this edition of nhk "newsline." with the news from tokyo. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has announced tighter quarantine measures amid the new coronavirus pandemic. they have been expanded to those from 38 natations includingng m of europe. >> translator: we concludeded strictcter quarantine is necessy for people comoming from 38 countries,s, including european countries, iran and egypt . >> abe says they'll ask both foreign and japanese nationals

arriving from the places to ice -- isolate themselves for at least two weeks from home and hotels and they'll be asked not to use public transportation. they've added visas are void. the measures will continue through april. the same requirements arall reddee in place for people traveling from china and south korea. and expanding the ban to include people from italy, spain a and e whole of iceland. the pandemic is forcing the abe administration to rethink the imperial family's schedule. emperor and empress were set to make a state visit to u.k. in early may but that's been cancelled. it would have been the couple's first trip overseas since the emperor's succession to the e thrown last year. and nex at banquet part of ceremonies to proclaim crown prince heir to the thrown. innumber of confirmed infections

has climbed d to over 900. that does not include the 900 cases from the diamond cruise ship or those flown back from china. more than 700 people have recovered and left hospital. now, japan's northern prefecture of hokkaido is said to state a state of emergency. >> translator: considering the situation aat home and abroad, we need to continue our efforts to prevent the s spread of infection. we must do our effort. >> suzuki told reporters the three week emergency period will expire at the end of thursday as planned. he says he believes hokkaido has avoided an exploegsz infection. he called on people to avoid going out if they're worried

about contracting the virus. he says they should set an example of balancing efforts t contain infection with social and economimic a activities. said h he would contntinue preparations for the marathon and race walk events to be held in hokkaido. the coronavirus pandemic is casting a shadow on the upcoming games scheduled to start in a little over four months. the international olympic committee said tuesday there's no reason for any drastic decisions at this stage and that set off a wave of criticism from across the globe. spain's olympic committee president responded by saying athletes cannot train while spain is in a state of emergency. he says if the games go ahead, spanish athletes would go under unequal conditions. ioc member kaley called the committee's insistence on moving ahead insensitive and irresponsible.

she released a statement on twitter saying this price is bigger than even the olympics. greek gold medalist kathrina says the ioc is putting athletes, as well as their family and public in danger, not just during the games but now as they train. countries around the world continue to implement tougher restrictions in an aim to contain the pandemic. italy's infections has topped 31,000. more than 2,500 have died. both numbers are highest in the world after china. they're asking people to refrain from unnecessary outings. similar measures have been takenen france and belgian. they'll stop foreigners from entering the block for the next 30 days.

taiwanese authorities say they'll bar most foreign nationals s starting thursday. this as they announced ten new cases. the first double digit increase in a single day. malaysia has closed its boarders too and prohibiting citizens from traveling abroad. that's causing headaches for many in neighboring singapapore. there was no rush hour traffic along the causeway. more than 300,000 people a day cross the bridge. they'll impose self quarantine measures on anyone entering the city state after a confirmed 47 new cases wednesday. 37 of thosose are believeved toe been infected in europe or elsewhere abroad. the self-quarantine measures

take place midnight local time. elsewhere the australian government is stepping up restrictions. >> the travel advice to every australian is do not travel abroad. do not go overseas. now a top expert at china's health authority says the infection peeked two weeks after the government locked down the epicenter city of wuhan . he says the explosive spread is now over in china. he added most other countries are facing what he called the first wave of infection. the world health organization says there are almost 1,180 confirmed infections around the world. more than 7,480 people have died. they've now suffered 1,000 fatalities in iran. next hundreds of japanese students want to go home. flights are restricted due to the coronavirus.

it's a popular place for japanese to learn englgsz. two philippine airlines have cancelled international flights including direct ones to japan. officials at japan's consulate office say some plan to return home via singapore or other countries. but they're having trouble getting air tickets. an officl l of a japapanese official in sabu says about 1,000 japanese students are toads be there. -- believed to b be there. >> about 250 japananese stutude want to r returnn home e even iy have to pay e extra and about 8 otothers w want to go back g gie current coronavirus pandemic. >> reporter: the association plans to chart arflight from a local airline. w.h.o. says 187 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the philippines as of tuesday.

the global spread of the coronavirus is highlighting the importance of testing for the coronavirus. >> test. test. test. test every suspected case. >> the world health organization says testing, isolation and contact tracing form the backbone to stopping the pandemic. researchers in china conducted 320,000 tests followed by south korea with 250,000. people there can use thrive through testing center allowing people to get checked without going to a hospital. and recently walk through testing became possible. japan's health ministry said the

number of completed tests is over 32,000, low compared to, nations. >> putting a testing system into place in a hurry may have been difficult, training in quickness was not always adequate. >> the quarters said it is essential to boost testing systems and knows it is important to prioritize patients who are likely to worsen. >> if hospital beds are occupied by people with mild symptoms, people in serious conditions can't be treated. expanding t the testing system would be meaningless if it leads to overloaded hospitals which is happening in italy. >> the chinese government used a japanese developed anti-influenza drug. it was found to be effective in

clinical trials conducted in the cities of wuhan. patienents that were given the negative tested negative for the virus after four days on average and it took 11 days on average for people not to be given the drug to test negative. japanese researchers say a drug that has been used to treat payreaatitis. lab tests show the drug maybe able to block the virus from entering human cells and proliferating and they will start clinical tests of the drugs on coronavirus patients later this month at the earliest. it is having a dramatic impact on the world's performing arts as concert halls and theaters are shuttering.

the next report shows the situation is creating a sense of urgency for musicians and performers. >> it was a sold out performance. instead of a packed audience they played to rows and rows of empty seats. more than 6,000 people took in the concert frorom the comfort their home for free. it wasn't ideal but the performers and the organizers wanted to make the best out of a difficult situation. according to a recent survey of artists 95% say some of their shows have been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

he says most of his march performances have been scrapped. >> translator: income will be lost if this continues. we're in trouble. >> translator: he continues to practice, earning money on the side by teaching apprentices. but he says it's not enough, especially if performances continue to be cancelled. >> translator: our jobs will no longer be viable. i'm afraid about what could happen. >> reporter: but he says he's still fortunate compared to other performers who have no other source of income. one-third say if things don't improve soon, they'll have to find jobs with more stability.

>> that's very difficult for them to coming back to the art world, once they stop it. that means that culture of japan will stop, especially for the arts part. especially for the performing arts part. >> reporter: the arts provide an escape from the riggers of daily life. and in the wake of the pandemic, are needed more than ever. but as efforts continue to try and them is outbreak, the show can't go on, at least for now. and next here's our three-day outlook on the world's weather. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ and that concludes this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

♪ >> welcome to newsline in-depth. nine years ago this month a massive earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people and devastated parts of northeast japan. today we look at the persisting environmental damage on land and in the sea and how those in the affected area are struggling to deal with the situation. first we go out to the coast.

the waves were up to 40 meters high and caused immense destruction. this footagege was shot in the y about 18 months after the disaster. piles of debris litter the ocean floor taking crews years to clear and eight years later things appear to have returned to normal, but what is happening below the surface. diving into the water here in the bay they decided to find out. >> i am about 70 feet underwater. take a look over here. you can see massive concrete blocks.

some of them are five meters wide and weigh about 60 pounds each. even though pererstent efforts have been made to restore the marine environment it has changed dramatically along the coast in the last nine years. for example this small black thing, a sea urgin. urchin. the footage is taken about 50 meters from here and all you can see are sea urchins. this area should be covered with seaweed.

but it is barren. experts believe the tsunami wiped out the sea urchins natural predators. that contributed to the dramatic increase in their numbers. they eat the seaweed destroying the habitat of other sea creatures. they are working hard to restore the marine life which provides food. >> one of the marine creatures disappearance from the bay are a

much prized seafood in japan. they were a big money maker for local fishermen. today the numbers have plunged because the sea urchins are eating all of the seaweed. it is no comfort for fisheries. last month local fishermen gathered for a a meeting. their reports on avalone were not good. it was about a third of that before the tsunami. it is not an environment they can survive. >> in the bay fishermen and divers have been trying to clelr

the sea floor of urchins for five years now. on this day they caught more than 500 in just 30 minutes. >> it is empty. >> urchins would normally be snapped up by super markets and restaurants but these have failed to mature because of the lack of seaweed. >> they are too small and unfit for market. we have no choice but to get rid of them. >> in the areas where the sea urchins are removed local fishermen plant kelp. divers attach bags of mature kelp to rocks and wait for the spores to take root. three months later the kelp has

grown to about ten centimeters. >> it will take a long time to show results, maybe 10 to 20 years. we must take action to protect our seas. >> a group of researchers are is studying ways to turn it into an edible product. they are malnurrished. the team is looking for the best food to increase their size. they are fed seaweed. or a mixture of seaweed and fish meat to study how they grow. final results show a big

difference in size. they have much more flesh. the researchers plan to continue their sea urchin study. the next goal is to improve the taste. >> we aim to make sea urchins from the region as profitable as before. >> the fishing industry in japan's northeast has spent many years getting back on its feet. on top of collapsing ecosystems the nuclear accident started consumer foods about food safety but the industry is slowly but surely being revived. the disaster for the region is now about 70% of predisaster level and sales growth is close to a full recovery. farmers in the northeast have been battling a different kind

of environmental challenge, one right under their feet. in some area the tsunami advanced a long way inland washing away the precious topsoil. that problem has been fixed online to be replaced by another one. the next story looks at the long growth by farmers as they fight to rebuild their lives. >> he comes from a long line of farmers. he still struggles to grow from the same quality. >> this is a bad one. the leaves turn yellow like this. >> the tu nasunami hit his town.

transplanting huge amounts of soils. he says now the quality of the sand is only about 70% of what he produces can be shipped to market. he thinks the problem is poor drainage partly because the topsoil the government brought in from the nearby mountains contained clay. >> this soil is too moist. it holds it shape but it should crumble in your hands. that means the roots are getting too much water and that is not good at all. >> he gave up on harvesting his

cabbage crop and believes the root decays because of the damp earth. local officials say that hasn't helped much. >> i got set up with it, it woululd be good if i could grow better product. >> another problem is there are currently about 600. the number has fallen there to about half of what it was before the disaster. that also means that there are a lot more like this one. the towns committee is trying to attract new farmers by consolidating those lands into larger crops and many landowners

have moved away or found other jobs. >> even though there are many plots of land available hardly anyone to rent farmland from. >> they have seen many hardships including ones that are well suited to the transplanted earth. he says that he takes pride in his job helping to produce something that is key to sustaining human life. >> i think the number of people entering the industry will rise if i can show them that i enjoy

it. >> it will take even more time until life returns to what it was like before the tsunami. >> the large number of farmers washing off their land will make it even harder to revive agriculture in that area. but there is a small trickle of people moving the other way. young office workers decided that northeast japan is the place to start a new life. one newcomer has set up a winery and is already hosting tasting events served with locally grown food and another started to grow organic vegetables. the combination of new blood and born again soil offers new hope that the region won't just survive but thrive. that 's all for today newsline

in-depth. thanks for tuning in and be sure to do so next time too. ♪

>> isolate, test, treat. countries warning for to be vigilant as the coronavirus kills another 475 people in italy. >> this is al jazeera live from london. the u.k. orders schools to close until further notice as its death toll rises to 104. trading was suspended on wall street as stocks plummeted again , despite the massive stimulus plans.