. hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." we start this hour in japan, where the government has launched a new task force to fight a growing coronavirus outbrea outbreak. the move paves the way for the prime minister based on a newly-enacted law. >> in order t to overcomeme the challenge our c country is n no facing, the state,e, local governments, medical workers, business operators and all residents need to be united and push ahead with measures to

tackle the illness caused by the new coronavirus. i w want the minister in chargef the special law, the health minister and other relevant ministers to swiftly come up withth basic guidelines. >> the task force will create those guide lines, using expert opinions on how to prevent the spread of infection and step up medical care. if the government finds there's a serious threat to pub heallic health and economy, it can order steps. it can limit the use of facilities where many people gather, for example department stores and movie theaters. governments could also order residents to stay at home but there would be no punishment for those who ignore requests. an emergency declaration would enable governors to seize

buildings for medical facilities without owners' consent. they could compel companies to sell necessary medicine and health care equipment to the state. japan has now confirmed over 1300 coronavirus infections. that does not include more than 700 cases from the diamond princess cruise ship. 46 people have died, along with ten from the cruise ship. more than 900 people have recovered and left hospital. tokyo has broken its daily record for newly-confirmed coronavirus cases for the fourth day in a row. the city confirmed at least 47 new infections thursday. on top of the 41 reported the day before. the recent spike prompted tokyo's governor to urge residents to stay home this weekend unless they absolutely must g go ouout. >> translator: we are n now at

critical juncture. we want tokyo residents to realize this and do t their w w atomome as much as possible on weweekdays. though we understand that may not be possible, teedepending o your line of work. we want people to refrain from going out at night. we also want residents to refrain from going out this weekend, unless it is urgent. >> koike said the capital is facing the risk of an explosive spread of infection. the governonors of all four neighboring prefectctures later echoed koike's announcement asking their residents to stay home this weekend. tokyo's board of education will ask high schools to stagger students' attendance when the new academic year starts next month. the board recommends that different grades should attend schools on different days, in a bid to reduce the risk of

infection. the new guidelines also urge schools to start classes later than normal so students can avoid rush hour. the guidelines apply to more than 180 public high schools, special needs schools and a small number of other institutions in tokyo. they've been closed since early march. officials say the measures will be in place indefinitely. for more on this developing story, nhk looks at how tokyo is approaching the fight against the virus. >> reporter: concerns over the explosive spread of infection arising even higher this week. while countries and communities close down and stay inside, some peopople in tokyo don't seem to have got the message. during the last three-day weekend, numbers of people gathering in public went up in

places like shinjuku, popular cherry blossom viewing sites. they're estimating crowd sizes based on information from cell phones, showing in red the people going out compared to a week ago. white represents no change, while blue shows decreases. in tokyo as a whole, the number of people out in public increased by more than 10% on average at each point. with more people out in public, coronavirus cases in the city are also on the rise. the latest data proves it's time for more drastic measures, says this expert on infectious diseases. >> translator: over the past three days, more than 70 people have been infected. it is clear that we've entered a new phase. it's important for people to change their style of work now and telecommute. we hope that companies will take

this seriously and make an effort to keep workers from the office. >> reporter: the proposed changes are leaving some tokyoites with mixed feelings. >> translator: i don't want the virus to expand anymore. i'm scared, because i'm on a train to commute to work for a long time. >> translator: the biggest problem is customers aren't coming, sales are falling. our restaurant can only be sustained by a largege number o customers. >> reporter: but places like restaurants, bars and clubs may be one of the critical danger zones. the national government response team is analyzing the possibility that cluster infections are happening at restaurants that are mainly open at night in downtown tokyo, and the tokyo metropolitan government plans to ask live music clubs to voluntarily close

for the time being. as spring continues to bloom in the city, life is being put on pause. for now, joining thousands of cities all over the world currently battling the virus. nhk world, tokyo. the number of people infected globally with the coronavirus has topped 410,000. the w.h.o. has reported cases from around 200 countries and territories with the growing focus on europe and the united states. italy has the highest number of fatalities, with 680 deaths reported on wednesday alone. the total death toll is now over 7500, more than double that of china. the country is struggling to cope with the surge of patients, with many hospitals now

exclusively treating those suffering intere suffering from the virus. local mayors are also finding it hardrd to k keep residents off streets, with many ignoring orders to stay at home. the death toll is also soaring in spain. the government registered 730 new deaths on wednesday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 3400. this also eclipses china's death toll. one doctor at a madrid hospital describes new patients arriving daily. he warns that medical workers are unable to take time off due to staff shortages with many falling sick. infections are also sweeping across the u.s. more than 54,000 cases were reported by tuesday. an increase of 10,000, compared to the previous day. new york's governor is calling on the federal government to send urgent medical equipment.

>> release the ventilators to new york. how can we be in a situation where you can have new yorkers possibly dying because they can't get a ventilator, but a federal agency saying, i'm going to leave the ventilators in the stockpile? >> in washington, d.c., a decree to close all non-essential businesses took effect on wednesday. it also prohibits gatherings of ten or more people. the u.s. defense department has ordered a freeze on its military's overseas exercises, deployments and other activities for 60 days. more than 220 troops were infected as of wednesday. travel disrupss caused by the coronavirus have left dozens of japanese people strapped nde peru. about 230 japanese tourists have been confined to hotels since

march 15th, when the peruvian government declared a state of emergency and closed borders. international flights were stopped. stranded japanese had visited sightseeing spots such as machu picchu. thee embassy is chartering a flight to mexico city. the japanese travelers will have to arrange flights home from there. china's reporting a sharp fall in the number of people infected with the coronavirus. but many shops and restaurants still remain closed as people are spending more time at home. online businesses are becoming key to survival. nhk reports. >> four, three, two. >> reporter: this gym chain is offering live streaming training sessions with all its branches

shut down for two months. the program costs about $40, the online session has attracted 20,000 peop.. >> translatotor: i it's nice the can get in touchch withh traine right away if we have any questions. >> repororter: trainers carry o their sessions while checking users' comments. >> t translator: follow instructions.. youreartrt rate should stay abovee 170. >> reporter: a comompany execute says it will putore importance on online servicic. >> traranslatotor: we'll juggle gymsms with online sessions to he boooo o risk management skills. >> reporter: this company offers recipes via a smartphone app. its daily menus are proving inincreasingly popular.

today's recommendation is a rice porridge. many are based on dietitians' advice and dishes can be made using ingredients that are easy to g get. the firm said the number of users has increased to 500,000 per day. >> translatotor: moree people a spending time cooking at home. so many companies are posting ads to promote their brands and products on our app. >> reporter: this woman has never really cooked before, and instead has relied on food delivery. but the pandemic has made it difficult to even order deliveries. so she turned to the app and is now cooking for herself..

>> translator: even a after the outbrereak ends, i want to keep learnining h to cook my favorite dishes. >> reporter: the pandemic has put a damper on china's economy, but with more than 800 million internet users, businesses are finding ways to keep their customers happy. nhk world, beijing.

fr turning to new zealand, the man accused of killing people at two mosques has unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges. he faces counts of murder, attempted murder and one terrorism charge. all are related to the attacks that took place last march. the plea was made at a scalaled-down court hearing, as the country is under lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. he had initially denied the charges with a trial to start in june. the prime minister says the guilty plea will provide relief to the families of ththe victim and save them from the ordeal of a trial. in the wake of the attack, the country introduced stricter firearms laws, including a ban on military-style guns. it's not immediately clear when

terrance will be sentenced. our meteorologist, jonathan oh joins us now with a look at world weather, hello, jonathan. >> hello. >> we in a nice warm day in tokyo with pretty clear skies. >> mm-hm. >> and heading into the weekend, how's it looking? >> it's going to stay relatively warm and then get colder and you need the umbrella, because we are looking at rain chances going up. those on the western side of japan will definitely be picking up on the rain as we go throughout the evening hours and throughout the day on friday. we do have the warm air in place, that's going to keep things at or above, actually above average for this time of year. but it will not last through the weekend. we'll have some colder air coming in. that's going to drop temperatures off for just a bit, especially for those in the eastern and northern sides of the country. that's because of a cold front coming out from asia while down towards the south we have a front developing pushing

eastward. long story short, have the umbrella nearby, have the jacket nearby. you're going to need each of them in different parts of the forecast for the next few days because the weather's going to change quite a bit. looking at the next 24 hours herere, here's the rain spreadi eastward.. clouds wilill be part of tforec for friday. friday, for sapporo, 130, 13. in tokyo, close to 20 degrees for friday and saturday and then a lot closee colder sunday. rain, high of 11. looking at osaka and fukuoka also joining in on the rain action. i want to give an update on the cherry blossoms. you're not really supposed to be out and about with the current situation right now. but i do want to tell you in terms of the cherry bhlossoms, full bloom has taken place in

tokyo. we're seeing first blooms over the past few days. and as the warm air continues to spread its way to the north we'll see more of these popping up it towards the north. the rain we were talking about coming into japan already impacts portions of china. there's a stationary front pushing eastward. wet forecast for friday for shanghai, chongqing a bit cooler. hoen hong kong also looking at wet weather r as we go through the d of the week. across north america, a little calm before the storm. strong thunderstorms in the southern united states, the low is moving through the southern plains. looking at strong thunderstorms the nextt couple days. warm air surging in from the south but chilly air from the north. that's going to cool things off as we go throughout the day on thursday. have a good day where everybody you are. body you are. ody

you are. dy you are. y you are. you are. ever you are. ver you are.

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for watching, and to stay with us for more.

tokyo stocks plunged on thursday after the governor called on residents to stay home. investors are worried about the impacts of measures to contain the coronavirus will have on the economy. the nikkei ended at 18,664 or down 4.5%. the index dropped nearly the hundred points. the nikkei had been gaining this week. investors welcomed the bank of japan's asset purchaseness and

pla plans for a $2 trillion stimulus in the u.s. jakarta rebounded. shares in mumbai rose and sydney rose 2.3% and extended its longest rally in six weeks. this is "newsline" biz, i'm ramin mellegard. the japanese government has downgraded its economic assessment for march due to the impact of the pandemic. the latest monthly report says the nation's economy i is now ia severe situation. the word "recovery" has b been t from the assessment for the first time in almost seven years. the cabinet office report says private consumption is showing weakness. it's the first time that assessment has been lowered in more than three years. sales at convenience stores turned negative from the middle of last month. the report says exports are weak and imports are decreasing as parts supplies from china have stalalled. it says employment has been improvining but is also affecte

by the pandemic. the report says attention needs to be paid to further downside risks to the economy both in japan and abroad from the influence of the coronavirus. and the tokyo governor's request for residents to stay at home has retail and restaurant chains eyeing a r range of responses. major department stores are considering reducing business hours. some may shut their doors over the weekend. several outlets in tokyo already close earlier than usual. super markets are studying measures in response to the governor's request. some plan to open over the weekend as usual, since they sell food and daily necessities. convenience store operators also plan to keep open their locations running over the weekend, but if some staff are unable to come in, managers will consult with owners about short ping store hours and other measures. restaurant chains plan to review business hours and adjust operations. the bank of thailand has

slashed the country's annual economic forecast into the negative. it says the tourism and export sectors are being hit hard by the pandemic. the central bank says its projection is now minus 5.3%. the rate given for the previous forecast in december was plus 2.2.8%. a dip below 5.3% would be the lowest since 1998 during the asian currency crisis. credit ratings agency moody's has downgraded softbank group by two notches citing its massive plan to sell assets to reduce debt. the planned selloff will be challenging in the current financial down turn, they say. the agency says they're reviewing softbank debt for a further downgrade and highlights the possible sales of core parts of the portfolio, including shshares in alibaba.

south ba sosoftbank said itt would sell assesets of up to $ billion. the group criticized them saying it was pessimistic assumptions. soft bank says it will soft misunderstanding among investors. it's asking moody's to remove all bond ratings on the group. postponing the tokyo olympics comes with a price tag. one expert saves mays many busi will suffer, but there is a silver lining. >> reporter: this is executive chief economist at daiichi life research institute. he says about 80% of the economic benefits of the games have already happened. >> translator: if the tokyo games took place this year, they wouldn't have drawn many spectators, so holding them next

year will indeed have a bigger effect. the economic benefits of the olympics notice year they're held usually push up gdp about 0.3% or roughly $15 billion. but this iso only a postponemen. there will be no olympics-related demand this year but it will likely be reflected in next year's gdp. i think that demand will be postponed. >> reporter: nog hama believes that a delay until summer 2021 will not seriously hurt the economy. >> translator: holding the games in summer isn't a bad idea. it's a season that draws foreign and domestic tourists, and with schools closed it's easy for families to go and watch the events. now postponement does have a negative psychological impact. but, since the tokyo games won't

be canceled, people's expectations won't fade away. and that may be a good thing, too. >> reporter: but in the interim, it could be a different story for some businesses. >> translator: even if the games are postponed, we may not be able to experience all their economic benefits if the coronavirus pandemic hasn't ended, or if groundless rumors continue to circulate. if the pandemic lingers, people's activities will continue to be restricted. in that case, i think personal consumption might not recover for a long time. under such circumstances, many hotels, inns and transportation-related businesses could collapse. there would be no way to meet demand, no matter how much it grows dueue to the games. >> reporter: the question is how to ensure that businesses

struggling amidst the pandemic won't suffer even more in the run up to the olympics. the hope is that they can ride out the tough times ahead and come out in fightingg shape.. nhnhk world. okay. let's get a check on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline" bibiz from our tokyo studios.

♪ anchor: confirmed coronavirus cases rise exponentially in the united states, with 30,000 in new york state alone. this as the senate passes a historic to trillion dollar stimulus package. french prereside e emmanuel macn deploys the army to critically hit areas of france in a bid to support the population. this as the death t toll surpass 1300. and in new zealand, the 2019 christchurch shooter changes his plea to guilty.