in tokyo, every ingredient has its own story. ♪ ♪ hello and great to have you with us. from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we start here in japan where the country's government is considering lifting the state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak for osaka and surrounding areas on thursday. officials are closely watching the situation in tokyo to decide whether to end the emergency in

the capital and neighboring areas as well. the government lifted the state of emergency for 39 of 47 prefectures last week. one target is that the number of infections should be down to around 0.5 or fewer per 100,000 people in the past week. authorities are set to decide what to do on the remaining eight prefectures, including tokyo. three prefectures in the kansai region -- osaka, kyoto, and hyogo -- have met the target. government sources say the situation is stabilizing in kansai. officials are considering lifting the state of emergency for the three prefectures unless mass infections occur. >> translator: i think osaka cleared the standard the central government has set. i believe that the state of emergency should be lifted here. >> osaka's iconic castle will reopen ass economic and social

activities gradually resume in the kansai area. >> translator: it's great. i feel like things are slowly getting back to normal. >> tokyo and neighboring kanagawa have not met the target, but the number of newly confirmed cases has been declining. tokyo r reporteed five new casen tuesday. the governor of tokyo and ththr neighboring prefectures held an online conference on tuesday. they stressed that residents should stay alert and keep social distancing. the situation in the northern prefecture of hokkaido is being cautiously watched. some new infections have been confirmed there. the government will monitor infections and availability of medical services until the last minute. it plans to make its decision at a task force meeting on thursday after consulting with an advisory panel of experts. more than 16,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in japan.

over 770 have died. the united states has the world health organization has called for a fair and independent inquiry into the agency's response to the pandemic. >> the resolution is ttherefore adoptpted. the world health assembly wrapped up its two-day meeting on tuesday. leaders and representatives from 194 member state attended the teleconference. they also continued to agree to support the w.h.o. leadedershipn response to the pandemic. >> the w.h.o. remains fully committed to transparency, accountability and continues improvement. in the assembly chinese president xi jinping praised the w.h.o.'s response to the

outbreak, but the u.s. denounced the initial handling. the w.h.o. cut short this year's assembly due to the pandemic. the agency plans to reconvene in the second half of 2020 to discuss remaining issues. >> japan's foreign ministry says the coronaviirus is wreaking havoc across the world andnd countries must work together to contain it. the reporttn japan's fofoeign polilicy and its positiion sayse pandemic has impacted the world economically, socially and didiplomatically and internatiol communicationons and cooperatio are key to containing the virus. it mentions chinese president xi jinping's postponed visit to japan as an example of the effect on diplomacy. the visit was to take place this spring. it t notes alall japanesee nati who wanted to return to japan were able to come back from the chinese city of wuhan on government-chartered flights. it says that was a resultlt of

close cooperation between the countries. the report also touches on taiwan's bid to take part in the world health assembly as an observer. it says japan has constantly backed taiwan. taiwan lost its observer status in 2017. chinese authorities blocked the move, saying taiwan is part of china. the global hunt for coronavirus continues. a japanese third-party committee assessing the clinical trials of anti-flu drug avigan says it is too early to determine if the drug is effective or not. clinical trials are being conducted on 86 people infected with the virus with mild or no symptoms. they're divided into two groups. one group is given avigan up to ten days. the other group is given the drug from the sixth day. clinical trials are supposed to

be assessed by a third-party committee. sources familiar with the testing say the committee anallyzed the mid-term results n about 40 people, and they concluded that research needs to continue to have the full picture of its potential effect. the health ministry has said it plans to speed up the process to approve avigan as a treatment for the coronavirus this month. india's weeks-long nationwide lockdown has been extended until may 31st, but the government is allowing the government to ease restrictions and open in areas with fewer infections. central new delhi appears to partially regain its buzz after the announcement. commuters were everywhere, so, too, the city's iconic three-wheeled taxis. india has recorded 4,000 new coronavirus cases per day. its total of more than 100,000 is the highest in asia.

the lockdown began on march 25th. for shopkeepers allowed to reopen the recovery has only just begun. >> translator: it's difficult for us. we have to pay rent for three months and we have to pay for our workers. it's a huge problem. we will only be able to do something if the government helps us. it's not like customers will start turning up the moment we open our shops. >> still, many others wonder if they'll actually be able to lift their shutters again with local authorities yet to release detailed guidelines. >> people across the united states are packing their beach bags and picnic bags ahead of a long holiday weekend. every state has started to relax restrictions meant to stop the spread of the virus, but public health officials say more people need to get testeded. nhk world's katherine kobayashi repports. >> reporter: it's happy hour

again at the iron hog saloon. customers have left their masks at home. they're putting social distancing behind them. it's like nothing has changed. >> if people want to quarantine, quarantine. if you don't want to quarantine, don't q quarantine and do what u want to dodo. >> repeporter: many eexposed toe virus won't even show symptoms. others can take three to five days to feel sick. a viral test tells people if they're infected now and an antibody test tells them if they've had a previous infect, but it can take weeks to produce antibodies, and some tests show incorrectly that a person has not been infected. the worst symptoms can take aalmost three weeks to appear, o people won't know for a while yet how reopening has affected the spread. only 3% of the u.s. population has been tested, but new york

state has been more aggressive carrying out 40,000 a day. the governor says the most important thing ppple c d do t fiht the virus is to test for it. >> get a test. get a test. it protects you, protects your family, protects your colleagues, get a test. >> many will gel together for memorial day to honor military personnel who died while serving. in gathering, some may be making a sacrifice of t their own. catherine kobayashi, nhk world, new york. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ now moving on to world weather. an extremely severe cyclone east of india is posing a serioous threat to parts of that country and bangladesh. our meteorologist setsei monoare has more. >> severe weather conditions toward the southeast and the

northeastern coast of bangladesh and india expected. you need to look out for storm surges particularly along the coast where there are a lot of rivers and a lot of water associated with the storm and also the winds that are growing at about 185 kilometers per hour will be the major concern toward india as well as into bangladesh. please do take care and stay clear. go to higher situated areas so that you can avoid being flooded with the amount of rainfall that we are expecting there which could exceed 180 millimeters in just a short period of time. please do take care at all times. there could be severe damage to crops and coconut trees and also power outages are quite possible. if you see kolkata, and areas like dhaka are highly populated areas that could lead to significant damage. three days of heavy rainfall could be very disastrous along

those parts. meanwhile, in asia or the eastern side of asia, particularly china we are expecting a stationary front to bring showers to southeast china as well as the low pressure systems here affecting the weather towards northern japan, and do expect possible its of mudslide because the swells are already so waterlogged and with more water coming in that could lead to landslides in certain parts of the usa. temperaturewise it will abe cold one for chongqing at 30 degrees with isolated thunder showers. moving into japan the temperatures have dropped compared to what we experienced on tuesday. some of them dropping between two to 10 degrees. it is cooler for tokyo at 19 degrees and take a look at sendai at 11, and that will stay consistent right across much of japan and okinawa, it's staying true to its normal cause at 27 degrees. that is all for the weather.

take care. before we go, some consumers in japan are turning to a

mythical mermaidlike figure in hopes of bringing an end to the coronavirus pandemic. a bakery in the southern prefecture of okinawa began making bread in the shape of the popular creature. [ no audio ] >> i hope people buy this bread and think it's cute. i hope they enjoy that it brings them a lot of happiness. >> the bakery was forced to close temporarily last month due to the coronavirus, but orders have been pouring in after the product was featured online. japan's health ministry is using

it as part of a campaign aimed at stopping the spread of the virus. and that concludes this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you very much for staying with us. ♪ ♪ welcome to newsline "in-depth." i'm aiko doden. whether it's global trade or security, china's presence looms large in the international aarena. spapace explorration is no excxception and that's's what w be probing into today.

this is a rare image of the faf side of the moon taken by a chinese satellite in january last year. the mission to capture this view added to china's growing list of achievements in outer space, but just like that lunar landscape, much about the country's space program remains shrouded in mystery. china's gaze is turning upward, where exactly is it headed? to learn more i sat down with an exclusive interview with the man known as the space hero. a long cue in tokyo just to meet this gentleman. close to 500 people at tokyo's scscience museum, many from chi waited to catch a glimpse of yung lweii yung, a p pilot in the eople's

liiberation a army iis a h herod that's not just a matter of opinion. it's on his bio. space hero is the official title bestowed upon him by then-chinese president, following the success of the country's historic mission to space in 2003. thihis mission madee china at td country in the ussr to independently send humans into space. iit was a remminder that chiina ambitions extend beyond its earthly borders. in its spacecraft, yung executed somee familiar moves and some nw ones like eating his favorite chinese food. when it came time to wave the flag, the united nations pennant was there, too. tans trance without space exexploration we will not be ab to grasp the spopoke of i its utility on our future life.

i am proud to have represented not only my country, but the entire human race in the universe. >> sharing the stage with china's space hero was japan's star astronaut mori. he was a pioneer, the first japanese national to go into space aboard the space shuttle in 1992 from nasa's kennedy space center. >> rocket ignition and liftoff of endeavour on the 50th space shuttle flight. nasa went back as a mission specialist. this time he used a high-definition camera to record images of the earth, another first. teaming up with a chinese astronaut,t, mori had ambitious ideasas basicically to get a conversation going in cooperation with outer spacce.

it has to be said, f finding common ground is sometething th has often eluded japan andnd cha bback hehere on the hohome plan. >> translator: a lot of cooperation has been underway among scientists and researchers, but we have yet to see any collaboration on space missions. inddeed, this may be difficult polilitically, but i think now the time to explorore what kindf cooperation is possible. i think it's meaningful for me to sit down here with dr. mori. space developopment should be a for international cooperation, it is something that can embody international cooperation. china's exploratiion has moved n

rapidly since yang's first mission in 2003. last year it became the first-ever spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. another milestonee in tthe country's quest to become a space superpowerer by 2030. >> the manned space flight program is progressingng and wo to construct the space station is now in full swing. the plan is to fininish construction around 2022. withohout the devevelopmentnt o science aand technology it is imposssible to improve people's lives. the exploorion of mars annd the exploration of the moon are journeys into an unknown world and are symbols of the progress of human society.y. the eararth is ththe cradlee of mankind, but youou can't stay

forever in the cradle. ♪ ♪ >> china's cosmic ambition has not been unnoticed by washington. it is reflected in the recent establishment of the u.s. space force. washington has made clear it is ready to defend its interest in an arena that's now crowded with newcomers. space misssions todayy are not just about exploring the last frontier. they have a rereal impactct ono dail lives on earth. the globall positioning system s just one example. it keeps eyes in the sky for both civilian and military purposes. given the high stake, china's condemnation of the u.s. space force comes as little surprise. beijing called it a direct threreat to outer space peace a

security. despite the rising global tensions, yang is careful to keep well above the fray turning on the charm, he wins new friends in the audience. translatator: is it warm ine the rocket? >> when a spacecraft enters the atmosphere, friction causes high temperatures. the temperature is between 1,600 and 1,800 degrees celsius. it looks like a fireball when we look outside, but engineers choose materials to ensure good environment for the astronauts. so for them it only feels a few degrees higher. >> i have a little gift for the one that asked the question. [ applause ]

>> reporter: the two astronauts agree that the success of future space exploration lies in cooperation and they seem to mean it is aing being astronnas have given them a different perspective of space and earth. seen from outer space, the earth has no national borders, air, water, birds and plants move and grow freely regardless of boards. astronauts do not represent the country, but the entire earth. when you look at earth from space, you feel that there is no reason not to love and protect our planet. i think that's a natural emotion. >> mori says inviting young to japan he wanted to spark a

discussion how better to be in space exploration on the backdrop of aerospace becoming increasingly crowded with government organizations, businesses and even individuals joining the race. i asked him for his take on the future of space cooperation. in the former soviet union space development was a military undertaking. all of the cosmonauts came from the military. the soviet union became russia and many civilians became astronauts, but in china, there are 16 astronauts are all military personnel. the space authorities there are expected to recruit, new astronauts in 2020. scientists and the researchers from different fields will be allowed to apply justice in japan. in the not so distant future,

chinese space development will become more open and exchanges will be more active beyond national borders. >> the united states is hoping to increasee i its own presence space, as well. what does the u.s. expect? >> the u.s. has its own position that it must remain the number one at all times. china's space development could threaten that position and it is directly linked to military affairs. just as the iz was wary of the soviet union during the cold war, it is now suspicious of china's space activities. to the united states, space development is also about enhancing national prestige, but for china, national prestige has

still greater significance. in japan's case, civilians went into space from the beginning so for japan, space development is about practical applications rather than for national prestige. >> mori thinks that big international players need to get over theirir obsession wit the power gamee in space. >> i think concepts such as national prestige are already things of the past. > japan m must think in spec terms of what it can do to such causes of sustainable development goals from the point of all human kind. for example, when i passed over china aboard the international

space station in 2000, i saw many black dots on a snow-covereded plain that were caused by factories burning coal. pollution on the earth is clearly visible. >> i hope, china, too, is aware of the situation from a space viewpoint. i am sending this message not just to china, but to others, as well. that's my theme today, we're responsible for the entire earth. that's my message to young people. u.s. president john f. kennedy once said when young men reach beyond this planet they should leave their national differences behind them.

almost 60 years later two astronauts embodying that message and they know exactly what it takes to foster cooperation in space no matter the challenges. that's it for today's newsline "in-depth." thank you for watching and see you again next t me. ♪

who welcomes scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, amidst threats the u.s. will pull its funding permanently. ♪ barbara: hello. i am barbara serra. you are watching al jazeera, live from london. fighting in libya. fighting has pushed the conflict to a turning point. accused of involvement in the murder of his former wife, a prime minister resignsns after months of speculation. and anan argentinianan leader