. >>> bank of japan governor masaaki shirakawa is stepping down sooner than anticipated. he visited the prime minister and later told reporters he informed the prime minister of his decision to resign march 19th. the boj's chief term is scheduled to end april 8th. shirakawa will resign with two governors. >> translator: i conveyed my intention to resign to the prime minister. i told him i want to step down early because the two boj deputy governors are leaving office on march 19th. our simultaneous resignations will open the way for the central bank to start with a clean slate on the same day. >> shirakawa became governor in 2008. he's been working to defeat deflation with a string of monetary easing measures. in response to abe's demand, the boj issued a joint statement with the government last month, setting an inflation target of 2%. the yen's decline is proving to be a boom for toyota maker. they will post the first operating profit in five years due to the currency's weakness. they revised upward. they say they're expecting a profit of about $1.6 billion, that's quit

shirakawa will step down on february 19th. he said the governor should be modest enough to heed different opinions and have a global perspective. here are the market figures. >> oscar pistorius, the olympic athlete is charged with murder after his girlfriend died in his home. investigators say the 30-year-old was found dead early thursday after being shot in the head and arm. police arrested a 26-year-old man. they did not identify the -- democratic reforms created a more open attitude and now an effort has begun to search for the remains of japanese soldiers, many of whom died during a fierce battle with british forces. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the former japanese army invaded india in 1944. 137,000 japanese soldiers died in myanmar during world war ii. the remains of more than 45,000 of them have yet to be retrieved. finding the remains have been complicated. myanmar was under isolated from the rest of the world under military rule. conflict between the government and ethnic minorities kept a large areas --. but the

bank of japan masaaki shirakawa is stepping down earlier than expected and he told reporters he informed the prime minister of his decision to resign. his term was scheduled to end on september 8th. he will be resigning with two deputy governors. >> translator: i conveyed my intention to resign to the prime minister. i told him, i want to step down early because the two boj deputy governors are leaving office on march 19th. our simultaneous resignations will open the way for the central bank to start with a clean slate on the same day. >> shirakawa became governor in 2008. he's been working to beat deflation with a string of monetary easing measures. in response to abe's demand, the boj issued a joint statement with the government last month, setting an inflation target of 2%. now, the news of the boj governors' resignation has prompted investors to sell the yen. the markets are betting a new governor will take more easing measures that would accelerate the yen's decline. in fact, we're seeing quite a jump right now for the dollar. 0.6%, in fact, in london trading. right now at 92.95. th

taro aso and masaaki shirakawa will attend the meeting on friday. it will be the first conference to discuss the global economy since abe was elected late last year. many have appreciated the government's bold energy policy and the spending it's carrying out in order to revive the japanese economy. but german chancellor has expressed concern over a currency manipulation, specifically mentioning japan. >>> japanese business leaders are scanning the map of asia in search of new opportunities. the phillipines is attracting their attention. the country has one of the highest growth rates in southeast asia, and its labor costs remain low compared to china. but another key factor is pushing businesses to set up shop there. nhk world's kathleen kosha reports. >> reporter: the people in the phillipines used to enjoy robust growth. the rise in middle class is boosting consumption. this day has attracted some of the world's best known brands. they opened their own store last year in manila. >> translator: we're hoping to operate about 50 stores in the phillip

masaaki shirakawa, the current governor, will step down next month. abe has repeatedly said that the next chief must be someone who shares his ideas on monetary policy. but it's not as simple as that. the appointment of the governor requires the approval of both houses of the diet. and the ruling liberal democratic party and its coalition partner new komeito. he'll have to decide whether japan should take parts on the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. he said he will decide before the elections this summer for the upper house. politicians are divided. it's not just the opposition, but his colleagues within his party do not like the idea either. remember, abe has sat at this desk in his office before and he knows how quickly things can change for a prime minister. >>> the group of seven finance ministers and central bank governors has issued a statement that they are committed to market return exchange rates and stress they will continue to consult closely on foreign exchange markets. japan's finance minister taro aso made the statement av

shirakawa will step down next month. and abe is considering haruhiko kuroda as successor. he developed connections around the world while serving as vice finance minister from 1999 to 2003. he moved to the adb two years later and is serving third term as president. he is a strong supporter of more monetary easing. abe has said the next governor should be willing to pump more money into the economy and be able to negotiate with leaders of other central banks. many traders welcome monetary easing. it weakens the home currency. ai, good morning. >> good morning, catherine. it also weakens the home currency and lengthens stock prices and that's usually good news. that's why market participants are so keen to find out who the next boj governor will be, and as catherine said, it looks like it will be chief haruhiko kuroda. ramin is at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, how are the governors responding to the news so far? >> we've already seen a bit of reaction in the currency markets, so why don't we go to that first and then i'll bring you the opening levels for the nikkei and th

that's after governor masaki shirakawa steps down next month. and the euro is trading also higher against the yen. boosted by an improvement in germany's economic sentiment data. the euro against the yen at 125.82-87. >>> now, in other markets in the asia pacific, south korea's kospi is up by .9% above that 2,000 mark at the moment. let's see what's happening in australia. the benchmark index there is up by 1/3 of a percent at 5,100. >>> well, u.s. president barack obama is pressuring lawmakers to avoid automatic budget cuts that could take effect in ten days. >> if they can't get such a budget agreement done by next friday, the day these harmful cuts begin to take effect, then at minimum congress should pass a smaller package of spending cutsnd tax reforms that would prevent these harmful cuts. >> the cuts include defense spending. they were put off last december in debates over the so-called fiscal cliff. but congress remains divided. the democrats want to increase taxes on the wealthy, while republicans are against it. obama strongly criticiz

last time i was here was to introduce governor shirakawa several years ago who i think is a very good governor of one of the major central banks in the world, pressing him to put in more monetary stimulus which i think is necessary. but i, one of the points that was made right in this room several years ago by governor shirakawa, and i've been with him three times in the last two months, is, you know, monetary and fiscal stimulus aren't enough n. the case of japan, you need major deregulation. i think major structural reforms, deregulation in the service area. so, hopefully, that'll all flow into the package of the new prime minister. certainly, a tough job -- it's a tough job, but this is the world's third largest economy, and if we don't get japan moving with some of the other problems with europe, etc., i think the world's in for another couple of tough years. so, obviously, we wish him the best in that. but it's very important that this not just be fiscal and monetary stimulus, that you also take advantage of the structural reform effort. and i think japan faces, as you all know a

governor shirakawa will step down before the end of his term.ollar/yen now changing hands at 93.67 to 68. meanwhile, the euro against the yen is being quoted at 127.24-25. moving on to stocks now, the nikkei stock average has risen above 11,300 for the first time in 34 months. that's because the weaker yen is lifting expectations that exporters will show higher profits. the nikkei index is currently trading at 11,313. that's a gain of 2.4% from tuesday's close. and all of the topix 33 subindexes are higher, with exporters leading the advance. the topix at 961, up 2.3%. to other markets in the asia pacific. south korea's kospi up by a quarter of a percent. 1,942. in australia the benchmark index is trading higher by .9%. 4,925. tokyo clearly leading the advance. >>> the world's third largest personal computer maker dell is going private. its founder and a consortium of investors will buy out the u.s. company for $24.4 billion. ceo michael dell established the company in 1984. he said he will acquire the company with an investment fund and in part

lisa amin gulezian has more on supervisor georgeshire ca -- shirakawas financial problems. >> he is cued of missying a county-issued credit card. and it is suggested he frequented casinos and accumulated gambling related debts. he owed the irs $195,000 and failed to report campaign contributions and last month his fellow supervisors ordered he repay more than $29,000 in unauthorized charitable donations. >> the magnitude of the problem, the omissions. >> the disict attorney's office is investigating him aggressively and want to know more about, quote, questionable charges involving taxpayer dollars. >> this is extraordinary. isn't something that is happening with every elected official. >> a former official has known him for more than two decades. she is worried the needs of district 2 are not being met. >> the affairs of the district is apparently not being taken care of by the current incumbent. >> some who live in the district want him to step down. >> you want him to be your are so are supervisor? >> no. we need a new one. >> i'm a taxpayer and i don't care who you are, it could be m

lisa amin gulezian has more on supervisor georgeshire ca -- shirakawas financial problems. >> he is cued of missying a county-issued credit card. and it is suggested he frequented casinos and accumulated gambling related debts. he owed the irs $195,000 and failed to report campaign contributions and last month his fellow supervisors ordered he repay more than $29,000 in unauthorized charitable donations. >> the magnitude of the problem, the omissions. >> the disict attorney's office is investigating him aggressively and want to know more about, quote, questionable charges involving taxpayer dollars. >> this is extraordinary. isn't something that is happening with every elected official. >> a former official has known him for more than two decades. she is worried the needs of district 2 are not being met. >> the affairs of the district is apparently not being taken care of by the current incumbent. >> some who live in the district want him to step down. >> you want him to be your are so are supervisor? >> no. we need a new one. >> i'm a taxpayer and i don't care who you are, it could be m

shirakawa will leave room for mr.be to put in a person that will gradually weaken the yen and stimulate the economy and get it the into inflation of a 2% target. we like the japanese exporters. they don't want to get the other countries upset with them. >> right. >> and come after them for a better thy neighbor's policy. our view is the yen which is 93 now can go to 100. these stocks have another 25% plus in dollar terms, maria, ahead of them still. >> we'll leave it there. gentlemen, thank you very much. we want to get to breaking news. julia boorntsin is all over the cbs earnings. >> shares are falling after hours as earnings in revenue come in a bit lighter than expected. the company reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $3.7 billion. that's up 2% from the year ago quarter. wall street analysts had been expecting revenue of $3.78 billion. now, adjusted eps came in at 64 cents per share. wall street was looking for 68 cents per share. now, just digging into these numbers a little bit, the company did benefit. overall

shirakawa's replacement? do you feel feelings about others that you think would be preferential? >> as far as the appointment of the governor of the boj is concerned, this is something that our government will decide and after the person the nominated, that person should be confirmed. i'm in month position to say who i prefer or anything of that point. >> there's been a sharp and sustained movement in the boj. how much further can it go? >> there is the potential for this year for them to bring down 103 billion yuan and it's bigger because it's 1.3 trillion dollars equivalent. >> so you're saying the size of what japan is doing, even though japan is a third of its size? >> absolutely. so it could be impactful. and this time around, they want to get it right. they come from 20 years of policymakers in a way. there's a lot of frustration. so the electorate in the japanese economy is kind of frustrated to see there was no recovery in the economy vis-a-vis the united states that managed to have a bigger rebound. >> even though we've seen already a 20 plus percent move in the nikkei,