♪ thank you for joining us. this is nhk "newsline" bringing you the latest at this hour. we start here in tokyo where ththere are some encououraging s in the effort to keep the coronavirus from spreading. officials announced 23 new infections in the capital on thursday. that's the smallest increase since march 30th and the fifth

day in a row the figure has fallen below 100. >> translator: we had a string of public holidays until wednesday. we will carefully analyze whether this figure accurately reflects the current situation. >> people across the country were asked to stay at home and refrain from nonessential travel during the holidays. officials say there has been a 70% to 80% drop in the number of visitors at sightseeing spots. a nationwide state of emergegen was originally due to expire on wednesday, but it has been exextended to may 31st. the central government wants tokyo and 12 other prefectures under a special coronanavirus alert to continue minimizing person-to-person contact. the tokyo government is asking shops, restaurants, and entertainment facilities to remain shut or maintain shortened business hours until the end of the month. public schools in the city will also remain closed. meanwhile, some prefectures

where the spread of the virus is limited are gradually easing stay-at-home measures. public schools in the western prefecture of tottori reopened on thursday. as a precautionary measure, students get their temperatures checked before entering, and classroom windows are left open to allow extra ventilation. >> some businesses are also trying to restart operations. a department store in the southwestern prefecture of fukuoka has reopened its food section. it's providing masks to customers who aren't already wearing them and is asking for donations to support medical workers in return. major construction companies are also restarting work at more than 1,000 sites across the country. the central government plans to

hear from experts next week on whether to lift the state of emergency for each prefecture. the miminister in charge of the coronavirus response says over the past week, 17 prefectures have reported no new infections. he says the emergency declaration could be lifted for those prefectures if the trend continues. the chief cabinet secretary says the government will also consider the situation in the local health system in deciding when to lift the declaration. >> translator: it is possible that the state of emergency declaration will be lifted before it expires regardless of whether the prefecture is covered by the special alert or not. >> across japan, around 100 new cases were reported on thursday. more than 15,000 people in the country have tested positive so far. nearly 600 have died. the united nations is making an emotional plea for worldwide

cooperation in supporting more vulnerable countries hit by the virus. nine new nations have been added to their emergency appeal along with an ask of $6.7 7 billion i adadditional funds. > no one anywhere will l be fromom the diseasese and the vi until everybody is safe. and if t the poorerr couountrie not supported, the vus w will take r root there and can be a threat to everybody into the future. >> the global body hopes to build on its initial $2 billion plan l launched in march. as of tuesday, japan, the united states, and other countries had contributed $923 million to the program which currently has a presence in 54 nations. the un wants the extra funds to strengthen existing measures and provide support for nine additional fragile countries

including mozambique and pakistan. the project supplies medicine and food to places with weak health care systems including developing states and nations dealing with conflicts. the un's humanitarian chief said the expected economic damage could have devastating results. he also admitted that the un does not know as much as it would like to about the situation in north korea because the un team in pyongyang is allowed only limited travel. north korea says it has confirmed no infections of the virus. turning to the u.s. where the state of new york has decided to buy surplus produce from farmers and distribute it to people in need. >> the volume of food and products that not being wasted in supporting upstate farms and helping downstate families is tremendous. >> the plan announced thursday

will help farmers unload fruits they've accumulated. new york state will buy 4,300 tons of apples from farmers. the food will be distributed to more than 20,000 households through the state's food banks. governor andrew cuomo has also extended until august 20th a moratorium on the eviction of tennants who fail to pay rent. he says the measures are meant to protect people facing financial hardship due to the pandemic. voters in the u.s. are just six months away from choosing a president, and the pandemic has forced the two contenders to drastically change their campaigns. nhk world has more. >> reporter: health care workers are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. they're dealing with the highest infection and death rates in the world. >> also that other new number

tonight -- >> reporter: and the virus is devastating the economy. gdp in the first quarter was down 4.8%. that's the sharpest drop since the 2008 financial crisis. president donald trump wanted to make the strong economy the center piece off his re-electio campaign, but he's been forced to change his strategy. >> i view it as a -- in a sense, a wartime president. we did a job that nobody thought was possible. it's a decision for the president of the united states. >> reporter: social distancing has caused him to cancel the rallies that were the life blood of his campaign. but the coronavirus press briefings have become another platform for trump to reposition himself as a strong leader. vovoters like neieil fergusonn playingg close attention. he didn't vote foror trump in 26 but says the pandemic has chananged his mind. >> how do we get throuou this?

an awful lot of money being spent. and, you know, people are inn need. it appears to me that he's looking out for the citizens of america. >> reporter: campaign o officia say the president's response to the crisis will win over the country. >> when their jobs were cut off and they had no place to go to feed their familieses, certainli think it doesn't matter what party you are. democrat, rerepublican, independndent are goingng to vo for him in a landsdslide victor in 2020. > trump's democratic chahallr is making some adjustmenents of his own. former vicice presidentt joe bi has had to limit hisis campaign activitities to mostly online appearances. this makes it difficult to activevely engage wit voters. >> i'msedo being in a televisi stuor out standing before a couple thousand people talking and here i am in my basement. >> biden has been almostt entirelyly confined to his

delaware home but h hstarting to receive someig-name endorsements. >> this isis a moment that we nd a leader, a president like joe biden. >> reporter: former president barack obama and other prominent party figures are throwing their weight behind him. some experts say president trump sparring with reporters at the press briefings is good for joe biden, especially in swing states. >> the initial panic had sort of ththat natioional rallying effe. we hear our gogovernors, we hea mayors and others telling us it's not working out as you were told. then we start to see some of that falling off in terms of approval in this instance for the president. >> the pandemic has turned traditional campaign strategies upside do you know. both trump and biden hope to prove to voters that they can get america back on track.

ester oh, nhk world, washington. japan's space agency says the asteroid ryugu. the japan aerospace exploration agency sayss it analyzed images of the asteroid taken aboard its probe hayabusa-2. much of the sand and rock turned red when it was exposed to heat of more than 600 degrees celsius. it says such high temperatures are inconceivable even when the asteroid is at its closest point to the sun in its current orbit. jaxa saws a rock in a recent crater is blue as it has not been heated to high temperatures. jaxa says these findings shug

that ryugu's closest point to the sun about 300,000 to 8 million years ago was 1/3 to 1/5 the current distance. jaxa adds that ryugu's orbit may have passed between the sun and mercury before shifting to the prent trajectory. jaxa says it remains unknown what caused a change in ryugu's orbit but that gravity could be one reason. ♪ ♪

and n now a check on the wod weather. hot temperatures are seen in the u.s.s. deserts southwest and california. our meteorologist yoko komagata joins us with the details. yoko, is there any relief in sight? >> yes, they're finally expecting cooling temperatures for the coming weekend. daytime highs will go back to normal by early next week. however, a lift on friday that heat conditions will persist in the area increasing fire threats. in the meantime, we are looking at winter-like weather in the east. this temperature difference between hot and cold wilill cree instability producing severe thunderstorms. the threat of severe weather will push into the gulf state and spread toward the mid-atlantic as we go into friday. expect large hail, damaging winds, and heavy downpours with the possibility of flash flooding. severe thunderstorms are

expected in oklahoma city and houston friday. cool temperatures will persist in the northeastern portions of the u.s. and southeastern canada. new york will have a high of 13 degrees with the showers. the high will dip down to the single digits in kig hchicago. and toronto may see snow with a high of 7 degrees. after we saw windy weather in japan, it's going to be calm and dry on friday. a large high pressure system will move into the country bringing fair weather for the next couple of days. but another storm system will approach from the west. this low pressure system is now bringing widespread showers and stronger winds in the eastern portions of china and push into the korean peninsula as we go into friday evening and weather will eventually push into japan as we go into sunday. on friday though, present weather will be seen in many parts of japan on friday.

wind will start in osaka and fukuoka from late saturday evening. tokyo may avoid rainy weather but it's going to be pretty windy this weekend. the high will be pretty warm in sapporo with a high of 22 degrees on friday, 22 in tokyo with sunny skies. that's all for now. stay safe and have a nice weekend. ♪ ♪

that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you very much for staying with us. ♪ ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm aiko doden. the earthquake and tsunami devastated the region of northeast japan but the trauma was felt nationwide n. today's program we look at the recovery efforts from an outside perspective. we find out what two young people learned about march 11th

and what they could do to help. we start in the fishing port in miyagi prefecture. the tsunami unleashed catastrophic damage on this part of the coast. extensive rebuilding has restored the infrastructure and fishermen can make a living once again. but the community lacking in basic services that japanese towns folk take for granted. here's the story of how that problem was overcome and how a young woman from tokyo found a new home. >> 3:30 a.a.m., the port is already busy with fishermen unloading their haul. from here, fresh catches are delivered all over japan. because fishermen spend days or even months at sea, one of their biggest pleasures is soaking in a hot bath when they come ashore. but it's only recently that this public bath returned to this

port town. > and r right n next dodoor, healthy breakfast is offered for less than $10. the bath and diner opened last july thanks to donations and crowd funding. this womanan was key to making this all happen. originally from tokyo, she moved here after graduating university. >> emma first visited the town as a high school volunteer months after march 11th. she wanted to see the reality for herself and what she could do to help.. the town lost more than 1,000

residents t to the tsunami and over 9,500 families were affected by the disaster. ships were broken, houses swept away. but amid the devastation, emma was struck by the resilience of the local people, especially this fisherman of 50 years. >> so, emma decided she would live here. she's since become like a daughter to he and his wife. he eventually shared one of his major concerns with her. >> befefore the disaster,

kesennuma's public bath had been operating for about 130 years. emma heard from other members of the community that they too wanted to revive the tradition, so she worked with them to organizeze fundraising events a solicit donations. they kept costs down by recycling a used trailer home instead of constructing a new building. profits are still low, but it's giving customers renewed hope. >> by supporting the people of kesennuma, emma is paying back what they have given her, the strength to start something from scratch and persevere.

>> kesennuma has a public bath at last, but the work to heal the community continues and so does the fundraising. here's one small example. this group produces a calendar every year. the photographs focus on the central role fishing plays in this area. and some of the pictures are quite striking, reflecting the energy of the local people in spite of the challenges they continue to face. the n next story takes pla inukushima prefefecture, sititef the nuclear a accident. radioactivive fallolout forced evacuations and caused severe disruption to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in this regigion. decontntination efforts allowed some to resume, but some worry

about the safety of fukushima and its food products. local officials invited a group from the americas to assess the situation for themselves. >> the nine guests in this tour are aged between 17 and 33 and are visiting some five countries. they have never visited fukushima before although they all have family roots in the region. this man is the great grandson of a japanese man who immigrated to brazil from the city of fukushima. >> i came here to understand more what's going on here. some of my friends just ask me why are you going to fukushima? is it okay? is it safe? >> the group first visited a prefectural facility that has been inspecting the radiation levels of various food items. a jermaine yan semiconductor

detector is used to measure radiation levels. the detector itself is inspected annually by the international atomic agency to make sure the inspection process is credible. >> 100% of the projects are sent to domestic and international mamarkets. >> translalator: all the beef a rice from fukushima has to be inspected. on top of that, samples of other local products such as vegetables and fish are thoroughly checked too. >> during the tour, the bus drove on a highway in an area that had been given an evacuation order. >> what we might also see are some of the interim storage facilities for decontamination materials. they've been placed in large

black bags. >> passengers in vehicles don't have to protect themselves as safety has been confirmed. even though levi understands there's no harm, he keeps checking the radiation levels online. >> it's not the happiest place to be. actually, i think that would be a place to avoid. >> in the city, the participants watched a video about the 2011 disaster and the devastation caused by the tsunami. they also heard a first-hand account from a female survivor whose family members were killed by the tsunami. >> translator: the most important message i have for you is that you're the onlnly perso who can protect yourself. i hope you will pass your story on to your acquaintances so that more people are prepared. >> the group also visited j-village. part of decommisissions n nucl

reactors placed on this property, but the center reopened as a sports facility in 2018. it has become a symbol of the reconstruction of the area. the participants learned that the olympic torch relay will kick off here. >> i can really feel what is happening here. i think how people are facing the problems, how people are fighting to develop, to recover fukushima, i can get with me and bring back to brazil. >> the prefectural government is hoping that the young participants will take what they've learned and share it far and wide. satto immediately posted on social media a scene where he was having a meal in j-village. after the tour, he said he was

moved by fukushima's ernst efforts to face reconstruction. little by little, the knowledge they have gained on this trip will surely spread around the world. nhk world, fukushima. >> seeing is believing, but it can also be listening and understanding. that's what we've seen in our two stories today. young people leaving their hometown behind to come and witness the reconstruction process for themselves. it's true that the survivors of the 2011 disaster need to be in the driver's seat for their rebuilding work. but outsiders can definitely make a positive difference not just in the mechanics of reconstruction but also in the process of healing broken communities. now, finally there is something that local people need no outside help on, fish steaks.

once the organization is back in business after losing their factory in 2011 tsunami. that's it for today's "newsline in depth."