♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin here in tokyo, a city of 14 million that's struggling to curb the spread of the coronavirus. officials reported 91 new cases on monday, bringing the total to more than 2100. the increase comes after the tokyo metropolitan government asked certain businesses to close or limit opening hours from saturday. the measure is based on the

central government's state of emergency declaration for tokyo and six other prefectures. officials want to reduce human-to-human contact by at least 70%, but tokyo authorities confirmed a large infection cluster over the weekend. 92 people linked to a hospital, including patients and staff, have tested positive for the virus. >> translator: the daily increase of infections is straining public health sectors. >> another cluster infection occurred at a hospital in the central prefecture, with 16 people affected. the hospital has suspended operations and treatment for outpatients. it's also stopped accepting emergency patients. a police station in the western city of kobe has also been hit by the virus. ten officers including the station chief and his deputy have tested positive.

some of the officers had attended a party at a pub in late march to welcome their new commanding officer. about 120 employees at the station are self-isolating at home. a secretary for a ruling party lawmaker has become the first case of infection reported in the diet members' building. opposition lawmakers are raising questions over the effectiveness of the emergency declaration. during monday's diet committee they suggested stronger measures to limit social interaction. the minister in charge of the coronavirus response argued that the administration's strategy is the best solution without implementing too harsh of restrictions on movement and business. >> translator: the new law already restrains private rights to some extent, so we have to keep our measures to the necessary minimum. >> across japan over 7600 people

have tested positive so far. the tally doesn't include over 700 cases linked to the "diamond princess" cruise ship which was quarantined in yokohama in february. more than 150 people have died, including 12 from the ship. turning to china, where the daily number of new infections has topped 100 for the first tim time in over a month. health officials say 108 cases were confirmed on sunday. 98 were arrivals from abroad. half were in heilongjiang province which borders russia. beijing is stepping up safety measurees in the region, temporarilily closing t the lan border. two new deaths were repportedd hubei province on sunday, bringing the national total to 3,341. the tally of confirmed infections now stands at more than 82,000. the officials say they confirmed on the same day that 61 people who tested positive did not show

symptoms. those cases are excluded from the official number of infections. north korea's state run media say its rubber stamped parliament met on sunday to discuss the budget. leader kim jong-un did not attend the so-called supreme leader's assembly but pictures show it was packed with party lawmakers. the ruling party newspaper said the budget is aimed at defeating sanctions imposed by enemy forces, an appearance reference to the u.s. last year the north devoted 15% of spending to developing advanced weapons. members seemed to take no anti-virus measures, sitting chose together without masks. pyongyang maintains it has no confirmed cases.

the head of the international olympic committee says the delay of the tokyo games is likely to cost his organization several hundred million dollars. thomas bach told the german newspaper "welt" that the exact cost of the postponement is impossible to know right now, but he said the ioc and japan' prime minister have agreed each will continue to cover the costs they would have done under the agreement for 2020. bachs also told "welt" his japanese partners and the prime minister made it clear a delay until 2022 would be impossible. he said that's because of the need to secure access to the olympic village as well as the sports venues and because thousands of people will have to keep working for the event. the olympics are now set to open on july 23rd next year. the taliban say they have released the first group of afghan prisoners as p part of

peace deal signed with the united states in february. under the deal, the taliban are required to free up to 1,000 pro-government captives in exchange for the release by the government of as many as 5,000 taliban fighters and other prisoners. taliban officials told nhk they released 20 afghan troops and civilians on sunday. they said the move was meant to apply pressure on kabul to steadily implement the agreement. afghan officials say the government has already freed 300 taliban prisoners and that the releases will continue. kabul is calling for prisoners to be released in stages, while the militants are demandings the swift release of all taliban prisoners. attention is focused on whether the latest move by the taliban will lead to further prisoner swaps and progress in creasefire talks between kabul and the taliban.

myanmar's detack tore leader aung san suu kyi has been an icon of democracy and people see hope in her. four years after she came to power young people and others who used to back her are becoming disillusioned. nhk reports. >> reporter: those gathered at a poetry reading are closely watching some p peoplee attendi via the internet. they were minority rohingya who have fled to avoid prorosecutio in myanmar. >> translator: my hometown has been ruined. our traditionals and culture have been destroyed. >> reporter: the organizer leads an ngo that embraces free speech and human rights. he used to be a big supporter of aung san suu kyi as a member of the ruling league for democracy but recently he has been growing

frustrated with her rule in the rohingya problem. he also thinks the lawmakers are abusing power using aung san suu kyi's popularity. he notes that cases have been fired against members against citizens who have criticized. >> tran autocratic rule. now that the nld is in power they are abusing their status just as military leaders used to. no longer back aung san suu kyi. >> reporter: some young people have qualms over a growing problem. huge signs start isssed appeari around the capital last year. she belongs to a group for youth

rights and became alarmed at a debate one groups declared that aung san suu kyi should be immune to criticism because she is the mother of the country. she is using a program to teach young people the importance of critical thinking. >> translator: if young people gain knowledge, they might be able to increase their influence and chchange the country's politics. >> reporter: a member explains that only a few lawmakers are filing lawsuits against cititizens, w which is against party policy. hehe said thehe party must unite people becauuse the military ha strong sway over politics. >> translator: the only way aung san suu kyi can demonstrate her power is to involve the public and that's why i'm calling on

the people of this country to come together under her leaadership. >> reporter: young people are only beginning to make their voices heard, but if they have the potential to hold the country's future in their hands. nhk world, yangon. people in parts of the southern united sstates are dealing with the aftermath o o catastrophic tornadoeoes. ourur meteorologigist sayakaa m joining us with the details. >> on easterer sunday nearly 4 reports of tornados were observed across the southeastern united states, including texas, mississippi, as well as georgia. one of them hit monroe. we have pictures coming out of the area. multiple tornadoes were reported in louisiana on sunday. about 300 homes were severely damaged. thousands of power outages were reported and a number of flights were canceled. at least 12 people have been

killed in the united states. the cause of the severe weather is a low pressure system. also the attached cold front, the tail end of the cold front moved through the southeastern portions of the united states. it's now shifting towards the eastern united states. on monday there's a chance for severe thunderstorms, especially from georgia into maryland. there's a higher risk for severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, large hail, as well as damaging winds, so please be careful. across the north we are looking at a precipitation. snowy weather across parts of eastern canada as well as ca back and ontario and temperatures are chillier than normal in the mid parts of the u.s. and canada. minus 2 in winnipeg and minus 1 in denver, 9 for the high in oklahoma city. across the east due to the ssoutherly winds temperatururee warmmer than normal. washington, d.c. 26 for the high andnd new york city coould sese high of 21 for the high on monday. meanwhile, it's a v very s stor

day in parts of central japan, including tokyo. this is the radar over the past six hours. you can see red and yellow indicating heavy rainfall is pounding central tokyo. we have nearly 100 millimeters of rainfall making it the wettest day of the year so far in central japan. we have record-breaking heavy rainfall winds and late season snowfall for parts of central japan. stormy weather conditions will continue into tonight and as we go into tuesday drier conditions are expected. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

one of the world's most famous tenors has live streamed an easter performance to viewers throughout the world. andrea bocelli sang. the seats were empty amid the coronavirus lockdown.

♪ >> bocellili who lost his sight 12, performed five songs at the cathedral. more than 2.7 million people around the world were watching. bocelli said he was offering a prayer to everyone who is suffefering andnd a wish for th speedy recovery. peopple conttinue to shelter in place in italy where nearly 20,000 have died from covid-19. ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ♪

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thank for watching and we'll have more for you soon. welcome to "newsline in depth." today we are locking on to robots, ones moving into new terrains on land, at sea and in the office. intelligent machines are taking over many of the physically challenging and monotonous tasks long performed by human workers. that allows us to concentrate on

more creative task, find ways to increase product value or just sleep in. so let's get the ball rolling with a test drive of some of the autonomous gadgets taking the drudgery out of farm work. agricultural robots do more than heavy lifting. they're developing the mobility and sensitivity needed to handle a wide range of produce and some can be quite small. this firsrst one isis not much bigger than a sheepdog. ♪ ♪

>> the venture company that developed the asparagus picker is offering it to farmers free of charge. in return, the firm receives a percentage of the harvest revenues. this system of human machine division of labor not only relieves farmers of back breaking work, it frees up time so they can research and sell more produce. our next robot is lending a hand to bringing a different kind of harvest, on the seabed of northeastern japan. catches in this region are declining because of damage to the environment. one reason is global warming which is causing the sea temperature to rise, depopulating habitats of marine life.

added to that, the local ecosystem has yet to recover from the 201 1 earthquake and tsunami. enter the rov, remotely operated vehicle. researchers say this ai equipped robot could save livelihoods and a succulent seafood dish this region is famous for, abalone. >> in miyagi prefecture, a biggest japan producer of abalone. abalone caught using an underwater bucket and a hook. it sells for almost $10 each, making this a high-end delicacy. but the annual catch in miyagi prefecture is now down to a third of what it was ten years ago. fishermen are very anxious. >> translator: the fishing

conditions are fine but there isn't much to be found. >> translator: the catch this year is a third of an average year. we didn't even make it to half. it's getting harder every year. >> reporter: experts believe climate change is to blame because it hampers the growth of seaweed. >> translalator: this isis a tyf kelp that creates large beds of seaweed. it's the best food for abalone so it's a very important seaweed. >> reporter: these images show what the sea is used to look like. there was plenty of seaweed for abalone to feed on. but in this video taken last year, the seaweed has almost completely disappeared. global warming has caused the water temperatures to rise hampering the growth of seaweed. the problem was made e worse by the problem was made worse by the impact of the 2011

earthquake and tsunami. fishing was discontinued for months. that caused the population of sea urchins to explode and consume most oof the sseaweed. >> translator: if we want the seaweeeed to grow back we neeed remove the seaea urchins. they're the cause of all this. i think it's time to take concrete measures. >> reporter: a team led by the professor of tokyo university of marine science and technology is working on ways to save the abalone. they are developing an underwater robot that can catch sea urchin through a hole. a prototype was built based on a commercially available underwater drone. >> translator: there's a pump on the ship that sucks up water. that's how the urchins will be caught.

>> reporter: the robot has been mounted with a camera to locate the urchins. the team also developed a special propeller so the robot can maneuver delicately. it's time for a test dive. the team lowers the robot into the sea. the first stage of the test is successful. the device responds to the control. next, the robot is submerged to catch urchins beyond the reach of divers. it can dive to a depth of up to 150 meters. the robot's other major selling point is the building artificial intelligence.

the ai analyzes images from the camera and marks the location of urchins in red. the robot then proceeds to suck themm up through the air vent. it is deep learning. it has processed about 10,000 images of urchins and can tran port them -- spot them with more than 90% accuracy. the team says when the seas are calm the device can catch more than 150 per hour. he and his team are now trying to develop a free automated version of the robot with the ultimate aim of putting it on the market. >> translator: i hope this device will spread around the tohoku region with the goal of helping humans. the seaweed bed will be revived and the sea will eventually be restored to its bountiful self.

>> reporter: the team hopes the project will show how ai can reduce the impact of global warming and restore ecological balance so once again there are beautiful, bountiful seas with plenty of abalone. nhk world. >> sushi lovers will probably be wondering what happens to the urchins that the robots sucked up. after all, those spiky creatures are a popular item on japan's seafood menu. these specimens are too small to be eaten. researchers are working on ways to fatten them up. in one experiment they are feegts the urchins cabbage. testers report the urchins seem to taste even sweeter. our la story is from singapore, a city with an asian population and a chronic labor

shortage. foreign workers make up nearly 40% of the workforce. anxious to scale back this dependence, the country's striving to automate and mechanicize the labor force. that includes government funding too develop robot technology. back in december, we visited some work sites to see how the latest generation machines are performing. >> reporter: this is a robot working in a hotel. when guests call reception and ask for a drink or a towel, he delivers them. jeno is programmed to use the elevator and reaches the guest's floor easily. >> hi, jeno. how are youu today? >> rereporter: : jeno hass been working in the hotel for two and a half years. >> hi. >> bye. >> reporter: using robots has cut a third of the physical

burden on workers who often have to do overnight shifts. >> translator: jeno works 24/7, jeno works 365 days per year. >> reporter: this robot breaks eggs and put them sunnyside up on the plate. in the food court, another robot helps clear trays. robots do a range of everyday jobs here. singapore uses low-cost foreign labor mainly in the construction, nursing care and cleaning industries. but as labor demands continue to rise, the country's investing more in robotic innovation. this is a cleaeaning robot developed by a venture firm last year. >> hello! my name is abba. nice to meet you.

>> reporter: wiping spilled liquid on the floor is an easy task but that's not all she can do. ♪ abba can make small talk and even rap while cleaning. two of the robots have joined the workforce of this company which cleans commercial buildings. >> this is sara. it's a stock robot and has been with us for two months and this is erla who just join us and learning, as well. >> reporter: once an instruction is sent via a smartphone, they can work on their own. their boss gives them instructions. while sarah and ella clean the floor, the other workers can remove scratches on the wall or scrub off stubborn stains, things they didn't have time before. >> the human workers are now able to do more delicate work.

and more fine finish work. >> they help my staff but also help me in doing my work and to understand what are the challenges i will face in the future. >> reporter: robots are a boon for human workers in singapore. they're expected to become more and more integrated into the labor force here. nhk world, singapore. >> singapore has not been spared in the coronavirus pandemic. authorities have banned all foreigners from entering the country and that's hit the tourism industry hard. robot development continues, though. in fact, it is likely a strange new age of social distancing we're all living through will open up a new path for researchers to explore. and that is developing machines that can take over when people need to avoid close contact with each other. in the pre-coronavirus world, disruptive technologies

generated much hope and hype after how they would transform our lives.

the top infectiouous diseases expert in the united states warns that infections are almost certain to rise. the death toll in the u.s. is now the highest in the world. emmanuel macron is expected to extend france's lockdown to battle the coronavirus in the highly anticipated speech tonight. have died0,000 people from the coronavirus in the united kingdom, many flouting social