"newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. a new way of life here in japan. that's the message from prime minister abe shinzo whose government plans to reopen social and economic activities in phases as the country recovers from the first w wave the coronavirus. on monday abe declared the state of emergency over in the reremaining 5 of f the country'

prefectures. the final 5 were tokyo and three susurrounding prefectures as we as hokkaido in the north. the prime minister noted the risk of infection cannot be brought down to zero even after the lifting of the emergency. the government plans to relax restricts at approximately three-week intervals while evaluating the extent of infection and the risk of the disease spreading in each region. concerts and exhibitions will be allowed to take place with limits on the number of attendees that will be eased over time. karaoke parlors and gyms will be allowed to reopen june 1st but they need to put measures in place such as controlling the number of patrons. live music venues and nightlife spots such as hostess bars are asked to remain closed for the time being as experts are studying infection prevention measures for thel. they could reopen as early as june 19th. in total more than 16,600 people

have tesested posositive in jap and over 850 have lost their lives. the world health organization is hailing japan's efforts to contain the coronavirus, but it says that doesn't mean the battle is over. >> lifting some of the serious measures doesn't mean that the basics will not be there. it should actually be strengthened. >> the w.h.o. director says that japan found success by bringing daily cases down to around 40 and keeping the number of deaths at a minimum. he said japan and other countries that end serious restrictions still need to work on identifying and tracing cases, proper care and isolation. w.h.o. executive director for emergency programs michael ryan warned that countries renewed cases on the decline could face a second wave in a number of

months. the annual meeting of china's main law making bodies, the national peoples congress is under way after being postponed by two months due to the coronavirus outbreak. but the virus continued to be a topic at the meeting during a plenary session. china's top prosecutors said more than 2,500 people have been prosecuted for crimes related to the country's measures to combat coronavirus infections. prosecutor general john gin said authorities approved the arrest of 3,751 people in criminal cases r related to covid-19 fro february to april. he added 2,521 of them were prosecuted. officials have not released details of the criminal conduct but said they dealt harshly with acts that harmed health care workers. he also revealed plans to crack down on attemempts to disrupt china's efforts to prevent infection as well as on illegal hunting and wildlife trade.

now, the congress is also drawing headlines for its economic policy coming out of the coronavirus outbreak. nhk world asked a china expert to assess the domestic and global >> reporter: china is the first to emergrge fromm the pandemic. it's economic policy is a source of great international concern. but the gogovernment has declin to give e any clear growowth forecast this year. >> we have not set a specific target for economic growth this year. this is because our country faces some factors that makes development difficult to predict. >> reporter: a china expert says if the government had set a specific target and then missed it its creredibility would have been damaged. >> the report of this year is s very shohort, unusually.

and ththe expression is very conservative. instead of setting up economic growth target he just emphasizes in his report again and again about,t,or examplele, stabilize employoyment and reduce poverty. >> reporter: he says china recognizes its problblems but lacks any specific policies to deal with them. and that could be a recipe for stagnation. >> in china the smes, small medium sized enterprises play an important role to create employment opportunities. but smes are facing serious shortages of liquidities because of the coronavirus crisis. the ststate owned commercial bas usually refuse to lend money to smes because o of the risks. but the report couould not show the e people how to help t the

and how w to create ememploymen oppoportunities. >> reporter: despite the headaches he thinks china's economy will gain momentum for the rest of this year. but longer-term the coronavirus pandemic could come back to haunt the economy. >> china is going to be, you know, a very important ecoconom center continuously, but the image of china to the global community through the coronavirus crisis was damaged quite seriously. >> reporter: he's especially worried abouout the relationshi with the united statates. >> even now it seems to t that china a does not know how to de with the biggest and the most important business partner. their decoupling of the two countries are coming to be true. some observers just described it

as a cold war 2.0. so the reality of the new w col war is coming g to impact the globalal economimic and global society.y. moving to europe now. hotels in berlin are reopening in response to the easing of the restrictions in the german capital. on monday the city's hotels were allowed to welcome guests again ahead of the summer holiday season. a hotel in central berlin has taken infection prevention measures including outfitting the front desks with transparent dividers and placing marks on the floor to help customers keep the propeper distance from one another. the hotel has also suspended its buffet breakfast and closed other facilities like its sauna. >> translator: it's a very happy day nowow that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

>> hotels in almost all states of germany are now able to welcome customers. but hotel officials said international tourists are unlikely to return anytime soon and that new bookings remain depressed. other european countries are facing t the daunting g task of reviving their tourism indusust as welell. ititaly plans to reopenen its borders t to tourists from othe eu member countries on june 3rd. the german government as has agreed to provide the national carrier lufthansa. it's been severely affected due to the pandemic. under the agreement announced on monday the german government will take a 20% stake in the company. the government will also appoint two members to the airline's supervisory board. it has incncurredd huge l losse

after its passesenger business s almost wiped out due to the coronavirus travel restrictions. the finance minister described the deal as a very good solution. he said it takes into account the needs of the company and its employees as well as those of the government and taxpayers. earlier this month thailand's flagship carrier thai airwayss international was brought to the brink of bankruptcy due to the impact of the pandemic on-air travel. in sports japan's probaseball teams are getting ready to start their season three months later than scheduled because of the coronavirus. they will take to the field from june 19th and play to empty stadiums. representatives from the 12 teams reached the decision in an ononline meeting monday afterno. >> translator:r: i hope that al those people who have been stuck at home, forced to stay in can feel the sporting spirit again.

>> nippon professional baseball commissioner says he's sorry the sports guverening bade had to delay several times and kept players and fans waiting. he said the most important thing is to proceed with caution to ensure the safety of players, staff and their families. >> wellll, i'm very happy they have decided the opening day. we've been looking forward to this day and all the fans are also looking forward to this day. >> each team will play 120 games, 23 fewer than originally planned. let's check out the world weather now. back-to-back outbreak of severe weather have affected the united states and more severe storms are on their way. let's go over to our meteorologist yoko kumigata for

more on this. >> another round of severe weather is targeting the u.s. plains. because the plains experiences a high frequency of tornados each year it's called tornado alley. in fact, a lot of severe weather activity is expected along this cold front on tuesday. severe thunderstorms are expected especially in southern texas all the way up to missouri on tuesday. some thunderstorms could produce heavy downpours, large hail and damaging winds. may is the peak of tornado season, so people should expect dangerous twisters as well. meanwhile the southwestern portions of of the u.s. are dealing with record breaking hot temperatures due to an extended heat wave. the high will be 40 degrees in phoenix on tuesday. it could reach the mid-40s by mid-week. in addition dry weather will increase the risk of fires. now we are looking at an active rainy season front that stretches across southern china.

more than 180 millimeters of rain has fallen in parts on top of that up to 100 millimeters of rain is expected in the next 24 hours with a possibility of flooding. the front will also affect taiwan and southwestern aisle of japan in the latter part of the day on tuesday bringing sudden bursts of downpours. also weather is expected in the korean peninsula and japan as we go into wednesday as another low pressure system moves into the area. some may see showers with a high of 23 degrees on tuesday. gloomy skies will spread across tokyo with a high of 23 degrees. meanwhile in the northeast rather hot temperatures are expected in beijing, and 21 degrees in -- that's it for now. stay safe and have a nice day.

before we go, u.s. golf teamed up with former football superstars in a charity match for coronavirus relief efforts on sunday. the event featured a face-off between tiger woods and phil mickelson. the matchup held without spectatators was televised nationwide with calls for online donations. and the result they beat their rivals by just one shot. the event raised a total of $20 million. the money will be used for efforts to contain the spread of

the virus and help health care workers. that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm mariri yanaka. 78 years a the pacic war broke out putting japan against the united states

time. >> the diplomats and ambassadors and their suddenly had -- i think that constitutes abuse even if they weren't beaten. >> in detailed reports by the occupation forces there's one particularly horrific case. that of a lieutenant, an officer. he was taken to a p.o.w. hospital in tokyo suffering from sorosis of the liver. he became a human guinea pig. the japanese military doctor injected intravenously ordinary

soya bean milk. he had three injections. this caused him to go into a coma with severe and repeated vomiting which lasted up to his death about 48 hours later. after the war the u.s. war crimes tribunals found the doctor guilty of conducting experiments on human beings. he was sentenced to death. the p.o.w. research network plans to publish a book in a couple of years on the p.o.w. and civilian detainee camps to make sure the lessons of the war are pasassed onto future e generarations. >> our primary aim is to ensure that these tragedies never occur again. to this end we must study the task. only by studying the past can we

begin to understand war and its effects. >> of the 33,000 p.o.w.s and foreign detainees more than 3,500 died in captivity. with the passage of time their stories could have been lost to history if not for the efforts of a determined few. >> joining us now is nhk world's tsuyoshi masuda. >> from all enemy countries living in japan -- they were deprived of their jobs, had their assets seized and were sent to detention centers.

other detainees came from abroad. for example, following the japanese army's occupation in new guinea 18 australian nazis were taken prisoner and brought to japan. they were kept in a detention facility in yokohama until the end of the war. these photos were taken as they were released. according to a survey by the p.o.w. study group around 1,184 civilians were detained in japan during world war ii including many who had lived here for a long time. >> the experience must have left deep scars on the minds of the detainees. >> that's right. because they faced such harsh conditions many p.o.w. civilian detainees and their families hold a strong and enduring hatred towards japan.

however, members of the p.o.w. research network have found that they offer programs of former captives and relatives to meet with its people who live nearby. >> helet's hear what the head o the p.o.w. research group has to say about the issue. >> there are former p.o.w.s and detainees who come here feeng hatred against japan. but through dialogue of the people who understand what happened in those days they seem to realize the japanese at that time had been driven crazy by the war and gradually they'd come to hate the war rather than the japanese. this change of thinking helps to soothe their hearts before they head back home. >> here in japan this chapter of our history is not so

well-known. by deepening our understanding of what happened to the p.o.w.s and detainees we may be encouraged to worork toward stronger international relations based on peace not war. >> thank you

>> the senior aide to the british prime minister accused of breaching lockdown rules says he has no regrets and behaved reasonably. ♪ hello. also ahead, world health organization has suspended testing of hydroxychloroquine due to safety concerns. says he wilillnyayahu not miss a a historic opportuniy to p