hello and thank you for joining u us from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we begin in japan, where the health ministry is planning to consider nationwide drive-through testing for the coronavirus. it's a bid to help expand the country's testing c capacity to 20,000 samples per day. drive-through tests alow people to be tested in their vehicle.

ministry officials say this helps reduce the risk of in-hospital infefections while allowiwing effective testing. the method has already been introduced in parts of the country. the ministry says japan now has capacity for up to 12,000 daily tests. it plans to increase the figure by supporting the installment of more testing equipment using the emergency economic package recently announced by the government. the ministry also aims to secure more workers to help conduct the test. for the week ending april 6, 4,000 tests a day on average were happening. across japan overr 500 new cas werere reported on wednesday, a record high. more than 4,900 people have now tested posititive. another 712 cases were linked to the "diamond princess" cruiseship which was quarantined near tokyo earlier this year. more than 110 people have died,

including 11 from the ship. in france, the coronavirus death toll has topped 10,000. that makes it the fourth country to pass that mark after italy, spain and the united states officials say the total number of deaths as of tuesday stood at 10,328.. officials s say the totatal num ofof deaths as of tuesy y stoodt 10,328. there have been over 78,000 confirirmed infectioions. over 30,000 confirmed or suspspected cases hahave been reported at nursing homes across the country. paris is taking steps to tighten its lockdown. outdoor sports have been banned between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. the government said on wednesday the nationwide restriction on going out will be extended beyond the current end point of next wednesday. health minister olivier véran

told local media the countries has not reached the peak of the crisis. as long as necessary will last n the u.s., the infection counter topops 420,000, accorngg in new york, the numbeof ty. patients in hospitals exceedincapacity. one hospital that speciazezes in cancer treatment has temrarily discscharg many patients ttatake in thosenfected th the coronarus. nhk ske to a f fmist at the hospitalal ogata sonoko s said the hospita has indefinitely posostponed surgery for r many cancer r patients. she said at least ten people working ththere have tested positive for the virus. >> what t is scary aboutut the rona covidid-19 is everyththings happening all a sudden. i mean, suddenly you c collapse. suddenly you will become pneumonia. suddenly you're e going to be dead

soso it's very scary. >> she said her facility tests more than 2,000 people a day and about 100 patients found positive are now hospitalized. meanwhile, johns hopkins university says over 1.4 million people have tested positive for the new coronavirus globally as of wednesday. the death toll stands at 85,397. a group of researchers have cast doubt on the official number of deaths chinese authorities have given for the city of wuhan. their work indicates the number could be significantly bigger. hue han c celebrated onn wednes the endnd of a month-long lolockdown. the government says over 50,000 people in the city were infected with mororthan 2,50000 deaths.

but researchers raised questions about those figures. they contacted over 2,000 people who sought help on social media. many said family members developed symptoms but were denied tests or treatment. the resesechers say that at leleast 100 of ththem have sinc died. it's believed that some were not included in the statistics reported to the chinese government. china's national health commission told nhk on wednesday that its official death toll only includes those who tested positive for the virus. as we sasaid, the lockdodown in wuhan has ended, but the transition back to everyday life isn't easy. nhk world's yao shindu spoke to a chinese stutudent in japan wh onlyly recently fouound his w w home. >> translator: being homome is

awesome. i appreciate the life i have more than before. >> reporter: li chunhuan enjoys simple moments like this with his family, now more than ever. the college senr arrived home in late march,h, reuniting with his mom, dad and younger brother, almost three months after he last saw them. in the weeks after li left to study abroad his home provincec changed dramamatically. a previously unknownn virus spreread through communities infecting tens of thousands and prompting the chinese government to takee unprecedented measures to try to stop its spread. from his tokokyo residence, li watched helplessly relying on updates from his parents. >> translator: almost all shops and traunts a closed anyway. wewe have no choice butut to st hohome. the epidemic is really s scary we h have to followw the government's rules, like

everyone else. >> reporter: the lockdown meant li couldn't go home but he also couldn't stay in japan. his short term program was ending and after extending his visa once, we to go. li had few options. despite the escalating epidemie, he had to return to china but travel restrictions meant going back to hubei would be nearly impossib impossible. he told his family his relati relatively cheap flight to shanghai was an option, even though he'd be alone. >> translator: when eating, be sure to pay attention to hygiene and safety. also, when going to public areas, be sure to wear your mask and wash yourr hands frequently. >> reporter: not knowing how long the epidemic wouldlastst, i started his own self-imposed lockdown. during those lonely days in the room he rented in shananghai, l

kept a video journal. >> translator:r: i don't havave anything to do. nonow i i'm having the same experience as my fririends and family in h hue way province. i'm able t to undererstand a bi better how diffificult it is an how tough it t feels. >> rorter: then came the moment he had waited for, transportation to most of hubei resumed and on march 25th his month in limbo came to annd but while his parents andnd brother remained in g good heal, he'd soon discocovered the coronavirurus did hurt his fami. >> translator: my dad i guess has no income, even now.w. the pele who work fofor him and his busineness partnerer can't from wuhan, which means my dad is losg a lot t of money.

>> reporter: li'wuwuhan mpusus remains closed, and w won'te able treturn until at asast may, but li isn't giving up on his dreams to become a lawyer and help people. he continues to study on his own and is applying for graduate school in japan. >> transnslator: after allll, t epidemic is temporary, and i still have a a lot of life to > reporter: yai xinru, nhk world. china is reacting to u.s. president donald trump's claim the world health organization is china-centric. beijing opposes any possible freeze of washington's funding for the body. trump hinted in a twitter post on tuesdayis countryould reviewts fundingor the w.h.o., criticizing its haling of the coronirus. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the w.h.o. has been playing an important role in curbing the spread of the virus.

>> translator: a suspension of funding would have a negative impact on international cooperation. china hopes countries will help one another to take measures for containing infections. >> he also said china supports the w.h.o. continuing to play its leading role in the fight against the disease. he dismissed claims china covered up the early stages of the outbreak there, saying the country promptly reported the spread of the virus to the w.h.o. the world trade organization is learning that trades could take a bigger hit from the coronavirus pandemic than it did during the global financial crisis. the wto says global volume will drop 32% year on year if the crisis is not brought under control soon. its optimistic scenario shows a 13% decline, assuming that trade

will recover in the second half of this year. the forecast coverering merchandise trade were released on wednesday. north america's exports are expected to plunge this year by as much as 14% and asia by 36%. in a statement, wto director gegeneral roberto azebededau sa "these numumbers are ugly,y, ths no getting a around that."." even so, thehe organization believeses trade volume will rebound in 2021 by momore than % from this yeyear. and now moving on to world weather with our meteorologist setzi. cyclone harold caused widespread destruction to fiji on wednesday. what is the latest? >> the cyclone gained momentum once again it is much stronger and flattened down lots of places along fiji and causing some destruction over the island

countries there and it is in fact going to continue doing so for the next couple of hours. let's take a look at this video and see what has been happening there. the tropical storm has beeeen basically causing havoc across much of the fiji islands on wednesday, causing injuries and destroying buildings and it is also gusts stronger than 110 kilometers per hour rainfall of about 150 has been reported. some roads were closed due to flooding and it is continuing to cause lots and lots of havoc along those part so we urge people to please take care at all times, make sure you stay safe and please, please, go to higher ground as we are expecting more rainfall to persist toward the southeastern direction, which will certainly cause flooding and destruction along tonga, as it approaches. for japan, things have slightly changed. there is a bit of moisture to the northern parts of hokkaido, a good chance of snowfall and also precipitation in the form of rain. cooler weather is expected then but it's going to remain quite

clear and dry, going all the way to the south korean peninsula, due to a high pressure system so you can see sunny skies for fukuoka, a little bit rainy toward in has, temperatures are good into the lower 20s. double digits for western japan, going into central japan and single digits all the way up north. as i mentioned, dry weather is expected toward south korea. some of it comes up in a form of warnings so please do take care. in seoul temperatures around 16 degrees. much warmer toward the south, the philippines 34 and getting even hotter toward the bangkok at 36 degrees. the united states has seen some low pressure system which has caused unstable weather, brought lots of rainfall, possibility of flooding is expected near california and also towards the mid-atlantic, there is some showers that are sort of persisting along the spots. you'll see for washington temperatures are still quite warm but lots of rainfall is expected there. slightly dry north in winnipeg, where temperatures are dropping to about five degrees with a little bit of clouds expected

for your day. that is all for the weather. take care and stay safe all the time.

that conluds this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you very much for staying with 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 creators who are making the most of streaming and other technologies, as well as artists in more traditional fields. for these forms of expression, the virus could pose an existential threat.

the coronavirusus has not spapa anim anime, the c cartoons are one o japan's lucrative cultural exports. amid the outbreak, broad casts are being postponed and major events canceled. people in the industry are doing all they can to keep goining, b some are being forced to question how l long traditional production methods can continue. ♪ >> anime has become a 2 trillion yen industry and its products are being sold globally. most japanese animation companies outsource about 30% of their work to china. however, the recent coronavirus outbreak has really impacted the indudustry including this studi in tokyo.

yara lo, a 28-y-yr-old hongng kg native is the stududio's ceo. in february, he tweeted a full panel cartoon expressing his company's woes. animators and 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 lost business in japan. >> translator: it was terrible. i think terrible is the right word for this situation. there were days when nothing could be done at all. even 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 was suspended, and the entry of people coming from t the countr 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. >> translator: the coronavirus outbreak has revealed the problems of 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: with new immigration regulations the same-day courier system imploded and at least six anime series

broadcast in japan were put on hold. big anime events were scrapped because the overseas market is becoming more important for the anime industry. the japapan external trade organization has been using such events to connect international buyeyers with domomestic firms boostt exports. so they will find a way to carry on with some social distanancin. they set up teleconferences with international buyuyers who had been s scheduled to come to jap. >> are you interested in robert tytype production, content? it's most popular in our content. >> okay, if you can show me what you have a and at least you kno

like your key assets, what you believe are your blockbusters. >> jet wants to maintain the momentum despite the epidemic. >> translator: we think internet-based business models will are essential, even after the impact of the coronavirus outbreak subsides. >> reporter: with people stuck at home and spring break extended, some companies have started streaming anime online at no charge. and this company contacted a live streaming event at the shrine with voice actors but no audience.

this company notes the coronavirus outbreak will accelerate t the demandd for an 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. >> reporteter: the pandemic has put a strain on people working in anime, but the industry is trying to turn the crisis into an opportunity. rie fumimuro, 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 students and personal escorts t the complete 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 to rows upon rows of empty seats. more than 6,000 people took in the concert from the comforts of their home for free. it wasn't idideal, but both the performers and the organizerers wanted to make the best out of a difficult situation. other performances have suffered worse fates in recent weeks. according to a recent survey of artists, 95% say some of their shows have been canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

♪ among the affected is katsukiji kinea. he dedicated his life to mastering a traditional japanese style music called nagauta. he says most of his performances have been scrapped. >> translator: if t the income loss continues, we are in trouble. >> reporter: he continues to practice, earning monday on the side by teaching apprentices but he says it's not enough, especially if performances continue to be canceled. >> translator: our jobs will no longer be vital. i'm afraid what could happen. >> reporter: kineya says he'ss 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. an industry expert says the exodus could have a long-term impact. >> that's very difficult for them coming 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 and stem the outbreak, the show can't go on, at least for now. >> and as in other parts of the world, most concerts and theater shows in japan are canceled for the time being. since the closures are voluntary, this makes it harder for performers and crew 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 equipipment rental companies. we spoke to hirata oriza, a renowned playwright and director, about how he seeless the challenges facing the performing arts. >> translator: if a a theater group cannot play, it might go into debt. members right not quiuit imimmediately, 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 recreate 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, people would get angry to see others gathering. i believe art is vital in these times. >> hirata also pointed out how this global crisis has revealed the poor level of government support for cultural activities in japan. he said the virus presents a good opportunity for us to start some long-term planning for 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,

this focus is more important than ever but art is also about nurturing our heritage and our stories tell us if we are not careful, reviving of that 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. >> have any u.s. diplomats or

u.s. officials contracted the virus they -- as they have tried to rescue u.s. citizens abroad? >> not that i am aware of. i remember when we sent our team to get our officials and 800 american citizens living in wuhan, i remember when we sent one of our first repatriation flights. we set -- sent trained professionals, but they were going into a difficult place. they all got back with no one having contracted the virus. i am not aware of any officials who have had the