♪ hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. we begin with news from the united states. president donald trump says his officials will consider cutting off funding for the world health organization at least temporarily over its handling of the coronavirus. >> the w.h.o. failed in this

basic duty and must be held accountable. >> he says a review is now under way to assess the w.h.o.'s role in promoting what he called china's disinformation that might have led to the wider spread of the coronavirus. now to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the international monetary fund has drastically cut its growth forecast for the global economy. it warns that the world is likely to experience the worst recession since the great depression. the imf f predicts t the global economy will s shrink by 3% in 2020.. that's down sharply y from the 3.3% expxpansion fororecasted i janunuary. the declinine would bebe far wo than 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis when the economy contracted by a fraction of a percent. the imf predicts the u.s. economy will shrink by almost 6%.

japan is expected toto see a contraction of more than 5%. china's growth rate is likely to stay positive but just barely at a little over 1%. the figures for europe are equally dire. italy is expected to see a decline of more than 9%, germany minus 7%, and the uk a contraction of 6.5%. leaders in south asia have agreed to make sure their countries have what they need to fight the pandemic. southeast asian nations, known as asean, met over video to craft their response. asean is looking into creating a fund to buy medical supplies for member countries and help develop a vaccine. after the call, the asean leaders held separate calls with japapan, china, and south korea.

japanese prime minister abe shinzo said they were working together for medical supplies. >> translatotor: t the new cocoronavirus infectction is ra in asia, as well. ununder the circumstances, it i extremely important to expand regional cooperation. >> abe also said the leaders will jointly promote the development of drugs to treat the virus. authorities in taiwan on tuesday confirmed there were no new cases of the coronavirus infection for the first time in more than a month. >> translator: we recorded no new cases on tuesday. the pandemic has not stopped, but still, this is something to be happy about. i hope we can keep this number. >> the last time there were no new cases recorded was march 9. taiwan has reported 393 cases

and six deaths. most of the patients who tested positive were people who had returned from overseas and their family members. the authorities began barring foreigners from entering taiwan nearly a month ago. they subsequently imposed a measure requiring people who enter taiwan to undergo 14 days of quarantine. those who do not comply risk a fine of about $32,000. in taiwan, local officials held people in quarantine by doing things like going to supermarkets for them. they will also be given an incecentive of roughly $460 whe they complete their isolation period.. meanwhile, china's state-run xinhua news agency reported that the coununtry has approved earl human tests for three experimentntal vaccines a again the e virus. one ofof them is the f first vae in the worldld to momove to the second p phase of a a three-pha clinical trial.. jojohns hopkpkins university sa

over 1.9 million people around the world have tested positive. more than 120,000 have died. turning to japan, where the government says it is working on ways to get more protective equipment into the hands of medical professionals. the news comes after another 161 cases were confirmed on tuesday in tokyo. the metropolis, along with six other prefectures, began a month-longng statete of emergen one week ago. >> translator: it's still one week, not already one week. all we can do is reduce human-to-human contact that can transmit the virus. we need everybody to cooperate until may 6th. >> officials are calling on everyone in the affected areas to stay home as much as possible in an effort to come into contact with at least 80% fewer people. they've asked non-essential businesses to close. now, prime minister abe shinzo

is turning his attention to the need to protect doctors and nurses. he said he will ask companies on wednesday to boost production of face masks, sanitizer, ventilators, and other materials hospitals need. at the same time, japan is testing new medical treatments. clinical trials have begun for a drug originally developed to treat ebola. researchers will give remdesivir to 4,000 people across the countries. we're getting a look at how much strain the coronavirus is putting on japan's medical system. nhk surveyed hospitals across nine prefectured and found 80% of the beds for coronavirus patients are occupied. this tokyo in hospital had to double the 20 beds it had for patients in january. all 40 are now full. there have been shortages of staff and supplies.

doctors and nurses have been redeployed from other departments. staff have resorted to making shields from plastic folders, and face masks from sterilized surgical cloth. >> translator: we won't be able to cope with any more patients. our system would collapse. >> 80% of hospital beds are full in places like tokyo and osaka, and many prefectures have been pushed beyond their limits. eight are now relocating patients with mild symptoms to hotels or sending them home in order to free up beds for the seseriously ill. across the country, hospitals are being specifically designated to treat coronavirus patients. infections are spreadingng in these same facilities. one hospital confirmed 14 infections among patients and medical staff. this front line doctor says other institutions, including

university hospitals, need to help alleviate the strain. >> translator: the only way is for more hospitals to offer their beds. >> kutsuna says areas with fewer patients are at risk of becoming overwhelmed. 8,100 people in the country have tested positive for the virus, including over 480 cases confirmed on tuesday. the national total does not include 712 cases linked to the "diamond princess" cruise ship, which was quarantined in yokohama in february. more than 170 people have died, including 12 from the ship. 25 russians are stranded at tokyo's hanada airport, one week after all flights betweween jap and russia were canceled. most of the travelers were in japan on business and scheduled to fly to the russian far

eastern city on wednesday or later. they've been camping out in a terminal lobby. no one has reportedly felt sick. one of the travelers, a man in the car import business, has been at the airport since last thursday. he said he had no other choice because the hostel where he'd been staying closed down and hotels were too expensive. he said he wants to return home as soon as possible. the russian embassy in tokyo says it plans to provide accommodation and health care support for the travelers. south koreans headed to the polls on wednesday to vote in a general election, but the scene is far different from past elections, as people stay cautious about the coronavirus. voters lined up at polling stations from early in the

morning. stay spaced themselves out to maintain social distance. temperatures are being checked, and many people are wearing plastic gloves and face masks. >> translator: i feel pretty safe because there was hand sanitizer and plastic gloves placed around the polling station. >> translator: they were not completely satisfactory, but i think they were sufficient. >> the election takes place every four years. 300 seats are up for grabs in the national assembly. the campaign lasted 13 days. candidates canceled rallies and avoided shaking hands to prevent the virus from spreading. the p popularity of president mn jae-in helped the ruling democratic party, which does not hold a majority. moon led the fight against the virus, which included drive-through testing. the daily number of new infections has fallen sharply.

it is time now for world weather. it looks like people in japan can look out their windows and enjoy the blue sky.

>> that's basically as far as we can go. sunny and mild temperatures expected. some becoming warm for most parts of japan, as this low pressure system, rather the high pressure system is hard at work. it has been clear conditions and much of sunny conditions across central all the way to western japan. then the low pressure to the northern parts, that's leading to slightly different temperatures and different weather conditions for hokkaido and tohoku. it is also going to bring slightly unstable weather conditions the next couple days. probably by friday or so, things would have changed quite a bit. can see temperatures are warming nicely towards the central parts and all the way towards western japan. we will be seeing the temperatures into the lower 20s. 22 expected for tokyo. 24 for sendai. if you look at the rest of japan, it looks basically like a 20 festival. it is going to be nice and warm. single digits for sapporo, as i mentioned, due to the low pressure system. and it is going to continue. with the temperatures increasing

in most parts of asia, do expect possibly avalanches in terms of snow melting in certain parts. other areas might still remain quite cool, such as ulaanbaatar. single digit will be continuing. for the united states, it's a bit of mixture here. toward the north and northeast, it'll be chilly, as cold weather sets in to southern montana. possibly rainfall turning into snow along those parts. toward the southeastern part, it'll move toward the ohio valley. you should expect the temperatures to slightly change there. a lot of moisture developing. also possibility of some rain turning into sleet in certain parts because of temperature differences. sunny skies are expected across atlanta, moving all the way toward oklahoma city, and into houston. temperatures increasing to 29 for all those that are going to be towards mexico city. washington, d.c. is going to be

slightly cooler and also do expect a bit of a wet day, as tempmperatures only go as highh 14 degrees. that is all for the weather. stay safe. stay care. have a nice day.

♪ all right. that's nhk "newsline" this hour. i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thank you for staying with us on nhk world japan. ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm aiko doden. nine years ago, in 2011, major earthquakes occurred on opposite sides of the world, devastating communities in two countries. new zealand and japan. those affected are still working to overcome their grief and deep

sense of loss by setting up programs to help others, as we see in our two stories today. when the massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeast japan in 2011, one of those who died was 24-year-old taylor anderson. she had been in japan for two and a half years, living her dream of becoming an english teacher. since her death, taylor's parents have made frequent visits to japan. they have also set up a foundation to support children whose lives are still affected by the disaster. in our first story, we look at the impact their fund has had on one student in the tohoku region. >> hello. >> reporter: gejean and andy anderson live in the state of virginia. nine years after the tragedy, they still keep their daughter's ashes at home. this way, they say, they can

feel her nearby. >> in here. >> we just never thought about burying her or anything. i don't think she'd want that. >> we thohought we'd -- when we died, we'd -- like the first one of us who died, we'll put her with us. >> taylor anderson was teaching english to school children in ishinomaki, one of the cities hit hardest by the tsunami. she had told her parents that her dream was to act as a bridge between japan and the u.s. when andy flew to japan to bring taylor's ashes home,, he was struck by the kindness of people there. >> they'd been through, obviously, a horrendous event, but they wewere very concerned

about, you know, taylor, what had happened to taylor and her family. we knew taylor would want to help them if she was still alive and there. she would be trying to help. we felt like we should fill that role. started the fund to basically help students, families, and schools recover. >> reporter: recently, the couple received a letter and some photos from one of the former recipients of the scholarship from their fufund. >> currently, i'm workingng cak shop. i'm happy to be able to make sweets. thank you for a lot of support. please take care of yourselves. since sincerely. >> that's nice. >> it is nice. >> good for her. >> i'm always impressed.

>> reporter: aiaka was born and raised where taylor had lived. on the fateful day, giant tsunami waves surged up this river, engulfing everything in its way. the water destroyed aiaka's house and killed her mother. >> translator: humans are so powerless. so many of us live on earth, but we couldn't do anything to protect ourselves from nature. >> reporter: her mother, kyoko, was good at making cakes. as a young girl, ayaka dreamt of becoming a professional baker. taylor's memorial fund helped that dream come true. the fund has been providing scholarships at this vocational school to students from families struggling financially.

they learn skills that can help them get a job, such as making confectionariey ies or working the hotel business. the scholarship enabled ayaka to finish a two-year course. she vividly remembers the andersons' visit to the school. >> translator: when they visited our school, andy said, "you lost your mother. it must have been hard." i knew we had similar experiences. i felt like crying. but they also gave me a warm feeling inside. >> >> reporter: ayaka is making a living as a confectioner. now, she has a bigger dream,

helping children overcome traumatic experiences. >> translator: i know the stress of losing a parent. it's hard for children who go through trauma to express themselves. i hope i can advise them on how to deal with that. i want them to know they are not alone. this is why i'm now studying psychology. >> reporter: taylor's legacy also lives on here at her alma mater. randolph macon college. students' interest in japan has increased following taylor's trage tragedy.y. the college has since expanded its japanese language and culture programs. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: more than 200

students and factuality members have visited japan on exchange programs. the exchange has been suspended for now. a visit to japan planned for this month had to be canceled due to the global coronavirus outbreaks. >> a little sad. a little disheartened. but i really have faith that we'll still be able to go. >> it's worked both ways for us the last nine years. japanese people havave uplifted our spirits when we've visited, with all their kindness and friendship. so we hope that we can return that favor. >> reporter: this is a sakura tree that jean and andy planted on campus. it now has plentnty of cherry blossom buds, waiting for warmer spring days to fully bloom. just like the ones taylor saw in japan.

nhk world, virginia. besides the scholarship program, the taylor anderson memorial fund has been presenting schools and kindergartens in the city with english books. especially ones that taylor used to love. these so-called taylor libraries have become verery popular with the local children. the foundation has also been arranging summer exchange programs for high school students in ishinomaki city and richmond, virginia, where taylor grew up. taylor's dream was to become a bridge between the two countries. by inspiring students and bringing them closer together this way, the foundation is now accomplishing that goal. now, the city of chriristchurch in new zealand, south ireland, is located in an area of great seismic activity. a major earthquake in february

2011 caused damage to the city, especially after being weakened the previous year. many buildings in the city center collapsed, and residential areas were hit by widespread land elevation. because it was economically to rebuild the infrastructure, households were relocated. areas that were much-loved neighborhoods were left empty. these patches of wasteland are now starting to be used more producti productively, as we see in our second report. >> reporter: formal residential areas that have been unoccupied for yeyears, spaces like this uncommon sight in christchurch. >> i expected there to be more reconstruction after such a long period. >> reporter: some of this land has found second life as community gardens. this area experienced a food shortage after the earthquake. residents now plant vegetables and fruit in a community garden.

beth rouse used to live in the neighborhood. >> shocked, more than anything, to see what happened here. ter: the foundation of her h home was seriously damage during the earthquake. the government ordered many people in the area to move out. for years, the neighborhood was filled with open spaces. rouse says the emptiness was a constant reminder of what they lost. >> community of people is something that's very hard to replace. there was quite a lot of unhappiness. >> reporter: on this day, rouse visited the land where her house used to be. it has been transformed into a community garden. her friends had planted flowers and trees. >> all wanted that sense of community connection after the earthquake. >> reporter: now, the garden is a place for people to gather and enjoy each other's company.

many people come to take part, or even just drop by. >> it's really lovely. >> it's great to get the community together, isn't it? yes. >> reporter: rouse now lives 30 minutes away. she says it is wonderful to come back and see how the place where she used to live looks like now. >> far better than a big piece of green grass. and that people are using it as a way to keep up social interactions. yes, i'm very pleased with that. very, very happy. >> reporter: community gardens are bringing back a sense of unity and belonging to the area, while also adding a bit of green. nhk world, christchurch. >> there is now a network of community gardens in christchurch. the new zealand government recognizes the role these spaces play in helping to regenerate the city, and is supporting them by making the land available for rent at low costs.

besides providing food in the event of an emergency, these spaces create a sense of community through the participants' daily interactions, and enhance the city's resilience to any future disaster. both the taylor libraries and the garden we just saw will always be a reminder of the painful loss. but they also honor and celebrate life, and that must be a solace for the resurvivsurviv they continue to go through the process of healing and recovery. to close this program, we leave you with footage from chiba prefecture near tokyo. the area was badly affected by a series of powerful typhoons last autumn that devastated the local agriculture. spring is springing new life. the poppy flowers remind us of nature's resilience. that's it for today's ""newsline" "newsline in-pe

in-depth." thank you for watching, and see you again next time. ♪

>> this is a crisis like no other. the coronavirus pandemic will cause the worst recession in almost a century, which could cost the world $9 trillion. ♪ live from-jazeera london. also coming up, migrant workers storm a railway station in mumbai protesting the extension of india's lockdown, which left them jobless and hungry. >> it passed yourself and thinks