hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. a former care worker has been sentenced to death for committing one of japan's worse mass murders in decades. a district court found satoshi uematsu guilty for killing 19 residents at a home for people with intellectual disabilities four years ago.

he injured 26 others in the rampage at the tsukui yamayuri-en home near tokyo. in his sentencing remarks, judge kiyoshi aonuma referred to the maliciousness of uematsu's crimes describing them as extremely grave. the 30-year-old had previously worked at the home and he admitted in court to carrying out the murders. he said he targeted the victims because he thought people with disabilities who are nonverbal live unhappy lives. but uematsu's lawyers argued he could not be held responsible for the murders because of a mental disorder caused by long-term marijuana use. the jujudge disagreed and decid with the prosecution in issuing the death penalty. the father of one victim injured in the attack k says he's satisfsfied with the s sentencet a a lot of queststions remain unanswered. >> translator: i couldn't

understand how uematsu developed a mindset like that while helping people with disabilities. i wanted to hear more of what he had to say. >> ono also mentioned that most of the v victims' families deced not to release their names because of stigma around disabilities in japan. he urged the public to work harder to create a society without prejudice. turning to the coronavirus pandemic that's taking a growing toll around the world, one country where the situation is becoming increasingly dire is italy. authorities there say over 7% of those sickened by the virus have died, compared to about 4% in china where the pandemic began. there have been 25,000 cases confirmed in italy, including 3,500 reported on sunday. more than 1,800 people have died. italian experts say the nation's aging society may be contributing to the high

fatality ratate. the rate may also drop as more people are confirmed to be infected. meanwhile, the lomombardy governor says the hard hit region is runnnning out of intensive care beds. in that region alone, more thah 760 patients are receiving intensive care. as the virus continues to spread, many countries around the world are introducing strict measures to fight the pandemic. germany is tightening border cocontrols with its neighbors s the heels of a dramatic increase in cases. starting monday, everyone apart from daily commuters will be banned from entering the country from france, switzerland, austria, luxembourg, and denmark. the restrtrictions will not afft the transport of goods. germany reported more than 1,000 new cases sunday, bringing the country's total to over 4,800. the situation is even worse in spain.

with more than 7,700 cases and nearly 290 deaths, the country is dealing with the second biggest european outbreak. spain declared a state of emergency over of the weekend, calling on the elderly and anyone with a preexisting health condition to stay home. areas once bustling with tourists are now nearly empty. streets are similarly vacant in france with nearly all restaurants and stores closed. only those selling food, medicine, or other basic necessities remain open. >> translator: for the moment, public spaces that are not necessary to daily life will be closed. >> the closures came abruptly to the country's capital as restaurant owners s shut their doors without knowing when they'd reopen.

>> translator: it's like paris' light is going out. i'm so depressed. >> in turkey, more than 10,000 people have been quarantined after returning from the muslim holy city of mecca in saudi arabia. the move comes after one pilgrim tested positive for the virus. all returnees are being placed in quarantine for two weeks. in south africa, the government has declared a national state of disaster after confirming 61 infections. it's banning visitors from many of the worst hit countries starting on wednesday. the world health organization says as of sunday there are more than 150,000 cases worldwide, affecting nearly 150 countries and territories. the global death toll is 5,735. leaders from south asian countries are calling for closer

cooperation to cope with the pandemic. >> we must all prepare together. we must all act together. >> eight neighboring countries held a video conference on sunday. india's prime minister proposed setting up an emergency fund to fight the coronavirus in the region and pledged an initial $10 million. so far the couountries have bee spared the worst of the pandemicics with all eigight be around 170 cases combined as of sunday. but therere are fears that coul change. afghan's president said his mn concern was his country's open border with iran, which is dealing with one of the world's largest outbreaks. another pressing issue is the impact to the region's economy. the presidents of s sri lanka a the maldives said they were worried about a drop in tourism, a main industry for both

countries. in south korea, the outbreak is becoming the major political issue, one month away from a general election. the country has been one of the hardest hit outside mainland china with more than 8,000 cases and 75 deaths. hkds has more from seoul. >> reporter: there's a growing sense of frustration over how the current administration is handling the outbreak. and many candidates are eager to show voters they're serious about curbing the spread. there are 300 seats up for grabs in the national assembly next month. one of the major battlefields is seoul's district. it's seen a bellwether for voting trends, and this time two former prime ministers are facing off in the district.

in some of their social media posts, they're seen spraying sanitizer on the streets. the coronavirus is also changing the way candidates campaign. the streets are quiet ever since the government called for a social distancing. traditional methods like hand shakes and handing out business cards are out. instead, many have opted for virtual campaigns, and that's making it especially difficult for first-time candidates to gain exposure and promote their strategies. now, there some voices from within political circles suggesting the election date should be postponed. but it looks the elections will be held as scheduled on april 15th for now. this election will be a barometer for evaluating the moon jae-in government. the results are expected to have a significant impacten ot president and possibly the 2022 presidential election. i asked some people on the street what they think about the current administration.

>> translator: i think the moon administration is handling the situation well. without harming people's daily lives. i also think we have seen democracy develop a lot in our society. >> translator: in every election campaign, politicians say they will do everything for voters. but they never take care of those people after the election. politicians are working only for themselves, not for people. >> reporter: as you can see, opinions are mixed and it seems we could be in for a tight race. one poll suggests a neck and neck race between the ruling and the main opposition parties. on the one side, the ruling party believes it has the public support in the fight against the virus. but the opposition has said the government should have done more, especially when it was in its early stages including imposing a travel ban on china.

the coronavirus is also impacting some of the more vulnerable voters, patients, people with disabilities, and those at nursing homes who will be asked to vote via posts along with inmates at detention centers and people who are in self-quarantine.e. it's been two weeks since schools in japan shut down over concerns about the coronavirus. some of them have reopened, but many students continue to study from home. nhk world looks at how the closures are adversely affecting foreign students. >> reporter: like most students across japan, it's been a tough two weeks. for sixth grader khatri. >> translator: homework, i don't lilike to do i it because it's difficult. >> reporter: compounding the problem is the language barrier. she moved to japan from nepal

just over a year ago to live with her parents who run a restaurant. at school, there are resources for her, including assistance from teachers and her classmates. it's been a struggle for her mom, who wishes she could do more to help her daughter. >> translator: i can't read or speak japanese very well. >> reporter: a nonprofit organization is stepping in to help students like simran. usually, offered support to students in person. but in the wake of the school closurures, its focus has shift to providing online support. >> translator: i hear that some foreign children have no support, and have no choice but to study alone at home. if schools remain closed much longer, such suppoport will probably become more necessary.

>> e every day, students log ono get help to finish their daily assignments. >> translator: it was so difficult, but aftfter the teacr taught me how to do it, it became easy to understandnd. > reporter: before a recent session ended, the teacher offered some tips to ensurure students stay safe amid the coronavirus outbreak. >> translator: all of you should remember to wash your handnds a gargle. >> reporter:r: the on-line tutorials are providing relief and helping ensure students like simran don't fall behind. but with no date set for when all schools will reopen, it's uncertain how long a temporary

solution will solve what could become a long-term problem. saori nakagawa, nhk world, tokyo. the operator of a nuclear power plant in southwest japan has taken one of its reactors off-line after failing to meet new government regulations. it's the first time that's hahappened in the e country. cue youou shu e electric powowe company started reducing output monday at the sendai plant's number one reactor in kagoshihi prefectuture. it made the decision because it couldn't meet a deadline to build emergency facilities as mandated by japapan's nuclear tchdog. ee nuclear regegulation authoriy is requiring operators to build facilities to ensure reactors are safe in the event of

emergencies like terrorist attacks or plane crashes. the requirements are based on regulations drawn up in response to the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant nine years ago. operators have f five years to build facilities after construction plans are approved. kykyushu elelectric says it aim finish building facilities by december and hopeses to gain approvoval from the nra to put e reactor back online. several other reactors in japan are also expected to go offline this year for the same reason. in the united states, the coronavirus dominated a debate between the two frontrunners in the race for the democratic party's presidential nomination. the event had been scheduled to take place in arizona, but as a precaution, it wound up being held in a tv studio in washington, d.c., without a live audience. joe biden emphasized that he dealt with ebola cases when he

was vice president. >> people are looking for results, not a revolution. they want to deal with the results they need right now, and we can do that by making sure that we make everybody whole who has been so badly hurt in terms of their -- they lose a job, in terms of not having the ability to care for their children. >> senator bernie sanders said the outbreak highlights the need for universal health care. >> of the virus here, the coronavirus, what we have got to do also is understand the fragility of the economy and how unjust and unfair it is that so few have so much and so many have so little. >> both candidates also talked about who they would choose a aa running mate. biden said he would pick a woman if he wins the party's nomination. sanders said he would likely do the same. the u.s. has never had a female

vice president. the time now for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. hello. >> hello. >> over the weekend, the cherry blossoms started to bloom in central parts of tokyo and it's the earliest start on record? >> exactly. the recordkeeping of cherry blossosoms began 75 years ago, t we've never had such an early start of the cherryy blossom season here in tokyo. in fact, when we saw the flowers comiming out it was snowing. take a look at t this footage. on saturday, at least five cherry blossomss had bloomed ona tree. that's 12 days earlier than the average timing in the earliest on record. tohoku became the firstst placen the country to see the flowers come out this year and the cherry blossom season will start in osaka for na ghana it could

be march 28th that could surs pass the record by four days and also we will see the flowers out in april in sapporo, that's very rare. and tokyo will see unusually high temperatures late this week. starting on your saturday the high will be like april, 18 on wednesday and 20 on thursday, friday, as well as saturday. it will be like april and temperatures are going to be quite warm so that could hasten the blooming of cherry flowers. the peak will be around next monday here in tokyo. however, northern japan is still seeing some snowfall over the past six hours. nearly 2 20 centimeters of snown hokkaido. that is the record for the month of march. snow will likely taper off but more rain is expected to pound northern japan late tuesday into wednesday. now we have a high pressure system that is causing dry weather across the eastern half of china, but due to the moisture from the ocean we will see rainfall in the south of china as well as vietnam and snowy weather is expected to

move towards the east and southern areas of china will see rainy weather into tuesday. temperatures will be unusually warm in beijing, about 20 degrees on tuesday and shanghai will see 18 degrees and rainy weather in bangkok with a high of 32. meanwhile, europe is seeing some blustery conditions across the north and especially iceland we will see very heavy rainfall and snowfall plus strong winds and we will see very unstable weather conditions across the iberian peninsula. the sysystem spapawned nearly t tornados in parts of morocco. the system will pound the iberian peninsula as we go into tuesday and then it will effect northern africa as we go into thursday and friday as well. temperatures are much warmer than normal in berlin. 15 for the high on tuesdsday an 18 in rome. that's it for me. have a nice day.

that brings us to the end of this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo.

thanks for watching and do stay with us for more. ♪ policymakers at the bank of japan have announced measures to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. the boj's meeting followed a surprise move by the u.s. federal reserve to slash its key rate to near zero. the bank met on monday, two days ahead of schedule.

it would increase purchases of exchange traded funds of 12 trillion yen or about $110 billion a year. and it will double its acquisition of real estate investment funds. policymakers will also increase purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds. the central bank plans to offer interest-free loans to commercial financial institutions. it hopes this will boost lending to struggling businesses. this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. the boj governor haurhiko kuroda said the central bank is doing all it can to prop up the economy. he takes a cautious view when the it comes to the global economic outlook. >> translator: at this moment, kyong anyboi don't think anybody believes we will face a slump in the financial economy. in terms of the global economy it's hard to predict a v-shaped recovery.

>> kuroda expects the globaba econonomy to experience weak growth for the time being and notes that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the united states and europe while in china the infection rate is decreasing. the magnitude of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on china's economy has become starkly clelear. three key indicators postedd contractions for the first time since data became available on-line in the 1990s. china's national bureau of statistics released data for january to february on monday. all three readings which are industrial output, retail sales andd fixed asset investment plunged by double digit percentages from the same period last year. the blow to china's economy came after beijing imposed prolonged measures across the country such as travel restrictions, social distancing and suspension of business activity.

in other news the japanese government has slapped the country's second largest power company with a business improvement order. executives at kansai eclectic popower company w were fouound e received kickbackcks from a loc vernment official. the movee comes after a a third party panel set up by tepcoco released its final report on the matter andnd sayss 75 executive and employees received cash and gifts worth a total of more than $3 million. they came from the late deputy mayor of takahama prefecture. the utility operates a nuclear power plant there. they say the scandal could undermine japan's electricity business and harm public interest. a japanese financial giant is facing investor pressure over its exposure to climate change. a major shareholder wants to know more about its loans for coal-fired power generation.

japanese environmental ngh network has submitted a report on the issue. coal-fired power plants release more carbon dioxide than other types of generators. the ngo says loans for coal-related projects are at risk of losing values as governments step up measures to combat global warming. the shareholder is calling on them to disclose its plans for its coal-based business loans. katami flooring has long been a staple in traditional japanese homes. they usually come in rectangular shapes and can add a bit of comfort to any space. one maker is exploorg new figures and giving tatami a modern twist. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: for kenji, tatami is woven deep into his family's

history. he's the fifth generation owner of a shop. the map he's currently working on come together to form a dragon. he started off working in housing construction. he saw firsthand how most homes these days have no japanese style rooms. he realized the tatami maker didn't adapt they would soon be out of business. he eventually took over the family business. one day, a customer asked him to fit the back of a car with tatami. he says the experience was a real eye opener. >> translator: the fit was much better t than i expected. it made me think, you know, maybe i could do more with my tatami. >> reporter: he started an experiment and his unique designs quickly became a hit.

the prices are more than twice that of normal tatami but he still receives orders from customers around the country. he was asked to install tatami in her apartment. she wanted the maps to add something different to her living room. >> translator: i chose this tatami because i wanted something that looked different depending on lighting. it's come out better than i could have hoped. >> reporter: the owner of this inn wanted to add some modern spice to the 90-year-old building. he turns to yamada. over 400 tatamii mats later, th propertyty has a completely different atmosphere. now he is moving on to the next big thing. he's working on designs that use

small hexagonal maps to form celebrity faces. >> translator: we're only just scratching the surfaces of what we can do with tatami. we want to take it further and do even more. >> reporter: yamada has created an english language website selling firmly on overseas customers. for him, it seems like the natural next step in the evolution of tatami. nhk world. all right. let's have a look at the markets. anchor: france says the

coronavirus situation is deteriorating very fast according to health authorities. the number of cases double every three days. meanwhile, the country prepares to go on full lockdown later this week. covid-19 affectsle