hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. the world health organization has issue adnew and dire warning to countries eager to lift strict lock down measures aimed at containing the coronavirus. >> covid-19 spreads fast and we know that it's deadly, 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic.

>> many western countries have been shutdown for weeks after rapidly spreading outbreaks crippled theirir health care systems. tedros said he understands why the want to ease restrictions whwhich have a also devastated economies but he warns against eliminating measures all at once. >> while covid-19 accelerates very fast it decelerates much more slowly. that means control measures must be liftedd slowly. >> the w.h.o. listed the six criteria for countries to use as they consider relaxing their restrictions. they include whether the transmission of coronavirus is controlled and whether measures are in place to detect, test, isolatee and treat every case a well as trace everyry conontact. john hopkins univeversity rerepd on monday that thehere were ovo 1,890,000 covid cases worldwide.

the global death toll has topped 118,000. here in japan new details are emerging about the populations who most commonly contract the virus. and the healalth ministry is on again warning that younger people are not immune. officials released a break down showing the ages of all of confirmed patients. out of some 7,000 cases more than half are people younger than 50. it comes as the government warns that young people with only mild symptoms or none at all may be unwittingly spreading the virus. most of the people who become seriously ill or die are elderly. but the statistics shows some criticallyly ill patients repor in t the youngerer agege groups. >> translator: i have decided to ask certain businesses to c clo tempmporarily. >> all 7 prefectures which are under the central government's

state of emergency has asked some nonessential businesses to close until may 6th. some other prefectures outside the tokyo metropolitan area are also calling on people to avoid unnecessary outings. across japan about 300 new cases were reported on monday bringing the national total to more than 7,600. the tally does not include 712 cases linked to the diamond princess cruise ship which was quarantined in yokohama in february. more than 100 people have died including 12 from the ship. a new survey by nhk suggests the country is evenly split on its view of shinzo abe's cabinet. more than 1,200 people responded. 39% of them said they approve of the cabinet, that's down 4 points from last month's survey. but the disapproval rate

dropped, too, down 3 points to 38%. of his supporters 53% said the cabinet seems better than any alternative. 16% said it repepresents politil parties they support. a third of those who don't support the cabinet say they don'n't trust abe. 28% say theyy don't expect much from his policies. now, the survey also suggested that fears about the coronavirus are rising. 89% of people said they're worried they or their family could be infected. that's up 15 points from last month's survey. 46% had a positive view of the government's response to the pandemic whihile 50% viewed it negatively. japan's government declared a month long state of emergency last tuesday for tokyo and six other prefectures. 17% of respondents said the declaration had come at the right time. but 75% thought it was too late.

the japan business federation is calling on member companies to supply industrial masks that can be repurposed for medical use. japan is experiencing acute shortages of high performance masks to protect medical professionals treating coronavirus patients. they put out the call to its approximately 14,000 members on monday in response to a government request. it's specifically asking if members have surplus stocks of n-95 or ds-2 masks. these are often used to protect workers from dust at factories and on construction sites. the group is also asking if members have surplus dust-proof clothes and goggles of the kind used at semiconductor factories. this kind of equipment can be used as a substitute for surgical gowns and goggles. japan's softbank group is expecting an annual operating

loss and net loss for the first time in 15 years. the company says furlough in the financial markets has hit the value of its investments.. the group forecasts an operating loss of 1.35 trillion yen or around $12.5 billion for fiscal 2019 through march.. it expects a net loss of about $6.9 billion. the company also attributes the slump partly to the poor performance of u.s. office sharing venture wework in which it invested. softbank group said last month it would sell assets worth up to $41 billion over the next year to buy back its shares to reduce debt. yes, the pandemic is wreaking havoc on japan's economy leaving many businesses with serious budget problems. but the situation is especially perilous for people with unstable jobs such as foreign technical trainees.

these help the country deal with the chronic labor shortage, and now as we see in our next report they face nothing but uncertainty. >> reporter: an associate professor at kobe university provides technical support to trainees. he was recently informed of a desperate situation involving vietnamese people. >> they were suddenly dismissed in the company because of a decrease in the workload caused by a coronavirus outbreak. >> reporter: the call for help came from this man, aged in his 20s. he lives at the firm's dormitory along with the other four. they have all been working at a metal plating factory. under the foreign technical trainee system they signed contracts just like japanese workers do. but in march they were stunned

to hear they'd be laid off. > translator: i was told my contract had been terminated. the company said i don't have to come to work thehe next day because there's no work available due to the coronaviris outbreak. >> reporter: their employer felt as if thehere was no other choi. >> translator: orders stopped coming in soon after the chinese city off wuhan went into lock down. no jobs, just uncertainty ahead. >> reporter: he decided to safeguard the jobs of his regular employees and ask others to alternate shifts. but as the situation became increasingly dire he suggested the five t trainees stop workin for an indefinite period. naturally they rejected the idea. >> translator: we welcome them as valuable how manien resources and wanted to keep them on until their terms ended.

it was a tough decision but it just couldn't be helped. >> reporter: their scheduled to leave the dormitory in april but have nowhere else to go. when foreign trainees have their contracts terminated a supervisory body is supposed to find them another firm. but the rules state they must work in the same industry. for the five vietnamese people, the search so far has been fruitless. >> translator: i'll be first to give up hopope if i'm notot accd by another firm. please give me some work. please give me the opportunity. >> translator: their jobs are easily taken away when something happens. some have language problems. they live in a foreign land and don't know what to do. they feel anxious because theyy don't have anyone to depend on. i think they are in a far more dangerous position thann s some japanese workers. >> reporter: foreign technical

trainees come to japan with a sense of hope. clearly the coronavirus is posing a real threat to their livelihoods. the scale of the problem is unknown, and what happens next is anyone's guess. in the u.s., senator bernie sanders is backing former vice president joe biden in the race to the white house. sanders endorsed his ex-rival in an online campapaign eventnt on monday. >> today i am asking all americans. i'm asksking everyry democrat, y independent, i i'm askingg a lof republicans to come together in this campaign too support your candidacacy, which i endndorse make certain that we defeat somebody who i believe -- a and i'm speaking jusust for myselel now -- i is the most dangerousu president inn the modernn histo

of this country. >> sanders a and biden will for six policy working groups on issues including the economy, education and climate change. they want to unify the democrats after sanders pulled out of the contest for thehe party'y's nomimination earlier thihis mon. sande sanders wants progressive policies such as universal health care to be included in the platform as it takes on president trump in elections slated for november. let's turn now to our meteorologist yoko kumigata for people in the midwest are not only tackling the coronavirus but also intense thunderstorms have created serious trouble there. how severe is the situation?

>> hello there. so people in the area so destructctive wininds are causi millllions of powower outages. also downpours have brought some flash flooding. a nor'easter moved through the atlantaing coast bringing widespread showers and strong winds last week. the area o of thunderstorms developed along a cold front that swept through the south eastern states. people w were digging through dedebris as t tornados swept thh the carolinas. local media say the death toll rose to 18 on monday. over 16 tornadoss have been reported from texas to north carolina so far. almost 1 million houses and business in the area were left without power. conditions are improving across the midatlantic as a cold front moves off the atlantic coast. but a few showers will persist in new england all the way up to eastern canada as we go into

tuesday. gusts could reach 130 kilometers per hour. behind the storm a cold area is spreading through north america. oklahoma city will see the single digits on tuesday. the high will be 7 degrees in denver and 7 on tuesday. but morning lows will dip down to below freezing. meanwhile in l.a. 26 will be the high for tuesday. winds will produce even warmer conditions over the next couple of days. we saw stormy weather in japan on monday, but blue skies are spreading across much of the countryy this morning. strong winds from the north will continue during the day on tuesday, but you'll feel much calmer weather in the evening as a high pressure system pushes in. temperatures will be much warmer than monday. the high will be in the mid-teens in tokyo, osaka and fukuoka on tuesday and warmer

conditions and dry weather is also expected in the korean peninsula and china. beijing saw 27.1 degrees on monday, which is the warmest temperature so far this year. the high could reach 30 degrees by tuesday. that's it for now. have a nice day.

and that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thanks for staying with us on nhk world japan. welcome to "newsline in depth." today we will be focusing on two very different types of pastimes, a very popular type of toy and the traditional style being brought up-to-date. a huge industry in japanan with market worth about $7.7 billion.

and despite japan's dwindling birthrate that figure is beginning to grow. this footage is from last year's show attracting industry representatives and fans from all over the country and abroad. in our first story we look at a kind of toy that is hugely popular in japan, capsule toys. in japan they've come to become known as gathcha. they come like this one in capsule machines sold for $3 to $5. each. turn the dial and the toy drops into the tray at the bottom. you open the capsule and the toy inside pops out. remind me a bit of the crackers popular in england at christmastime. the toy in the capsules would typically be little figurines of

people or animals, toy cars or other objects, something small, fun and inexpensive. and what i have here is a tiny little pan, a miniature version of the pans used for making takoyaki. and some are very whimsical. you can see here a baby, a monkey and a panda wrapped up in blankets, mushrooms with different colored frogs holding onto them. here's a miniature statue of buddha and penguins and much more. you are not paying for something that you want to buy. what you actually get for your money is entirely up to chance. originally capsule toys were imported from the u.s. through

the 1960s, but now they've taken on a very japanese character. they are continuing to change with the times and attracting new generations. >> welcome to capsule paradise. in tokyo you seldom have to look far to find somewhere selling toys from a vending machine. you put a coin in, turn the lever and see what comes out. part of the fun with capsules is you don't know what's inside until you pop them open. at this shopping mall in tokyo a capsule vending machine is causing quite a stir. but it isn't selling toys. it's selling perfume. each capsule costs about 6.5 u.s. dollars and contains a small bottle of high end

fragrance. >> the whole bottle costs about $180. i sometimes get bore would the scent so this suits me. >> it's an affordable way for customers to get a whiff of something new. and since the selection is down to chance they don't have to spend a lot of time deciding what to buy. >> translator: i don't know much about brands so i'm happy to let fate introduce me to a new scent. >> the machine has proved a hit with people who may not normally splash out on a full-size bottle. somedays the shop sells more than 200 capsules. some shop placed special orders for miniature bottles from brands around the world and now has over 100 varieties in stock. >> translator: the bottles cost

a lot to produce so we aren't making any profit, but if these capsules get people into the habit of wearing perfume and that starts to spread it'll be worth it in the long run. >> capsule toys pop up in some unexpected places like the mountains of western tokyo. these students at tama university have been picicking ways to popularize local products. they decided to make candy crafts using local materials and tell them from the vending machine. among the items, antlers from deer culled my hunters protecting forests and farmlands from the animals. the classmates have been making necklaces and other accessories. other capsules contain badges depicting the area's natural

charms and coupons that can be used at local restaurants. they include free sweet dumplings and discount tickets for a bicycle rental to encourage visitors to come back. >> i think the fact you don't need a person to physicallyy sel them is a plus, and they're also good at grabbing peoples' interest. >> visitors can find the machine in a cafe at the station and capsules cost $2.80. >> translator: i want to keep working with other people to make local products to sell in

capsules, and i hope to see them become more popular. >> capsules are certainly fun, but they can also serve a different purpose. this one became a smash hit ringing up sales of more than 700,000 units. it's a public telephone. each capsule costs a little less than $3 and contains one of six types of toy phone. >> translator: i wanted to check it out. i saw it on twitter and looked everywhere but i couldn't find one, and now i finally have. >> translator: wow, it's cute. it looks like a real one. this is great. >> the toys were actually dreamed up by a major japanese telecom firm, and they have an educational goal. now that cellphones have become

the norm public telephones are an increasingly rare sight, and many young people don't even know how to use one. but if the worst happens and cellphones stop working public phones can be one of the best ways to get through. that's exactly what happened after an earthquake in osaka in 2018 when people lined up to take turns making calls. >> translator: we found that about 80% of elementary school students don't know how to use a public phone. i want children to learn to use them so they can make a call in the event of an emergency or disaster. >> the company worked with a toy manufacturer to create realistic phones. you can lift their receiver and even press the buttons. they also come with a sticker

explaining how to use public phones so children can learn with their parents while playing. >> we've seen comments on social media about how fun they are. it's important to know how to use public phones, and we hope these will spread awareness. >> life is like a capsule toy, you never know what you're going to get. and from fragrances to handycrafts to educational toys, japan's capsule vending machines keep coming up with surprises. >> the capsules were designed to be environmentally friendly. you just leave them in collection boxes near the machines to be recycled. but with the spread of the coronavirus some shops have had to close temporarily. next we change our focus to a very traditional type of keepsake. it's a type of doll that has

been a folk craft for more than 400 years. the dolls are made from clay and range in size. now a young man is aiming to preserve this tradition byy brininging i it upp-t-to-date. ♪

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>> as the coronavirus and the stay at home hashtag continue to spread around the world simple pastimes such as toys and keepsakes are becoming ever more important for our daily well-being. and that's it for today's

"newsline in depth." thank you for watching and see you again next time.

>> spain eases some coronavirus restrictions with italy set to follow suit. the who cautions governments against leaving lockdowns too soon. >> measures must be lifted slowly and with control. all at once.pen ♪ >> this is al jazeera, from london. coming up, as new york's coronavirus outbreak shows signs of slowing, the governor says there will be no easy on/off switch.