hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogaswara. we begin in the united states, where division and disagreement over how and when to reopen has led to a surge in coronavirus cases in multiple states, especially in the south and west. u.s. media report the country hit a grim new milestone thursday, the largest one-day increase in new cases, topping 39,000. texas is the latest state to hit the pause button on reopening its economy. in houston, hospitalizations

have almost tripled since may 31st. local media report that a medical center in the city has reached 100% of its icu capacity. a children's hospital has opened up its beds to admit adult patients. governor greg abbott is urging residents to do their part to slow the spread of the virus by wearing a mask, still considered controversial by some americans. and washing their hands regularly., and washing their hands regularly. >> if you do not need to go out and go to o work or have to gog the store or engage in some other activity, the best thing you can do is to just stay at home. in california, the operator of the popular disney theme parks says their reopening has been postponed indefinitely. they were originally set to resume operations on july 17th. data compiled at johns hopkins university shows daily cases began surpassing 30,000 late

last week. the numbers are reaching highs not seen since april. many of the states that have seen a spike in cases wewere amg the firsrst to resume ececonomi activities. some experts are calling foror reopening plans to be reviewed amid growing concerns that infections may continue to rise across the country. the rebound in cases of infection is also affecting several parts of europe. authorities in portugal are set to reimpose a partial lockdown in the capital lisbon starting next week. portuguese prime minister antonio costa says the restrictions on people's movement will take effect on july 1st. >> translator: the focus of our greatest concern is a set of parishes almost next to each other, distributed among several municipalities. that's where the new registered cases are concentrated.

>> residents in parts of greater lisbon will be allowed to leave home only to commute or buy essential goods such as fofood d medicicine. gatherings of more than five people will be banned. violations will carry a fine of up to 500 euros or about $560. portugal imposed the lockdown measures in mid march and started lifting them in early may. more than half of the country's recent infection cases are concentrated in the lisbon area. according to johns hopkins university, portugal has registered more than 40,000 cases and over 1,500 deaths. the global tally stands at 9.6 million cases of infection, and nearly 490,000 deaths. it's one of the most important days of the year for corporate japan. around a third of listed companies are holding their annual shareholders meetings on friday.

but as nhk world's shinozaki natsuki reports, it's far from usual because of the pandemic. >> reporter: for sony corporation, the venue was the same as past years, but things are very different inside. organizers had asked shareholders to stay away. attendance was down about 85%. and the situation was similar elsesewhere. , and the situation was similar elsewhere. >> translator: today, many of our shareholders are taking part through a dedicated website, and all of our executives including me are attending by web conferencing. >> reporter: softbank group strictly limited the number of shareholders who could attend. only 23 people were in the room for its meeting. last year, ntt saw more than 7,000 participants.

this time they had just 97, and the event was much shorter than usual, lasting only 30 minutes. the traditional way of doing things h has been mixed.d. >> translator: online meetings are inevitable due to the coronavirus, and that format will probably become the norm. >> translator: seeing the executives all lined up at the venue is comforting to shareholders, such a good aspect of traditional meetings. >> reporter: there is a reason why the scaled down events are held online so far. shareholder meetings have to take place at physical venues. governments in other parts of the world face the same issue and are taking action. new york governor andrew cuomo issued an executive order in march allowing general meetings

in the state to happen online. germany introduced a similar temporary measure in march. some companies in japan have been expecting this trend, despitite the existing role. software company asteria helps companies hold shareholder meetings virtually. the companies whole meetings took place almost entirely job line this year. participants logged in through their smartphone. technology was used to confirm their identity andnd to make su the voting system was secure. one expert says holding these events online poses other challenges, too. >> translator: companies could edit questions they receive frfm shareheholders to their advantn, and they may have e more of a chance to prepare answers ahead of time. >> reporter: but suzuki says

virtual memeetings also give shareholders i in remote areasa chance to take part and allow compananies to invite more questions. the coronavirus is prompting businesses everywhere to review their practices. it's even forcing this cornerstone of corporate governance to adapt sweeping changes. shinozaki national natsuki, nhk world, tokyo. the u.s. defense department has identified 20 companies operating in the united states it says are backed by china's government or military. the list includes huawei technologies, vidideo surveillae company hike vision and chinamobile. the company says it's concerned

about the companies obtaining technology. donald trump could slap the companies with sanctions in the next step of the economic battle between washington and beijing. fbi director christopher wray says current investigations into china's communist government now number over 2,000. wray says industrial espionage by china is on the rise, targeting both major companies and start-ups in fields including farming, aviation and technology. japan is looking to rebuild its national security strategy 60 years after a landmark treaty between japan and the united states. nhk world reached out to a former top strategist to get his take on how things have changed. kanehara nobukatsu served as deputy directotor of the nation secucurity cououncil until l la october. he says chinina's transformatio into an economic and military supeperpower must be addressed.

>> china'ss economic size is threee times biggerr than japa. chinese military budget is four times biggerr than japan.n. we c cannot be a counterweight alone. to stabilize the region, we need american commitment. >> japan announced last week it's withdrawing plans for a multibillion-dollar missile defense system. people living near the proposed sites strongly opposed aegis ashore over worries about the danger of fallen r rocket boboosters. >> people say it takakes a lot money, lots more moneyey than exexpected and much m more long time to fix it, this is i think inevitable. > many countries in the regi now have sophisticated missile programs. kanehara says japan must take on offensive capabilities. he also supports prime minister abe shinzo's position on revising the constitution, which currently prohibits j japan wer

maintainining a military. > the division of laboror ben u.s. and japanan shohould bee re-addressed again. a long time, maybebe 50 years , the offensive capabilities meant the bombers or the long missiles, but now this is missile age. everybody has missiles. it's only japan who is naked. japan shieieldamerican s spear. this is inin 1950s, '60s. now everybody has spears these days. >> kehara says japanan is at a rning poinint and must consider a dramatic change in its security policies. the rainy season has been unusually active over parts of china and japan, leading to numerous flooding and landslides. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us now with the details. sayaka. >> yes, spring and summer are the rainy seasons for northeast asia. it's called sinyu in japanese

and meyu in chinese. during this time of year a frontal system forms and that caususes days of heavy rain. unlike monsoonal showers the rain is longlasting, sometimes it continues for weeks and this year the rainy season has been very activive espspially over china. we have video c coming out of several places of the country. heavy rain has poured through southern areas of china, l leadg to majajor f flooding f for r r there. in guizhou province up to 118 millimeters of rain fell in one hour on wednesday according to 'roid reuters. in jianxi province more thanle,000 people had to be evacuated due to heavy downpopours. now t the frontal system will likely affect the yangtze river basin and surrounding areas going into the weekend. some areas may see over 150

millimeters. the risk of the flooding and landslides will remain very high into the weekend. yesterday more than kyushu was hit by record heavy rainfall. more rain is possible during the weekend in northern ckyushu and show gyi cue regions. tokyo the high 31 on saturday. meanwhile, seoul will see rainy weather and beijing 33 with bundles of sunshine and although it's cooler compared to what we saw earlier this month, hanoi will see 37 degrees, so hohot weather conditions w will contntinue. a heaeat wave is b blanketing western europe, causing unusually high tempmperatures. these are t the highs o on thur. london hit 33.4 degrees, making the warmest temperature of the season so far, and paris 35, and northern sweden 34 degrees, but cooling down. things are going to be cooling down as we go into the weekend. that's it for me. have a nice weekend.

and one last story from paris, w where a long-awaited d momoment has arriveded. the city's iconic eiffel tower is once again open to visitors. it was closed in march due to coronavirus concerns.

♪ the tower, a major tourist attraction that draws 6 million visitors annually reopened on thursday after the french government declared coronavirus infections under control. visitors had to climb the stairs since the tower's elevators remain unavailable for now. the top level of the 324-meter-tall structure is still closed. >> this is one of my dreams come true. >> translator: it's a symbol of paris. i think it's our duty to come here. >> visitors maintained social distancing and took other antivirus measures. the eiffel tower usuallyly attracts about 23,000 visitors a day at this time of year mainly from abroad. and that's all for this edition

of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogaswara in tokyo. thanks for joining us and do stay with us for more. ♪ welcome to "newsline in-depth." i'm shibubuya aki. the state of emergency was lifted in tokyo and other designated prefectures in may but it's fair to say our lives have not quite returned to the way they were before the coronavirus outbreak. many of us have drastically changed the way we go about work, study and social life. some of us are struggling to get used to things, while others are slowly adapting to the new normal. the threat of the coronavirus is not yet over and of course, the

greatest burden is falling on health care professionals, working around the clock, and putting their lives on the line to save others. in a time like this, more than a few of us are b being buoyed by the power of music, whether it's playing an instrument, singing in the shower or listening to the radio. there's something about music that can soothe and connect. so first off in today's "in-depth" we'd like to share a story about how music is sustaining those on the medical front lines, taking part in an orchestra, and seeking a way to continue performing are helping members cope with the immeasurable stress that comes with their work. ♪ >> hayabusa symphony orchestra is a group featuring doctors, nurses and med students from across japan. its 120 members have been

further serving the community through countless benefit concerts. this year, they had geared up for a fifth anniversary tour but had to cancel due to the coronavirus pandemic. many members have been extremely busy on the front line in hospitals, and one of them is owowe bow player hitakiya who works as a gastroenterologist. >> translator: this is how i take my temperature. >> reporter: this pcedure is now a daily routine. to a avoid infection, he commut between home and hospipital and doesn't venture out otherwise. >> translator: i always listen to music on the way to work. i seldldom meet people afterwar and i'm getti stressed out, so i listen to music to relax and

recharge. >> reporter: the pandemic has had a a prprofound impact onn h work environment. he's concerned that coronavirus patients are also affected by this situation. >> translator: with restrictions endo scopic procedureses, we've had to postpwn genal examinations andnd treatment an patients have had to wait unless itit was urgent. >> repeporter:r: to deal with t ongoing stress he turns to his owe bow, finding relaxation in practice. ♪ >> translator: music is absolutely essentitial for me. without it, i don't think my work and life w would run smoothly. music has helped and saved me my

whole life. right now, i'm practicing as much as possible to maintain my skills. >> reporter: in the middle of the pandemic, orchestra member and clarinet player yoshimoto minami started her career as a nurse, working long hours and taking extra steps to avoid spreading or contracting the virus. she's totally exhausted both physically and mentally by the end of her shift. >> translator: i just started working in april, both learning the routine and worrying about the coronavirus are overwhelming. >> reporter: yoshimoto lives alone in a hospital-run dormitory. with no one knowing when the pandemic will end, there are

days when she worries about how to cope. >> translator: even afterer i g home, i can't change my mood and continue to feeeel unsettled, a everything on tv is about the coronavirus. >> reporter: so she took her beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.o beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today. beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.t beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.h beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.o belod d clarinet w with her whe she moveved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.g beloved clarinet with h her whe she moveved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today.hr beloved clarinet with her when she moved into her dorm, she hasn't touched it until today. > translator: my environmene changed with work and the virus. i have no energy for practicing my clarinet. most of all,l, i'm not in the ed for r it. > reporter: meanwhile, the orchestra's management s starte exploringg the posossibility of concncert in the near future. >> transnslator: how to avoid being close during prpractice. social disistancing will be the most important.

>> reporter: but by the results of a study commissioned by the vienna fiphilharmonic orchestra they discuss possible safety standards. one suggestion is to position music stands with clear files between musicians and for the cool concert seals between each performer. >> translalator: we'll havave t adjust the height and position, depending on the musical inststruments. >> translator: most of us are medical professionals. if something happens, people will critically judge us. of course, i'm thrilled to play with you all again, but we should proceed with caution. >> reporter: by taking medical expert advice on board, hayabusa

members hope to successfully and safely realize their concert. ♪ >> translator: we medical professionalsust keep on working hard too savee people's lives, but the coronavirus wonot go away without everybody's cooperation. i hope everyone continues to be aware of the risks and fight the pandemic together. >> translator: i'm excited to meet up with members and play together again. ♪ >> reporter: music truly has the power to uplift and keep people together, however physically distanced, until they reunite on stage. kanda fumio, nhk world.

as they say, where there is a will, there is a way. by putting heads and hearts s together the musicians are connecting and creating great synergy. hopefully we'll get to see them perform live soon. the battle of the coronavirus continues with no end in sight people around the world are doing what they could k to cheer on and express gratitude to the medical professionals putting it all on the line. we saw how in italy people stood out on their balconies, poured into their gardens and leaned out of their windows. in the uk, "bakeded potato" son has gone viral. ♪ it asks people to wasash their hands, statay inside and avoid totouching their faces. some popular britishsh xheediaas been raising significant funds to provide medical workers hot

meals. over here in japan, there was a special fly-by in tokyo in a soaring show of thanks. japan's air self-defense forces threw six aircraft in formation over hospitals, creating stunning trails of white smoke. moving on to our next story, one that once again shows how the power of music resonates, a project led by theater director miyamoto aymon has hundreds of people singi to a muchoved so for medical workers and anyoyoneeelingngsolated at home. ♪ sukiyakiyy sakamoto kyu transcended languag to top the s. crts bk i 1963. i'mure you'v hrdit. let's s h this icon ic cue is

lifting people through these challenging times. ♪ >> reporter: the video project "sing for hope" features peopl from all walks of life. it's the brainchild of miyamoto amamo, one of the leading theat directors in japan. in 2 20 19 miyamoto was diagnosed with prostate cancer. during treatment, he said music helped himim carry on. the song m made me tears. the songwith prostate cancer. during treatment, he said music helped him carry on. >> the song made me e tears. the song gives me courage at a time i learned song have great poush and can change people's heart.

>> reporter: miyamoto started the project to deliver hope through music to health care workers on the front line, as well as anyone feeling lonely and depressed during self-isolation. more than 6 hurn videos were submitted within four days. ♪ one of the singers is nursing home managers kano ryota. at work, kano feels it's his responsibility to protect the residents from the virus. >> translator: if staff stop smililing or look exhaususted, elderly or p people with disabibilities can sense the anxixiety, too. i w want all nursingng care wor to keeeep smiling and pull together.

>> reporter: people sent in messages of support with their videos. ♪ >> i'm planning f for many peop around the world tsingng the english versionff thihis song b yoko ono. that will be one big posositive focus. iantt that, one day, a w world full of love will come to everyone's respectct. ♪ >> my colleagues and i would like to give a shout out to all of you health care professionals

dedicated to protecting us. our wishes are for your health and safety. i'm shibuyaki.

activistsimate change staged a protest on all the airports. forced to evacuate briefly for the first time i in over three months. democratic lawmakers in the united states sign off on a major package of police reform, but the g george floyd law is likely to be blocked in n the republican-conontrolled senate. thanks for joining us. those are the international headlines this hour. you are watching france 24. world health organization says the global coronavirus pandemic is getting worse, with the number of cases close to 10 million. in the u.s.,