♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. it's been one month since japan lifted a nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus and people across the country are gradually shifting back to normal at home and at work. but in recent days there's been an increase in cases mainly in the capital of tokyo. health authorities in the metropolis say they confirmed 55 new cases on wednesday and 48 on

thursday. it's the highest numbers seen since the end of the emergency declaration. in the last several weeks schools, shops an restaurants have reopened under some new rules. people have also begun traveling between prefectures. more than 1500 people have tested positive for the virus during the past month, nearly half were in tokyo. other prefectures with major cities including fukui co-wah, hokkaido and kanagawa. 17 prefectures without a single new case. in total, more than 18,000 people in japan have tested positive since the virus was first discovered. about 970 people have died. japan began easing coronavirus travel measures thursday as a plane full of business people headed for

vietnam. 150 people boarded a plane at narita airport near tokyo. it's the first flight since the two countries agreed l last wee to resume business travel. >> translator: i'm happy that i will no longer have the stress of having to work online. >> the airline provided protective gowns and face masks. to avoid quarantine rules, business travelers must take pcr tests and give details of their stay. they'll now work on letting vietnamese people into the country japan is working on similalar agreements with other r nations where infefections seem under control. thailand, australia, and new zealand. japan currently bans entry for people from more than 100 countries and territories.

they can do triple its daily testing capacity of 1.26 million people inn early march. the disclosure by the national health commission comes as beijing is hit by a fresh outbreak this month stemming from a wholesale food market resulted in over 250 million infections since june 11th. bay goieijing authorities say 2 million people have been trefted. they instruct those leaving the city to have the test. france's louvre museum is set to reopen. the gallery attracts some ten million visitors a year. it showed its anti virus measures. sciences encourage visitors to maintain social distancing. stafferers and visitors over the age of 11 must wear a mask. visitors have to book a time

slot in advance. >> translator: visitors can enter the museum e either standg in l line by makining reservrv. we feel it's safe to visit. >> johns hopkins university say covid-19 infections exceed 9.4 million worldwide. that's a rise of 170% in the past month. the world health organization chief says the surge will continue. he urged countries around the world to take urgent countermeasures. >> in the first month of this outbreak less than 10,000 cases were reported to w.h.o. in the last month, almost 4 million cases have been reported. we expect to reach a total of 10 million cases within the next week. >> the headd of the bho's healt emergencies program, michael ryan, says the pandemic in the americas is intense and has yet to peak.

the global death toll tops 480,000. turning to the u.s., the governors of new york and two neighboring states have announced they'll now require travelers from states with high infection rates to self-quarantine for 14 days. new york governor andrew cuomo announced a joint travel advisory with the governors of new jersey and connecticut. >> we worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down. we don't want to see it go up, because a lot of people come into this region and they could literally bring the infection with them. >> infections have been on the rise since late may in southern and western u.s. states that reopened relativelyy early. daily cases have surged to as many as 3,000 to 5,000 in some of those states. the advisory covers eight such states including arizona, florida and texas. washington state was removed from an earlier list with

governor jay inslee saying it was mistakenly included. thursday marks 70 years since the start of the korean war. the anniversary comes amid tensions between seoul and pyongyang that are once again threatening regional stability. nhk world's kim chun joou reports from seoul. people here are remembering a war that transformed the region. over a three-year span relentless fighting tore families apart, claiming millions of lives in what's considered one of the deadliest conflilicts in modern history. just like in past years, ceremonies are serving as reminders of the ravages of war. one of them is the repatriation of the remains of 147 south korean soldiers. it began on tuesday in hawaii where they had been sent for forerensic analysis. the soldiers will be welcomed

home on thursday in a ceremony. why the two sides agreed to a cease-fire, the war has never really come to an end. there had been hope for a peace treaty after a series of high-profile summits, but that optimism has faded in the wake of aumulultus few weweeks. eatesest r row stems from last month'ss leaflet campaign by a group of defecectors that criticized north korean leader kim jong-un. in response pyongyang promised retaliation which has so far included severing communication lines and blowing up a joint liaison office. pyongyang also threatened to send millions of leaflets this the south. but on wednesday it unexpectedly announced it was suspending a military action plan gerns south korea. it's unclear why, but a senior official warns that pyongyang

may be considered depending on how seoul responds. here in south korea people are split on what the government should do. the survey found over 40% want to pursue a hard line, while more than half the people think parliament should ban leaflet campaigning. here is what some of the people i spoke to had to say. >> translator: while officials are tryrying to make thihings better, defectors are just doing what they want. it's disappointing. >> translator: i think the government needs a wiser policy on its relation with the north. we need to stand firm, but we should also help them when necessary. >> separately south korea's efforts to mend tieies with the north are now being criticized by former u.s. national security adviser john bolton. in a new m memoir b bolton says seoul hadad u unrealisticic expectatations about whatt coule achihieved and accused presiden

moon jae-in of trying to force himself into u.s./north korea talks. seoul is dismissing bolton's account describing it as inaccurate and distorted. in a show of unit, the u.s. and south korea defense ministers reaffirmed their alliance in a joint statement marking the anniversary. all eyes are on how moon addressed the destination after the change of course. the coronavirus pandemic has brought more cancellations in sports. the cities of new york and berlin will not be holding their marathons. the new york city marathon is one of the biggest in the world with more than 50,000 runners. it would have celebrated its 50th anniversary on november 1st. organizers say they canceled out

of concern for the health and safety of runners, spectators and volunteers. the new york city marathon has only been canceled once before, that was in 2012 after hurricane sandy. the berlin marathon was scheduled for september 27th. organizers canceled the event because the german government is banning events w with more than 5,000 people until october. officials in eastern japan are warning of a possible volcanic eruption for mt. osama and are calling for people to stay away. the volcano straddle it is border between the prefectures of nagano wah and gum ma. it's become more active in recent days. the meteorological agency raised the alert to level two meaning do not approach the crater. officials warn that minor eruptions are possible in the near fooe future. they say cinders, super heated gas and mole torn rock could

spread as far as two kilometers. meteorologists say the ground underneath the volcano has been shifting since saturday. they've noted an increase in volcanic earthquakes. the latest minor e eruption was last august. at the time the alert level was at itsts lowest. authorities raised the alertrt level thrhree and restricted access to the mountain before dropping the warning to one about six months ago. people in western japan are contending with record-breaking drenching rains thursday. it looks like more rain is on the way. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us now with the forecast. >> the rainy season began two weeks ago in northern kyushu, the heaviest rain of the season pounding places o off kyushuu earlier this momorning. take a look at this video. parts of nagasaki pre frek tour

saw nearly 100 millimeters of rain in just one hour. earlier this morning about 100,000 people were advised to flee their homes. the riskk of landslides reached the highest in parts of northern kyushu. take a l look at this radar. this is radar for 12 hours. lots of heavy rainfall fellln several places. 284 millimeters fell in 24 hours in sasebo. the all time record and nearly half of the rainfall for june. the system that caused the heavy rain is over the sea. it will likely move down towards the south once again tonight into friday morning. more rain is possible. we might see nearly 150 millimeters of rainfall for the

next 24 hours or so. not just the west, northern japan will see torrential rainfall plus thunderstorms. heavy rain can be accompanied by hail plus tornadoes. don't try to drive through flooded roadways. temperatures are going to be very high, too. tokyo's high 31 on friday, even warming up to 32 on saturday. last week about 1,500 people were taken to hospitals because of heat strokes. so please be careful. nagasaki will see very wet weather and also high temperatures for the next several days. china is also experiencing heavy rainfall due to the same frontal system. the rainy season in the philippines as well. thunderstorm are popping up if many places and scattered thunderstorms are still possible for your friday. that's it for me. stay safe.

♪

>> those were the top stories for this hour on nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for joining us. we'll have more for you soon. welcome to "newline in depth." i'm shibuya aki. the global outbreak of covid-19 has changed many things about our daily lives. one result is that a lot of us, because we're working from home or just nervous about going out, aree spending moree time in the house. now, while that can be a recipe

for loneliness and depression, it doesn't have to be. in fact, people are also seeing this as an opportunity towards exploring new lifestyles, like having online get togethers with friends and working out indoors. more of us are opening our new doors to new family members, pets. in the united states the need for companionship is causing a lot of commotion at animal shelters, meaning a lot of gging taiails and celebratioio. >> most off this d dogs at this animal shelter in florida are gone. staff say they used to have 300 animals, but only about 70 are left. >> i've been heree 11 years and i've never seen numbers this low. >> the sink familily adopted a g

from the shelter at the end of march. they sayay it's relieved a lot stress caused by the pandemic. >> having a dog and when he licks their face or they laugh, it brings a lotot of happiness. > but some people are raisin coerns about all the adoptions. they worry that some owners might mistreat or abandon their new pets one the pandemic is over. staff at this organization in new york say they have a way to prevent that. they've written a contract for adopters to sign. it requires owners to bebe responsible for the well-being of their animals. >> it's securityy that our dogs are inin a good home. it does provide me the feeling that the dogs are going into a great home. yes want our dogs to have a

happily ever after, if you will. >> bonnie edwards completed the adoption process in early may. she worked as a government lawyer but is now retired. she used to enjoy her free time by going to the theater and dining out, but all that changed with the coronavirus. >> i miss the opera, going to restaurants with my friends. i miss all that. i miss contact with people up close and personal. i've never seen anything like this in my lifetime. >> she says that signing the contract gave her a strong sense of responsibilityy. >> it's almost lying having my own therapist. whatever happens, i'll be there for him. >> the covid-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of our lives. many people are finding ways to

move forward with the help of their new companions. sam suzuki, nhk world, new york. >> the rush to adopt pets is not just confined to the u.s. countries across the globe a ar reporting a growing interest in animal companions. in japan, the pandemic has caused to be a rough time for pets. abandonment of domestic animals has been on the rise since the outbreak started. that trend got worse in march when the hong kong government reported coronavirus infections in pets. this shelter is on the front line of the problem. between february and may, it took in over 200 unwanted cats and dogs. we're now hearing the facility is doing the best it can given the circumstances, staging more adoption events to find new homes for the animals in its care. here in japan animal rescue

groups are wrestling with a different kind of challenge. while it's true the pandemic has presented opportunities to rehome more cats and dogs, it's also thrown up a hurdle, how to create safe spaces for animal-human match making. our next report looks at the thorn in the side of the pet adoption campaign and what's being done to remove it. this shelter in yolk houma cares for 30 cats and five dogs. some have health issues and they all need to be looked after. the establishment has been saving animals for more than six decades, but a statete o of emergencncy declared in april h made their work more difficult. >> translator: the number of workers has been reduced, but not the number of animals. >> reporter: to adopt an animal in japan, people often need to attend adoption events. most of them have been canceled

amid the outbreak. since petets aren't finding new homes, yamada sheltlter can't't rescue any new animals. >> translator: if we accepted more animals, we w wouldn't be able to table proper care of them. >> reporter: to make matters worse, it's kitten season. alongside other abandoned animals, many young cats have been euthanized by animal control. but thanks to the work of rescue groups, the number of unwanted pets put down has been reduced to a tenth in 15 years. now the pandemic may put an end to that trtrend. to helpp with the situation, pe information website tail in japanese, camamep with an online

adoption event. the site features groups frorom acacross t the country too i in their animals on a youtube live event. that way families can safely choose a pet without leaving home. >> translator: many rescue groups are struggling because they can't hold adoption events. the online fair is easy to join. there are still lots of people who don't k know abobout abando animals. >> reporter: yamada immediately got on board. she sees potential in this new service. >> translator: first o of all, need people to know that shelters e exist as a an option families searching for a pet. until everyone knows about it, there will still be lots of people buying animals at pet

shops. >> reporter: yamada hopes that online adoption events continue even after the pandemic to keep abandoned animals in the spotlight. >> as mentioned in the report, adopting from shelters is still not a common practice in japan. one of the reasons iss that man are not familiar with the system of rehoming animals. another reason is that rescue groups tend to have strict adoption requirements. while that's something we should all applaud, the safeguard drives many people to purchase a pet instead. one other reason, people tend to prefer pure bred puppies which are harder to find at shelters. volunteers and rescue groups are obviously happy about the increase in adoptions. at the same time there are concerns that once things go back to some kind of normality, people won't have the time to care for their animals as much and some may even end up giving up their pets. i really hope this won't be the

case. welcoming an animal into your home comes with responsibilities, and those obligations last for a lifetime, however many dog or cat years that may be. now we turn to another type of creature coming to people's aid through the pandemic. a japanese mystical monster. it's called the amadia, a strange phantom believed to ward off plagues. conveneniently during this time our friend from folklore is going viral. >> ancient pictures depict a monster with long hair, a sharp beak and strings in place of legs. it's an amabie. according to ancient chronicle, it first appeared out of the ocean and it brought an important message. it said that if an epidemic

occurs, images of the amababie should be shown to everyone and they will be cured. japan has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. it didn't take long for images of this supernatural phenomena to spread across the country. japan's health ministry has used the amabie image in these campaigns to encourage people to stay at home. amabie pictures are all over the internet, too. people have been pososting thei own versions on twitter and instagram. many of these images are featured in a new book that came out on may 17th called everyone's amabie. the work on the cover is by an illustrator based in kobe. he is one of the first to post

amabie images online. >> thehe charm of the amabie is that there's something about it that makes people want to try drawing it. as this situation looks set to continue for a long time, i thought it would be nice to have a positive topic that sheds light on the present reality and also goes beyond language barriers. that's when this boone started. >> articles about the amabie spread across the world on media sites, and some countries even started events dedicated to it. israel is one country that has suffered badly from the pandemic. now an art gallery in rome has launched an online auction of amabie paintingsgs b by 39 arti. all the proceeds will go to

hospitals. >> the first moment i saw it, of course i was fascinated. >> reporter: the response of gallery visitors was great, and the event is drawing quite a lot of action among people all over the country. >> we as people, we always search for signs in t the sky,yr differenent ideas that will empower us to not feel helpless. the existence of this monster kind of empowers us again to take charge of our lives in such a desperate time. >> can amabie power remaiain throrough this g global pandemi? that remains to be seen. but pictures of the fantastic creature are helping to inspire people in many ways during this time of great suffering. nhk world, tokyo. >> it's interesting how people around the world are connecting

through an imaginary creature in the fight against an invisible enemy. scientific or not, the amabie is definitely spreading positive spirits. that, as we know, can be a powerful medicine. that brings

♪ >> russian's referendum to see vladimir putin stay empowered beyond 2024. cases rising again in the u.s. in several states like new york, asking people visiting from states with high virurus rirights to self-isosolate. and the eiffel tower reopens to the public.