hello. you're watching nhk "newsline." we start with the latest on the kwa quarantined crouse shep docked near tokyo. the last group of passengers who tested negative for the coronavirus disembarked. >> translator: he just want to sit around and take a bath for no now. >> translator: i will stay at home without going out for a while. >> their exit comes after 717

passengers left the ship on witness and thursday. the diamond princess in the largest hot spot for coronavirus infections outside china. more than 600 passengers and crew contracteted the virus. the two passengers died on thursday. anyone who shared a cabin with an infected passenger is being asked to stay at a government-provided facility even if they test negative. the period of their stay depends on when their cabin mate was removed. officials will ask those who've returned home to keep an eye o their health for two weeks and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary. they will discuss among whatt conditions crew members will be allowed to get off.

the so some canadians arrived home. australian health authorities say two people from the ship tested positive for virus after returning home. they disembarkeked from diamamo princess earlier t this week afr initially testing negative. be apart from the cruise ship, nine new cases were roared in jap three people havee been feked with the virus, including two elementary school students. a boy in saitama prefecture also tested positive. he flew back to japan from wuhan on a charterer flight late last month. his father who is a also in chi was confirmed to be finfected

last week. the latest cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 737, including 634 from the cruise ship. as the virus continues to spread in japan, it's having an impact in the world of business nhk world looks at some of the ways the economy is feeling the effects. >> reporter: this annual sake fair will not be happening this year. it normally draws around 140,000 people. the head of the sake brewery association says it was canceled due to concern over growing infection. >> translator: considering the fact that v visitors s would be

coming f from all over, includi overseas and it that the venue is always crowded, so it's impossible to avoid close contact, we decided to cancel. >> reporter: it's just one of countless planned gatherings that have been scrapped or scaled back due to the virus. there are sure to be more, as the health men tinister is aski organizers whether to hold such events. and economic impact doesn't stop there. >> translator: i'm looking for a new job, and i've been getting messages about doing interviews by skype instead of in person. >> translator: i've canceled a trip i was planning. >> reporter: many people say they are becoming more cautious as the number of infections in japan rises. that affects consumer spending which accounts more mofor more

half of japan's gdp. a lot of japanese companies have offices in china. this business had to delay reopening after the lunar new year holiday and some are unable to return from their hometown cities because of travel restrictions. it's expected february sales will fall by almost half from the same month last year. >> translator: we feel anxious about the situation every day. but all we can do is keep working hard. >> reporter: the outbreak in china is also having a big influence on manufacturing inside japan. this drug company imports materials for its medicine and energy drinks from a plant in hubei province. but officials don't know when

that factory will be able to ree production. that has left them scramblblingo find other suppliers. >> translator: our biggest mimission is to keep prproducti stable for our c customers. we have to take every possible measure to do that. >> reporteter: he warns i it wie difficult and costlyy for those who have to change the supply chain. it is causing a great deal of uncertainty. >> translator: a lot of people expectcted japan's economy was t for a boost, especially after march, because of the tokyo olympipics and paralympics. and unexpepected surge of inbou tourisists. but now those forecasts are totally changing. >> reporter: it's hard to say how long the outbreak will last. but it's becoming clear the world's third-largest economy is already feeling the impact.

arisa ishita, nhk world. health authorities in china say 118 more coronavirus patients have died, bringing total fatales to over 2200. they've confirmed more than 75,000 patients across the country. >> the data from china continued to show a decline in new, confirmed cases. once again, we're encouraged by the trend, but this is no time for complacency. >> the head of the world health organization underscored the need for efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. the number of infections outside china remains comparatively small but it may not stay that way for long. there's no established treatment for the disease, but it's waiting for the results of two clinical trials, including the combination of appoint virnti-v

used to treat hiv. and chinese officials say a candidate vaccine could begin trials in late april. outside mainland japan more than 570 people across 28 countries and territories are confirmed to be infected. south korea had reported more than 200 patients, while singapore has over 80. the japan national tourism has opened a hotline. the number is 050-3816- 2787. once again, that that's 050-3816-2787. some prefectures with confirmed cases are also offering information in multiple languages. scan the qr code on the screen to open the nhk world website.

there you'll find contact information for relevant authorities. a u.s. federal district judge has sentenced roger stone, a former adviser to president trump to three years and four months in prison. stone, a long-time trump ally, was convicted last year of lying to congress and other charges. judge amy berman jackson pushed back against assertions that the sentence was affected by political interference. she said stone was prosecuted for covering up for the president. she said she will at some point make a determination on clemency. >> i'm following this very closely and want to see it play

out to its fullest, because roger has a very good chance of exoneration in my opinion. >> a sentence had been recommended of seven to nine years. the justice department overruled the recommendation and sought a lighter sentence. four prosecutors quit the case in protest. the democrats have accused president trump of abusing his power as president. a top taliban leader says his group is about to sign a peace agreement with the united states. the statement by the group's deputy leader was published in an opinion peace in the "new york times." the article, titled "what we, the taliban want" says the withdrawal of foreign forces has been our first and foremost demand. that we stand at the threshold

of a peace agreement with the united states is no small milestone. ththe article comes a woeek aft the defense secretary revealed they'd negotiated a seven-day reduction in violence, though it's unclear when it will begin. the u.s.s. a and taliban have b trying to hammer o out a peace deal for more than a y year to bringg the conflict too an end. the decision at the time to carry an opinion piece by a man the fbi has desigignated a terrorist has drawn sharp criticism. the reporter weighed in on twitter, saying it omits the fundamental fact that he is no peacemaker, adding he's behind some of the most ruthless attacks of this war, with many civilian lives lost.

the fire that destroyed much of suhuri castle has devastated many people. a new dying technique is being used. >> reporter: the fire destroyed the main structures of shuri castle, a world heritage site. shuri high school is located only about 300 meters from the castle. the school has a textile design course where students study traditional dying and weaving techniques. they include dying which usually

depicts natural subjects in bright colors. the third year students were set to begin their graduation project shortly after the fire. with the tragedy still fresh on their miensd, they decided to weave a tapestry that honored shuri castle. their goal was to create an enormous design, about 11 meters wide. >> translator: the castle may look simple, but i hope the final tapestry will serve as a substitute for shuri castle. >> reporter: they were uncompromising in their plan to recreate the color of the vermillion lacquer that covered the castle. this required mixing various dyes over and over again until they got exactly what they wanted. they used slightly diffeferent colors for the roof, pillars and walls, taking into consideration the overall image of the main hall. as they worked on the dying, it

was impossible for the students to forget what the castle once looked like. >> translator: we often used to look a at shuri castle before sunset, and it was so beautiful. >> translator: to visit the site after school and at other times, and it made me feel really relaxed. it was a brilliant red. >> reporter: after carefully applying the colors, they gave their artwork a final rinse. the tapestry was ready. it took three months to complete the project. it featutures a vivid red shuri castle against an okinawa landscape. it also depicts a carp swimming up a water fall. this imagery comes from a chinese fable that symbolizes courage and perseverance. local people who showed up to

view the tapestry -- >> translator: it must have been difficult to reproduce the colors of the castle, but they did a wonderful job. >> translator: i feel a great sense of achievement. >> translator: i feel so happy. >> transnslator: i hope our wor will allow viewers to feel that shuri castle continues to exist, and its history didn't end with the fire. >> reporter: the tapestry created by the 33 students carries their hopes and dreams as efforts get under way to rebuild whatt is long considere the symbol of okinawa. it's time now for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. hello, sayaka. much of japan had a sunny day today on friday, but a storm is heading this way. how bad will conditions get over the weekend? >> northern japan will likely see blizzard, and also western

japan will see flooding rainfall, so during the weekend, we will see very stormy conditions in parts of japan. we have a storm approaching japan. this system is expected to dump hea heavy rainfall and then it will eventually intensify and affect western japan with flooding rarainfa a and northern japan wh winds and hokkaido willl see heavy snowfall on sunday. the total snowfalll could be about w40 centimeters. blizzard conditions could occur in hokkaido. tokyo will likely see rain on saturday. after the system leaves, the yellow sand will affect the korean peninsula. for those of you who have respiratory problems you may want to wear a mask. as we go into saturday evening, the sand will likely move into japan, including western japan as well as northern japan. temperatures are going to be not so low in many places of the

country. on saturday, sapporo 5 degrees. blowing snow is in the forecast on sunday and monday. tokyo will see unusually high temperatures. 1 17 for the high, more like april, and warming up as we go into sunday and monday as well. osaka, fukuoka will see rain. meanwhile, we have a large area of system over northern australia. this system is expected to make landfall in the nororthern teterritoryy on monday. watch out for stormy c conditio. across north america, strong winds and heavy snow have led to a serious car accident in montreal. take a look at this video. two people are killed and 60 others were injured in an 100-r pileup. the accident involved more than 200 vehicles, according to local immediate yeah.

though the incident is still under investigation, authorities say the cause could be a sudden whiteout. now the area had seen dry conditions and temperatures expected to warm up into the weekend. we saw snowfall in the southeast areas of the u.s., including raleigh, north carolina. but snow is expected to move away finally as we move into the weekend. and temperatures will be warming up. that's it for me, have a nice weekend.

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you very much for watching, and do stay with us for more.

the coronavirus outbreak is taking a toll on sales at major department store chains in japan. an industry association says that tax-free purchases by foreign shoppers from february 1st to the 17th plunged by about 70% from a year earlier. a decline in the number of tourists coming to japan due to the spread of the virus was a main factor. another was the timing of china's lunar new year holiday. this year it came at the end of january. while last year it was in

february. overall sales at major department stores nationwide during the period fell about 15%. some of the stores are considering temporarily closing outlets if the virus spreads further. i'm gene otani. japan's central bank has expressed concern. kuroda was speaking to a lower house committee. >> translator: we need to be awaware the impact on the japane economy could be bigger than we expect now. >> kuroda reiterated the bank will not hesitate to takee additional easing measures if nessssary. he saidd the effect of the outbreak o on the global econom will be topop of t the agenda ae meeting of the g-20 finance ministers and central bank governors in saudi arabia over

the weekend. a global airline trarade grp expepects the spreadd of t the roronavirus t to be aa major bl for c carriers. it says they will likely see the first annual decline in demand since the 2008 financial crisis. the international air transport association made the projection based on cancellations of flights to and from mainland china and hong kong. it says passenger numbers are expected to fall 8.2% in the asia-pacific region, compared to last year. that would translate into a ref new loss of $28 billion for carriers in the region. almost half of that would come from chinese airlines. the association projects that the told tal loss for global revenue this year doing more than 29 could be more than $29 billion. the japanese government says it will hold talks with south korea next month to discuss trade.

the two sides w will meet for negotiations on march h 10th in seoul. ththey previously met inin dece fofor the first time in n three a half years. the offificials are expected to discuss japan's tighter export screening on some high-tech materials as well as south korea's trade controls. they want to consult with seoul about progress and related legislation. a major real estate firm in thailand is looking to use self-driving vehicles as a new type of amenity for its buildings. they kicked off a test of the technology in bangkok. the trial is taking place in a residential neighborhood of the city in collaboration with the thai government. vehicles picked up users and dropped them off in designated spots using a smartphone app. the firm says the test will run through june. it hopes to start offering services between apartment buildings, stations and other locations as soon as it obtains

approval from authorities. a new technology expected to see rapid growth in the next few years is wearable robots. the devices are mainly used to help workers hall heavy loads. now one japanese firm has produced a robot that can help regular people lift their spirits. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this company in wherein japan specializes in developing wearable robots. the domestic markets for the devices is expected to quadruple over the next five years. one of the firm's newest projects is a working assist robot. it reduces the load on the person's legs by up to 30%. developers have created this

lightweight 2.5 kilogram device for seninis. >> translator: populations are aging around the world. and we believe there's global demand for this kind of product. >> reporter: one person who could benefit from the device is this woman. she lives in osaka and loves the outdoors. but recently, she has been held back by arthritis in her knees. it makes the walk slow and painful and she often tells her companions to go on ahead without her. for this hike, she was able to try the new wearable robot. the change was immediate. >> translator: it feels like i

have the support helping me. >> reporter: she set out on the trail with a renewed sense of confidence. there was a big challenge at the end. the 400 steps promised to be a test. especially with tabitha's knee pain. it usually makes her take one step at a time. but not today. >> translator: i could lift my legs without a struggle. the stairs were definitely easier. >> translator: going forward, we hope to make more wearablble devices thatt can helelp regula people i in their daily lives. >> reporter: from the factory floor to the grounds of a temple. wearable robots are helping people lighten the load on their legs and health.

nhk world, kyoto. all right, le's have a look at the markets.

from the "newsline" biz team in tokyo, i'm gene otani, thanks very much for joining us.

>> a look at what is making headlines this hour. regime,critics of the asking people to boycott the vote. we will be crossing shortly with james andre, who is at a polling station in tehran. urgedns of south koreans to stay indoors as the country suffers from the impact of the covid-19 virus. more than 200 reported cases.