shinzo abe announced hiel raise the consumption tax from 8% to 5. he's pairing it with a stimulus package to lessen the impact, growth. he will inject $50 billion into the economy to help corporations, small and medium-sized manufacturers and low cash income residents among others. lawmakers with his ruling liberal democratic party, and coalition partner have endorsed his plan. it includes a proposal to scrap a corporate tax imposed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami to help fund the rebuilding effort. the levy was scheduled to expire in march of 2015 but prime minister shinzo abe wants to end it a year earlier. they are forced to look at other sources of revenue. they'll also start discussions on setting new corporate tax rates. in addition, they were all proposing a two-year extension of a tax break for companies that increase their employee's salaries. >>> people in the united states are bracing for what could be the first government shutdown in almost 18 years. members of congress have just hours to agree on a budget bill before the next fisc

shinzo abe, he's speaking in japan about hesitate sales tax. e's been a lot of debate over this the last few months whether or not the japanese economy and abe has been strong enough to put the japanese economy on the right footing so consumers are able to expand this hike. he is speaking right now and saying there is no time to waste in seeking funds to rebuild the fiscal state. he says the fiscal -- they can be reached at the same time. they're raising the sales hike for april and cushioning with a $50 billion package in terms of corporate tax cuts and such to sort of ease the month of that sales hike. the dollar/yen, take a look. 98.11. >> and looking at how we're shaping up for a u.s. market open, we're a couple of hours away, but we're looking slightly positive at the moment. we're across the board, called a couple of points higher. the partial shutdowns we've seen in the past, the markets have handled the issues okay. if we see a click solution, it might do anything to unsettle the broader economic trends that otherwise has been on course

park and shinzo abe haven't held talks since taking office. they exchanged simple greetings at the g20 summit in russia in september. south korea and japan are at odds over disputed islands, and the legacy of japan's colonial rule over the korean peninsula. officials in beijing have also rejected the idea of a meeting next week between abe and chine china's president. they will attend the apec summit in bali. >>> researchers on both sides of the pacific are working to track the effects of japan's nuclear accident on bluefin tuna. a team of american scientists at stanford university reported last year they detected low levels of radioactive cesium in 33 of 50 blue fin caught off the coast of california. team members said the damaged fukushima-daiichi nuclear plant was the source of the contamination. they made their conclusion based on levels of cesium 134 which has a half life of about two years and only produced by nuclear reactors. the japanese and u.s. researchers are trying to start a joint study to determine how the toxins got into the tu

. >>> a new nhk poll suggests japanese prime minister shinzo abe remains popular, even after he announced his plan to raise the consumption tax. >>> a proposal was made on the country's nuclear program, meeting with delegates from six major powers for the first time since president hassan rouhani took office in august. the two days of talks are happening in gin eve a. participants include mohammed sareef and foreign policy chief ashton. envoys from the u.s., russia, china, france, and germany are there, too. ashton's spokesperson said zarrif gave a 30-minute presentation to explain tehran's ideas. they propose to accept tougher inspections, in exchange they want western powers to ease economic sanctions on them. the u.s. and other nations have demanded the iranians stop enriching uranium close to weapons grade. they say only then would they ease sanctions. >>> a large and powerful typhoon is churning toward japan's biggest metropolis. residents of tokyo and the surrounding area are preparing to take cover from heavy rain and fierce winds. officials at the meteorological agency said wipha

labor market and agricultural reform and overall economic revival. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe and his task force have mapped out details of their plans to ease regulations and promote economic growth. the task force led by abe and includes all his cabinet ministers. they met on friday to consider steps to promote deregulation. >> translator: we have been able to come up with measures necessary for creating an international city capable of competing on the world stage. there's no end to our efforts for deregulation. >> under the plans the government will set up various strategic zones in the country. in one of them, companies would be allowed to hire temporary staff with advanced skills and knowledge for more than five years. under the current law, five years is the limit. this change is aimed at improving the competitiveness of japanese businesses. the government also plans to set up an international medical service base to make it easier to accept highly skilled, non-japanese doctors. in addition, the government will ease floor space regulations to promote construction of hig

prime minister shinzo abe indicated he would not attend the festival. say economic growth in their country rebounded in the third quarter of this year. that represents for the first rise in three quarters. the national bureau of statistics announced that gross domestic product grew 7.8% from the same period last year. the figure also rose 0.3 percentage points from the previous three months. this indicates the chinese economy has stopped slowing down. we have more from beijing. >> reporter: public works supported growth. chinese exports finally stopped declining. this fueled the economy growth. >> translator: the chinese economy is stable and improving moderately. the indicator is within a reasonable range to go ahead with structural adjustment and reform. >> reporter: china gdp has shown three straight quarters of decline through june. this was due to sluggish exports stepping from the u.n.'s ban on other currencies. this includes a huge increase in steel production in july. government officials indicated that the country can achieve the growth target

. >>> prime minister shinzo abe says his government will do all it can to deal with the accumulating radioactive water. abe made the remark in a meeting with seiichiro murakami. he heads a panel of the main governing party lawmakers on the fukushima nuclear accident. he said containing the contaminated water is a pressing matter at a time when japan is reconsidering its energy policy. abe said the radioactive water issue will be a major topic of debate in the upcoming diet session. >>> tepco pins high hopes on the system to treat radioactive wastewater, but the utility appears far from a solution. nhk world's noriko okada has more. >> reporter: tepco workers are scrambling to deal with the constant accumulation of contaminated water at fukushima daiichi. they have built about 1,000 storage tanks, but those are already 90% full, holding more than 350,000 tons of toxic water. the problem is compounded by rainwater that becomes laced with radioactive materials and seeps into the ground. >> translator: we're trying to set up storage tanks to keep pace with the increasing amount of contam

prime minister shinzo abe's fiscal policies known as ergonomics are behind the boost. land prices rose around urban areas for the first time in five years. investors expect ergonomics to maintain the rising trend. foreigners are also attracted to the cheaper yen. the japanese currency has dropped against the u.s. dollar by 25% in one year. and they're inspired by olympic games as well. tokyo will host the event in 2020, meaning properties could rise in value. >> translator: considering relatively low prices, japan being the third largest economy and the upcoming olympic games, i don't think the current market boom is a bubble. >> reporter: in addition to individual investors, overseas and france are also getting into the japanese property market. this singaporan investment market has specific functions. they expect demand into crease as the economic industry expands. this is one of their portfolios. delivery trucks can save clients' time by driving up the ramp to a specific floor. people using the warehouse can also enjoy better security. sensors read the license plate

japanese prime minister shinzo abe chose southeast asia as his first overseas destination after taking office last december, a sign of his intention to strengthen ties with asean. this year, he's visited vietnam, thailand, and indonesia in january. myanmar in may and malaysia, singapore and the philippines in july. next week, abe will visit indonesia again for apec. as well as brunei for the asean meetings. he's also scheduled to visit cambodia and laos by the end of december, which means abe would have visited every asean member country in the course of this year. u.s. president barack obama has suffered a setback on the diplomatic front. a consequence of the partial shutdown of the u.s. government. amid a congressional budget standoff. that led obama to cancel his visit to malaysia, the philippines, indonesia and brunei. he'll be represented instead by secretary of state john kerry. it's a blow to an administration that has given more attention to the asia-pacific region to keep china's growing military presence in check. >> the united states engagement in the region is a process, it

he said li has no plans to sit down with shinzo abe. he also ruled out discussions with leaders of the philippines. officials from china and the philippines are locked in a dispute over islands in the south china sea. li warned other countries against intervening in the dispute. he said the issue should be solved between relevant parties. >>> many leaders at the apec say they're disappointed u.s. president barack obama will not be there. he's staying in the united states to deal with the government sut-down. vladimir putin says he made the right choice. putin spoke at a business conference on the sidelines of the apec summit in bali. he said obama can't focus on international issues while he's facing the shutdown and a budget impasse. putin said he would have done the same thing. but he suggested obama's absence was a blow to the summit. he said the u.s. is the world's largest economy and what it does is important to the entire world. he said apec leaders hope u.s. officials solve the crisis as soon as possible. >>> international inspec

the proceeds will be used for children in fukushima who lost their parents. >>> prime minister shinzo abe has expressed his gratitude to a good samaritan who lost her life. a letter from him was delivered to the family of a woman who died while rescuing an elderly man at a railway crossing. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga handed the letter to the bereaved family on sunday before the wake. natsue murata died while rescuing a 74-year-old man on tuesday. she was 40 years old. the letter said despite the danger, she attempted to rush to help a man who was lying on railway tracks and sacrificed her own life. in the letter, the prime minister offers deep condolences and genuinely honors her motive of putting another person's life before her own. >> translator: she made the ultimate sacrifice to save the man. i wanted to express my gratitude to her. >> translator: it's so sad that a person with great courage had to die. >> murata's father expressed his gratitude for the letter and placed it on the altar. >>> more japanese treerjs suffering from what's -- teenagers are suffering from what'

he met with shinzo abe on the sidelines of the summit in bali ind knee city of los angeles. they agreed to push forward in negotiations on a peace treaty. >>translator: conditions are met to work toward a treaty with japan based on realistic plans. >> russian and japanese leaders have argued over the a rans off northern japan. troops seized four islands athe war. putin says russians and japanese have cooperated in energy and other fields. he said concluding the peace treaty requires they create the image of a friend rather than an enemy. >>> leaders of a group of nations are on track to finalize a free trade deal by the end of the year. some analysts say they're too optimistic about what they need to accomplish before the transpacific partnership becomes reality. >>> the members of 12 member nations met in bali. they say negotiates need to resolve all outstanding issues. abe says the tpp would trigger economic development around the pacific rim. he urged negotiators to do whatever they can to meet the deadline. they've made progress over the past several months forwards elim

. >>> prime minister shinzo abe took time to talk about his efforts for communication with china. >> translator: we shouldn't close the door on dialog just because we have an issue. i believe we should hold summit level dialogs, particularly when we have problems. >> abe said he regretted not having the chance to speak in brunei with chinese and south korean leaders. he said if they talk they'll be able to improve relations and better contribute to peace and stability throughout the region. >>> officials from the u.s. and vietnam met on the side lines of the summit to forge a key pact. they agreed to transfer u.s. nuclear technology to vietnam. secretary of state kerr re and the vietnamese foreign minister signed off on the deal. it will allow u.s. firms to enter vietnam's rapidly growing market for nuclear power. they promised they will not enrich or reprocess nuclear fuel. they predict that by 2030, vietnam's nuclear power market will grow to $50 billion. >>> the people in charge of fukushima daiichi say they've detected nuclear material outside the port. they found cesium in a sam

sources close to shinzo abe tell us he will refrain from attending the autumn festival at yasukuni shrine in tokyo. the shrine honors japan's war dead, including individuals convicted of war crimes after world war ii. abe has sent a traditional offering as prime minister instead of attending the festival in person. he did something similar in april during the shrine's spring festival. then in august he sent an offering as leader of the liberal democratic party to commemorate the end of the war. abe says he intends to continue paying his respects to people who sacrificed their lives for their country. a spokesperson for the chinese government is urging japanese leaders to properly deal with the issues the yasukuni shrine visits raise. >> translator: japan should regret what they did to asia and respect how people in neighboring countries feel. >> a south korean government spokesperson criticized abe's actions. >> translator: we express concern and regret over his repeated offerings. >> he called on japanese politicians to humbly reflect on history and try to build trust among neighboring n

. >> reporter: japanese prime minister shinzo abe wants something president barack obama has, a nationalecurity council. if he gets it he wants to share crucial information with the u.s. and other allies but he's been pressed to toughen up laws to protect against intelligent leaks. >> translator: it's important that legal framework designed to protect national security information is put in place in the interest of making sure that the national security council can conduct its discussions effectively. >> reporter: the state secrets bill would enable heads of government offices, such as ministers, to designate information related to national security as classified. only ministers, vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries, and approved public servants would handle that information. public officials who leak state secrets could face a maximum prison sentence of ten years, the same as in the u.s. the current maximum is one year. the bill would allow japanese leaders to classify information as secret for up to 30 years. any extension beyond that would require cabinet approval. the bill addre

. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet has approved a bill about secrets. they say the legislation is necessary to allow japan to share intelligence with other countries. the government is preparing to launch a national security council to oversee foreign and security policies. the bill will enable heads of government officers such as ministers to designate information related to national security. it would only be handled by certain officials. public officials who leak such information could face a sentence of 10 years. it supports a need for freedom of the press. journalists would not be penalized for their activities unless they violated the law or used methods deemed extremely improper. the government hopes to pass the bill in the current diet session. >>> a chinese high court has upheld a lower court's ruling of life in prison for a disgraced politician. a lower court had handed down the life sentence for the former communist party chief after convicting him of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. bo's appeal was heard by a provincial higher peopl

the ruling coalition of prime minister shinzo abe is regaining full parliamentary control today. puck chicco has more for us. >> it was an extraordinary session today in japan. the ruling coalition's hurdle for the government to pass key legislation as abe ames to pass bills to support its abe-nomics policies. in his policy speech, he pledged for more economic reforms to pull japan out of the long lasting deflation. to start, the government hopes to establish special economic incentives to boost business beyond regulation. they want to pass a bill to set up a japanese version of the u.s. security council to boost its peace keeping efforts around the world. opposition parties are expected to question abe on issues such as the sales tax hike, the fukushima nuclear crisis and the free trade negotiations. back to you, ross. >> fushiko, thank you very much indeed on that. >>> a little bit out of so softbank. it's going to buy a 50% game stake in the finish gamemaker supercell. >>> on the agenda in asia tomorrow, the bank of thailand makes its latest policy decision. bun of india's bigg

prime minister shinzo abe has announced that from next april, it will go from 5 to 8%. yamamoto fears the supermarket will -- >> translator: this isn't going to go up but our costs will. that's gng to mean a drop in income for us farmers. >> reporter: but help may be at hand. thanks to a local farming technology center, instead of a complex technology the answer is simple. they can start the green peppers with a carbon monoxide they need to grow heavily. just by adding carbon monoxide to the air inside, this will improve photoscnthesis. this is being entertained by commercial growers in the netherlands. the cost of using carbon monoxide is just $5,000 per greenhouse. that's nothing compared to the cost of expanding greenhouse facilities. this could come to over $100,000. research indicates that this can boost the harvest by about 10%. >> translator: high-end yields will bring the greatest stability for farmers. and improve their income. i hope this system will help get them through these difficult times. >> reporter: yamamoto and 13 other farmers plan to try out the car

. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe wants to improve relations with two important neighbors. disagreements over territory and history have left japan's ties with china and south korea strained. abe proposed some changes after attending the east asia summit in brunei. >> translator: we shouldn't close the door on dialogue just because we have an issue. i believe we should hold summit level dialogues particularly when we have problems. >> abe said improved diplomatic relations would contribute to peace and stability in the asia-pacific region. he said he regretted not having the chance to speak in brunei with the chinese and south korean leaders but he said they need to resolve territorial dispute in the south china sea between china and some southeast asian nations. >> translator: we should respect the basic rules on the oceans, including international laws on resolving conflicts peacefully, freedom of marine navigation and the united nations convention on the law of the sea. >> japanese government sources say leaders of ten countries got together to share their views on the d

. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe says he wants to improve relations with two important neighbors. disagreements over territory and history have left japan's ties with china and south korea strained. abe spoke after a regional summit in brunei. he said he's open to dialogue. >> translator: we shouldn't close the door on dialogue just because we have an issue. i believe we should hold summit level dialogues, particularly when we have problems. >> abe also referred to the territorial issues in the south china sea involving china and some southeast asian nations. >> translator: we should respect the basic rules on the oceans, including international laws on resolving conflicts peacefully. freedom of na rein navigation, and the united nations convention on the law of the sea. >> abe said he'd seek opportunities for official bilateral talks with the leaders of china and south korea. he also said he'd explain japan's security policies to leaders at a string of regional summits. and he said those leaders had told him they hoped japan would play a bigger role in maintaining peace. >>> jap

. >> japanese prime minister shinzo abe is attending the summit. what is his message? >> prime minister abe has again appealed that he will steer japan to growth, while at the same time deal with the finances. others spoke of the business forum before the summit and asked corporate ceos to actively invest in japan. he said the country would take advantage of its technological know-how to build infrastructure. >> translator: japan is committed to continuing the movement toward greater economic coordination with apec members. >> president barack obama has skipped the summit because of the u.s. government shutdown. what kind of impact is that having? >> secretary of state john kerry said their commitment to asia remains unchanged. >> i want to emphasize that there is nothing that will shake the commitment of the united states to the rebalance to asia that president obama is leading. >> but this is the second year in a row that obama has missed the apec summit. last year, he was too busy campaigning for reelection. during his first time, president obama said his foreign po

prime minister shinzo abe is pushing to create a national security council. he said it's necessary because the security environment in asia is getting more severe. lawmakers on a parliamentary committee are taking a closer look at the bill. the prime minister wants to build a body that's similar to the u.s. national security council. he would chair meetings and his foreign and defense ministers would take part, along with the chief cabinet secretary. the national security office would be created within the cabinet secretariat at the same time. the chief cabinet secretary spoke during the meeting. he urged lawmakers to get the bill enacted as soon as possible. >> translator: the security environment surrounding japan is increasingly unstable. regular forums involving the prime minister discussing the security issues are vital. this will allow the prime minister to take strong leadership in the field of national security. >> suga said the head of the national security office would be in charge of the administrative affairs. the national security council would a

. >>> japan's powerful business federation gives high marks to prime minister shinzo abe's economic policies, but says there's still more work to do to stimulate economic growth. the officials say in their report the ruling coalition has put in places policies the federation haseen calling for. these include an easier monetary policy, a higher consumption tax, and entry into tpp trade negotiations. but they say the government still has problems to address. they want the corporate tax rate in japan lowered to the internional average of about 25%. the rate is currently above 30%. officials say drastic reforms and regulation and administrative systems are needed. they also called for an early restart of the country's nuclear power plants. and they want the government to present specific plans for securing cheap and stable energy supplies. >>> construction has bun on vietnam's second oil refinery. oil and chemical firms are joining the venture to provide fuel to the fast-growing economy. over 1,000 people including vietnamese prime minister attended the groundbreaking ceremony on wednesday. >> t

. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe decided to raise the consumption tax from the current 5% to 8% starting next april. but he doesn't want it to dampen economic growth. he wants businesses to hire more people and boost wages. >> translator: we will carry out bold stimulus measures to seize the opportunity for further economic recovery. we are committed to balancing economic revitalization and fiscal reform. >> government officials will create an economic stimulus package ahead of the text hike. it includes a supplementary budget. worth about $50 billion. it offers $10 billion in corporate tax breaks. a special levy imposed to help recovery in disaster-hit regions could be scrapped one year early. the officials hope to encourage businessowners to pay their workers more and bump up capital investment. but opposition lawmakers say they are against the move unless it guarantees higher wages. the finance ministry will bring in specialists to discuss ways to secure long-term market trust for japanese government bonds. the national debt exceeds $10 trillion. >>> we asked economists an

japanese prime minister shinzo abe urged other participants to reach an agreement by the end of the year. the leaders' statement says much progress has been made over the last few months. it also points out regulations on government procurement and investments have been eased. but tpp members wanted to reach a basic agreement by this time, which shows negotiations have been tough. participants will continue to hold working-level talks. ministerial level discussions are scheduled for september. we're told how realistic the leaders can keep the deadline. >> right now, it's unlikely they will sign a tpp pact on time. those from the u.s. and emerging economies are having trouble narrowing their differences. they are stuck on the issues, such as copyright and patent protection, along with fair competition between private sector and state-owned businesses. some officials say negotiations over the elimination of terrorists on farms and other products will likely continue into next year. >> how did the absence of u.s. president barack obama affect the talks? >> the president obama's decision to

. >>> prime minister shinzo abe says the security situation around japan is becoming increasingly severe. he says he wants to build a legal structure that will suit the difficult security environment. [ trumpets sounding ] abe spoke to about 4,000 self-defense force personnel at an annual review at a garrison in osaka, north of tokyo. >> translator: you may think it's enough for you to just participate in training. or you may think defense capability itself works as a deterrent, but as s.d.f. members, you have to completely get rid of those old-fashioned ideas. >> he said japan needs to constantly pursue the best possible security policies, and he said the control tower will be the national security council that he plans to set up. abe added that he would like to see a public debate on whether japan can exercise its right to collective self-defense and participate in collective u.n. security operations. >>> japanese and chinese experts are trying to mend bilateral ties. they've called on their governments to set up a crisis management mechanism to prevent accidental clashes over a territ

at 6:00 this evening drums signaled the entry of participants including japanese prime minister shinzo abe, the chief priest in traditional attire and a member of the imperial family. the procession then made its way toward the old sanctuary. ♪ ♪ >> at 8:00 p.m. after nightfall priests carried the symbol of the deity behind a surrounding white silk screen from the old sanctuary to the new one. at the very same time in the imperial palace in tokyo, the emperor considered a descendant of the deity played his part in the ritual. mr. sven voss is an architect. he has taken part in the last two rituals as a special worshipper. voss conducts research into the shrine. >> it's very important because i think this is the only place in the world where we have an event like this, where we have a tradition like this. of course, in other parts of the world buildings have been reconstructed, but usually it's one off and it's not on a regular basis where every 20 years the buildings are re-created and where there is a chance to keep asian traditions in terms of the carpentry and the craftsmanship to keep

shinzo abe wants to rein in japan's mountain of debt. he's announcing later in the day he'll race the consumption tax to 8% from 5% starting next april, pairing the move with a newtimulus package to ease the impact on his main economic priority. that, of course, is growth. abe has spent months weighing the costs and benefits of the sales tax increase which was set in motion by the previous administration. he decided to go ahead with it, but he'll soften the blow with a $50 billion supplementary budget. some of that money will go directly to low-income earners. they'll receive $100 to $150 each in cash. the government will also commit a large chunk of money toward repairs on old tunnels and bridges and will invest in better transportation infrastructure for the 2020 olympics in tokyo. lawmakers with the ruling liberal democratic party and coalition partner nu kometo have agreed to consider another proposal. they want to scrap a corporate tax designed to raise money for the reconstruction effort in the northeast. the levee was scheduled to

prime minister shinzo abe will attend the opening ceremony. >> translator: i like everything the japanese make. i'm sure this subway built with japanese support will be wonderful. >> city officials hope the tunnel will ease boat traffic. it will provide something else for railway travelers. they'll now be able to go by rail from china all the way to britain. >>> now, the friendship between turks and japanese goes back to more than the founding of modern turkey. turkey's ambassador to japan describes relations between the two countries as excellent. >> his excellency, prime minister abe, is visiting turkey now. actually this is his second visit to turkey after six months. in may, he also visited turkey. and during that visit, the strategic partnership was signed by the two prime ministers. that is aimed at increasing the excellent level of relations between the two countries. and the granting of exclusive fwoe fwoe negotiations rights for the nuclear power plant that's going to be constructed in turkey through japan. and the signing of the economic partnership agreement between turkey and

. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet has approved a bill protecting information designated as state secrets. cabinet ministers endorsed the bill at a meeting on friday. officials say the legislation is necessary to allow japan to share intelligence with other countries. the government is also preparing to launch a national security council to oversee foreign and security policies. the bill will enable heads of government offices, such as ministers, to designate information to national security as state secrets. the information would only be handled by ministers, vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries and approved public servants. public officials who leak such information could face a maximum prison sentence of ten years. the bill addresses the need to support freedom of the press, which is considered key to the public's right to know. journalists would not be penalized for their activities unless they violated the law or used methods deemed extremely improper. the bill also requires cabinet approval if the government wants to keep the information secret for more than 30

shinzo abe announced hiel raise the consumption tax from 8% to 5. he's

leak of the latest toxic leak at the crippled fukushima nuclear plant country's prime minister shinzo abe visited a nearby port and eight locally caught fish in a bid to reassure the public according to the facilities operator a storage tank spilled a highly contaminated water into a well sounding the alarm that it may have already leaked into the ocean artie's arena reports that fukushima troubles aren't proving so easy to contain doing a half years of painful truth japan needs help. we are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge from overseas to contain the problem my country needs are knowledge and expertise the past few months have been marked by growing problems at fukushima several workers have been exposed to radiation the levels of which are reportedly at their highest since the accident in two thousand and eleven and on top of that there is the issue of leakage this is the reactor inside it is the reactor core the actual nuclear part of the plant this is water which is used to call the nuclear course or doesn't burst in flames that water obviously has to go somewhere so

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now, this is very good news for the prime minister, shinzo abe, who is set to announce his decision later on today on whether or not to hike the sales tax in japan. the seoul kospi ended up about 0.1 off good manufacturing data, but experts did drop 1 1/2% from a year ago in the month of september. the main aussie benchmark ended down by almost a quarter of 1%. the rba, the reserve bank of australia, left its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 2 1/2%. and in mumbai, the sensex is up 1 half a percent. it seemed to shrug off the political issue on capitol hill there. we did have light trading here in the asia-pacific region because shanghai and hong kong are closed for a public holiday. >> they got to get a little break to absorb this a little more before they figure out how to react. pauline for us in hong kong, thanks, pauline. >>> let's take a look at how markets in europe are reacting to the shutdown. let's go to nina now for that. hi, nina. >> good morning, natalie. well, they've only had six minutes and 17 seconds to react to what is going on in the united states. the news of

. >>> and prime minister shinzo abe is looking to win the confidence of asian pacific business leadershis abe no, ma'am mick flat form. he wants the key correspondent. hi. >> reporter: hi, ross. yes. on the sidelines japan's prime minister is reassuring business leaders that it will not put a dent in the nation's economic recovery. >> translator: economic revival and physical reconstruction, restoring fiscal health, i believe they are compatible. this is my conclusion. restoring fiscal health and retaining order in the nation is important. >> abe says the government will introduce a $50 billion stimulus process. it will pursue deregulation, frming and the medical industry. he said the japanese economy has been stuck but now it's moved on to a direct path to recover. the government will continue to seek further growth. that's the nikkei business report. >> that's the latest from tokyo. amidst the debt selling talks. the pent at that gone has arded nearly all 350 workers back to work. chuck hagel made his decision based on our pay military act which guarantees they would get their payche

this is all part of shinzo abe's economic reform with a keeb eye on the partnership trade program currentlynder negotiation. right now, the pays an annual 15,000 yen that farmers agree not to pay rice on. the nikkei is reporting this number is expected to be cut by around 30% in 2014. actually, there are voices that the subsidy itself should be scrapped. but while the agricultural ministry and lawmakers who have a large support base of farmers remain cautious, it's not clear that this will come to an agreement. discussions are due to kick off tomorrow. that's all from nikkei business report. back over to you, louisa. >> thank you very much. we'll see you very soon again. >>> now, we've been asking today, if you were inventing an ice cream flavor to celebrate the cnbc team, the anchormen and the anchor women coming in conjunction with anchorman 2, now due to hit the movie screens, we're asking which ice cream flavors would be best? jeff j treats ice cream for mandy, in the states, mandy drury has to include gold flakes like gold schlager europe. joe kernen stateside moose track sess a flavor

but the yen has been under pressure, too, because of shinzo abe deciding to go ahead with some of the tax increases in japan. you can see right now that the euro is at 1.354. gold price res slightly higher, but there was a big drop off yesterday for gold prices. this morning, up by about $7 to $1,334 an ounce. >>> the government shutdown has both the leaders of the house and the senate pointsing fingers. >> the house has made its position known very clearly. we believe we should fund the government and we think there ought to be basic fairness for all americans under oh bam in care. the senate has continued to reject our offers. but under the constitution, there's a way to resolve this process and that is to go to conference and talk through your differences. and i would hope that the senate would accept our offering to go to conference and discuss this so that we can resolve this for the american people. >> we like to resolve issues, but we will not go to korns with a gun to our head. the house has to pass a clean bill, they've had that before and they can do it right now. if they do

prime minister shinzo abe has splaped his decision to raise the consumption tax next year. >>> u.s. has failed to reach an agreement on a budget bill, triggering a shutdown of the federal government. >>> and scientists from japan and the u.s. are trying to

. >>> prime minister shinzo abe says he stands by leaders who have come before him regarding the view on japan's past colonial rule and aggression. >>> and a dog that's been

shinzo abe made the pledge visiting a fishing port in fukushima prefecture. abe was in soma city where a fishery official explained the experimental fishing that resumed on september 25th. fishing was suspended in waters off the damaged nuclear plant after radioactive wastewater leaks were discovered. abe sampled some of the fresh catch.