hello. glad to have you with us on nhk newsline. we begin here in japan with a somber anniversary, people in the southern prefecture of okinawa are observing 75 years since the end of one of the fiercest ground battles in the closing stages of world war ii.

since early morning people have come to pray for those who died in the battle of okinawa. many are visiting the monument where names of the military personnel and civilians who lost their lives have are inscribed. this man was 5 years old when the fighting erupted and lost his father, brother, and grandparents. >> translator: i pray and ask for peace and happiness. >> this 88-year-old woman lost her uncle who was a serviceman for the impeer japanese navy. >> translator: because of you, uncle, we are able to enjoy peace. ease res i in pcece i prayyor >> 200,000 people lost their inududinge-e-quarr o ofheinawaw onunune 2,945, the japanesee

military operations against the u.s. and allied forces in okinawa came to an end. about 200 people are expected to attend a memorial service at the memorial park in the city on tuesday. the annual event usually draws 5,000 people but this year the number is smaller because of the coronavirus. many people in okinawa hope the anniversary is a chance for the entire country to examine the burden okinawa is still shouldering. about 70% of the u.s. military facilities in japan are concentrated in okinawa. the prefecture remains at odds with the central government over plans to relocate a u.s. basee within the main island. land reclamation is proceeding despite opposition from local residents. it has also become increasingly difficult to pass on the memories of the war because those who experienced the battle of okinawa are aging every year.

the pandemic is also impacting the handing down of the memories. one survivor says she is more determined than ever to share her message. >> reporter: this woman was 9 years old when the battle of okinawa ravaged her homeland. the conflict claimed the lives of her father and brother. she has spent the past three decades sharing the stories of those painful experiences with younger generations. but this year has been different. from february the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of her lectures. >> translator: i was very disappointed when i lost the chance to speak. i was really looking forward to it. >> translator: in may the situation improved. new infections in okinawa

dropped to zero and schools reopened. she received a request to address this junior high school. she usually speaks in school halls but this time to avoid crowding she used the p.a. systemem. she wasn't a able to seeee theh students face to face, but that didn't detract from the power of her message. she talked about the time she and her younger siblings fled the u.s. attack by crawling into a cave. >> translator: it was dark inside the cave. there werere about 200 people huddled together in there. they werere all being very quie. then the four of us arrived and my 7-month-old brother was scared so he started to cry. somebody said, make him be

quiet. i tried to comfort him but he wouldn't stop. the more i triried the morore h sobbed. his screams were echoing around the cave. then some people said, you can't stay. get out. leave. it was the voices of people we knew. old ladies a and mothers. they usesed to be soo kind. >> reporter: she wanted the studentsts tohink a about how t horrors of war change p people. the lesson made even more meaningful as the coronavirus continues to make the future so uncertain. >> translator: it was a bit different because of the pandemic, but i feel it is important to learn about the war so we c can continue to live in

peace. >> her stories helped t to brin history to life for me. it madee me realilize how fortue we are to have what we have. >> translator: the students give me a lot of positive energy. i feel more determined to stay healthy and keep telling my story. i want the younger generation to have a bright future so there must never be another war. >> reporter: as survivors of the war grow older and with the world now facing a new threat, the lessons they have to share are more significant than ever. t turning to the korean peninsula, the north expects to intensify a propaganda war against its neighbor to the south after printing millions of

leaflets criticizing seoul pyongyang is now reinstalling loud speakers along the border with the two countries. south korean military officials said on monday that pyongyang has been setting up the speakers in multiple locations in the demilitarized zone. that would violate a 2018 agreement between the two koreas to halt all hostile acts against each other. state media in the north say the country is l loading morore tha 3,000 balloons with millions of propaganda leaflets. that comes as a direct response to a south korean campaignn las month a group of defectors in the south threw anti-pyongyang leaflets across the border. in response north korea last week blew up a liaison offffice theeegime is also threatening i. to deploy troops to a zone developed as an inter-korean joint project. the big apple is starting to shinee agaiain. new york city moved into its

second phase of reopening economic activities on monday after nearly three months of coronavirus lockdown. the hardest hit part of the united states is allowing eateries to restore outdoor service and other establishments are resuming operations as well. a restaurant in manhattan is welcoming diners with sidewalk tables spaced about 2 meters apart. >> i can actually sit at a restaurant outside. i've been waiting for this. i'm excited. >> reporter: parents and their children gathered in central park as playgrounds reopened. the city estimates the latest move will send about 300,000 people back to work. authorities will continue to monitor the infection situation with an eye to allowing further economic activity. but some businesses remaiain sh on monday saying it takes more time to implement measures to fight the virus.

now john hopkins university has reported the number of cases worldwide has surpassed 9 million. the world health organization urged countries to once again tighten anti-coronavirus measures. >> it seems that almost every day we reach a new and grim record. yesterday more than 183,000 new cases of covid were reported to w.h.o. >> the director general called on countries to beef up antivirus measures including testing suspected cases, isolating those infected, and tracing contacts. the head of the w.h.o.'s health emergencies program michael ryan expressed concern over rising infections in the americas, south asia, and other highly populated countries. ryan also touched on an increase in cases among young people in the united states. he said this may reflect the fact that younger people are more mobile and are getting out

and taking advantage of the reduction in the restrictions of movement. an organization of european companies operating in japan is calling on the government to allow business travel. the chairman of the european business council in japan expressed concern about the impact the travel restrictions are having on business. japan in principle currently bans the entry of foreign nationals to prevent the spread of coronavirus. vietnam is so far the only country with which japan has agreed to conditionally allow business people to resume visits. meanwhile european countries have permitted the arrival of foreign nationals if thehey hav residencnce permits or work in e medical or agricultural field. starting next month they are expected to allow the entry of tourists from non-european countries that have brought the virus under control. the council also --

>> this lack of reciprocity not only has an impact on the european business here in japan but we see also that it has an impact on the japanese business. >> the council also voiced concern a about thehe e economi partnership agreement between japan and the european union that took effect last year. it said it is losing momentum because of the travel ban. it is time now for world weather. people in parts of china are dealing with floods and landslides caused by heavy rain. let's go over to our meteorologist for more on this. yoko, what is the latest? >> hello there. the rainy season front will continue to affect the southern and eastern area of china for the rest of the work week. severe rounds of rain are expected in the same locations. the ground is already weak due to the recent heavy rainfall.

for the next 24 hours more than 200 millimeters of additional rainfall is expected with the possibility of flooding and landslides the biggest concern. in the meantime, warmer air is bringing hot weather into the korean peninsula and taiwan. the high will be 32 degrees in seoul and 31 degrees in taipei. the warm air will be shifting toward japan as we go into mid week. temperatures will rise into the 30s in many places. tokyo will have a high of 32 on thursday with sunny skies. a few showers are expected on tuesday in okinawa but it is not going to be as heavy as yesterday. warm and humid air iss spreadin across the eastern u.s. creating unstable weather on tuesday. the severe thunderstorms will be seen in texas all the way up to quebec, canada as we go into tuesday with the possibility of

tornadoes. hundreds of gusts were already reported in some areas. meanwhile people in the western u.s. have been dealing with temperatures reaching into the 40s in phoenix and las vegas on tuesday, even portland a high of 33 degrees on tuesday which is 10 degrees warmer than usual. muggy conditions are also expected in the eastern -- northeastern u.s. i should say. highs for new york and washington, d.c. will exceed 30 degrees. that's all for now. have a nice day. stay safe. ♪

all right. that is nhk "newsline" for this hour. thank you for staying with us on nhk world japan. xxx ♪ >> welcome t to "newsline in depth." i i'm aiko doden. today we focus on the closing dadays of world w ii. even after japan surrendered, fighting continued in okinawa fa to the south as japanese forces resisted the u.s. milita advance. the battle of okinawa was the

bloodiest fighting on japanese soil. in all, over 200,000 people died, most of them civilians. one-quarter of the local population perished. it c came to a an e end on sept 7th, 1945, when the japananese forces in okinawa signed a document of surrender. recently an nhk world investigation unearthed japanese and u.s. documents that shed light on the forced mobilization of the local civilians by the japanese military. why those people became targets in the warfare and why so many lost their lives. >> life in central okinawa. more than 5,500 people from this village died in the battle that took place 74 years ago. on a hill overlooking the

village, is a reminder of the fierce fighting that took place. it's one of the fortified positions the imperial japanese army used to fight u.s. forcrce. it's rare to find such well preserved ruins from the battle. we explored the site with a military expert and village official. >> translator: this area was attacked. you can see it is burned. it was probably charred by a flame thrower. >> reporter: in early april, 1945, this became the site of the first full scale ground battle between japanese and u.s. forces in okinawa. underground tunnels such as this one were used to ambush american troops..

the area deep inside t the tunn has collapsed so the overall structure remains unknown. most records of the batattle we destroyed during the war. 74 years later, v village officials are still struggling to understand what exactly happened. >> translator: many villagers got caught up in the war and lost their lives. we're trying to get a better grasp of the link between their death and the military operationsns that took place he. once w we u understand that, we like to share this information with local residents. >> reporter: many local residents were mobilized before the battle to help build fortified positions. among them was this 89-year-old woman. she was just 14 at the time. she said she and her classmates were forced to carry heavy loads of soil on a daily basis.

>> reporter: in late march, 1945, beforere the ground battl began, u.s. forces started pounding with heavy shelling and air strikes. there was no time to evacuate. residents fled into the nearby jungle. she and her family survived by hiding in a hole they dug in a cliff with their own hands. they stayed safe without food or water.

civilians were even sent to the front lines, regardless of their age or gender. we found documents that explained what they went through. these records are based on testimonies of local residents interviewed after the war. the documents are not open to the public. we were allowed to film them under the conditions that individual names be kept confidential. >> on march 27th w we were told not to leave the village and that we would be shot if we disobeyed. >> an army officer went house to hoe and forced --

boys we itantntlyurned into soldier nurses.e draed a cooksndnd even theyereanded out weaps andurried to the front lines. transnstor: whee talk about the battle of okinawa, the term whole scale mobilization is one of the key w words w we use. there weren't enough troops to fight on okinawa so the army justst went ahead and started gathering women and other civilians. the mobilization was total, both physically and mentally. >> to find out why even children were mobilized we visited a japanese defense ministry research institute. very few of the top-secret orders issued by the japanese army survived the battle of

okinawa but these papers did because they were seized by the u.s. military. they include a map drawn by a japanese battalion in nakagusuku showing how defenses were laid out across the area. the village was established as a crucial stronghold to delay the u.s. invasion and protect the japanese headquarters. because the japanese army was severely depleted the order was given to mobilize local residents to build the fortifications as quickly as possible. many civilians were forced to take part in these defensive efforts. but why did so many perish? to answer that question, we looked into the way the midwestern forces brought the battle. >> reporter: detailed information about the battle is

kept in u.s. military archives on okinawa. >> what this actually is, it's an intelligencee from the u.s. army, basically every scrap of information they learned during this battle. >> reporter: the document was compiled to prepare for a future invasion of the japanese mainland. the fortifications are depicted as a prime example of japanese defensive tactics. this drawing shows a position on a hill overlooking the village. american forces call it the pinnacle. from the document, we were able to reproduce the pinnacle's intricate netetrk of undergrgrod tunnels. the network had multiple hidden entrances. they served to stage surprise attacks on u.s. troops from multiple directions. tunnels were built all across

the area. they instilled terror among american soldierers because no e couldd tell whehere the next atk would cocome from. >> the battle of the pinnacle becomes a horror show for them. this is the first taste the americans have of a consolidated japanese defense on this island. it becomes a game changer for them. >> reporter: more than 700 u.s. soldiers accompanied by tanks attacked the pinnacle. they were pushed back repeatedly by a japanese force that was four times smaller. american forces intensified their attack. a growing numbeber of civilians were caught inn the crossfire. >> it's nothing that thehe americans h had come t to face up t that point. like i was saying, with the civilian population, there was a huge civilian population, but how do you extricate the civilian population from a

military that basically fronts up with the civilian population? >> this woman is 91 years old. she was conscripted as an army nurse at the age of 17. she says american forces shot continuously and without discrimination. >> she wandered across the battle field for three months. many fellow nurses were killed. she followed the retreat of japanese forces to the south of the island and survived by hiding in caves.

74 years on people here are still looking for closure. this man was 10 when his father died on the battle field. his mother was sent to the front line as a cook and never came back. the details of where and how they died remain a he is visiting one of the most famous battlegrounds known as hacksaw ridge. he recently learned about the document that says his mother might have died here. he examines the monuments bearining the names of the victs but his mother is not among them.

the fighting in okinawa dragged on for weeks after the end of full fledged hostilities. the japanese forces on the islaland finally laid down thei weapons five days after the governmement signed japan'n's surrender. the surrender ceremony in okinawa took place at a japanese aiair field w whichs now t the r base, one of the biggest military facilities in east asia. from this moment, okinawa was placed under u.s. rule and was not returned to japan until 1972. for decades, lingering trauma

from the fighting prevented many survivors from speaking out about what they went through. now, though, some have begun to share their experiences, which is important that we listen to what they have to say to ensure that this

>> new york continues to emerge from its coronavirus lockdown. in some u.s. states, infections are accelerating. ♪ >> this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, results coronavirus crisis shows no signs of slowing. hospitals are overwhelmed. protesters battle over who too blame. the first migrant rescue ship allowed to dock in italy since the pandemic began. why aid groups are concerned more will follow. the name change that stokoked tensions betweween chinana andap