♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." we start with an ancient tradition taking place in the shadow of a global health crisis. the handover ceremony for the olympic flame has been held in greece this summer, but the event was scaled back because of the new coronavirus pandemic. the ceremony took place at the stadium in athens. no spectators were allowed in the stands. twtwo japanese olympians who wo

gold at the 2004 gamemes were supposed to take part, but their visit was cancelled. the plane will leave for northeastern japan aboard a charter flight later on thursday. governments across the globe are taking tougher measures to combat the pandemic as the number of confirmed infections tops 200,000 worldwide. one of the worst affected countries is italy where residents will remain under lockdown for at least two more weeks. the country's death toll has surged to nearly 3,000 people with a record high 475 fatalities reported on wednesday. in total, more than 35,000 people there are infected, and the northern region of lombardy is rushing to build makeshift hospitals to add intensive care units. in germany, c chancellor angnge merkel called on citizens to help stem rising infections

there. she made her plea during a rare televised speech addressed to the nation. >> translalator: not since germ reunificatation, no, not since world war ii has there been such a challenge to our country that so much relies on our universal solidarity. >> meanwhile in the u.s., president donald trump plans to invoke a 1950 law in the fight against the pandemic. the defense production act will be used to speed up the production of medical supplies such as ventilators, masks, and gloves. new york's governor andrew cuomo says the president is sending a navy hospital ship to help deal with the region's surging number of patients. the ship has around 1,000 beds and will be docked in new york harbor. new york state is the worst hit in the u.s. a total of 1,008 new cases were reported on wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 2,382. infections are also spreading in

the south pacific region. the government of new zealand raised its overseas travel advisory to the highest level on thursday. it's the first time the country has advised its citizens not to travel abroad. it's also banning foreigners from entering, with some exceptions. the australian government also announced similar steps. the world health organization says more than 207,000 infections have been confirmed across the globe. more than 8,600 people have died. in france, the number of people infected with the coronavirus has risen to more than 7,600. president emmanuel macron has introduced stringent measures including a lockdown for at least 15 days. nhk world spoke to one doctor who's trying to stem the outbreak. >> reporter: dr. yanny wallace is on the frontlines of the crisis.

as chief of emergency services at public hospital, him and his staff of nearly 200 have been fighting the virus since earlier this month. >> translator: just tenen days ago, there were only three suspicious cases. now, infections have topped around 60. there are 14 deaths being reported here every day, and at least five or six of them are related to covid. >> reporter: france is one of the regions hit hardest by the outbreak. but the main focus is to treat the infected and prevent the virus from spreading. the rate of infection has left little time to prepare. the hospital has dedicated 85%

of its emergency ward to deal with the coronavirus and set up a special unit of 90 beds. but it says there aren't enough resources, specifically the lack of personal protection equipment. and measures taken be the eu to lock down borders has made the suchch wa situation even worse. >> translator: all the medical related company supply chains are blocked, especially in i ity which h is a huge supplier. we are searching f for more as only have a day's worth of stock left. >> reporter: he is afraid this will affect staff morale and that some may have no choice but to act without adequate protection. he says cut down on the number of emergency fits.

the staff can concentrate on the most pressing cases. based on what's happened in china and italy, he says the next two weeks are essential. but he says it's going to require everyone to treat the situation the urgency it deserves. >> translator:r: french people don't understand the amplitude of what is going on. stay at home and wash your hands. these are simple actions thahat will save liveves. if this outbrbreak is n not tak seriously, we will not defeat this pandemic. chinese health fushls say no new infections were confirmed in hubei province on wednesday for the first time s since january.

the province including the c cy of wuhan has been at the center of the country's outbreak since the beginning. officials say all 34 newly confirmed cases were imported from outside m mainland china. to datate the country has repepd nenearly 81,000 infections. another 8 deaths were reported in hubei province on wednesday. china's death toll is now over 3,200. china points the latest numbers as evidence it's controlled the spread of the virus. now many of the countries say the government is focused on controlling public opinion. earlier, my league s spoke with our senior correspondent for more on the situation in china. >> how do things look there right now? >> well, people here in beijing are slowly getting their lives back to normal. i'm seeing more people on the streets, but many shops and restaurants remain closed.

other companies are asking employees to work from home, and widespread shutdowns are increasingly hurting the economy. >> given that, how satisfied would you say that people are with the government moves to fight this outbreak? >> many people, especially in the hardest hit areas, remain frustrated and say government propaganda is misrepresesenting their s situation. one example of this is a newly published book about actions the government took to contain the health crisis. china's state media praised it saying the book highlights president xi's leadership. but a different story played out on social media where many branded the book, some openly questioned if the virus had really been contained, calling the government shameless. this sort of criticism forced the book to be withdrawn from

stores. people are also lashing out at government officials who say they need to be thankful to xi and party. >> while all this is happening at home, china is sending medical experts to affected countries such as italy, iran, pakistan. what is behind that move? >> china definitely wants to push aside some of the global criticism it has receiveved f f not sounding the alarm quickly enough. it's possible xi sends humanitarian aid as a way to combat racist ideology. even u.s. donald trump describes the coronavirus as chinese, later saying he's trying to combat disinformation about the origin about the virus. that led a top chinese expert to double down on wednesday publicly stating there's no way to say the virus came from wuhan. it's too early to know if

china's two-pronged approach of praising its own leadership and extending help abroad will help the country's public image. but the world will be certainly keep looking to china for lessons on how to deal with their own outbreaks. >> the international labor organization says the coronavirus pandemic could cause more job losses than the 2008 financial crisis. and worst case estimate of nearly 25 million job losses. it says that would mean up to $3.4 trillion in lost income. the ilo says job losses could be reduced to around # amillion through a coordinated policy response. it's calling for measures such as tax breaks for small and medium sized businesses. the ilos director general called the pandemic a major labor

market and economic crisis. he said everything needs to be done to minimize the damage to people. the coronavirus has been stoking uncertainty for foreigners living in japan as so-called technical trainees. some of them have been unable to take skills tests needed to renew their visas. but the government threw them a lifeline on thursday. it says trainees can extend their stays for up to four months. after tests were postponed or cancelled around the nation due to the virus. techchnical trainees comee to ln skills in japan for upp to f fi years. there were more than 320,000 in the country in 2018. anxious consumers around the world are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic by staying home and spending less. its having a devastating impact on business and pushing many companies to the brink. nhk world reports on the

repercussions in one community in northern japan. >> reporter: massaki kawasaki runs a chicken restaurant. he says the outbreak of the new coronavirus has all but cleared his place out. >> translator: we got another cancellation. >> reporter: sales have fallen by about 80%. to make matters worse, kawasaki recently took out a $200,000 loan to open and refurbish a cafe. >> translalator: b basicallyly is coming. the situation is really bad. there's nothing i can do. people are afraid to go out. >> reporter: more than 80% of restaurants in the area are feeling the effects.

some say t the crisis has wiped out their savings. >> translator: it's dire. businesses are struggling to make money.. many owners are nervous. we don't know how long this will go on. >> reporter: banks are also worried. one says it will offer special low interest loans to small busisinesses in the area to tid them over. >> translator: we want local owners and managers to keep operating their businesses w wi the least possible impact. we will set up a consultation center and take comprehehensive action to protect the economy of this community. >> reporter: one local supermararket is offsetting its losses by offering home

delivery. >> translator: i'm worried about going outside. i just feel better doing things this way. >> translator: we need to make a special effort to cater to our customers' needs. >> reporter: kawasaki is also trying to eke out extra sales. he's selling leftover chicken in bento lunchboxes, but he says it's not nearly enough to pay off his debt. the coronavirus pandemic is a threat to personal health first and foremost, but increasingly, it's posing a serious risk to small businesses and the communities they support. nhk world. a japanese court has dealt an unusually long sentence to a man convicted of fatally abusing his daughter. the 16 year sentence is lononge

than what courts usually hand down in similar cases. the presides judge noted that the abuse of the 10-year-old was prolonged and calling it appalling and loathsome. the girl, named mia, was found dead in the bathroom of her family's home in chiba prefecture last year. her father was accused of forcing her to stand under a cold shower before her death. he said during his trial that he didn't dispute the charge, but he asserted he didn't routinely abuse his daughter and denied committing most of the alleged acts of violence. his lawyers argued that his disciplinary actions got out of hand. prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison term. they said the abuse is both psychological and physical and went on for a long time.

it's time now for world weather. so, we had a beautiful day here on thursday in tokyo. and we have a three-day weekend coming up. how's the weather looking? >> this weather will be lovely during the three day. we will see unseasonably warm weather plus very nice sunny conditions. and today, tokyo experienced the warmest day of the season. the high rose to 22 making it more like early may and it's usually chilly this time of year. saw a high of 2 24 in toyama. that's over 10 degrees higher than normal this tomb of year. they will likely see heavy snow and powerful winds too. thanks to warm weather action just the north of tokyo saw the flowers,s, cherry blossoms bega blooming. beautiful weather will likely enhance the blooming of cherry

blossoms for the next several days. but tonight tokyo will see rainy weather. we have a low pressure system approaching central japan. because the low will move over the kanto region, tokyo will see heavy rainfall with possibility of thunderstorms tonight. rain will likely ease by friday. another storm too the north wil pass northern japan including hoke we coe. not just that, winds are going to be very powerful. gustss would be o over 140 kilometers and waves up to 7 meters on your friday and saturday. stormy weather expected across the north. meanwhile, tokyo's high 20 on friday and 21 on saturday so sunny and calm conditions will continue in tokyo. osakaa and fukukuoka will likel see gloomy conditions especially on sunday evening. meanwhile it's the thought of

astronomical autumn in the southern hemisphere but temperatures will be summer like in sidney. 32 for the high on your first day of autumn. meanwhile the u.s. is experiencing very stormy conditions. we are talking about tornados, large hail, and damaging winds. at least six tornados have been reported in texas and more severe weather can be found along the mississippi river valley andnd parts of the centr places of the united states. watch out for damaging winds, large hail, and more tornados. and temperatures are going to be quite warm across the eastern united states. that's it for me. have a nice day. ♪

♪ that brings us to the end of this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you very much for watching and do stay with us for more.

♪ ♪ this is newsline biz. the coronavirus is inflicting big losses on global tourism. in february the number of visitors to japan fell almost 60%. the japan national tourism organization estimates there were about 1.08 million arrivals for the month, down 58% from a year earlier. inbound tourism has been down for five monthths in a row. the number of visitors from mainland china fell almost 88%.

for south korea, it was down by 80%. numbers from the u.s., canada, britain, and italy were all down more than 20%. >> translator: it looks like the situation is going to get even worse from here. thth firstst thing we need to dn japan is get the spread of the virus under control. that's the best way to support the tourism industry. >> japan welcomed some 32 million people to its shores in 2019. the government was hoping to hit 40 million this year, but analysts say that target is looking increasingly unrealistic as countries around the world impose travel restrictions to tackle the pandemic. asian stock markets have had another volatile day on concerns of the economic impact from the coronavirus. tokyo finished 1% lower. news of european central bank's stimulus plan briefly pushed the nikkei average more than 400

points h higher in the morning, but the index ended in the negative as m many i investors stocks as they need c cash. some are flocking to t the doll. the green back has gained ground against the j japanese curreren. all other benchmarks here are in the red. big sell offs triggered c circu breakers to briefly halt trading at some. they're down even after the e central banks cut thehe k key interest r rates to cushion the virus fallout. the philippines market resumed trading on thursday after a two-o-day suspension aimed at insusures the safety of employe and traders. crude oil p prices continunue t face selliling pressure on eara cans over slinking global demand. in a price war wti futures briefly fell to the $20 a barrel level. that's the lowest in 18 years

and only 1/3 the level at the start of this year. the travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic are forcing auto makers to suspend operations at almost all of their plants in europe. bmw says it is closing down all its european factories until april 19th. japan's toyota motor has announced its shutting plants in britain, poland, turkey, and the czech republic. they have not decided when they're going to reopen. toyota has closed down factories in france and other parts of europe. tsuzuki says it will also suspend production. other majajor autoo makers including volgs wagon, renault, and fiat chrysler have decided to idle their factorys in europe. many of the e employees are unae to travel to work because ofof e restririctions of movemenent th

have been put in place. they have led to a plunge in sales and stalled the delivery of parts. temporary auto factory closures are also coming to america. japanese car maker honda says 12 plants in the united states, canada, and mexico will be shut for six days from monday. the moves will reduce production by 40,000 vehicles. toyota will halt operations at 13 factories also on monday and tuesday to disinfect them. officials at u.s. auto makers, general motors, and ford have decided to close their plants until march 30th. china's economy has been dealt a major blow by the spread of the coronavirus. three key indicators including retail sales have plunged falling for the first time since data became available online in the 1990s. we take a look at what the numbers mean on the ground for chinese businesses.

>> reporter: this footage obtained by nhk was recorded on march 5th in the chinese c city. authoritiess ususuly clamp down on demonstrations, makining thia veryryare sight, especially amid restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus. about 100 protesters marched through the halls of a clothing wholesale market that had been shuttered for a month and just are reopened. but the facilities earned a demand of rent even for the period of closure. this prompted store operators to take action and protest. at many shops, inventory overflows, managers have beenn stocking up for spring sales that have now passed higigh seasonon. >> translator: thahat would h h been the best time to sell spring clolothes. we all need a renent waiver or reduction.n.

>> reporter: the outbreak has also been a blow for the auto sector, a key industry in china. on dealership lots, vehicles sit unsold. in february, new car sales in the country plunged almost 80% year on year, a record drop. this area has about 20 dealerships. most have remained closed since the lunar new year holiday in late january. some have finally reopened, but buyers are staying away. >> translator: on weekends, we used to have more than 100 customers. now, we only get a few. there's nothing we can do. >> reporter: the situation has also hit the tourism industry. this historic garden in central shanghai is usually bustling with people. during its closure, nearby restaurants and souvenir shops still open for business. but -- >> translator: we don't get many

customers so sales have been slow. you don't see any y people arou, do you? >> reporter: while owners wait for visitors to return, some are being forced to make painful cuts to stay afloat. >> translator: a lot of people have lost their jobs. the store next door had to let three workers go. things are tough right now. >> reporter: reports indicate that china is making progress to stop the spread of the coronavirus. the country could have a long road ahead to contain the damage to the economy. >> reporte >> all right. let's have a look at the markets. ♪

>> heres slice of news from the upper center of the global pandemic. china fromases in residents to recently arrived abroad. attention turns to the spiraling crisis in europe. italpo