<Anchor> On the
world's third-largest stock market, the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan, all trades were suspended throughout the day.
Suddenly, there was a problem with the computer system and it could not be opened at all.
Tokyo Correspondent Yoo Seong-jae delivers.
<Reporter>
The large monitor screen of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which was full of numbers indicating stock prices, was blank.
Today's accident occurred at around 7 a.m. when a device that transmits stock price information that fluctuates according to a transaction order broke down.
The Tokyo Exchange also reviewed a plan to restart the system just before the opening at 9 am, but if it is not restored, it announced the suspension of trading due to fears of extreme turmoil in the market.
Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo stock markets, which use the same system as the Tokyo stock market, are all closed.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange, where 3,700 stocks were listed, was suspended for about three hours due to a system failure in 2005, but this is the first time it has not been able to open the market all day.
[Investor: I thought lightly that it would be restored soon, but I was surprised that it could not be restored.] As the
wave of financial products linked to stock prices ceased to be sold, the exchange side bowed to investors.
[Miyahara/Tokyo Stock Exchange Representative: We deeply apologize for causing great damage to many market participants and investors.]
The Tokyo Exchange said it would replace the machine that caused the obstacle so that it would be possible to trade normally from tomorrow, but it seems difficult to avoid criticism that the credibility of the market has been severely damaged.
(Video coverage: Han Cheol-min)