i'm gene otani in tokyo.

at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, how are stocks kicking off today? >> very good morning to you. indeed, we had a mixed session in the u.s. come to the opening levels here in just a second. the dow of course faltering a touch on weak manufacturing data which showed a contraction in august for the lowest level in three years. but then again, we had the nasdaq trading higher on hopes, as you said there, for gains for apple on pending new line of products next week. we'll look forward to that. let's have a look at the opening levels, of course, here for the nikkei and the topix this wednesday. 8,740, down .4%. for the nikkei, 723. topix down the same amount. the nikkei closed slightly lower yesterday on profit taking following another up and down day. volatility was seen in the likes of sharp which closed up 12.3% yesterday, having been down 18% in the two sessions before yesterday. so we'll definitely keep track of sharp today, for any further volatility. also, we'll be keeping track of apple-related commodity, a

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. surveyors from japan's capital have done is survey in the east china sea. china and taiwan also claim the territory. a team from the tokyo metropolitan government wanted to check them out in order no buy them but they never stepped on shore. ordered the survey. he wants a metropolitan government to buy three uninhabitated islands. so they inspected the area from their ships. some team members switched to smaller boats to study the waters and shore around the largest island. >> translator: we will use the data for the purchase and good use of the islands. >> he said they need to land to properly measure the island's size and to inspect the ecosystem. the governor says he'll join the team on a return trip next month. he's demanding the central government allow them to land. >>> a chinese government official protested against the survey. and chinese media joined in with their criticisms. the foreign ministry official launched a complaint with japanese embassy staff in beijing. both sides

the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. investors were waiting for some kind of signal. it seems like they got it. >> yeah, they did get it, yonggi. positive signals almost everywhere you looked. first the ecb announcement of unlimited bond purchases which you just covered in detail. and then, of course, data out of the u.s. jobs released data. we had the private sector adp numbers and also the weekly jobless claims which turned out to be pretty positive as well. let's see how all of that is translating into the markets here in tokyo. and pretty strong signals here as well. up over -- just over 2% for the nikkei. 8862 and the topix there up almost 2% at 732. so pretty positive start here. now after closing thursday nearly flat on the day, we could see up market sentiment for the nikkei and the topix and specifically on higher volume. especially after the lackluster sessions we've had so far this week waiting for all the news that we just got on thursday. and i can tell you, just by looking at the currencies th

the edo-tokyo vegetable plate is the hotel restaurant's tribute to historical tokyo cuisine. it's the first of its kind and offered for a limited time. what makes the dish so special? rare vegetables. one of them is even used for this confection. >> translator: i can't believe it's a vegetable. it looks like a great dessert. >> reporter: it looks like a stretched out pumpkin and smells like a honeydew melon, but it's actually a vegetable. it was popular during the edo period when sweets were hard to come by. >> translator: it has a nice, natural sweetness. >> reporter: the flavorful veggies were widely available at the time. residents grew them in the city. as tokyo got bigger and bigger, the farm lands disappeared. edo-tokyo vegetables began to fade from the scene. recently, agriculture officials rediscovered some seeds of edo period veggies. people began to grow and distribute them in small amounts. >> translator: i'm proud to offer a dish with such a rare vegetables. >> reporter: obtaining these won't be easy with a limited supply. the hotel plans to continue offering them

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people across china are raising banners and their voices against japan. the demonstrators have been protesting against the japanese government's purchase of the senkaku islands in the east china sea. messages online are calling for rallies in 58 cities on tuesday. they'll mark the anniversary of the incident in 1931 that led to japan's invasion of manchuria. around 200 people gathered monday in front of the japanese embassy in beijing. it was the seventh straight day of protests there. rallies took place in dozens of chinese cities over the weekend. some turned violent. police in beijing posted a statement online saying that destroying property is not patriotic. they called on protesters to observe law and order. police detained suspects accused of attacking a japanese-affiliated supermarket and destroying japanese vehicles. a spokesperson called on protesters to exercise restraint. but he stopped short of telling them to end their demonstrations. the japanese embassy is warning japan

nhk world, tokyo. >>> every three years a major arts festival is held. this year one of the events was staged in an area known for heavy snowfall. it was a dance with a difference. >> winter in niigata. the snow is deep. the plows have plenty to do. but in the heat of summer, it's unusual to see snowplows in action, least of all performing ballet. an american artist came up with the idea. she was inspired to create this ballet as she was fascinated by the unusual shapes of the snowplows. >> it's surreal. it's weird. and maybe shifting, shifting what you usually see and i want to say to them look at them. look how wonderful they are. >> 13 snow workers agreed to lend their operating skills to a performance of the tragic love story romeo and juliet. >> translator: as long as our teamwork is good, we can evoke feeling even using machines. i hope the audience feels the emotion underlying this work. >> in ballet the dancers have to be in harmony, but plow operators usually work solo. synchronizing the movement of their trucks doesn't come eas y easily. >> wil

officials have proposed a site north of tokyo. the proposal is the first of its kind and they've made to a preeffectural government in tochigi prefectures. they outlined the plan to the governor. the central government is responsible for disposing of radioactive wash and mud in nine prefectures. levels of cesium exceed the standard. tochigi prefecture is storing 900 tons of radioactive waste at sewer and other areas. the national forest in yaita city is large enough and far enough from residential areas for storge. the government wants to store radioactive waste in drums in underground concrete facility and dig wells to check whether radioactive materials are seeping into ground water. the government says the level of radioactivity in the air would not exceed 100th of one millisievert. the maximum annual amount not considered damaging to human health. >> translator: we need to courteously explain to the residents why the place was chosen. we'll do our best to get them to understand the facility will be safe. >> the proposal has ra

station. >> reporter: that number, 163 is the distance in kilometers from tokyo station. he uses this number to figure out the exact speed needed to arrive at the next stop on time. no computers for this calculati calculation. it's all done in his head. so far he's stopped at two stations and passed two others on time to the second. then. >> translator: departing 15 seconds late. it took time getting the passengers on and off. >> reporter: he accelerates. he wants to make up for the delay but he has to be careful. if he goes too fast, he'll trigger the automatic brake nudging the shifter. he keeps just inside the speed limit. time check. >> translator: passing three seconds late. >> reporter: he makes up the lost time over the next two stations. by the third station he got train and timetable synchronized again. >> translator: passing on time. >> reporter: with the exception of the two through stations he's kept precisely to the schedule all the way to tokyo. >> translator: i was getting worried. in the end i was able to keep my schedule. >> reporter: his two and a half h

temperatures are looking like this warminging up to 26 in tokyo. out towards the west, looking chillier in ulaanbaatar, only 8 degrees expected today. all right, moving into the americas, we have got hurricane miriam. miriam continues to weaken, now a category 1 hurricane. swells will be going across baja, california, peninsula, as well as parts of the west coast of mexico. and it's starting to produce intensifying showers across western mexico and parts of the baja, california, peninsula. good news, it is going to move over the waters the next several days. as for the rest of new york america, a couple of high-pressure systems are bringing dry conditions but in between that we have severe thunderstorms rumble egg from the texas panhandle up into indiana as well as kentucky. temperatures are quite seasonal to the north of the front, 21 degrees expected in chicago. moving into europe then, not much change since yesterday. wet and windy out toward the west and very quiet in the east. but things are looking quiet, clearing up across the northern half

. >>> and so how are tokyo markets kicking off? we go to the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. a bit of caution seems to be returning to the markets. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. some manufacturing data out of china and the eurozone put a drag on markets yesterday, and weekly jobless data out of the u.s. came in below market consensus. that's further dampened market sentiment. let's look at how markets are opening in tokyo this friday morning. both the nikkei and the topix higher. the nikkei up to 9,-111. the top yix up 0.2% at 755. the nikkei ended lower yesterday on the stronger yen against the dollar and you areeuro after th of japan announced military easing measures. the nikkei gave up gains from the policy announcement. now with the eurozone's manufacturing data for august coming in at a three-year low, we may see further declines in cyclical stock such as trade, oil, and shipping companies. and also with no major economic data released due today, the release of the iphone 5 may just give the market trading direction. we'll be keeping an eye on apple-related s

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. wherever you're watching us, have a great rest of the day. 6 are you totally unprepared? just about all of us have something hangen on our walls, pictures, paintings, art work clocks, all can come crashing down and create broken glass. inexpensive picture hook can secure pictures to the wall and help keep you and your family safe. for more information on earthquake preparedness, captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: at the united nations today, president obama condemned violence in the muslim world, and he told world leaders time is running out to resolve differences over iran's nuclear program. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we get reaction to the president's speech from margaret warner in new york. >> woodruff: and we assess the administration's foreign policy as mitt romney criticizes the president for the

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the vice president said the japanese need to stop undermining japanese sovereignty. his comments follow more than a week after the purchase of the senkakus islands. xi met in beijing with leon panetta. xi criticized the nationalization of the islands. he said the purchase was a farce. xi urged u.s. leaders not to intervene. the islands fall under the scope of the security treaty. the treaty should not apply to the territory. a senior u.s. defense official quotes panetta as saying u.s. officials won't take sides. panetta is urging diplomats to keep talking to resolve the issue diplomatically and peacefully. >>> japan's coast guard officials are keeping a close eye on government ships in waters off the senkakus islands. there's no sign of a chinese flotilla. they have spotted 16 chinese patrol ships around the area since tuesday. they are fishing monitoring ships and vessels. at least six of those ships have now left the area. two were cruising near japanese waters on thursday morni

tokyo, take a look at that. finally we're seeing the 20s so looks like we're going to be having a little bit of a taste of autumn to begin on friday but still in the 30s in the tropics. let's move over to the americas now and let me first take you to a video coming out from cape canaveral. fair weather led to a final takeoff of the space shuttle "endeavor" on wednesday. unlike its past launch from cape canaveral, it was strapped to a 747 specifically built to carry the shuttle. this is its first launch since 1992. "endeavo "endeavour" has had 25 missions and has spent 299 days in space with its final mission of 2011. now it is enright to wra where it d will spend its days in retirement at the california science center in los angeles. looks very heavy. let's move back and talk about weather. things were rough in the eastern sea boards and that's going to be clearing off in here. a low-pressure system will be affecting much of ontario with a few showers. however, in back of it, pretty breezy conditions will be pre

let's take a look at how moving tokyo stock this is wednesday morning. both the nikkei and the topix are higher, up 0.7% and t ix up 0.4 at 761. this morning we have japan airlines relisting on the tokyo stogz less than three years after going bankrupt. the opening price stood at 3,810 yen, against the initial public offering price of 3,790 or $48, so it is quite a bit open for that stock there. this is the second biggest public offering after facebook, so keeping track on how that stock moves today. also the nikkei was way down yesterday by declines in china shares on theapanese prosts and sentiment that you mentioned earlier. we'll be keeping tracks of auto construction, machinery makers and retailers are chinese operations and will put a drive on those shares today. apple shares will also be focus on the record high closing price you mentioned earlier, and if that will help the chances of the manufacturing. let's take a look at the strong sales of iphones >> we also have a keybanc of japan two-day policy meeting ding toy. what can we expect from that?

i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. israeli prime minister netanyahu is growing impatient with the international response to iran's nuclear development. he said sanctions and diplomacy have failed and he dismissed calls for israel to refrain from attacking iran. >> the world tells israel wait, there's still time. i say, wait for what? wait until when? >> netanyahu said if the international community refuses to give iran deadlines, it has no right to give israel orders. he's been asking the u.s. to set a deadline for military action, but u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says there's still time for diplomacy to work. netanyahu will head to the united states later this month but won't be meeting u.s. president barack obama. israeli media quoted a senior israeli official saying white house staff declined netanyahu's request for a meeting with obama. netanyahu wanted to discuss iran's nuclear program. he was expected to press obama to set deadlines. the first time netanyahu has visited the u.s. without meeting the pre

his destination is tokyo, a journey of 2 hour, 36 minutes. the automatic control system sets a maximum speed. depending on the spacing between trains. but the computer can't determine the optimum speed to stay on schedule. that is still in the hands of the driver. >> translator: on time. in order to be on schedule, i calculate the speed by subtracting the distance to the next station to the distance to tokyo station. >> reporter: that number, 163, is the distance in kilometers from tokyo station. usui uses this number to figure out the exact speed needed to arrive at the next stop on time. no computers for this calculation. it's all done in his head. so far, usui has stopped at two stations and passed two others, on time to the second. but then -- >> translator: nagoya station, departing 15 seconds late. >> reporter: it took time getting the passengers on and off. usui accelerates. he wants to make up for the delay, but he has to be careful. if he goes too fast, he'll trigger the automatic brakes. nudging the shifter, usui keeps just inside t

more we go to the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning, yuko. >>> with the holiday in the u.s. making more light trade and the lack of direction, taking china's big manufacturing data, you could see more stimulus measures in the world's second largest economy. let's see how things are moving in tokyo this tuesday morning. as can you see, both the nikkei and topix are down. the nikkei ended near one-month low yesterday, a strong yen wait on exports especially if electronics makers. in the european markets, mining companies led gains on hopes that stimulus measures could be taken in china which is the world's largest consumer of metals. we will see if it spills over into metal and mining companies later kd today. they could just miss 7.5% growth this year which would be the first miss since outgoing premier took office in 2003. yuko? >> investors are keenly watching out for european banking on wednesday. how are measures in the eurozone? >> not surprisingly, we did see weak date why out yesterday in the region.

how are tokyo stocks kicking off this tuesday, september 11th? >> we did see the dow jones give back some of its earlier gains losing around 30 points into the close and the nasdaq was weighed down by intel and that suffered an investment downgrade and intel was down 3.8%. let's have a look at the opening levels for this tuesday here in tokyo. both indexes opening lower 8,800 exactly right now for the nikkei and 731 for the topix. with the central bank policy meeting pending this week investors sca investo investors squared some of their positions with profit taking. a lot of market direction in here in japan will depend on the federal reserve and what measures it will take is week and how it may affect the dollar which is why investors are a little sidelined on that key meeting. on the flip side we did see china related tariffs higher yesterday. that follows a plan by china to boost its infrastructure and manufacturing sectors with a new five-year growth plan. japan airlines also in focus it set its share price at 3,790 yen around $48 which mean

delegates voted him in at a leadership convention in tokyo. nhk world's mayuko ambe reports. >> reporter: delegates here have given prime minister noda another mandate. the voting results show that he won with an overwhelming majority over three other contenders. they campaigned against the prime minister for nearly two weeks. they attacked noda's policies including measures to help low-income households following the tax hike, steps toward joining the free trade agreement in the pacific region, and his new energy policy. most of all, they criticized the way noda managed the party. they blamed him for the departure of a number of party members. but in the end, the challengers failed to gain enough support. other possible contenders may have proven more popular, but they decided not to run. they may have considered it unwise to become the head of a party that may well lose in the next general election. mayuko ambe, nhl world, tokyo. >>> the noda administration faces complex challenges. they include territorial disputes with china and south kore

i am yuko aotani in tokyo. thank you very much for watching.

i'm gene otani in tokyo. \s 0

in the past two months, tokyo has only seen 32% of that. so some locations are actually wanting those rain to fall. however, yet again, these isolated thunderstorms only come to pop up in the confined areas. so we may actually not get the rain where we want it. heavy rain, however, will be found here in central china. wuhan especially, you may see 250 millimeters in the next 24 hours. generally speaking, these series of low pressure systems will be moving towards the east and bringing about 100 to 150 millimeters of rainfall accumulation. tokyo looking at 31 degrees. yet again, another hot day for us. and lots of 30s in the tropics. ulaanbaatar, though, just 19 degrees for the high on your saturday. moving over to the american continent, let me show you where the hurricane leslie is moving towards. yes, it is moving towards bermuda, but it looks like it will be just skimming the edge of the eastern coast of this island. looks like it will be intensifying into a category 2 status before it will be reaching toward the canadian maritimes. next

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. iran's president often challenges and chastises western nations in defense of his country's nuclear program. but ahmadinejad's critics argue he's trying to build a bomb by allowing scientists to enrich uranium. but he says he's willing to put a stop to the practice provided other countries fill in the gap. >> reporter: ahmadinejad spoke to nhk in new york where he's scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the u.n. general assembly. he sought to dispel international concern over the possible closure of the strait of hormuz. the main shipping route for middle east oil. >> translator: iran has been maintaining the stability of the strait. we will never pose a threat in its waters. >> reporter: western nations have been demanding iran halt its nuclear project. iran had responded by warning it might close in the persian gulf. about 90% of japan's crude oil imports comes through the narrow channel. iran held a large rally last week. in a speech, ahmadinejad said iran would press ahead wit

not many, and i hope that by tokyo we are there. and the second threshold is an 85% majority. that's a very high threshold. we are doing everything we can to be as clear as possible to the finishing line, and if not in tokyo and shortly after that, and have good hopes that that would be the case. what will that produce? when the whole set of 2010 reform is completed, and promises of membership delivered upon? that will mean that it will increase the quota share of dynamic emerging and developing countries by a further 6%, making it a total of 9% shift since 2006. it will mean that all the pretty countries will be part of my top 10 members in -- bric countries. it will create and all elected board. so as i said, think we're getting close, and i certainly will spare no effort to make sure that the membership delivers on its promises. now, that's the collective part that we have embarked on. multiple promises made by multiple players, multiple layers of intervention, a complicated game. probably more sophisticated and we were used to, and certainly one that we tried to adopt to c

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. >> "california's golden coast" is underwritten by the david and lucile packard foundation who also support the good works done by the following organization. ♪ cool, clear water ♪ clean, ocean water ♪ cool, clean water ♪ clean, ocean water >> well, it wa

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: thousands of protesters clashed with police in athens today as an anti-austerity strike turned violent. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we get the latest on the unrest boiling over in greece and also in spain as europe tries to come to grips with its debt crisis. >> ifill: then, two takeon

i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. >>> nthose who criticized japan go silent. china and taiwan also claim the territory in the east chinese sea. but there have been no reports of demonstrations during the day. and japanese resident are returning to their routines. protestors targeted the japanese embassy in beijing for eight days. the chinese government called on people to use restraint. and the site has been quiet two days. students at the japanese school in beijing went back to class on thursday. many of them live near the embassy. the school was closed for three days to ensure their safety. >> translator: some chinese people are too excited. we know many people who have common sense and take a global view. they see the dispute calmly. but no one hears their voices. >> all ten japanese schools across china have reopened. >>> japanese coast guard crews are tracking chinese government ships around the islands and warning them not to approach japanese waters. coast guard officers have spotted 16 chinese patrol ships in the area since tuesday. six of the ships ha

tokyo a high of 27 for wednesday. u lan ba tour into the single digits for your high, only seeing 8 by wednesday evening, but overnight hours it will be freezing, only expecting minus 4 in mongolia. definitely starting to see those autumn and winter-like temperatures popping up for you. now over towards the america, continuing to watch a low-pressure area move through the rockies. this is going to be bringing some white stuff here as well, upwards of about 5 to 15 centimeters of snow could be seen in some higher elevations. as we continue to follow this frontal area off to the east, also seeing rough weather across the ohio river valley. going to be seeing large hail, upwards of 100 kilometer-per-hour winds could be apooring with this and wet weather. so any travel plans, you want to watch that closely. south of that front, things are warm. oklahoma city and houston into the 30s, while winnipeg only seeing a high of 13 here on your tuesday. now over towards europe, also watching some rough weather across the british i

. >>> experts from outside will be looking outside tokyo electric power company, the operator of the fukushima nuclear sight. the u.s. regulatory commission will take part so will a member of the diet party. tell us, what will these experts be doing? >> any executor or manager will tell you how difficult it is to change corporate culture, but that's exactly what these people are taking on. the focus on the management's overconfidence in prevents nuclear accidents and their unwillingness to accept criticism. the experts were chosen because they were not influenced by a japanese nuclear industry. >> what more can you tell us about the former chairman of the u.s. regulatory commission. what does he bring to the table? >> his name is dale klein and he has a track record in promoting safety. terrorists could target reactors which could lead to a station blackout and ultimately a meltdown. few people have considered the scenario in japan. to kline is in a position to help tepco take nuclear safety to the next level. >> tepco managers took all of their plants offline after the accident. but

even the tokyo area has been dealing with strong winds. it's going to move toward the northeast pulling away from japan. out west strong will be brings in ongoing thunderstorms in parts of the north eastern china as well as the korean peninsula. nice and dry conditions in tokyo. some showers are possible in the morning hours. moving into europe we have strong low pressure system moving in to the northern british isles bringing blustery winds. out east slow moving has been dumping drenching rain. temperatures are looking quite moderate out towards the west. 16 degrees expected in london. 18 in paris. out toward the east still on the warmer side. 20 degrees in moscow. 25 in kip and down towards the south excessive heat. 33 degrees expected in athens on your friday. here is the extended forecast. >>> our lead story this hour, a senior chinese communist party leader has played host to some elder statesmen from japan. politicians from both countries are taking tns criticizing each other over a dispute in the east china sea. he's a member of the