans to send a team of experts to the country by the end of august to study security and road conditions. after hearing from the team, the ministry will make a final decision on whether or not to send ground self-defense force troops as peace kee

. >>> nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of japan's prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up 2 percentage points from the previous month when the rate marked a low since the democratic party took power two years ago. the cabinet's disapproval rating is 65%, down 3 points. among respondents who said they support the cabinet, 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who said they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. asked when kan should step down, 45% said before the end of this month when the current diet's session is to adjourn. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. >>> finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of seven industrialized nations have released a joint statement on ways to stabilize financial markets. following the move, the japanese central bank is taking action. the statement was released on early monday morning after an emergency phone meeting. it says g-7 members confirm that they

. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is leaving office less than a year after taking power. kan spoke to the nation. here's what he had to say. >> translator: earlier as of today i've decided to step down at the ruling democratic party president and also as long as the new leader is elected, i'm going to step down at the prime minister. >> kan apologized for failing to prevent the nuclear crisis that followed the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. >> translator: now japan is a quake-prone country. but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants in the land. and that is what we have experienced this time and that is the incident in which i felt the poorlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake. and how to contain that aggravation of that nuclear accident that i was here, i will see every day. to be honest as a nuclear disaster started to expand and will close. the large size of the evacuation as well as the long-term of the damage to the local community and how to grapple with that. the possible d

. >>> naoto kan sur privived a li more than a year, more than his predecessors. >>> investors around the world are wondering what bernanke will say. after the break, we'll look at what's putting the fed chief under pressure. >>> from cnn london and hong kong, welcome back, you're watching "world business today." >> let's check back on how the european markets are fairing about 90 minutes into this final trading session of the week. all eyes firmly fixed on the underside of the atlantic where we will have ben bernanke and his colleagues meeting at jackson hole, wyoming. and despite a lot of optimism about potentially a third round of economic stimulus in the form of quantitative easing or qe-3, it seems the market is not necessarily buying that argument. as you can see, these markets suffering. the kax down tdax down the most. >> most of the markets in asia down, as well. the nikkei did manage to eek out a small gain despite of or perhaps because of the resignation of naoto kan. the nikkei up just a fraction. nina. >> turning now to the u.s. pre-market action, after some sharp falls o

. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is likely to step down this month as they are are expected to pass two bills as he passes as his resignation. executives of me main opposition liberal democratic party and naoto agreed on tuesday to vote for a bill to issue deficit-covering bonds. this came after the governing democratic party agreed to review a waiver program and subsidies for farmers. the opposition parties are also likely to vote for another bill aimed at promoting renewable energy. kan also made progress with his pet projects. the government will revise its energy policy to reduce dependence on nuclear power. it's also working to desperate the nuclear agency from the economy agency. kan is said to be preparing to announce his resignation soon after the two bills are approved. >> the democratic party is considering holding a leadership election around august 28th and a vote to choose his successor on august 31st. likely nominations include noda, mabuchi, and ozawa. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two

. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is likely to step down this month as they are are expected to pass two bills as he passes as his resignation. executives of me main opposition liberal democratic party and naoto agreed on tuesday to vote for a bill to issue deficit-covering bonds. this came after the governing democratic party agreed to review a waiver program and subsidies for farmers. the opposition parties are also likely to vote for another bill aimed at promoting renewable energy. kan also made progress with his pet projects. the government will revise its energy policy to reduce dependence on nuclear power. it's also working to desperate the nuclear agency from the economy agency. kan is said to be preparing to announce his resignation soon after the two bills are approved. >> the democratic party is considering holding a leadership election around august 28th and a vote to choose his successor on august 31st. likely nominations include noda, mabuchi, and ozawa. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two

biden will hold talks with prime minister naoto kan on tuesday. to deal with the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant is also on the agenda. biden will convey his country's support for the reconstruction work. also on tuesday he will visit the northeastern prefecture of miyagi to deliver a message to disaster victims at sendai airport. u.s. troops helped remove debris from the airport which was badly damaged by the tsunami. biden has been on an asian tour visiting china and mongolia. in china he had talks with xi jinping. >>> it's been more than five months since the tsunami and nuclear crisis in march. about 4,600 people are still reported missing. now, the town of okuma is where the fukushima daiichi plant is located. because of the radiation levels, it is a no entry zone. one of the town's residents is among the messing. a 7-year-old girl. despite the restrictions, una's father never gave up the search. but recently he made a painful decision. >> reporter: desperate for news, one man searches for his family missing in the tsunami. this is no

the pass of the bill is one sited by naoto kan for his resignation. >>> thursday marked exactly five months since the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. memorial ceremonies were held across the quake-hit region to commemorate the victims. at a retirement home in higashi city, 50 residents and 11 staffers were killed. despite the fact the facility is scheduled to be demolished, surviving staffers continue to remove mud and debris. [ bell rings [ ] >> at 2:46 p.m., the staff stopped working and held a moment of silence at an alter. >> translator: i think five months have passed so quickly. the disasters were a nightmare. the situation is so sad. and this quiet punctuates it. >> in miyako city, about 2,400 lanterns were lit to pray for the victims. in the district of the city many homes were swept away when the tsunami overwhelmed a dike. the lanterns were positioned on the partially damaged dike and the parts of the nearby temple. >> the earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 15,700 people and 4,700 are missing. the survivors are still struggling to get their lives back to normal. more t

prime minister naoto kan said they made t win through perseverance. >> translator: we are honored that we received such a great award. it makes me feel we should again pledge to keep going on so we can encourage people through our performance. >> translator: we'll do our best at the preliminary qualifying games for the olympics and try to get the gold medal. >> the japanese national women's soccer team is the 19th recipient of the people's honor award since its launch in 1977. >>> a very exciting game that was. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

prime minister naoto kan said they made the win through perseverance. >> translator: we are honored that we received such a great award. it makes me feel we should again pledge to keep going on so we can encourage people through our performance. >> translator: we'll do our best at the preliminary qualifying games for the olympics and try to get the gold medal. >> the japanese national women's soccer team is the 19th recipient of the people's honor award since its launch in 1977. >>> a very exciting game that was. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

. >>> prime minister naoto kan and visiting vice president joe biden have reaffirmed that a military base in okinawa shall be carried out with an existing bilateral plan. kan told biden on tuesday that the agreement underscores the strength of the bilateral alliance. he also said japan is grateful for the support after the disaster. biden was impressed by the courage of the japanese people to rebuild after the earthquake and tsunami. he added that the u.s. values the economic and political might of its pacific ally. kan apologized for cancelling a summit meeting with u.s. president barack obama. the summit was originally planned for next month but kan cannot attend because he is expected to resume as prime minister. >>> japan visited with disaster-hit northeastern japan to show support for the country. he arrived in miyagi prefecture on tuesday. it served as a hub for u.s. forces helping to bring relief supplies to the region after the march 11 disaster. >> i'm also here to honor the incredible spirit of the japanese people. the american people are also proud and honored. they're pro

biden will visit japan on monday and meet the countries prime minister naoto kan. they're scheduled to talk about reconstruction efforts following the march disaster and the fukushima daiichi nuclear accident. >>> a man who used to work as a bodyguard for osama bin laden has warned in an interview with nhk that al qaeda may launch attacks that are more serious than those on september 11th, 2001. nhk was able to meet nassir al-bahri. >> translator: after bin laden's death, al qaeda will regain momentum. >> the former bodyguard said radical groups that used to receive military training in afghanistan have gone back to their home countries over the past ten years. he added these groups are heading local organizations and are strengthening cooperation. >> translator: arabs led al qaeda in the past. but now there are members in various nations. the network could be preparing for an attack that will dwarf the 9/11 attacks. >> al-bahri's statement says even after losing the charismatic leader, al qaeda is reforming itself and continues to be a threat. >>> at least 11 peop

biden will hold talks with prime minister naoto kan on tuesday. to deal with the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant is also on the agenda. biden will convey his country's support for the reconstruction work. also on tuesday he will visit the northeastern prefecture of miyagi to deliver a message to disaster victims at sendai airport. u.s. troops helped remove debris from the airport which was badly damaged by the tsunami. biden has been on an asian tour visiting china and mongolia. in china he had talks with xi jinping. >>> it's been more than five months since the tsunami and nuclear crisis in march. about 4,600 people are still reported missing. now, the town of okuma is where the fukushima daiichi plant is located. because of the radiation levels, it is a no entry zone. one of the town's residents is among the messing. a 7-year-old girl. despite the restrictions, una's father never gave up the search. but recently he made a painful decision. >> reporter: desperate for news, one man searches for his family missing in the tsunami. this is no

the pass of the bill is one sited by naoto kan for his resignation. >>> thursday marked exactly five months since the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. memorial ceremonies were held across the quake-hit region to commemorate the victims. at a retirement home in higashi city, 50 residents and 11 staffers were killed. despite the fact the facility is scheduled to be demolished, surviving staffers continue to remove mud and debris. [ bell rings [ ] >> at 2:46 p.m., the staff stopped working and held a moment of silence at an alter. >> translator: i think five months have passed so quickly. the disasters were a nightmare. the situation is so sad. and this quiet punctuates it. >> in miyako city, about 2,400 lanterns were lit to pray for the victims. in the district of the city many homes were swept away when the tsunami overwhelmed a dike. the lanterns were positioned on the partially damaged dike and the parts of the nearby temple. >> the earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 15,700 people and 4,700 are missing. the survivors are still struggling to get their lives back to normal. more t

. >> during his three-day visit, he met with prime minister naoto kan but no substantial discussions were held. a planned meeting in early september between kan and u.s. president barack obama was cancelled because kan is due to step down. >>> the international atomic energy agency wants to carry out safety checks in all countries with nuclear power plants over the next three years. the nuclear watch dog has been working on an action plan to improve global nuclear safety since the crisis erupted at japan's fukushima daiichi plant in march. the latest draft of the plan compiled earlier this week urged safety checks in every country with nuclear power within the next three years. the draft also says that new plants should be checked to determine if they have appropriate reactor designs and safety measures. the draft will be discussed at a meeting of the iea board of governors next month before it's presented to the general conference beginning on september 19. >>> many different stories emerged in the days and weeks following japan's march 11 earthquake and tsunami. stories of sorrow,

naoto kan have seen his ratings tumble after the nuclear crisis and tsunami. it sets the stage for a leadership election win the democratic ruling party of japan. they have had five prime ministers since 2006. >> china's ministry of culture is ordering to delete songs by lady gaga within two weeks or face punishment. ministry has posted a link of 100 songs to be purged from chinese sites because they have never been submitted to mandatory government screening. industry says the rule is meant to help security there. china maintains strict control of the internet and arts. i can tell you from experience, that is absolutely true. it's impossible to get on websites that they don't want you to get on. >> nice. >> no problem. i'm happy to share. and mike is happy to share the forecast with you. >>> we'll talk about clouds and drizzle this morning and how it's going to affect your morning commute. it may be slick in some spots closer to the coast. let's move on and talk about temperatures. running in the 50s around half moon bay and san francisco, oakland and concord

biden will hold talks with prime minister naoto kan on tuesday. they're expected to discuss the rebuilding of areas devastated by the march 11th disaster. efforts to deal with the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant are also on the agenda. biden will convey his country's continued support for the reconstruction work. also on tuesday, he will visit the northeastern prefecture of miyagi to deliver a message to disaster victims at sendai airport. u.s. troops helped remove debris from the airport which was badly damaged by the tsunami. biden has been on an asian tour visiting china and mongolia. in china he held talks with vice president xi jinping, the man expected to become the country's next leader. >>> the dollar is hovering in the upper 76 yen range in cautious trading in tokyo on monday. earlier in the day the greenback had rebounded briefly to the lower 77 yen level after reaching a historic level of 75.95 yen in new york on friday. sources say market players are becoming cautious about possible intervention by the bank of jap

. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is leaving office barely a year after taking part. he's the fifth prime minister to quit in as many years. he spoke to the nation about a couple of hours ago. here's what he had to say. >> translator: earlier, as of today, i decided to step down as the ruling democratic party president and also as long as the new leader is elected, i'm going to step down as the prime minister. >> kan apologized for failing to prevent the nuclear crisis that followed the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. he said japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power. >> translator: japan is a great, proud country, but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants, in the land, and that is what we have experienced this time, and that is the incident in which i felt the powerlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake and how to contain that aggravation of that nuclear accident that i was full of here every day, to be honest. as the nuclear disaster once started to expand and the large

. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is leaving office barely a year after taking power. kan officially announced his resignation on friday. he's the fifth prime minister to quit in as many years. kan spoke to the nation about a couple of hours ago. here's what he had to say. >> translator: earlier, as of today, i decided to step down as the ruling democratic party of president and also as long as the new leader is elected, i'm going to step down as the prime minister. >> kan apologized for failing to prevent the nuclear crisis that followed the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. he said japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power. >> translator: japan is a great, proud country, but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants, in the land, and that is what we have experienced this time, and that is the incident in which i felt the powerlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake and how to contain that aggravation of that nuclear accident that i was full of here every day, to be honest. as t

president barack obama had to be canceled because naoto kan seemed likely to resign. >> the new prime minister is expected to hold summit talks with the u.s., china, and south korea by the end of this year. but any work noda wants to do will be held up by further political change in all of these countries as well as russia will have presidential elections or a transfer of power i 2012. he may al north korea may also experience a transfer of power. also there may be a rise of nationalism in china, south korea. japan is involved in nuclear disputes with all three of these countries so his abilities will definitely be put on a test. >> before we let you go mr. noda has been talking about ways to raise the income tax to fund reconstruction efforts. will he be able to address that issue any time soon? >> i don't think so. noda is also in favor of a tax hike to finance increasing social security costs but finding a consensus within the dpj won't be easy. you know, more than half of the dpj members might come out against the tax hike if their minds turn to the possibility of a general electi

prime minister naoto kan yesterday saying he'd expect a decision on a successor by the end of this month after some bills have been passed through parliament. markets here as well as abroad have shown concern about that high turnover rate and the next successor would be the sixth prime minister in five years. and that affects a lot of market sentiment as to how policies will be implemented regarding japan's economy. for now the nikkei and top nix the positive. back to you. >> ramin mellegard, thank you very much for that. we'll have more on the moody's downgrade later in the show. >>> china is expanding the use of its currency in settling cross-border trade. it will allow businesses nationwide to celt exposettle ed imports with the yuan. the country's central bank, people's bank of china said permission for yuan-based trade will now apply to businesses across the nation. previously, it included only a limited number of regions. this will allow chinese companies as well as trading firms overseas to settle more accounts using the yuan to rein in currency risks. originally in 2009, china pe

he succeeds naoto kan who resigned after only 15 months in office. >>> house republicans will introduce legislation today that could force major chaimgs at the united nations. the bill would allow congress to decide how the u.n. spends money contributed by the united states. the florida congresswoman behind the legislation says the u.n. needs major changes because corruption, mismanagement and negligence. right now the united states pays 22% of the u.n. budget. >>> well, a north bay man accused of killing a little boy in a hit and run is scheduled to enter a plea this morning. a memorial has been set up at the accident scene near jacob park in santa rosa. 4-year-old christopher roe was walking to soccer practice with his mother and two sisters on august 18th. witnesses report seeing 22-year- old marcus lopez garcia failing to stop and then hitting the little boy in the crosswalk. garcia faces charges, including felony hit and run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license. >>> we're getting more information about the killing of an oakland man, gunned down right

he follows now naoto kan, the man who stepped down last week. his wife joked she only packed summer clothes after he became prime minister back in june of 2010. his predecessor was yukio hatoyama. served eight months. came to power in a landslide victory, the ldp, the ruling party pretty much through the second world war. mr. will hatoyama, the last of the ldp leaders. he was just a few days short of his first fourth year in office. then back to this man who held that position the year before that. before him, it was chinzo in office for just a year, september 2006 to september 2007. and before him, the position, the stability under this man. he swept to power and served a full five-year term before he stepped down. a very rare event in japanese politics. in fact, the longest standing prime minister in japan. you'd have to go back to 1987 to see that sort of thing. certainly he was, and still is, regarded as key figure in the japanese political scene. so the question is, what will investor think if yet another shift of power in japan? to help us

naoto kan has seen his approval rating tumble after the march 11 earthquake and tsunami.is resignation sets the stage for a leadership election monday within the ruling democratic party of japan. japan has gone through five prime ministers since 2006. >>> china's ministry of health is ordering music download sites to delete songs by lady gaga and perry or face punishment. they have posted a list of 100 songs that have to be purged from the chinese sites because they were never submitted to mandatory screening. last friday night by perry was one of them. it's meant to preserve the national cultural security. they maintain strict control of internet and the arts. driving through the mist and drizzle on your way to work this morning. >> another day where the clouds are going to get dirtier and you can wash it when the warmer weather is on the way. >> after you watch ou all the coverage irene as it goes right up the eastern seaboard. that is only thing you will find on tv besides sports. a few clouds trying to work in the east bay valleys. highway 24 look from vollmer peak ba

naoto kan announced today he's stepping down. support for his government had dropped sharply over its handling of the tsunami disaster and ensuing nuclear crisis in japan. the ruling party will select a new leader on monday, the country's sixth prime minister in five years. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jim. >> lehrer: and to libya, where rebels are taking and holding more territory. but there remains stiff resistance from loyalists of moammar qaddafi, who still eludes capture. we begin our coverage with a report from alex thomson of independent television news in tripoli. >> reporter: the odd smoldering vehicle and a few rebel fighters hanging this morning around abu salim. a day of prayer this, in a district now quiet but battered. yesterday, the rebels said they'd take this place from colonel qaddafi's last loyalist snipers, and they did. ( gunfire ) prisoners emerging from this chaotic fighting. some reports that some such prisoners were killed before they had a chance to be dealt with properly. we s

the previous prime minister, naoto kan, resigned amid widespread criticism of his administration and fracturing within the ruling party. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: the troubled u.s. housing market got a bit of good news today with word that some prices are rising. but full recovery remained a long way off. four cities-- chicago, minneapolis, washington and boston-- posted the largest increases in the latest case- shiller home-price index. but prices in detroit, cleveland, las vegas, and phoenix were selling at the same levels as january of 2000, more than ten years ago. what's more, the survey of 20 cities found overall home prices have actually fallen over the last 12 months. and home sales for this year are on pace to be the worst in 14 years. things could get worse yet, once banks pick up the pace on millions of foreclosures, as expected. they've been delayed by a government investigation into mortgage lending practices. >> attorney generals, prosecute the criminals! >> brown: amid anger over the banks' handling of foreclosures, 36 stat

he succeeds naoto, kan who resigned after six months in office. >>> no wanted poster are up around the city with photos of 35-year-old aaron bassler. he's accused of shooting councilman jerry maylo on saturday. maylo was working as a forester when he apparently stumbled onto opium poppies that bassler was trying to grow. bassler is believed to be holed up somewhere in the woods. >> his whereabouts are unknown, but we do have a general idea of where he may be at this time. >> in the meantime passenger service on mendocino county's skunk train is due to resume today or tomorrow. that service was suspended since the councilman's shooting right near the rail line. >>> 6:17 is the time. we hear there's another new crash, pleasant hills, sal? reporter: that's right, intersate 680, pam and dave, 680 southbound at treat boulevard. there's a new crash. now, remember there was another one just down the road at olympic, so a couple of hits here for concord and walnut creek. 680 still has not become really slow, but as we move over to the side, i want to show you that antioch traffic, you can see

ruling democratic party of japan votes on monday to choose a successor to its leader prime minister naoto kan. on sunday the five contenders spoke at a forum organized by the party, jockeying for support from undecided members. monday's vote will involve balloting by 398 diet members belonging to the party. the winner will almost certainly become the next prime minister of japan. economy trade and industry ministry banri kaieda is the new front-runner. kaieda seems to be able to count on the support of nearly 100 lawmakers. he visited the campaign office this morning to analyze the election outlook. finance minister yoshihiko noda is second in the running with support of over 60 lawmakers, including members of secretary-general casio okada. next is seiji maehara which has about 50 members behind him. agriculture ministry michihiko kano has garnered support of over 30 law makers. bringing up the rear is the former land ministry sumi sumio mabuchi who is trying to bring his numbers up from just 20 members in support. the candidates' teams are working hard to enlist the backing of over 100 lawma