> hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the latest from tokyo. we begin here in the capital where officials are reporting 144 new coronavirus cases in the city, the largest daily increase so far. more than 1300 people have now tested positive across the capital, which is home to 14 million people. the new figure comes a day after the prime minister declared a

state of emergency for tokyo and six other prefectures. abe shinzo is calling for the public's cooperation to help keep the virus from spreading. >> translator: i strongly believe that it will be posossie to get out of this situation by having a state of emergency in place for one mondays. if we reduce our contact with people by at least 70% or preferably, 80%. >> the declaration covers tokyo, kanagawa, saitama, chiba, osaka, and fukuoka. it will be in place until may 6. the governors of those prefefectures held a teleconference wednesday morning to discuss how to counter the virus. they're calling on the local government to support medical systems and compensate businesses that close temporarily. the government is not imposing a lockdown as some foreign governments have. officials want to minimize the

impact on economic and social activities. public transformation and super markets will remain open. a number of companies said they will shut down voluntarily like coffee shops like starbucks.. people had mixed reaction. >> translator: now i understand that the situation's really serious. with staggered working hours, i have been able to spend a bit more time at home. >> translator: i don't know whether t the situation will ge better in a month or two. i'm worried, because this has never happened before, and nobody can tell the fututure. >> it was business as usual for staff at transport and delivery companies in tokyo, supplying products to super markets and drugstores. the only change was the amount of packages. >> translator: i've never been this busy. i've been delivering twice the amount of goods almost every

day. >> transport companies are asking people not to hoard goods, as it could disrupt the supply chain. now concern about the health of elderly residents continues. at this center some are already staying away. staff fear they could develop dementia and lose muscle strength p thif they can't visie facility. >> translator: we need to discuss and consider thousahow support each elderly person as much as possible. >> they're also worried many employees with small children will be unable to work because schools are closed. across japan, the pace of infections is increasing. more than 4,700 people have now tested positive, excluding

712cases from the "diamond princess" cruiseship which was quarantined near tokyo. nhk world visited a popular part of the capital to hear more about how the measure is affecting people there. >> reporter: one of the most famous intersections around the globe is usually packed with people. but today it's a different world. >> translator: my hours have decreased, because the movements of people and goods have decreased. we have no choice but to wait for the storm to pass. i can't do anything about it, so i have to wait for this to go away. >> translator: there are imminent deadlines for work-related projects, so we can't just stop everything, and i still have to go out for a meeting. >> reporter: shibuya will undergo a radical economic and social shift following prime minister abe's declaration.

on the main street in shibuya, the shopping mall and all its high fashion, revenue-generating stores inside is closed. movie theater screens are silent and seats are empty. this is the go-to place for young people to hang out. now there is an eerie stillness despite the loudspeaker's announcement. in this popular restaurant area, banners announcing closures have replaced crowds of people socializing. the banner shows this shop had closed even before today. balancing the fear of contracting the virus by staying open with customers' need for food is top of mind for this woman who helps her son run his restaurant. >> translator: i have a shop,

but i don't want to open it. but i'm doing all i can, because some people are in need. >> reporter: shibuya is known as a place for young people to gather. strolling, drinking and sightseeing. how chapshibuya looks when the e of emergency ends is anyone's guess, but government officials say the future of the city will be shaped by how people act now, in the present. nhk world, tokyo. now, homeless people are one particularly vulnerable group being affected by the declaration. here in tokyo, about 4,000 of them sleep in 24-hour internet cafes, including a large number of women fleeing domestic violence. many will be out on the street as the businesses shut temporarily, which also puts them at greater risk of infection. > translator: i want the caf

to stay open, but it's hard under the circumstances. >> this major national chain operates about a dozen locations. it decided to close all of them in light of the declaration. most internet cafes are open around the clock. they've become a low-cost option for people looking for a place to sleep as well as to stay connect t connected online. >> translator: those people may move to other cafes that are still open or spend the night at 24-hour f fast food restaurantsr family restaurants. it will make those places crowded. >> he says measures need to be taken to provide the homeless population with emergency shelter amid the pandemic. prime minister abe's declaration tuesday was greeted with skepticism in british and u.s. media. various outlets question the timing and potential effectiveness of japan's state of emergency. the "new york times" said for

months japan has confounded the world by reporting a relatively low rate of coronavirus infections without imposing the kind of stringent measures used by other nations. medical experts are wondering whether the declaration has come just in time to avoid calamity or is too little too late. british newspaper "the guardian" says the japanese government does not have the legal authority to enforce a france-style lockdown. it added japanese officials are hoping self-restraint and threats to name and shame businesses that refuse to close will ensure compliance. other u.s. media noted experts have warned the failure to respond quickckly could result a far worse situation with h on doctor statiting we might see t next new york city in tokyo. medical facilities across japan are taking steps to keep staff from being infected. one in kyoto tells workers to

self-isolate at home, it comes after they ignored advice to avoid groups. 71 of the people who broke the rules are still isolating. the measure is aimed at preventing infections at the facility and will not affect medical services. here in tokyo, 18 trainee doctors recently contracted the virus after dining together. the hospital apologized for what it d described as inexcusable behavior. people in the chinese city of wuhan flooded into train stations and airports on wednesday, as authorities there lifted a month-long lockdown. the city was the first to report cases of the coronavirus before

it spread to countries across the globe.. wuhan'n's midnight reopening wa celebrated with an elaborate light show. at railway stations and airports, officials took the temperatures of passengers and cautioned them to keep their distance. chinese officials estimate about 55,000 people wiwill take the trtrain outut of wuhan before t day is over. another 11,000 people are expected to pass through local airports. more than 10,000 companies have also reopened, but residents are still urged to repran from going out except to go t to work. officials say as of tuesday, 50,000 people in wuhan have been infected, 2,572 have died. authorities now say transmission of the virus within wuhan has been contained. but the chinese figures have prompted skepticism with s some saying officials have not b bee consistent with their count,

both for those who show no symptoms and for people who die before their infections are confirmed. u.s. president donald trump has criticized the world health organization saying it's very china-centric. he also hinted he may consider cutting off funding for the body. >> we're going to put a hold on money spent to the w.h.o. we're going to put a very powerful hold on it, and we're going to see. it's a great thing if it works. >> the u.s. contribution accounts for about a quarter of the w.h.o.'s budget. trump referred to concerns expressed by the w.h.o. director general last month over the u.s. ban on the entry of people from china. the president said the w.h.o. was wrong, adding it seems to be too focussed on china. now over in morning, patient numbers are exceeding capacity at general hospitals. one specializing in cancer treatment has temporarily discharged man p patients t accommode p peoe affecd w wit

the coronirus. nhk skeo a pharmacistt the hospitalal. she said herer hospital h has a indefininitely postptponed surgs of many cancer patients. atat least ten people working there havave t tested positive the virus. > what is scaryry aboutut th corona, covid-19, is everyrythi is happenedd all of a a sudden. i mean,, ddenly, you willll, yo collapse. suddenly, you wi, y you will become pneneumonia. suddddenly, y you're going to b dead. so very scary. >> she said her facility tests more than 2,000 people a day for the coronavirus and about 100 patients who have been found infected are now hospitalized. now across the globe, more than 1.43 million coronavirus infections have been reported. that's according to johns hopkins university in baltimore.

the united states has the most confirmed infections at around 400,000, followed by spain and italy. in other news, the acting secretary of the u.s. navy has resigned after criticizing the fired captain of a carrier following the outbreak. >> he didn't think any information was going to get out to the public. in this age of information we live in, he was too naïve or too stupid to be the captain of a ship like this. >> modly has been criticized by democrats and others for a speech he gave in guam. modly relieved brett crozier last week because he copied a letter to many people, including some outside his chain of command. the letter was addressed to senior officials and asked for the immediate evacuation of his

crew. at least 173 members of the ship's crew have been infected with the coronavirus. the pandemic appears to be affecting even the world's wealthiest people. the number of billionaires on forbes magagazine's annual list actually got smaller this year. forbes counted 2,095 billionaires this year. that was an58 fewer than last year, and some saw their incomes shrink. this reflects the havoc the virus is having on the market and economy. jeff bezos topped the list down $18 million. microsoft founder bill gates came sececond witith $98 billio. luxury goods tycoon, bernard arnot came third with $76 billion.

the magazine put u.s. president at number 1001 with just over $2 billion, down from 715th place last year. it says his net worth plunged by a billion dollars in less than a month. and it's now time for a check on the world weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. jonathan, we've been closely watching that powerful system that struck vanuatu monday, and you say it's heading to fiji.

where's it heading now? >> moving toward tonga. now it's continuing to head over into some nearby islands as well. so we talked about how harold, a tropical cyclone was a category five system when it moved over vanuatu on monday and now it has moved closer and closer to fiji. there it is south of the island. but we are talking about still a lot of strong winds and heavy rainfall with this system and it has left a lot of destruction in its path. these are pictures from tuesday from vanuatu, and you can see from this perspective from the sky the damage this storm left behind. it demolished buildings and homes, took out the power lines and communication lines as well. so it's really going to be a recovery period for quite some time dealing with this particular destruction.

over the next 48 hours we're expecting the storm to move away from fiji toward tonga before it peters out by friday. please make sure you are hunkering down as this particular system rolls nearby. across japan, we had a fair weather day. but we to have a developing low pressure system, you see that spinning right there? that is a developing low, that's going to be the next weather maker. we're talking about the chance for precipitation, mainly in the form of rain. may squeeze out a few flurries from this. elsewhere, we're talking about highs for the mid to upper teens and into the weekend. and the rain chance continues to be a part of the story up towards hokkaido and the northern portions of the country. we are talking about showers in sapporo. tokyo to fukuoka, all looking at highs in the upper teens. that lasts through friday. then by saturday, mid teens and clouds increase by sunday.

and so we're going to still be in the mid to upper teen temperature pattern, but we will be seeing a little bit of change by the time we go to the latter part of the weekend. here's a look at europe. we had this big high pressure system keeping the scenario where everything is going around it, like a blocking high. a little low pressure toward the eastern side of the mediterranean. it will bring additional precipitation as we go through the day on wednesday. strong winds are being reported into the north. but istanbul at 12. kiev looking a at 19. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

and that concludes this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline" biz with ramin mellegard, so please,

stay right there. officials at japanese travel agency h.i.s. says it's giving its employees a month leave. they plan t to pay staff t thro public employment subsidies. the firm will retain several

dozenn workers. two other travel agencies have essentially closed all outlets in regions affected by the emergency. this is "newsline" biz, i'm ramin mellegard. japan saw a plunge in the number of overseas tourists in february due to the coronavirus. the decline led to the first drop in the country's net earnings for tourism in a year compared with the same month in 2019. finance ministry officials says japan's travel account surplus means people spent more in japan on accommodation and shopping than japanese travelers did abroad. meanwhile, japan's current account surplus in february grew to more than 3 trillion yen or $29 billion. that was due to a larger trade

surplus because of a decline in imports from china where the pandemic damped production. e-commerce giant r rakuten wants to help free up spaces in hospitals overburdened by the coronavirus cases. over 700 hotels and inns on its travel website are capable of taking low-risk patients. rakuten is asking 36,000 accocommodations abobout their availability. 744 have already replied they can provide space. the company says that would open up about 91,000 rooms. some of tokyo's coronavirus patients have already been transferred from hospitals to a tokyo inn. people with mild or no symptoms should recuperate at home or in lodges. one group has told the government it would take people with milder symptoms.

nissan and honda have announced reductions in workforce. honda will furlough about 18,000 workers at plants in the u.s. the car maker has been drawing down operations at its eight factories in the country since march. they will remain offline until may 1st. honda will cover workers' salaries until the middle of april. after that they should seek government subsidies. nissan has announce td will temporarily lay off workers in tennessee and mississippi. 3,000 more workers including those at its plant in spain will be laid off. the pandemic has been forcing auto makers to suspend operations worldwide creating concern among employees for their jobs.

japan's state of emergency covers tokyo, osaka and five other prefectures. we asked an economist what the impact of the measures will be on the economy both in the near term and further down the road. nomura research executive economist points out that the declaration covers regions that account for nearly half of japan's gdp. he adds that personal consumption will fall about $62 billion in the coming months, about 1.2% of gdp. >> the ratio of the emergency and measures by the governors to tighten going out restrictions could reduce consumption. but i think the policy i is necessary to stop the expansion of the spread of virus. it's a kind of trading off, and we cannot cherry pick.

>> the government also announce add massive economic aid package wortrth around a trillion dolla. it includes income guarantees and measures to shore up corporate finances. but he says more economicc step will likely be needed. >> it's not very small. but it looks smaller in the compri comprisal of the huge damage in the economy caused by the coronavirus. japan and other countries have to implement additional. as long as as it continues people cannot remain optimistic. >> the package includes grants of about $2,800 for households whose incomes fall below a certain level. he gives the government high

marks for targeting the money at people who will need it most. >> so i think that the tax money should be used v very effective, and maybe allocate intensely to the people who face that very difficulty under the corona problem. the condition is very worse in japan, and that is the highest among those countries. there is no room for expanded spending. >> looooking ahead, he expects japan's economy to be stagnant for some time. >> i think that maybe impact of the restriction may continue. and on top of that, export could be very weak. japan is lagging to other countries in terms of business

cycle. but i hope that japan is also entering that gradual recovery phase in the fourth quarter of this year, and we expect positive growth in the next year. >> okay. let's t a check k on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline"

>> the largest daily death toll at over 1400 has been recororde. the current virus has killed over 10,000 people here in france. authorities mulling over compulsory face masks and the city of paris imposing tougher rerestrictioions on vemement. stable, but still in intensive care, boris is reporortedly not intutubated, but t very unwell. the prime minister has been infected with covid-19 and has been admitted to the icu after his condition took a turn for the worse. lockdown