hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. on wednesday in tokyo. i'm mimiki yamamoto. financial markets in the u.s. tumbled on mononday despite an emergency rate c cut a announce by the federeral reserveve. the reductions seemed to have failed to reassure investors. in new york the dow jones industrial average at first rose on the fed's announcement. bubut it tumbled nearlrly 1,000 points and finished the day down 785 points.

the tech-heavy nasdaq and the broader s&p 500 plunged about 3%. the japanese yen is strengthening against the u.s. dollar as investors seek thehe safety of t the currency. in the yield on the ten-year treasury note, briefly fell below 1% for the first time ever. analysts say investors believe there are limitations to what the fed and other central banks can do to mitigate the effects of the crisis. senior economist says that tuesday's plunge was probably a case of buying the rumor, selling the news. and fed announcement has the effect of stoking concern about the economic outlook making investors even more risk averse. he says that given the spread of the coronavirus infection in the u.s., i investors likely wantt additional easy measures. now in tokyo, here's how the nikkei is reacting. they opened the session 200

points lower than tuesday's close. and looking at other markets in the asia-pacific region. south korea's kospi and australia's benchmark are all trading in the negative. ahead of the fe rate cut, the group of seven finance ministers and several bank governors released a statement. they pledge to use all appropriate policy tools to protect the global economy from the virus. the leaders held an emergency teleconference on tuesday. the statement says they will boost efforts to expand health services. it goes on to say the g7 central banks will continue supporting price stability and economic growth, adding the leaders stand ready to cooperate further on timely and effective measures. japan's finance minister said his country will work with other g7 members to ensure the stability of financial markets.

>> translator: it was extremely significant that we shared our determination to cooperate to deal with the situation in such a short time. >> aso said circumstances are unprecedented, and he'll monitor how the outbreak will affect the economy. the new virus is taking a growing toll on countries around the world even as officials step up measures to stop the outbreak. iran's leader has made a public address saying that all sectors including the military must help tackle the problem. ayatollah ali khamenei wore protective gloves during his address. the country has the third highest death toll after china and italy. iranian officials reported 835 new cases on tuesday bringing the total to 2,336. local media say 23 lawmakers are among the infected.

italy is another of the worst hit countries. it now has more than 2,500 infections and 79 deaths. some towns in the north are on virtual lockdown. in neighboring france, schools in some parts of the country are closed and people are being advised to stay indoors. the u.s. president says he may expand t travel restriction to countries with a significant number of cases including japan. nhk calculates that outside mainland china in japan, the number of deaths has topped 200, and more than 11,000 people have been infected in dozens of countries and territories. but inside mainland china, the spread of the virus continues to slow. turning to the united states now. vote counting has just started, and results are trickling in from super tuesday.

abc n news projects that senato bernie sanders has won his home state of vermont, and joe biden looks set to win in virginia. vermont is one of 14 states holding up for grabs in the democratic race. polls show that the 78-year-old frontrunner was the overwhelming favorite. he won the state four years ago, taking all 16 delegates. virginia is known to have many moderate voters which could have an advantage for biden. at stake on super tuesday are more than a third of democratic delegates needed to secure the party's presidential nomination. party hopefuls are looking to gain as many as they can and break away from the dwindling field of candidates. sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, emerged as the frontrunner in the initial stage of the race. but former vice president joe biden is riding a wave of momentum after a big win in south carolina over the weekend.

and to make the race even more interesting, super tuesday will see former u.s. mayor michael bloomberg on the ballot for the first time. the billionaire has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on his presidential campaign. nhk will be providing coverage as results roll in, so please stay with us. meanwhile, we are now joined by nhk world who is at a los angeles cafe where bernie sanders' volunteers are gathering. how are things there? >> reporter: well, you may be able to hear how excited people are over the good news from vermont. but it's still early on this important day for the bernie sanders team. but volunteers have big expectations based on recent polling. voting is still goingng on in california which is taking part in super tuesday for the first time. this comes in amid the growing anxiety among the new

coronavirus. some polling stations are even offering a drive-thru option. when it comes to the nomination, voters i spoke with seem pleased while others knew exactly what they wanted. >> i am ready for who i think will be the best competition to the administration currently in isoffice. >> there is some strategic voting going on which could signal a tighter race for sanders. after a failed bit in 2016, he's called his campaign multiracial and multigenerational looking to future minority voting blocs. featuring hispanic and black musicians. now we are also watching the moderate vote. many see sanders as too radical. so joe biden wants to establish himself as the best alternative

to take on trump. we are also looking at michael bloomberg and this first real test to see if an ad-heavy campaign can pay off. after that we'll have a much betttter idea of who might t ten donald trump this november. back to you. >> all right, mami, thank you very much. in other news now, this march marks nine years since the major earthquake and tsunami devastated japan's northwestern coast line. one of the major problems the region is facing is depopulation. already it was already a concern before 2011, the disaster spurred even more people to move to bigger cities. nhk world's minuori takao.

>> reporter: 3:30 a.m. this port is already busy with fishermen unloading their hull.l. fromom here fresh catches are delivered all over japan. because fishermen spend days or even months at sea, one of their biggest pleasures is soaking in a hot bath when they come ashore. but it's only reason that this public bath returned to this port town. and right next door, a warm healthy breakfast is offerer for less thahan $10. the batath and diner opened las july thanks to donations and crowdfunding. emma was key to making this all happen. originally from tokyo, she moved here after graduating from university.

emma first visited the town as a high school volunteer months after march 11th. she wanted to see the reality for herself and what she could do to help. the town lost more thahan 1,000 residents to the tsunami, and over 9,500 families were affectcted by the disaster. ships were broken. houses swept away. but amid the devastation, emma was struck by the resilience of the local people. especially this man, a fisherman of 50 years.

so, emma decided she would live here. she's since become like a daughthter to him and his wifif. he eventually shared one of his major concerns with her. [ speaking foreign language ] before the disaster, the public bath had been operating foror about 130 years. emma heard from other members of the community that they too wanted to revive the tradition. so she worked with them to organize fundraising events and solicit donations. they kept costs down by recycling a used trailer home instead of constructing a new building. profits are still low, but it's giving customers renewed hope.

by supporting the people, emma is paying back what they have given her. the strength to start something from scratch a persevere. and it is time now for world weather with our meteorologist tsietsi monare. so, tsietsi, weather authorities in japan are saying that we may continue to see warm temperatures. how much wararmer do you think is going to get? >> yes. it looks like it's going to get a little bit warmer. and the fact that it's getting hotter and hotter every single year, the seasons are almost sort of changing a little bit and affecting many other things.

if you think about here in japan, it's affecting the blooming of the blossoms. we will get to that in just a minute. but this is basically the outlook for the next month or so between the end of now and the end of march. we can see right across much of japan, especially towards the northern part, it is getting much warmer. and that will lead to an earlier blooming for the cherry blossoms for most of the japanese prefecture. the one that is mostly affected is up north in hokkaido will be expecting the blooming to be in april, which is quite earlier than usual. so, that's what we should be sort of adapting to, a new way of life, and also changing in terms of the weather. otherwise we are expecting a bit of showers and wet day to continue towards central japan, also going towards western japan. there could be accumulation and buildup of snow in certain areas. and you can see temperatures are expected to drop for sapporo.

fukuoka is quite warm, and the rest of asia also a little bit warm with definite good chance of rainfall for southern china and in towards hong kong, do expect up to about 21 in terms of your temperature there. let's take a look at the video of what happened in south america. here in the state of sao paolo, landslides were caused by heavy rain on tuesday. 12 people have been killed and 46 are missing. firefighters are doing their best to rescue people that are buried in their homes from mud slides. local authorities say more than half of the average monthly forecast rain fell just between sunday and monday in the city causing somome serious disastro conditions along those parts. and you can also see heavy rainllll dominate. that is all for the weather. tatake care and have a great da. all right. thank you very much.

and that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. thank you very much for staying with us. ♪ ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm aiko doden. today we are focusing on plastic waste. we are looking at some clever projects people in asia have come up with to tackle a problem that is harming our environment on land and sea. we go first to india where a fast growing economy and rapid urbanization are lifting people out of poverty. and in the process creating mountains of trash, much of it plastic. one young entrepreneur is hard at work creating a nationwide

recycling system. and he found a critical part for his project lying right there on his doorstep. >> the pile of trash at this dump is nearly 70 meters high. people say that this year it will be taller than the taj mahal. india generates thousands of tons of garbage every day. but poor sanitation and the shortage of new sites are becoming bigig problems. workers make their livings going door to door to collect trash than can be recycled like paper and plastic bottles. they sort it and sell it to recycling companies for less than $1 per kilogram. they are not organized, though

their activities can be inefficient. several may show up at the same house, while none might visit another. this man runs an organization called paper man to create a network. he has wanted to solve his country's garbage problem since he was a studedent. he's realized the solution might lie with a workforce that many have overlooked. > in india we have many. why don't we figure out a way in which we can connect them. >> reporter: his leaders from local communities and form teams under them. he then had each team divide up the areas it could cover. samuel leads one such team of

around ten workers. he buys the waste they collect, packages it, and sells it to recycling companies. by working together, they can visit home in an efficient manner. the amount of recyclable waste they collect has increased by 50%. >> translator: sometimes people used to dump wastete without recycling, but awareness has increased now to a level where many regard trash as an asset. >> reporter: the project is also working to improve conditions for the waste collectors. it has persuaded recycling operators to increase what the pay giving them about 20% more. now the more they encourage recycling, the higher their own income. s.

>> we dignify them. >> recycling is still a minor industry in india.. but it will eventually be worth billions of dollars. a business share will finally go to the people doing the hard work. nhk world, new delhi. jose's business approach seems to be paying off. they are already working with 270 collection teams in cities across the country. the group has recycled 1 million kilograms of waste. it even launched an app that people can use to hail a collector. even the most ambitious recycling project will have its

hands full in thailand. thais throw away $45 billion of plastic bags every year. that's one of the highest consumption rates in the world. the government plans to ban the use of plastic bags and cups by 2020. but the problem is how to replace the packaging we've all come to rely on. >> reporter: this store opened last august on a university campus near bangkok. most products here are sold by weight. customers bringing their own containers to fill. the system has proved popular with students. >> translator: i only need to buy what i want, so it reduces food waste. i like the store. >> food stores are ubiquitous in thailand, but what happens to all the containers?

most are thrown straight into the garbage. plastic ends up in the sea. animals can mistake it for food and eat it. there have been numerous cases of animals dying as a result. plastic population is an increasing threat to the marine ecosystem. they have tackled the problem. major supermarkets and auto retailers stopped giving out plastic bags. starting on january 1st, this shop in bangkok also sells by weight. it has 200 ranking from food items such as rice. the seasoning indispensable to thai cooking to daily necessities like soap.

the owner saw her first refill store in germany and thought thais might like the system. >> translator: i want to reduce the amount of things that will end up as garbage. >> reporter: customers can buy just as much as they want with the minimum quantity at one gram. they can bring containers of their choice, whether it's paper bags or empty cans. the containers are weighed before the merchandise is put in. and the weight is deducted from the total when calculating the price. it also helps keep prices down because the store doesn't have to pay for packaging. >> t translator: i've cutut my spending by 20 to 30% because i only buy what i need. i hope shops like this will become commonplacece.

>> translator: i want this shop to be part of the customers' daily lives. we need to reuse things over and over as much as possible instead of just throwing everything away. >> it is a challenge to thailand's throwaway culture, but thais still have to change the mindset before it becomes mainstream. nhk world, bangkok. >> it should be mentioned these companies are taking extra care as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. that's an issue for all retailers. reusable containers would not have seemed an unusual idea to shoppers in earlier times, but it's also true that removing all plastic packaging won't be easy. despite that, our environment is under threat, and any measures, old or new, that can help hold

back the tide of plastic waste, deserves consideration. staying in thailand, a final story looks at efforts to deal with traffic congestion. bangkok's notorious traffic jams worsen air pollution, stress out residents, and hold back the economy. one tech company claims artificial intelligence can help clear the air. >> reporter: this is one of the most congested roads in bangkok. as you can see behind me, drivers need to wait for a long time to pass through this juncture. the thai capital has some of the world's worst traffic jams. a drive that normally takes 15 minutes can take over an hour in heavy traffic. >> translator: i have to leave early in the morning, and it takes me at least two hours to get home because of the traffic.

>> reporter: sometimes traffic police have to step in. they use remote controls to switch lights at around 500 intersections. they rely on walky talkies to communicate witith officers at other intersections and also monitor the situation using street cameras. but it's not enough. >> translator: i use my experience and what i can see to know when it's best to change the lights. but sometimes the congestion worsens. >> reporter: one developer from a major thai telecom thinks artificial intelligence can turn things around. this person set up a team last

april to develop an ai app to help the >> reporter: she uses realtime phones to estimate how many vehicles are on the road. the team will also feed the ai range of data such as how long a light staying green affects vehicle speeds. police officers will also be able to check a phone app to know when to change the lights. the ai team believes the system could cutut peak hour traffic b 25%.

>> we believe that this can contribute and help us too creae some innovation and solve the critical issue for this society. >> reporter: within about two years, she hopes the app will be installed at every intersection in bangkok. before too long, ai may give drivers a reason to relax in traffic. nhk world, bangkok. >> it seems unlikely that one phone app on its own can unclog the traffic in bangkok. that's going to require society at large answering some tough questions on transport infrastructure and lifestyles. but there's little question big data will one day play a role in unlocking the gridlock. hopefully for the sake of the environment and for those of you stuck in traffic, that day is not too far away.

that's it for today's "newsline in depth." thank you for watching and see you again next time. >> i am darren jordon.

era -- al does jazeera. this is the biggest night of the year in the race for the white house. 14 states and one u.s. territory are voting. " in vermont, virginia and a total of -- in north carolina, we will close around half an hour. the state has 110. that is a large chunk of democratic delegates at stay. there is no republican primary in virginia this year.

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