♪ welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm i don't shish ogasawara. we begin in japan where temperatures soared across wide areas. the need to wear face masks due to the coronavirus poses a health risk all of its own, heat stroke. a high pressure system pushed temperatures up. the mercury topped 35 degrees celsius in a part of fukuoka

prefecture in the southwest and some other areas. tokyo had its hottest day of the year at 31 degrees. still many people were seen wearing masks regardless of how it felt. >> translator: i feel like i'm in a sauna. >> translator: it's ununcomfortable becauause it ma the area around my mouth sweaty. >> thermal imaging shows how much a a mask can affect the temperatature of the face. without one, the mouth area was about 36 degrees. but put one on, and it will climb to 40 degrees within one minute. a number of businesses are producing masasks with summer i mind including this shirt maker. breathable and quick drying, the first batch of 300 sold out immediately. >> translator: our customers asked us to make cooler masks. we hope they feel more comfortable with our products.

>> government officials advise people in masks to frequently drink fluids and avoid heavy exercise. they also say masks can be removed outdoors if an appropriate social distance can be maintained. on tuesday 44 new cases of the virus have been reported in japan so far. the nation's total is now 17,267. the death toll is 920. fallout from the coronavirus has hit people's pockets around the world. in japan, average monthly wages fell in april as businesses voluntarily closed in the face of the outbreak. government data shows workers earned about 275,000 yen on average or $2,500. that includes payments such as overtime. that was down .6%, the first

drop in four months. wages in the service sector including restaurant and entertainment businesses fell especially sharply. the mayor of moscow says the city will begin easing its two-month-long lockdown restrictions. it comes as more than 8,900 cases were confirmed around russia on monday including 2,000 in the country's capital. >> translator: all indicators show that we are coming out of the epidemic. now we can take new, more radical actions. moscow is basically returning to its usual rhythm of life. >> he says residents will be able to venture out without restrictions starting tuesday. businesses such as beauty salons, photo studios and vet clinics will also be able to reopen. starting next week, libraries and art museums will be allowed to resume operations and restaurants and cafes can reopen their terraces.

but the mayor says risk still exists and that the situation must be controlled to prevent a new outbreak. s still exists and that the situation must be controlled to prevent a new outbreak still exists and that the situation must be controlled to prevent a new outbreaks still exists and that the situation must be controlled to prevent a new outbreak. as it stands, russia has the third highest number of cases in the world with more than 476 infections. president vladimir putin says the coronavirus has peaked in the country. he plans to mark a military parade to celebrate the victory over soviet germany during world war ii on june 24th. nchts health authorities in brazil will start final stage clinicical trials of a potentia coronavirus vaccine devevelopedy researcherss in britain.n. brazil has the world's second largest number of coronavirus infections behind the united states. the vaccine developed by, ford university and the british

pharmaceutical company astrazeneca is currently in phase two trials involving several hundred volunteers. health authorities in brazil say they've agreed with oxford university to carry out phase three trials which involve a larger number of people to determine the long-term safety of the vaccine. the final stage clinical trials will start next week with injections for 2,000 medical personnel and other volunteers. the government hopes that accepting vaccine trials will help speed up anti infection measures. astrazeneca has yet to determine whether the vaccine will work, but is preparing for mass production. meanwhile, the leader of the world health organization has urged countries not to lower their guard. he said there were 136,000 cases reported worldwide on sunday, the largest number in a single day. >> the situation in europe is

improving. globally it's worsening. more than 100,000 cases have been reported on nine of the past ten days, almost 75% of yesterday's cases come from ten cocountries, m mostly in the americas and south asia. >> johns hopkins university in the united states says the total number of cases worldwide has topped 7.1 million. the global death toll is over 400,000. north korea says it's shutting down hotlines with south korea. pyongyangg say it's the fst step i cuttingng all mmunication with seoul, describingtsts southern neighbor as an enemy.y. the setback in relations comes after defefectors set leaflets into the north that criticized

kim jojong-un. they say leaflet campaign was a hostile act and considers south core covid-19 officials of trying to dodge responsibility with nasty excuses. north korea says it's shutting down the joint liaison office as well as hotlines between their militaries and top government offices from noon tuesday. during a press grieving, a south korean spokesperson says the north did not answer regular scheduled call on tuesday morning. >> translator: we must monitor the situation. >> a source close to the unification ministry in seoul adadded that the government wil observe the agreement and work toward peace and prosperity on the korean peninsula. south korean president moon jae-in has made improving inter-korean relations a priority during his remaining two years in office. but attemptsts to convince the north to give up its nuclear program m have yet to yield tangible resulults, and analyst say this latest development is

likely to ramp up tensions. hong kong's chief executive is asking citizens to cooperate to restore social order as the territory marks one year since widespread antigovernment protests took hold. the call comes as china plans to tighten its grip over the territory. >> translator: over the past year, hong kong has experienced a difficult time. all our citizens and the government should learn from the experience to prevent a repeat of the chaos. >> accorording to organizers, me than 1 million people took to the streets on june 9th last year to protest against a bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland china. it kicked off a series of antigovernment demonstrations. clashes between police and protesters sometimes turned violent. by the end of may, police had

arrested nearly 9,000 people on suspicion of rioting or assembling illegally. the current environment makes it difficult for people to stage large protests as fresh anger grows over china's decision to introduce new security legislation. a leading figure in the movement to rescue japanese abductees from north korea is being remembered for his passion. yokota shigeru died on friday, 43 years after his daughter disappeared. as you'll hear in this next report, he spent half his life trying to bring her home. >> this is how megumi will be remembered. the image of the teen in her junior high school uniform is well-known in japan, attached to the abduction issue. about six months after yokota

shigeru snapped the photo, his daughter was gone. it took some 20 years to learn she was abducted by north korean agents. every detail yokota uncovered, he fought for. when yokota first bebegan to spk out, t there was skepticism, th fathther put a face onon a nama issu he traveled the country and gave hundreds of speeches, asng for help to save his daughter. then came a breakthrough moment. the japanese government now says north korean agents abducted at least 17 japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s. as a bilateral summit in 2002, north korea admitted to carrying out abductions, later returning five of the people it had taken. megami was not among them. north korea said she died, but yokota n never lost hopepe. in 2006, he went to south korea and sent herer a messagege over short wave radio.

>> reporter: toward the end of his life, yokota would face a new challenge, his ailing health. he had to scale back his work but never gave up. reporte yokota ed witho ev seeing s daught again. at lst a doz other auctees rein unaccnted forand each family ss they wl fight e the janese govnment do more tbring thr loved es home.

eople ihe southn a eastn unitestates a dealg wh severe floodgue to formerropipicastm. our metrologist sakaaori jojoinss with the details. >> aer dping copiousmounts heavyrain, trocal stor istobalade lanall in uisianaand, once agaiai it caus ooding. take aook at ts footage. flood water rushed through parts of louisiana on sunday after cristobal made landfall. cristobal is said to be the second earliest name storm to directly impact louisiana on record. heavy rain inundated homes, cars and some roads. take a look at this radar. this is the radar since sunday. lots of the heavy rain pounded the south. as you can see, it's been maintaining circulation while moving slowly towards the north. it has weakened to the tropical

depression, will likely transition to a low pressure system soon. the system will likely make its way towards the great lakes region tuesday and wednesday. it looks like the center will likely move through wisconsin. this is very, very rare. lots of rain is expected across the northeastern areas of the united states, and rain will also spread towards ontario. as opposed to that, it's dry, windy and hot across the southwestern united states. conditions are favorable for wildfires. the temperature is going to be 34 in los angeles with plenty of sunshine on tuesday. sunny weather across the eastern seaboard as well. it's very hot there, too. 34 degrees is expected in the u.s. capital. an excessive heat dome is blanketing many places of the main islands of japan. the high rose to 31 in tokyo and 35.6 in sy few making the record for the month of june.

another recommend was set for the south. ishigaki island had 44 millimeters of rain in 24 hours. that's the all-time record. rain continues into wednesday for the okinawa region. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪ >> and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline."

i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thank you for joining us and do stay tuned for more. ♪ welcome to "newsline" in depth. i'm marieian naka. today we feature three stories that show some unconventional approaches to solving problems. the fields are diverse, but as we'll see in all of them, the results can bring business success and social benefits. first we visit a young man waking waves in thailand's hospitality business. his startup might look

conventional in how it matches hotels and restaurants with customers. but the difference is that the rooms and meals are donated and the proceeds go t to good cause. >> a room at the central bangkok hotel usually costs $90 a night. but guests can use a discount website, a mobile app to get a coupon and a room for just $60. the social startup that created it donates 70% of the proceeds to a range of projects that benefit society. >> the prices are actually cheaper than on those other platforms which was a surprise to me, and also i know that all the money i'm giving is going to support the cause that i'm choosing directly. >> the brains behind the scheme is arch wong way. the young innovator used to work for a non-profit outfit. he grew frustrated by the

limitations of the tradiditiona fund-raising model. >> what i wanted to do was revolutionize fund-raising, to make non-profits not have to just depend on donations alone. >> reporter: arch had an idea. he learned that across thailand empty hotel rooms and restaurant tables were costing businesses $39 billion a year. arch proposed that businesses could donate their empty rooms and tables, especially during the off season. his social startup would then sell discount coupons through the website and app. arch's startup would keep 30% of the sales to cover costs and donate the rest through charities and other groups. for the hotels, restaurant and other partner businesses, the

arrangement would need new customers and a boost for their ima image. so far arch has worked with more than 300 businesses and donated nearly $400,000 to charities. one beneficiary of arch's enterprise is a refuge center for a type of southeast asian forest prime mate. it fosters about 100 slow lloriss that have survived poaching while being removed from the wild. previously the center was struggling to cover its expenses. >> because of that funding, we're able to build more enclosures. we're able to provide full-time staff that's here in the evenings. >> reporter: arch wants more

thai businesses to get on board and he's steadily expanding his focus to more socially minded projects. >> if we were able to tap into just 0.8% of all the world's wasted resources, we would be able to eradicate extreme poverty globally. >> reporter: arch has already made a big impact, but he says this is just the beginning. his next step is to take the business model to the world.d. tam rin dej supa, nhk world, bangkok. we now return to japan where, like many other places in ththe woworld, extrememe weathe evevents are s striking more of. when severe floods inundate the roads, an alarming number of drivers become trapped in their vehicles and perirish. a car submerged to about 50 centimeters, up to my knee is

likely to stop running and may even be swept away. a veteran engineer has put his skills to work helping ordinary people deal with this danger bimeans of an entirely new kind of car. >> reporter: in disaster-prone countries, this electric vehicle could be t the difference betwe lilife and death.h. that's bececause the fomm one i an off-roroader like no othehe. if surrounded b by enoughh wateo sink m most vehicles, it simply floats. what's more, it can cruise at low speeds. the fomm one carries up to four passengers and reaches speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. the accelerator is controlled via two paddles on either side of the steering wheel. this means only one pedal for the brakes is needed, openingngp more passenger space and

reducing the risk of mistaking the gas for the brakes. the fomm one caused quite a stir at the tokyo motor show last autumn. it was developed by hi day i don't tsunamaki with a career of morere than 30 years. >> translator: i feel attached to the car. it's like my child. tsurumaki developed compact evs at a japanese automaker, but in 2011 things changeged. thee devasastating great east jn eaearthquake and tsunami. he was especially shocked that so many people perished in their cars as they fled the giant wave. as an automotive engineer, he felt it was his duty to do something. ththings really hit home when h spoke to his mother w l lives

close to the sea. >> translator: she told me, if there's a disaster, i should leave her behind as she wouldn't be able to flflee. i'm sure she isn't the only parent to say this kind of thing. there must be many more. that's when the idea began to form in my mind, to invent a floating car that could save lives. >> reporter: and in 2013 he founded a startup with the sole purpose of developing a road worthy but semi amphibious vehicle. after much trial and error, he funerally had a carbon difficult that could float. what was the secret? the innovative dual-layer body. the inner layer is of a resin for floatability and the outer is heavy plastic for durability. when shut, the special rubber-sealed doors are watertight. once in water, the car is light

a floating capsule. the trick to making the fomm one drivable in water, is all down to its front wheel motor design. when the turbin-like wheels rotate, they suck in water which is pumped through a conveveyanc device and thehen pushed inn a single direction out the back, propelling the vehicle forward. >> translator: i wanted to use conventional auto parts like the wheels for propulsion because adding propellers would be expensive. >> reporter: a year into his project, trurumaki reaches a milestone. [ cheers and applause ]. in the water the vehicle is able to accelerate to about two kilometers per hour.

trurumaki decides to start marketing the vehicle in thailand, a country that has long struggled with severe flooding. he builds a factory on the outskirts of bangkok, and the strategy p ps off. with 2,0000 orderss comingg in soon as the vehicle hits the markrket. trurumaki's car had i its r rea tetest when f flooding devastat eastern thailandnd. the fomm one skimmed along the inundated areas to distribute necessary aid. >> translator: so many people have said hurry up and get it on the market in japan. of course, we want to meet that demand. i hope our car will lead, for instance, to all electric vehicles being able to float or at least be able to with stand flooding. >> trurumaki's car could help

drivers in many but not all situations. we look forward to future developments. in our final story we look at a counter intuitive approach to sue shimmy. we tend to believe raw fish is better when it's fresh, but is it. many people know that specially aged meat has its own flavor. science is bringing the taste of premium-aged fish to the mass marketet. one of the most popular types of fish used in sue she is tuna. this major conveyor belt sushi chain now offers a version that's been matured for 48 hours. >> translator: yummy. >> reporter: the company worked with university of tokyo researchers to find a new way to age tuna. the fish on this plate has been matured for two days.

it has 40% more of the umami components that produce the savory taste. the price tag, less than $1.00. >> translator: customers can enjoy thuney with umami drawn out to the maximum. >> reporter: this marine products company wants to make aged fish more affordable. with support from kim die university, it began selling matured sea bream last november. the sea bream on the right side of the plate is fresh, on the left aged sea bream. it's tender and has a deeper, richer flavor. the company focused on a substance contained in fresh fish to achieve the optimal level of aging. it's called atp. when fish is aged, it turns into inosinic acid, a source of

umami. but there's a catch. the muscle movements of wild fish cause a loss of atp. the company prevents that by putting them in a tank of cold water to subdue them before killing them as quickly and efficiently as possible. the firm has also learned the optimal aging periods based on the type of fish and its temperature. too much aging turns inosinic acid into a different substance that makes the fish less tasty. the challenge is to determine when the amount of acid hits the maximum level. the company is also working on how to age other kinds of fish like yellow tail. >> translator: sushi chefs are really good at aging fish, but we'd like to make aged fish more commonly available so a lot of people can enjoy its taste. >> that fish looked good. as we saw today, thanking

outside the box can give us more choices to reach better solutions. and that's all for today's "newsline" in depth. thanks fortu tuning in. make sure to do so next time, too.

>> we begin u.s., where later today, george floyd's body will be laid to rest. he died two weeks ago in minneapolis after a white police officer kneeled on his neck. houston,as flown to where joe biden held a private meeting with the grieving family. more from houston. trip toiden made a texas, houstst, he was here this monday and met with the family. we spoke earlier