live f from tokyoyo, this ik "newsline," i'm james tengan. we start with reaction to the unprecedented post popemeponeme the olympic games. the olympic committee says the tokyo event won't be held until 202121. >> humanity is going through a very dark tunnel. and there, we wanted and we want to make the olympic flame their light at the end of this dark

tunnel. >> thomas bach says when deciding on the delay, the ioc considered not only conditions in japan but the reality of the situation of athletes abroad. he agreed that postponing the games was the best move. >> translator: we are committed to holding the games in a complete form when we can prove that human beings have overcome illness caused by the new coronavirus. >> it's the first time in olympic history that a public health crisis has caused the games to be put off. athletes applauded the move while wondering about their future. hannah mills was set to compete this summer. she told nhk kdelaying the game was the right decision but she was stillll emotional. >> the olympic gameses is everytything for us and what wee dedicated our lives to. the q question of another year

asked, will my body be okay? have i got that drive and motitivation? of coursrse i willl find it, 10 purse. but it just takes a lot of absorbing. >> the effects of the postpoponement are already rippling through the sports world. the world athletics championships were set to be held in the u.s. in august next year and may now be pushed to 2022. the international swimming body is also looking at pushing the next world championships. they're scheduled to kick off in japan in july 2021. earlier, ai uchida spoke with our reporter on the ioc's decision. >> once officials said they were considering postponement, the decision actually came quite quickly. tell us what was behind that? >> it came down to the heart and soul of the olympics themselves. the thousands of athletes who

compete. the athletes' national committees and federations all called for postponement, and the ioc heard those voices. many athletes said they are unable to train because of lockdowns and the closure of their facilities. and more than 40% of the expected 11,000 athletes haven't yet secured a spot. even for those who had already achieved a spot, it is not clear whether they will have to re-qualify. but the decision to postpone the games is a mixed blessing for athletes, figuring out a new training schedule, possibly having to re-qualifiy and maintaining sponsorships for another year and put being other life events like residencies or graduations on hold is an issue for now. >> tell us about the obstacles for organizers. >> officicials have a mountain issues to tackle.

the first priority is to contain the virus of course. them officia then officials have to set a detailed schedule. officials have to decide if the more than 5 million tickets that were already sold will be valid until next year. one expert says maintaining and repairing facilities and preparing for the games all over again will require $3.8 billion. logistically, officials have to recruit and train new volunteers, a massive undertaking if the games are to run smoothly. the postponement of the world's biggest sport being event ing e first time in modern history. as we heard from prime minister abe the goal is to show the

victory of heime victory of humans ovever the virus. one expert told me what organizers and athletes are holding onto is the idea that this will be a chance for the world to come together after beating a common enemy. the japanese government is expanding quarantine rules to include travelers from the united states starting thirst. a thursday. anyone arriving will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks and refrain from public transportation. any one from thee affected area are to check their temperature daily. measures will be in place until at least the end of april. many people took last-minute flights back to japan to avoid isolating themselves. >> translator: i came back before the measures come into effect. too bad that i didn't have time

to say good-bye to professors who care about me a lot. >> translator: i followed my company's instructions to return because of the coronavirus pandemic in the u.s., and i wanted to avoid the two-week quarantine. >> meanwhile, health authorities say more than 40 new infection cases were confirmed on wednesday in tokyo. it's the highest daily tally the capital has sooeen since the outbreak began. the number of infections in japan has climbed to more than 1200. that does not include the 700 cases from the "diamond princess" cruise ship. 44 have died. meanwhile, the united states is dealing with a major spike in cases. nearly 40% of the population have been called upon to say indoors. over 44,000 cases have been confirmed across the country.

the third laurmergest number oue of championship and italy. the infection rate is doubling about every three days. >> if you ask the american people to choose between public health and the economy, then it's no contest. no american is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life. >> andrew cuomo's statement is seen as krits sim toward donald trump who said he wants the country opened up by easter, which comes on april 12th. the governor added that the state is racing to meet the number of hospital beds to meet demand. in spain, the surging death toll

has surpassed 2600. in the hardest-hit area of madrid, a skatete beiing rink h converteted to a morgue. this came after the facility said it w was unable too take i more infected bodies. clusters have been provided at care homes. at least 13 have died of the virus at a facility. the uk k saw an increase of 80. and in egypt, the prime minister has declared a curfew from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. starting on wednesday. he said those who fail to comply can face fines or even jail time. the country has confirmed over 400 case and 20 deaths. greta thunburg says she

believes she has the virus and broke the news on instagram saying she and her father developed symptoms after returni returning from a trip to central europe. thunberg assured followers that she has basically recovered and barelyly felt ill in the first place. the activist says what makes the virus so dangerous is that young people like her could be spreading it couwithout ever realizing it. asian countries are introducing a raft of measures. india hasas declared a three-da lockdown. >> translator: h health experts say that the period of 21 days is most crucial to break the

cycle oforonavirusus infection. >> norendra modi said the lockdown is the only way to save the country's 1.3 billion people. more than 500 cases have been confirmed. train travel, long-distance flight arrivals have already been suspended. the announcement comes a day after the w.h.o. warned india to take aggressive action against the virus. in thailand, the government has declared a one-month state of emergency and agreed to take effect on thursday and empowers authorities to ban travel and close down buildings. authorities have already been enforcing steps including shutting schools. a traditional thai celebration for next month has been postponed. in myanmar, the country's first two infections have beenn confirmed. it spurred panic buying at super

markets. south korea's president spoke with his u.s. counter part on how to deal with the deadly virus. the cocountry has been gaining international attention in part because of its rapid testing. sdrumt complimented seoul on its approach and reportedly asked moon to provide help for the u.s. moon also talked by phone with the prime minister of spain. he saidd he would make clinical data available to the international community. south korea has conducted about 350,000 tests so far. facilities include stations where people can simply drive or walk through. that has helped limit the risk of the virus spreading through hospitals. ththe country has seen a significantt drop in the number of new infections in recent weeks. mean while, authorities in

china have announced plans to further ease restrictions in hubei province your the virus was first detected. pepeople have been virtually locked down for two months but only one new infection has been reported over the past week. earlier, ai uchida spoke with our reporter to find out more. >> obviously, a lot of concern about the timing of this announcement. why's it happening now? >> bay skbrieijing is eager to t its response has been a success, and it wants to curb the economic impact of the new virus. chinese president xi jinping said the country broke the spread and control earlier this month and authorities have alreadady redactedd s some trav restrictions in wuhan.

residedents are allowed to go t work and shopping under surn conditions. preparations are also under way to put buses and subways back into service. starting on wednesday, people in other parts of hubei will be allowed tole trav travell outsi province. authorities are trying to get residents who've been stranded in their hometown since the lunar new year holidays back to work. >> and are people happy about these changes? how are they reacting? >> residents in wuhan welcomed them. but many others across the country are voicing concerns. i've seen a number of people online criticizing the government. one questioned whether the number of infections is going under reported. another said that lifting limits on travel will cause turmoil in other parts of the country.

adding to the concerns, beijing hasn't disclosed cases in which people tested positive for the virus but showed no symptoms. hong kong's south china morning post says there were more than 40,000 such cases as of the end of february. there are also worries about the rising number of imported infections on t the mainland. 47 such cases were reported on tuesday. the increase has prompted authorities in some cities to start testing everyone entering the country. all internatitional flights are landing at other airports so passengers can be quarantined. china is at a critical juncture. it wants business to resume. it wants to bring back a degree of normalcy to people's lives, but itt has to avoid triggering

another wave of infections. weather wise for us in tokyo, the sky is clear and mercury is slowly rising. >> if you are dealing with hay fever, today is not your day, but if you had to go to work and be oututdoors on the way to wor you were able to see clear skies and winds were a lot calmer. but we expecting the weather to be even warmer as we go forward in time. here's a look at what's happening across japapan. not much in terms of activity, and it will continue to be that way as we go forward. we have high pressure controlling the weather for the moment. so things are relatively clear. back to the west we have rain developing back toward china. as that continues to push to the

east we will be dealing with more when it comes to wet weather. so we are looking right here at the perspective latter part of thursday. fukuoka picking up on wet weather. here's a look at the forecast pour the ne for the next fiour days. 22 on friday and temperatures cool off just a bit. saturday and sunday looking at showers, as well. and i wouldn't put away the layers. you're going to need them. by the time we go into the latter party of the week, temperatures are going to be just a little bit cocooler compared to what we will be experiencing over the next few days. let me broaden out the view and show you what's happening across east asia. this is a look at the stationary front in place over china. that's going to be the main rainmaker that's pushing eastward. in the process we have a cold

front sweeping in from the north. beijing will be a lot cooler as we go through the day on thursday. as opposed to 20s, you'll be in the teens, like ten degrees for the high coming up on thursday. taipei looking at wet weather. hong kong also looking at wet weather as we go through the day. here's's a look at what's happening across europe. a bit of a windy pattern taking place along the coastal areasasf the scandinavian peninsula and the united kingdom. elsewhere, still seeing windy weather into the central portions of the cououldn't nent well. not seeing as much wet weather with that particular system. down to the south, more in rain expected. thursday, looking at highs in the upper teens. stockholm also at 11. nine degrees in warsaw as we go through the day. that's a look at your forecast.

hope you have a good day wherever you are.

up next, the l latest o on business and financial fronts with ramin mellegard. so stay with us.

tokyo's benchmark stock index surged again on thursday. investors welcomed news from u.s. congress on passing a stimulus package. the nikkei 225 ended the day at 19,546, a gain of more than 1,400 points and the largest increase in 26 years. the decision to postpone the

olympics dispelled some investors' worries. the benchmark in mumbai ended up around 7%. sydney rose 5.5%. this is "newsline" biz, i'm ramin mellegard. the head of japan's largest business lobby says he accepts there was no option but to postpone the tokyo olympics and paralympics. the japan business federation chairman says the group will do all i it can to support the reschool reschor rescheheduled games. >> translator: we will give our best efforts foror the games. >> he said the federation will consider what it can do in line with prime minister shihinzo abs pledge to enablble all events t be held in their complete form. japanese internet usesers c enjoy ultra fast 5g connections

from ts wk. ey'relso launching 5g compatible smartphones. ntt d docomo launched the country'sirst 5g services. this bringss japan up to speed with the u.s., south korea and china. ththe w tececology allowfast exchange o of massive amountsf data. ususersan d dowoad a two-hour vie in as little as thr seconds, instead of the five minutes through a 4g connection. >> translator: i'm excited to get 5g now. >> soft bank and kddi known for its au brand also began their 5g services. rakuten aims to follow in june. access will initially be limited to parts of major centers including tokyo, osaka and sapporo. coverage is expected to reach all japanese prefectures by

march 2021. congressional republicans and democrats have agreed on an unprecedent unprecedented stimulus deal to deal with the pandemic. it includes unemployment benefits and financial support for small and medium-sized businesses. >> at last we have a deal. after days of intense discussion, the senate has reached a bipartisan agrgreemen on a historic relief package for this pandemic. >> we have a bipartisann agreement on the largest rescue package in american history. this is not a moment of celebration but one of necessity. >> the total cost of the bill dwarfs the emergency measures taken amid the 2008 financial crisis.

members of the house of representatives are expected to vote on the agreement as early as wednesday. now an index of business sentiment in the eurozone and uk plunged to a record low in march, below the measure seen during the 2008 financial crisis. the eueurozone's's purchasing manager's index tumbled to 31.4, down from february. the drop was especialllly shaha for services sector which includes restaurants. in germany it fell to 37.2. that was the lowest since 2009. the figures for france and britain also fell to historic lows. now whether it's delivering a burger or a ride hailing service, gig workers are a big part of the economy around the world, but who do they actually work for? that question looms large as the

coronavirus pandemic leaves them scrambling. in california, a court battle has been raging over the issue. and as nhk reports, there's no end in sight. >> reporter: booking a uber on an app is an every day choice in the united states and many parts of the world. drivers vary from those who sign up to earn a little extra on the side to those who make it their full-time job. setting their own schedules and driving their own car is a big part of the appeal. it's thought there are more than 300,000 drivers in california alone. but the fact that they're classified as independent contractors has led many to worry about job security and lack of benefits. >> when they deduct all the expenses, they are making less than the minimum wages. and that's a shame for a multi-millionaire companies like uber and lyft. >> reporter: in january,

california introduced a law that makes it harder for companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors. it attempts to protect workers' rights including a guaranteed minimum wage and paid leave. but uber and other operators hit back, filing a lawsuit to overturn the legislation. the additional cost of covering taxes and benefits could add up to $500 million a year. opinions among drivers are also divided. this musician who drives only as a side job is concerned that if he becomes a de facto employee, his schedule will be less flexible and will get in the way of his music. >> if you were a w-2 employee, they have set schedules that you have to be there. and trying to get off, when not

every's t everybody's the same. >> how workers are to be defined has become a hot topic around the world where it has taken off. and workers are trying to weigh flexibility against stability. nhk world, los angeles. okay. let's get a check on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline" biz from our tokyo studios. >> the world's largest democracy

heads into lockdown as india's prime minister o orders people o stay home for the next 21 days. a massive challenge for a nation where millions are destitute. become the is set to next epicentererf the coronavirus, congress signs off on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package, the biggest in