hello and welcome to "newsline". >> we start in tokyo with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise. officials say there were 78 new cases on tuesday bringing the total in the capital to more than 500. tokyo governor koike yuriko met prime minister abe shinzo on tuesday to discuss the situation.

koike said she wants abe to use tokyo asas a reference for deciciding whehether to declcla state of emergency. >> translator: tokyo is on the brink of an explosive e increas of infections. we are trying to prevent a a situation like thahat and tryin to prevent further spread on various levels. this is done by the state. it's needed now. >> there are more than 2,200 confirmed cases across japan, not including 712 cases from the "diamond princess" cruise ship. a total of 77 people have died, including 11 from the cruise ship. one of the main concerns among officials is the coronavirus spreading through cluster infections. one such case is three

university students who returned to japan from europe on march 14th and have tested positive for the virus. they likely spread the virus to more than 30 people across at least ten prefectures by attending gatherings and traveling to their hometowns for spring break. the rising concerns are compelling large companies to encourage their employees to work remotely so they avoid rush hour commutes. demand for online medical consultations and remote learning is also growing. prime minister abe says he wants cabinet ministers to consider easing regulations to make it easier to adapt to the shifting circumumstances. >> translalator: we will protec employment, household finances and businenesses, and boost demand. we are committed to using the challenge we are facing to promote social reforms such as further digitalization. the death of japanese comedy star shimura ken is prompting people across the country and

especially the young to take the coronavirus more seriously. nhk world's nochi haruka has more on the legend and his legacy. >> reporter: shimura ken had long been one of the nation's most recognizable comedians. he rose to stardom in the 1970s as part of the drifters, a group that entertained viewers for decades with a hugely popular saturday night variety show. shimura won the hearts of viewers with his iconic chcharacters and trademamark physicalal comedy.y. that unique brand transcended language barriers, gaining him fans throughout asia. one of his progrgrams even inspired the creation of "america's funniest home videos." the long-running u.s. program tweeted its condolences, thanking shimura for always making people laugh. shimura's management says after the icon contracted the coronavirus, his condition

quickly worsened, progressing from fatigue to pneumonia and finally death, all within two weeks. health experts say it should be a cautionary tale. >> translator: i thinknk all of society,y, includingng young pe, need to think ouout hoto prevenent patientsts from becom seseriously ilill. >> reporter: but some young people seem to be defying government calls to refrain from nonessential weekend outings. there's hope shimura's death will change that attitude. >> translator: i didn't take the situation very seriously, even though new cases are reported every day. it didn't affect anyone i know, but i feel scared now that a famous person like him has died. >> reporter: this popular japanese youtuber told followers

keeping others safe is one way to pay tribute to their idol. >> translator: i want them to imagine what it would be like if they were infected and spread this virus to loved ones. if s someone dies bebecause of , they will regret it. they should spend each day considering that. >> reporter: as the coronavirus spreads, people across japan will continue to mourn the comedy legend, now also a symbol of the growing pandemic. nochi haruka, nhk world, tokyo. >> shimura's ashes have now returned to his home in western tokyo. the late comedian's brother spoke to reporters on tuesday evening about the effect the cocoronavirus has had on proceedings.

> translator: i w wasn't abl see my brother's face. he was in a closed coffin. i understand the reason why, but it's sad. >> none of shimura's relatives were able to see him before he was cremated due to concerns about the virus. >> translator: i hope this makes people aware of how serious coronavirus can be. >> japan's health ministry is urging people to take precautions when hanandling the bodies of others who have died from infectious diseases. it says bereaved families may hold normal funerals as long as correct measures are followed. while the coronavirus has been spreading in the u.s. and europe, a world health organization official has issued a warning for people in asia. he says the epidemic is nowhere

near over in the asia-pacific region. >> let me be clear, the epidemic is far from over in asia and the pacific. this is going to be a long-term battle, and we cannot let down our guard. >> in a video conference, kasai said that current measures to curb the spread of the virus are buying timime to prepare for large-scale community transmission. >> we have found common tactics in this country. those are finding, isolating and testing cases early, tracing and quarantining. in indonesia, where more than 1,500 cases have been confirmed, president joko widodo declared a public health emergency on tuesday. the government also imposed new regulations, including

suspending all arrivals and transits by foreign nationals. it had already implemented tougher measures on mobility between regions and greater social distancing. the vietnamese prime minister has ordered citizens to refrain from going outdoors except to buy food and in emergency cases, and to limit public gatherings to no more than two people. the decree will remain in place for 15 days. the government says most public transportation will also be halted. china says it will include so-called silent carriers in its daily count of coronavirus cases. the policy change is seen as an effort to evade criticism that beijing is downplaying the outbreak. the head of the country's national health commission told a news conference on tuesday that from wednesday the commission will release the number of asymptomatic carriers to ease public concerns.

the chinese govemement has so far excluded the number r of people with the virus who show no symptoms from its official statistics. it said they have a lower risk of infecting others even though the asymptomatic subjects are quarantined for two weeks. the commission says that as of tuesday there are 1,541 asymptomatic cases. but a hong kong newspaper earlier reported that classified government data showed there were more than 43,000 such cases at the end of february. in addition, a group of chinese researchers published a study in march saying when it comes to transmitting the virus to others, there's little difference between carriers with or without symptoms. in south korea, where nearly 9,800 cases have been reported, the country has decided to start the new school year next week online. the education minister says it's still not safe for students to

return to school. >> translator: we have a new school year and an imperfect foforum. we will ease parents' concerns by providing support to make up for what may be lacking from their regulaclclasses. >> under the plan, students in the third grade of junior high school and those in the third year of high school will start their semester next thursday. the rest of the students as well as elementary schools will begin by mid-april. the new school year usually starts at the beginning of march, but authorities have postponed it three times. some media are questioning whether all households will be able to prepare for online classes in such a short period of time. much of japan will deal with a spring storm wednesday, even thunderstorms and hail could hit the country.

our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us with the details. >> hello, there. it's going to be a wet start to april in western and central japan on wednesday. there's a concern for thunderstorms and even hail in parts of the country. a low-pressure system is rapidly intensifying and approaching western japan at this moment. this system will likely cause thundershowers for many places and rain will also spread to central japan. now, shikoku will likely see the heaviest rainfall, nearly 150 millimeters possible for the next 24 hours, and for tokyo, the peak of heavy rain will be on wednesday night. heavy rain could lead to landslides as well as flooding and not just that, lightning and also gusts are possible. many places in japan will deal with stormy weather on wednesday. temperatures are going to be in the double digits in tokyo as well as kyoto, and sendai will

sesee unusuaually high temperat. sapporo had the warmest day of the season on tuesday, and it will be warmer than that for wednesday. meanwhile, we have a very intense high-pressure system across western place of europe. you can see clockwise circulation across the west. this system is actually bringing cooler air from the north, but temperatures are going to warm up slightly as we go into wednesday. the highs will be 8 or 9 degrees in berlin as well as vienna, 12 degrees in paris. sunny weather on wednesday. a calm day to take a dip in the pool in brussels -- or rather, belgium. take a look at this. a a wborn hippo at aelgigianoo made his first dip into a big pool with his mother last week. unfortunately, those who want to see the new calf will have to wait because the country is on lockdown due to the current coronavirus situation. the hippo also has an older sibling named kibo who was born

in 2013. these hippos have cute behinds. that's it for me. have a safe day.y. and one more story. a crowdfunding campaign to rebuild an iconic castle in okinawa has blown out expectations. the drive to restore shuri castle pulled in millions more than its goal and has now come to a close. the castle is located in the

city of naha and was mostly destroyed in a massive fire last october. city officials launched the crowdfunding campaign november 1s o one day a after the blazez. the drive rereached its targete 100 million yen or about $920,000 in only three days. people continued donating to help with the massive cost of rebuilding. as of tuesday, the campaign pulled in more than $8.6 million. the city expressed gratitude for the contributions, which often came with messages of encouragement. okinawa a prefecture, nanaha ci and neneighboring totomigusuku hahave also received about $22 million from other fund-raising campaigns. officials say they will use the money to rebuild the main hall by 2026, as well as other parts of the castle.

and that's all for this edition of "nhk newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us. welcome to "newsline" in depth. the coronavirus is having a serious impact on the arts and performing arts. many artists are being forced to rethink how they work. today we visit creates who are making the most of streaming and other technologies as well as artists in more traditional fields. for these forms ofof expression the virus could pose an

existential threat. the coronavirus has not spared anime, the meticulously produced cartoons are one of japan's most lucrative culturally exports. amid the outbreak, events are being cancnceled. people in the industry are doing all they can to keep going, but some are being forced to question how long traditional production methods can continue. ♪ >> reporter: anime has become a 2 trillion y yen industry, and s products are being sold globally. most japanese animation companies outsource about 30% of their work to china. however, thehe recent coronaviv outbrereak has severelely impac the industry, including this studio in tokyo. yara lo, a 28-year-old hong kong native is the studio's ceo. in february he tweeted a four-panel car soon expressing his company's worries. animators at an affiliate in

beijing couldn't reach the office due to the coronavirus. the police had even sealed off the studio. by february animators were self-isolating at home and the volume of work delivered to japan plummeted. this has deeply affected lo's business in japan. >> translator: it was terrible. i think terrible is the right word for the situation. there were days when nothing could be done at all. even on other days, we could only finish about 10% of normal volume at best. >> reporter: then the problem started to come from the japan

side. mail services to china were suspended and the entry of people coming from the country was restricted. nearly 70% of animation work is still created on paper and since the industry works with tight deadlines, getting the art to japan quickly is paramount. so animation company staff usually fly over with the original artwork. >> the coronavirus outbreak has revealed the problems with working on paper. so the whole industry is now talking about creating images digitally on computers as much as possible like we did. but such a system isn't fully ready. > reporter: the new regulatis occurred the same day the system parted and the plans were put on hold. big anime events were scrapped because the overseas market is becoming more important for the

anime industry. the japan external trade organization has been using such events to connect international buyers with domestic firms to boost t exports. >> so not just create -- >> reporter: so jetro found a way to carry on with some social distancing. they set up teleconferences with international buyers who had been scheduled to come to japan. >> are you i interested in robert's t type of content? it's most popular in our continent. >> okay, if you can show me what you have and the key assets, whatat you believe a blockbuste. >> reporter: jetro wants to maintain the momentum despite the epidemic. >> translator: we think internet-based business models will be essential, even enough

after the coronavirus sub size. >> reporter: with people stuck at home and spring break extended, some companies have started streaming anime online at no charge. and this company conducted a live streaming eventnt at the shrine, with voice actors, but no audience. >> reporter: this company notes the coronavirus outbreak is accelerating the demand for anime streaming services. >> translator: the situation may be difficult now, but it's important that we stay in high spirits. people will be attracted to the entertainment we offer if it's

full of energy, and i expect this will lead to boosting our industry in the future. >> reporter: the pandemic has put a strain on people working in anime, but the industry is trying to turn the crisis into an opportunity. nhk world, tokyo. >> a big factor in the success of japanese anime is its handmade quality.

but not everyone knows how far this goes. it came as a surprise to me, too, to learn studios sent personal escorts to ship completed artwork. the truth is many people in this labor-intensive industry struggle to make ends meet. but as we saw, the coronavirus has exposed both the industry's vulnerabilities and strengths. if the coronavirus is forcing the anime industry to rethink its old-fashioned ways, there's one area of the arts the outbreak is hitting especially hard, and that's live performance. with concerts being canceled around the world, our next story starts with an orchestra that has adapted to live streaming. it's a clever way of working around the lockdowns, but no one will pretend it's as good as listening with others as a concert hall. we also see how the coronavirus is taking an even bigger toll on those lesser-known performers at the opposite end of the scale from the famous orchestra. a traditional japanese singer

and musician tells us how this global health crisis is threatening not only his own future but his art form itself. ♪ >> reporter: it was a sold-out performance more than a year in the making, except instead of a packed audience, the berlin philharmonic played d to rows on rows of empty seats. more than 6,000 0 peoplele took the concert from the comforts of their home for free. it wasn't ideal but both the performers and organizers wanted to make the best out of a difficult situation. other performances have suffered worse fates in recent weeks. accocording to a recent survey artists, 95% say some of their shows have been canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. ♪

among the affected his this man, he's dedicated his life to mastering a traditional style of japanese music. he says most of his march performances have been scrapped. >> translator: our income will be lost if this continues. we are in trouble. ♪ >> reporter: he continues to practice, earning money on the side by teaching apprentices. but he said it's not enough, especially if performances continue to be canceled. >> translator: our jobs will no longer be viable. i'm afraid about what could happen. >> reporter: but kinewa said he's still fortunate compared to other performers who have no other source of income. according to a survey, one-third say if things don't improve soon, they may have to find jobs

that provide more stability. and industry experts sense the exodus could have a long-term impact. >> that's very difficult for them to come back to the art world once they stop it. that means the culture of japan will stop, especially for the arts part. especially for the performing arts part. >> reporter: the arts provide an escape from the rigors of daily life. and in the wake of the pandemic, are needed more than ever. but as efforts continue to try to stem the outbreak, the show can't go on, at least for now. >> as in other parts of the world, most concerts and theater shows in japan are being canceled for the time being. since the closures are voluntary, this makes it harder for performers to receive compensation. they are not eligible for

benefits. the losses are increasingly tough to bear. the organizers are often small businesses and the majority of musicians and actors work as freelancers. most are uninsured and already face difficulty getting work and making a living. the virus has also affected related workers such as event organizers, caterers, technical crew and equipment rental companies. wewe spoke to a renowned playwright and director about how he sees the challenges facing the performing arts. >> translator: if a theater group cannot play, it t might g into debt. members might not quit immediately but many may not perform again for another two to three years. younger theater groups and musicians have now lost an avenue of expression. when the theater picks up again, it will be important to re-create these opportunities. this could also provide a chance for people who haven't been able to perform before. we don't know when we'll be able to restart.

the other thing is it's an invisible enemy. that's why we are feeling so devastated. everyone is stressed. even if a performance could be small and safe, peoplele would t angry to see others gathering. i believe art is vital in these times. >> hirata also pointed out how this has revealed the poor government support for cultural activities in japan. he said the virus presents a good opportunity for us to start some long-term planning about how to protect our shared heritage. we know that art has the power to bring people together, to celebrate, to encourage and to heal. amid the present health crisis, the life-affirming force is more important than ever. but art is also about nurturing

a heritage and our stories tell us that if we are not careful, reviving what has been pushed aside may not be easy once we emerge from the current danger. that's it for today's "newsline in depth." thank you for watching.

fema is very busy delivering literally millions of supplies to states, but we are urging every governor to work with their state emergency management team and use the national guard to move those supplies from warehouses to the hospitals. we have distributed 11.6 million masks, more than 8100 ventilators around the nation, millions of face shields, surgical masks and gloves. we initiated an air bridge yesterday. flights have arrived in new york, one arrived in illinois and a flight will arrive ioh