the media, thanks to our supreme leader, kim jong-un. >> he says there say key difference regarding this launch. ballistic missiles use solid fuel but he says space officials are using liquid fuel. he also says the top of the rocket is smaller than one that would carry a warhead. he added north korean authorities will open the launch center to foreign journalists on wednesday. the north previously invited journalists to the launch site on sunday to view what it claims is the satellite. north korean officials say the craft weighs 100 kilograms and will be carried atop the rocket. it's covered with solar panels and equipped with antennas and cameras. to help us learn more, we are now joined in the studio by susumi oshitomi, he was formerly in charge of satellite development at the japan aerospace exploration agency, otherwise known as jaxa. we'll be speaking in japanese but will provide simultaneous translation. thank you for joining us today. first, how do you evaluate what the north korea calls a satellite? >> translator: well, i believe that it has the minimum requirement of a satellite, the solar panel and also antenna to communicate with the ground. so the minimum requirement seems to be fulfilled. however, compared with daiichi, the earth observation satellite, daiichi that they have been operating, the level is low. in terms of functionalities, it is not enough. so therefore this is really a primitive level satellite. that's my first impression. >> translator: you said primitive. but north korea maintains that this satellite will be used for weather forecasts, resource explorations and investigation of natural disasters. but is this feasible, to meet this objective? >> translator: in order to meet such objective, the satellite itself has to have high functionality. for example, in order to see and catch images of the surface of the earth, you need it to maintain the correct position or altitude of the satellite. however when i take a look at this video, this sensor to see their own position is not enough. it seems that there are magnetic sensor at the top but there's now indication of other necessary sensors and also the gas jet thrusters, which sort of adjust its position in orbit, is not equipped at the corner of the satellite. unless otherwise there is -- you cannot control. so, therefore -- so i don't think -- well, compared with daiichi, i don't think it can fulfill the objectives of being a satellite. i think it is too crude to be a satellite. >> translator: so you say it is crude in terms of functions. then what can the satellite do? could this actually be not a satellite, actual satellite, but just a camouflage? >> translator: they are saying this is to observe the earth. however, they are loading something like a digital camera. if that is so and if they take one shot of the photograph, they may say that they succeeded. however, this will be far from consecutive images that daiichi has been spending. it will not be a contribution that could be comparable to daiichi. it can only say that it took one photograph. so it will not be something that can be used as data for weather forecast and earth observation. >> former jaxa official. analysts believe the launch is aimed at enhancing the authority of north korea's young leader kim jong-un. the country is taking steps to complete the transfer of power from his late father, kim jong-il. younger kim is expected to be appointed to top general secretary on wednesday. ♪ representatives from across the country are arriving in pyongyang to attend the meeting. it will be the first party conference since september 2010. the official rodong sinmun newspaper said last week kim will be appointed to the top post of general secretary. the supreme people's assembly will be convened on friday. kim jong-un is likely to assume as chairman of the national defense commission at that time. he previously assumed the role of supreme commander of the armed forces late last year. this week's appointments mean that kim will occupy the top positions in the ruling party, the state, and the military. human rights activists in syria say attacks by government forces are continuing despite a u.n. brokered deadline for withdrawal set for tuesday. the government of president bashar al assad told the u.n. it would start withdrawing troops from urban areas and stop the use of heavy weapons by april 10th. activists in the central city of homs told nhk that tanks are still present there and elsewhere. >> the activist said government forces are attacking residential areas where anti-government rebels are not believed to be present. syrian foreign minister walid al moualem who is visiting russia told reporters that the government is pulling troops out in stages. but assad's administration recently said it would not withdraw its troops until the rebels agree in writing to stop committing acts of violence. anti-government free syrian army says it will continue fighting until the government stops its attacks. japan's central bank will maintain its monetary easing measures to monitor its effects. it says the nation's economic activity has shown some signs of picking up. the decision was made at a two-day policy meeting that ended on tuesday. the bank of japan said domestic demand is growing, due to rebuilding efforts in quake-hit areas. government subsidies for buyers of eco-friendly cars also gave a a boost. the bank noted that the japanese economy has stayed more or less unchanged due to the strong yen and an economic slowdown overseas. looking ahead, the bank says japan's economy will likely show a modest recovery. it cited europe's debt problems and high oil prices as risk factors. based on these assessments, the bank will continue with its credit-easing measures. they include an assessment purchase program worth nearly $800 billion. the bank also decided to offer $12 billion in loans for up to four years to financial institutions. that's part of a new framework to support japanese firms that make inroads overseas. at a news conference that followed the meeting, bank of japan governor shirakawa said pulling the economy out of deflation is important to achieve stable economic growth. >> translator: we will take appropriate policy measures such as support for financial institutions, to strengthen the foundation for economic growth. japan's sony announced it will post its worst business results in history. the company will log its fourth consecutive loss in fiscal 2011. the electronicsmaker expects a record net loss of about $6.4 billion for the year that ended in march. that's far bigger than a loss of $2.7 billion it predicted in february. this is due to the poor performance of its u.s. subsidiaries. they include distributors of tvs and other digital devices as well as game machines and software products. it was reported on monday that the company plans to shed about 10,000 jobs worldwide this year. new car sales in india have been slowing down due in part to rising fuel prices. the society of indian automobile manufacturers said domestic car sales during one year through march totaled a little more than 2.6 million units. that's up about 5% from the previous fiscal year when the pace of increase was much faster at 29%. the decline is also traced to rising interest rates. india's central bank has been tightening its grip on credit since 2010 to fight inflation. china's exports posted a single digit increase in march, a slowdown due to the impact of europe's debt crisis. chinese customs authorities said on tuesday that last month's exports rose 8.9% from a year earlier. exports showed a double-digit gain almost every month last year fueling the country's economic growth. march imports grew only 5.3%. this is a source of concern for china's export outlook because the country imports raw materials, turns them into finished products and ships them overseas. last month premier wen jiabao told the congress it would set its growth target for trade volume at about 10% this year, however the pace of growth stood at 7.3% in the first quarter. social networking giant facebook is making a bid to enhance its services and boost its user base. the company has announced it will buy instagram, a popular mobile photo showing service for $1 billion. facebook made the announcement on monday. the deal is the company's largest ever acquisition. ceo mark zuckerberg said it is an important milestone because it's first time facebook has acquired a company with so many users. the san francisco-based instagram was founded in 2010. it has 30 million users who share photographs using smartphones and other mobile devices. instagram offers editing features including filters that can make images look like vintage photos. here are the latest market figures. china's animation industry is growing at break neck speed. until now, foreign anime from japan, the u.s. and else where has dominated china but chinese anime creators have now entered the competition and foreign companies are taking notice. nhk world's bhuta okatani reports from shanghai. >> reporter: the anime opened nationwide in january as one of the new year holiday movies. the production first appeared in 2005 as a television series. four years later, the first movie version was released. every year since, a new movie is showing in theaters. this year's film broke all box office records for anime films in china. sales amounted to about $27 million. >> translator: i watch it on tv. i love it. >> reporter: the story is about a sheep and his friends. in every story, they try to escape from a wolf. tiny children love the simple plot and funny stories. >> translator: we're hoping to get more exposure for our anime production overseas. >> reporter: despite the growing popularity, the anime from japan and the u.s. seem to dominate. in response, the government decided to make animation the leading industry by investing in chinese productions. in 2006, the government also limited foreign programs to 30% of the content aired in china. it also barred overseas production from primetime hours. more than 50 production centers across the country sprouted up, but only a few of the shows ever make it to the screen. last year, only 20% of the shows produced in china were televised. children don't care for many of the anime made in china. the kids think there is much focus on discipline and morals and not enough on fun. the main factor behind the unusual success of xi yang yang are the plots. huang weijian had a big hand in creating the hit, he lives in southeastern china. he grew up watching japanese anime and reading manga comics that came from neighboring hong kong. he says he wasn't a good student and even skipped classes to play computer games. he believes that the important thing when producing animations is to look at the world through children's eyes. >> translator: i still have the heart of a young boy. the first thing is, i need to have fun. and if i do, then other kids will, too. >> reporter: a shanghai-based production company markets the anime. that's another reason it has become such a favorite. it was this company that first spotted xi yang yang on a local broadcast. it liked the program so much, it decided to invest a lot of money into producing a movie version. it also caught the attention of walt disney pictures in the united states. the company distributed the show in more than 50 countries. >> translator: the success of xi yang yang has given china's animation industry confidence. >> reporter: in the meantime, huang and his team are going all out to produce their next hit. china hopes to energize the animation industry to boost, but to succeed the government will have to support artists like huang, who may not conform to their conservative standards. nhk world, shanghai. on wednesday, south korea will hold parliamentary elections. one of the key campaign issues this time is the growing gap between the major corporations and smaller companies. the disparity is especially acute when it comes to hiring new employees. nhk world's anna jung reports. >> reporter: hyundai automaker is the fifth largest in the world. electronics giant samsung reported record sales last year of over $130 billion. on its own it accounted for 15% of south korea's gdp. when large companies hold job fairs they're always packed with applicants. many of the people hired by these corporations speak good english, almost as well as their own language, scoring over 90% in international proficiency tests. in south korea, the top corporations comprise just 0.1% of all companies, but they earn more than half of all corporate profit. that's why they attract the most talented people. >> translator: everyone wants to work at a large corporation. they pay performance related bonuses. >> at the same time the south korean government has been signing free trade agreements. this national policy has helped to boost the bottom lines of the major corporations. they boost the economy by stimulating exports. the beneficiaries are the large corporations. but it's a very different story for smaller companies. in the suburbs of seoul, small business owners gather outside an employment center in the early morning. they've come here to hire foreign workers. twice a year job fairs are held around the country for companies hoping to hire foreign workers. the workers are allocated on a first come, first serve basis, so many company owners line up overnight. but no matter how long they wait, there are rarely enough workers available. >> translator: we wanted five people, but we were told we could only hire three. we need workers but there aren't any. >> reporter: kim yung ho owns a wood processing factory on the outskirts of seoul. his company has been struggling in the face of fierce domestic competition. >> translator: large corporations and small businesses should grow in tandem. it seems only large businesses are operating at a profit. small companies like ours can't attract workers. >> reporter: at his factory, filipino employees do the most important part of wood processing. until five years ago he had no foreigners make up a quarter of his entire staff. under the current law workers from outside south korea can only stay at a company for four years and ten months. at kim's factory, all the foreign workers will have to return home this autumn. >> translator: i've trained them but soon they'll be heading home. it's a big loss for my company. i don't want to run a factory anymore. >> reporter: there is a growing risk of depolarization in south korean society. >> translator: when governments favor large corporations over small, it creates disparity. this will lead to social problems. we need large and small businesses to flourish together. >> reporter: for the major corporations, exports and profits are up, and they can hire top talent. for smaller companies, business is becoming a struggle and there aren't enough foreign workers. it's a problem that is unlikely to be resolved in the short term. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. people here in tokyo enjoyed another sunny day and plenty of cherry blossoms to enjoy. robert speta joins us for the weather -- from the weather desk to tell us how long this good weather is going to last. robert? >> yes, gene, actually today was another great day to get out there and enjoy the cherry blossoms as high pressure dominated much of japan here. look at all this cloud cover working its way through the korean peninsula and off towards japan. this is due to two areas of low pressure, actually, one here across northeastern china, and another one centered in the yellow sea. as this works its way toward the east, these two are likely to combine, bringing some very heavy rainfall. actually across southern kyushu tomorrow, expect 60 millimeters of rainfall per hour at some times here. up to 120 millimeters overall as this system works its way through japan, bringing these gusty winds. so one of those days you'll want to keep your windshield wipers on high and an umbrella handy across much of japan as the system does continue to work through. southeastern china, still seeing this lingering area of low pressure bringing heavy rainfall. 50 to 100 millimeters could fall in localized areas here over the next 24 hours, bringing the threat of localized flash floods. also, a risk of some flash floods here in southern philippines, where over 108 millimeters of rainfall fell here in localized areas. bringing the risk of flash floods, landslides and even mud slides there over the next several days as even more rainfall continues to fall. look at the temperatures, though, 34 in manila. 21 in shanghai. beijing had a seasonable and warm 20. ulan bah actuatur, high of 11. overnight, it will dip down to the freezing mark. into the americas, the british northwest is seeing yet another low pressure area moving on shore, bringing some heavy rainfall to the coastal areas. but a little bit farther inland you could see snowfall adding up to 30 centimeters in the sierra nevadas, brings the risk of dangerous driving conditions and dangerous weather in the central plains. already two reports of tornados in northern texas and still looking at severe weather threatening here on your tuesday. flash floods, actually want to talk about flash floods for a second, western texas is actually in a drought here. 150 millimeters of rainfall is what it would take to get them back up to the normal spot. but with the severe thunderstorms dropping all this rainfall at once this does bring the risk of flash floods as the ground is not going to be able to soak up this water. so that could spell for a dangerous situation and also large hail and even tornadic activity can be expected here in these areas in red. not only in western texas, but also over there to louisiana. we continue to watch this system throughout the rest of the workweek, bringing all this unfavorable weather towards the northeast, though, an area of low pressure is working its way away from new england. behind it, cold air will dip its way toward the south. this will bring not only cold air, but gusty winds, bringing down the windchill. negative 11 is what it is going to be feeling like there for you in minneapolis. also looking at temperatures dipping below freezing in chicago. cincinnati, up towards cleveland and toronto, temperatures will be in the single digits. below the freezing mark. the risk of frostbite and also one of these days you're going to be wanting to bundle up there on tuesday night going into wednesday. across much of western europe, very messy picture, low pressure area is continuing to linger here, bringing heavy rain showers up and down france and spain. even some snow there in the alpine regions as temperatures drop down. you're going to be expecting the possibility of up to 20 centimeters of snowfall there. temperatures, though in the midteens, across much of western europe, though single digit temperatures there for you in moscow at 6. here's your extended outlook. the sound of japanese music filled the air at new york's carnegie hall. it was part of an effort to raise money to help rebuild northeastern japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami. ♪ about 300 singers from japan and the united states took part in the event. proceeds from ticket sales will support reconstruction efforts. a group from nagoya city in central japan sang nursery songs. a new york choir performed a popular japanese folk song about cherry blossoms. ♪ special guest singer tokiko kato sang amazing grace accompanied by a choir from the united nations. ♪ she said she wanted to express her gratitude to the people of the united states for the help they have given to japan. ♪ [ applause ] we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. .