hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. we start this hour here in japan the government is strengthening travel restrictions to fight the kroe coronavirus pandemic. >> given the surge of infection that's we're witnessing in europe and in the united states, the government has decided to enhance measures to prevent infections from coming into the

country at ports of entry. if we decide to raise travel alert to level three. for 49 countries and territories based on the immigration control law, we will add these countries and territories to ban entries of people from these areas starting april 3rd. with these additional countries and territories, the total of 73 countries will be subject to our travel ban. >> those countries include the united states, canada and most of europe. they also include indonesia and six other southeast asian countries as well as china and south korea. additionally, anyone who enters japan including japanese nationals will be asked to self quarantine for two weeks. the measures follow a surge in the number of confirmed infections of people who've recently been abroad. >> earlier in the day the prime minister said it's currently not necessary to declare a state of

emergency over the coronavirus. his comments come as the number of cases in the country continue to rise. >> translator: at this point, i don't think we are in a situation to declare a state of emergency. basically, i'd like to decide whether to issue such a declaration while prioritizing and protecting the health of the public. >> abe is authorized to issue an emergency declaration into a recently passed law but has so far declined to do so. abe has said that an emergency declaration can restrict people's rights but that it would not give him or the state greater authority. instead, he said it would allow prefectural governors to make necessary requests and give orders. abe's remarks come just a day after the tokyo governor yuriko koike said her prefecture is on the brink of an explosive increase of infection. across japan, there are more than 2,300 confirmed infections, excluding 712 cases from the "diamond princess" cruise ship. a total of 77 people have died, including 11 from the ship. now the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in unexpected waves around the world. in the western pacific, an officials? tokyo say there is a surge of

infections among people in the entertainment districts. employees of hostess bars and clubs are the among the people whose infection roots cannot be traced. they're calling on people not to visit night spots there. tokyo reported 66 new confirmed cases on wednesday, across japan, 2300 people have tested have for the virus outbreak has been reported . aboard the "uss theodore roosevelt" aircraft carrier a which is docked in guam. total of 78 people have died including 11 from the cruise ship. around the world, the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in unexpected ways. in the western pacific, an outbreak is reported on the aircraft carry cher is docked in guam. u.s. media say the captain is calling on the navy's leadership for urgent measures to help the

vessel's 5,000 crew members. he reportedly sent a letter to the pentagon saying the spread of the virus is accelerating. the letter reads in part, we are not at war. sailors do not need to die. the captain wants some crew members to be immediately isolated on shore. three crew tested positive late last month. since then, media reports say the number of infections has risen to at least 70. another nuclear-powered aircraft carrier south of tokyo is also facing an emergency. sailors have tested positive aboard the "uss ronald reagan." it is docked at the naval base. u.s. defense secretary mark esper says the u.s. navy has more than two aircraft carriers in its fleet. he says the outbreaks will not affect military readiness, but concerns are rising that the spread of infection would impact its operations.

the number of coronavirus infections in the united states has now topped 160,000, and president trump is warning the death toll could exceed 100,000 in coming weeks. the state of new york is the epicenter of the outbreak. governor andrew cuomo disclosed that his younger brother, cnn television anchor chris cuomo has also tested positive for the virus. he reiterated his call for new yorkers to stay at home. >> everyone, everyone is subject to this virus. it is the great equalizer. >> the state reported 332 deaths in a single day on tuesday. the number of cases is approaching 80,000. the state has begun using a u.s. navy hospital ship as an emergency medical facility and filled a field hospital in central park.

it has also ordered 17,000 ventilators from china to cover a serious shortage of the life-saving devices. mandatory stay-at-home orders are in place in 34 of the 50 states plus washington, d.c. residents can only go out to buy food and other essentials. police, medical workers and a limited number of others are allowed to go out to work. trump, together with public health officials told reporters that people should brace for some tough weeks ahead. >> i want every american to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. we're going to go through a very tough two weeks. >> experts project that the death toll in the u.s. could reach 100,000 to 240,000 even with the current mitigation efforts. the administration's task force is urging people to keep their distance from one another to avoid a worse case scenario.

protecting people who work in essential services has become a pressing issue as more cities go into lockdown. in france, a super market cashier and delivery driver have died after contracting the virus. about 300 police officers have also been infected. plastic barriers are being installed at major grocery stores across the country to help protect cashiers. >> translator: the situation is making everyone worried. we want to do all we can to protect our staff. staying open is good for society. we are helping to keep people fed. >> in new york, five police officers have died and hundreds of others are on sick leave after testing positive. the police commissioner says steps are being taken to minimize the risk of infection. in italy, around 300 workers at an amazon delivery station

reportedly went on strike on monday. reuters say they're demanding more protective equipment. tokyo education authorities decided to keep the high schools closed until early may. the tokyo board of education held an extraordinary meeting on wednesday. they decided to keep schools shut until the end of japan's golden week public holidays on may 6th based on advice from a government panel of experts. they say that reduced scale entrants and opening ceremonies will be held after infection prevention measures have been taken. elementary schools and junior high schools that are administered by local boards of education will be asked to implement preventive measures if they decide to reopen after the

spring vacation. amid that uncertainty, school administrators are deciding how to best keep students safe. in the next report, we check in with a family and a tokyo junior high school. >> this boy hasn't been at school for nearly a month. and the social isolation is taking a toll. >> translator: i can't see my friends at all. i can only call them. i miss them. >> the fifth grader spends most of his time reading, playing games, and increasingly arguing with his mom. the situation is also hard for his mom. she decided to quit her job to take care of him. there is no idea when she can get back to work. for now, her son comes first. >> translator: i'm worried about my soon returning to school because i feel like letting him go there and the current circumstances is a little dangerous. but at the same time, i'm thinking how much longer should

we wait? >> it's a problem facing parents around the world. in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, unesco says more than 100 countries have temporarily shut schools, affecting over 80% of the world's student population. >> translator: hi, this is your weekly health check from the school. >> reporter: teacher at the tokyo junior high school have been checking on students to ensure they're mentally and physically well. but that situation may soon change. each ward or municipality can decide if school should reopen. if they do, the japanese ministry of education has issued three safety guidelines. there can be no overcrowding. students and teachers should not speak close together and spaces must be properly ventilated. how schools make that happen is largely left up to them. >> translator: there are a lot of things we have to decide on,

based on individual factors, including school facilities and the size of the student population. >> reporter: it may be difficult for some classes to avoid overcrowding. in that case, the courses will be postponed. administrators are also working to ensure students can wash their hands more often. this school has more than 400 students, but there are only ten faucets for each floor. so the school decided to give each class its own designated hand-washing time. the science classes are also a challenge. ventilating rooms during experiments can be difficult, even dangerous. while staff hurry to prepare, they also realize they have to expect the unexpected. >> translator: what we've come to expect today may be different tomorrow. in other words, what we think is going to happen in the morning today could change by the afternoon. we have no choice but to reopen the schools based on the

information we have at this stage. and we're moving with this in mind. >> reporter: it may be impossible to predict the future, but teachers are doing what they can to prepare for multiple situations. whether students learn in the classroom or at home. a toeky government anti-smoking ordinance came into full infect on wednesday with the ban extended to indoor smoking at nearly all the capital's restaurants. the smoking prohibition applies to tokyo restaurants with employees regardless of floor size or business scale. it totals 130,000 accounting for 84% of all eateries in the capital. the ordinance was passed in july 2018 to tackle the health hazards of secondhand smoking

ahead of the tokyo 2020 olympics and paraolympics. it's been implemented in stages since last year. this restaurant put up a sign about the ban and set up ashtrays outside on wednesday. . the restaurant had previously divided the floor space into smoking and nonsmoking areas. the restaurant's owner said he hopes smokers will understand and all customers will enjoy their meals. >> translator: i think customers who don't like smoking can have a more comfortable time. >> smokers and building managers who violate the ordinance are subject to a fine of up to about $470. >> the united nations secured council has failed to reach a unanimous condemnation of north korea's latest missile launches. some members expressed concerns in the emergency videoconference on tuesday.

north korea launched what appears to be two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea of japan on sunday. china's ambassador to the u.n. and the council's chair and other envoys took part in the meeting. diplomatic sources say some countries voiced their opposition to pyongyang's actions, but china and russia reiterated their call for easing sanctions against the north. sources say china's representative expressed displeasure about the launches and called on the north to refrain from provocative actions amid the coronavirus outbreak. north korea launched projectiles four times last month. there are no council discussions on strengthening sanctions. japan is falling behind south korea as an attractive destination for foreign workers. according to a new report from the japan international cooperation agency, the report

comes as the country is facing labor shortages due to an aging workforce. japan, south korea and taiwan with competing to secure workers from southeast asian countries. the agency also says touj e. south korea is gaining in popularity due to the efforts to improve working conditions and systems. public organizations are taking the lead in accepting foreign workers and requiring some companies to pay higher wages. the report was released one year after japan set up a new type of work visa for people who have vocational skills. a bid to expand the field for foreign workers. but experts are expressing concerns that japan won't be able to attract skilled workers unless work conditions are improved. in a move to encourage foreign workers to choose japan, they have begun supporting technical

trainees gain employment after returning to their home countries using the skills they acquired in japan. let's check out the weather now. hello. >> hi. >> it's the first day of april. and people in tokyo have been experiencing rain and winds. what's the latest? >> right now it's pouring outside the studios. western japan is now seeing rain easing. this is the radar over the past 12 hours. rain is now shifting towards the east and the north. now for the next several hours, tokyo will see heavy rainfall. the heaviest rain was found along the pacific side. they had 173 millimeters of rain in 24 hours. the rain is now heading towards the north and east. this is the low pressure. that is dumping heavy rainfall over japan. as you can see, the pressure gradient is pretty tight. winds are pretty strong as well. this system will pull away from the region by early tomorrow

morning on thursday morning. but the northern japan will see stormy conditions and you notice white precipitation is in the forecast over hokaido. 8 for the high on thursday. wednesday was pretty warm. the high was 16 degrees making the warmest day of the season so far. but winter will likely come back on sunday. tokyo's high will be unusually warm. we go into saturday. 21 degrees. of it's going to be more like early may. so warmer weather is expected during the weekend. a high pressure system is dominating much of china. winds are strong and that spread fires. take a look at this video from the province. forest fires started on monday afternoon in the province. quickly spread due to hot and dry conditions. 19 people including 18 firefighters have been killed and more than 1,200 people have

been evacuated. relative humidity dropped below 10% and day time highs exceeded 30 degrees celsius in the province. we might see some showers every day for the rest of the work week. temperatures will be 18 here and quite warm across the north. 12 for the high. it will be 21 in beijing. europe, we have three storms across the southern half of europe. one here will cause severe weather. southern spain could see nearly 100 millimeters of rainfall into your wednesday. and this has cold air in the upper atmosphere. mountains like bulgaria could see nearly 20 centimeters snow and another low across eastern turkey could cause severe flooding rainfall plus snowfall and temperatures will be 10 in istanbul and 3 and 10 degrees in london. that's it for me. stay safe.

and that's all for this edition of nhk newsline. thank you for joining us. do stay with us for more.

tokyo stocks plunged wednesday on deepening kurover concerns of the coronavirus. the nikkei stock average fell at one stage by over 1,000 points. the nikkei ended the day down 4.5%. the release of the survey gave momentum to unload stocks. a stronger yen added pressure on

investors to sell equities. this is news line biz. the latest survevey shows sentimiment at large manufacturs has turned neck negative for the first time in seven years. a negative reading means most companies are feeling pessimistic. the index deteriorated for all sectors. sentiment was also down at big nonmanufacturers. but it managed to stay in positive territory. it went from plus 20 to plus 8. tourist numbers have dropped. the index for accommodation eating and drinking services plunged minus 59. both large manufacturers and nonmanufacturers say they expect things to keep getting worse. most of the firms surveyed respond bid early march. april is start of japan's business here. normally recruits celebrate with

employers. but the pandemic made big gatherings too risky. companies are finding new ways to mark the occasion. officials at precision equipment firm in tokyo are personalize event to welcome new staff, fresh recruits entered a whole separate lane chatttted with th president about their ambitions. >> translator: after consulting a doctor we thought it would be better to do things this way. >> executives at trading firm also greeted new employees individually. the recruits enterering the headquarters at a safe distance from each h other. >> translator: it's so nice to see the beautiful cherry blossoms. i can't wait to start work. they're taking training online until april 10th. >> a japanese automaker will

suspect production due to pandemic. all eight japanese auto makers are halting operations at some or all of their plants. company officials say production lines will stop at the plants north of tokyo from april 11th to may 1st. they're also extending the current suspension of the u.s. plant through april 17th. other japanese car makes have already announced temporary closures in both domestic and overseas plants although the factories in china resumed. the spread of the virus is discouraging domestic must car buyers. march sales fell 9.3% year on year marking the sixth straight month of decline. a japanese pharmaceutical firm initiated clinical trials of a drug that could potentially treat coronavirus symptoms. fuji film will conduct tests of

avagan on 100 people affected with the virus. the trial will last until the end of june. they developed avigan six years ago as a flu anti-viral drug. it can only be used with government p permission as ther is the possibility of serious side effects. executives plan to seek approval to use the drug in the treatment of the coronavirus if the trial proves effective and safe. japan's tourism sector is being dealt a crushing blow as foreign visitors canceled bookings. travel restrictions and the postponement of the tokyo olympics and paraolympics are a double hit for operators struggling to stay afloat. >> this popular tokyo land mark is usually bustling with activity. but now it's largely empty. shops in n the arerea are feeli the pain. >> translator: sales have plunged as much as 90%.

we can't survive with the japanese customers alone. >> translator: i think businesses across japan have finally realized how important foreign travelers were. >> reporter: government figures show about 32 million people visited japan from overseas last year. their spending is important for the economy. amounting to $45 billion in the same period. tourism was a growthh indusustr fueled b by the tokokyo gamames planned for this year. hotels made investments in the properties and put on extra staff. but as coronavirus infections rose globally, people became unable or unwilling to travel. japan recorded a 60% drop in foreign visitors for the month of february. bigger declines are expected..

a hotel that sits adjacent to a landmark is doing it tough. it's been in business for more than seven decades. last year the owner took out a bank loan for a renovation thah transformed it from a business hotel to a japanese style hotel. until the virus took its toll, 80% of guests came from abroad. most rooms are now empty. cancellations meant bookings for march wore just 15% of what the hotel had budgeted on. once more -- >> translator: here a stack of cancellations for april and later. there are already about 80. >> reporter: to cope with the situation, the hotel has only one-third of the staff working at any given time. the payroll has been cut by 80%. >> translator: it's tough to stay in business rigight now.

we may need to apply for a government subsidy or a loan. wewe're already in debt for the renovation. so we don't want to borrow any more if possible. >> reporter: hototels likee thi one will need help to survive. japan needs to retain the capacity to accommodate tour asts for when the postponed tokyo olympic and paraolympic games do go ahead next year. emergency economic measures to prop up the tourirism sector ar expectcted to be announced in t coming days. >> all right. let's have a look at the markets.

>> another record numbers of fatalities as the nation continues to reel from the coronavirus, 800 64 people dying in the last 24 hour -- 860 four people dying in n the last 2424 hours.s. more than 100 2000 families being impacted