glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news in tokyo. we begin in hong kong where police have made the first welcome back to nhk under the territory's national security law. it comes less than 24 hours after the law came into the effect and the same day china marks its handover to brititish rule. police released a photo in the afternoon. it shows a man bearing a hong kong independence flag in causeway bay. police said they also arrested

seven others for violating the new law and about 180 people for unlawful assembly and other related offenses. it follows a tumultuous start to the day with protesters taking to the street to voice their opposition to the law. beijing approved the new legislation on tuesday. it lays out four criminal acts it says endangers national security. secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign or external sources. if convicted, people could face life in n prison. chief executive carrie lam defended the law in the ceremony to mark the 1997 handover. >> translator: the enactment of the law is the most important thing for hong kong's relationship to the mainland since the handover. it's a historic step as it has completeted a system to prprote our sovereignty and security.

>> but critics say the law undermines the one country/two systems framework which is supposed to guarantee hong kong a high degree of autonomy and judicial independence. the number of coronavirus cases here in japan continues to rise particularly in tokyo. officials confirmed 67 new infections in the capital on wednesday. that's the highest figure since the state of emergency was lifted in late may. the daily tally in tokyo has now topped 56 days in a row. in total nearly 6,300 people have tested positive in the city of about 14 million people. across japan, more than a hundred new infections were reported on wednesday. the top government spokesperson said at this point it's not necessary to declare anothther state of emergency.

>> translator: the spike is largely due to the results of intensive testing conducted at nightclubs where infections have been confirmed. anand employeyees and t those we had intense contact with people have been widely tested. >> the governmentnt's new panelf experts met for the first time to discuss the anti-coronavirus measures. the government plans to use the world's fastest supercomputer to simulate how the virus could be transmitted through droplets. the panel will use the data to help guide the government in ongoing strategy. now to the united states where the top infectious disease expert is warning the new cases there could jump to 100,000 cases a day. >> i have to say the numbers speak for themselves. i'm not satisfied with what's going on because we're going in the wrong direction.

>> fauci i issued the warning during a hearingng examining th response to the coronavirus. he said the situation would worsen if people do not avoid crowded places, wear mask, a washhands. u.s. media outlets say the number of cases is rising in 35 ates. florora and t texas s saw infeco surge after reopening their economy. ththenited d ates currently h 6 millicas.s. globally there are over 10.4 million cases with a death toll at more than 510,000. a u.s. based pharmaceutical company says an experimental vaccine is showing potential based on early stage clinical tests. inovio says preliminary tests show in 94% of cases, the

responsese rates. >> i'm extremely happy with the data we've generated so far. it gives me a great deal of confidence in our vaccine approach. >> the world health organization says human trials are underway for 17 types of vaccines. some developers say they expect to start producing vaccines before the end of this year or early next year. russians are casting their ballots in a nationwide vote to reform the constitution. it would include a revision to allow vladimir putin to stay on as president beyond the end of his current term in 2024. in the far eastern city of vladivostok, they had their temperatures checked before casting their ballot. the vote was to take place in april but w was delayed becausef the virus.

the amendments include broadening the powers of parliament and a ban o on givin up any territory. they also allow putin to serve up to two more terms. that could keep him in office until 2036. >> translator: at the moment, presesident putin is the only person who can unite, protect, and develop russia. >> translator: the amemendments have some importatant elements t also have a lot of meaningleles stuff. the time has come for president putin to make way for a younger leader. >> preliminary results are expected hours after the voting ends wednesday night. u.s. officials have officially designated chinese telecom giant huawei and zte as threats to national security banning all use of equipment made by those firms. the federal regulators said untrustworthy equipment needs to

go. the federal communications commission or fcc issued a statement tuesday saying it prohibits the use of its funds to purchase or modify any equipment or services from huawei or zte. the commission eer accuses themf being linked to the chinese communist party. the intent to spy on u.s. citizens and engage in large scale espionage. the fcc has been taking an increasingly hard line stance against chinese firms as more u.s. carriers develop relatively cheaper equipment. stores across japan are now charging customers for plastic bags starting wednesday. it comes as the country pushes back on the plastic waste to protect the environment. three major convenience store chains began charging abobout 3 cents u.s. per bag. this family mart store in tokyo usually gives away an average of

600 bags each day. but staff arere tellingng custo bags are no longer free. some declined a bag and carried what they bought in their hands. >> translator: i used to take plastic bags because they were free. now i'll try to save 3 yen. >> i buy things a at convenience store every morning. i knew the charge was started so i brought my own bag. >> now, environment ally friendy bags are exempt from the charges. japan's tokyo disney resort is opening the gates after closing for three months due to the coronavirus. nhk world has more on the day disney fans have been anxiously waiting for.

>> reporter: a rainy day didn't stop disney fans. many spent hours in line so they could get on before a long wait. the park sits just outside tokyo where at the time coronavirus cases were climbing. the chain has begun to cautiously reopen. in response the young and the young at heart are flocking to this paradigm of cuteness.

these people are heading inside the park. to enter, visitors must wear masks and get their temperature checks. once inside, they'll be asked to keep their distance both from each other and from staff. less than half the usual number of guests will enter the park. people greet them at a safe distance. for now hugs and hand shakes are not allowed. it's a small price to pay to wish upon a star and see the dream come true. >> translator: being one of the first people to enter the park makes me happy. >> translator: i want to enjoy disney's atmosphere to the fullest. >> translator: some say they shouldn't reopen the park, but they can't wait forever.

so i'm happy they made this choice and are doing what they can to prevent coronavirus infections. >> reporter: people are ready to take any precautions to endure the disney magic while they can. nhk world. it's time now for our check

of the weather with meteorologist jonathan oh. people here faced strong winds wednesday with rain in between. is it on the menu again for thursday? >> hello. it looks like we will get a break after the past couple of days where it has been wet and stormy and windy. i mean, we have really been getting plenty of action down from all across into places like shizuoka and tohoku as well. let me show you some video how the of shizuoka where we had heavy winds and rain battering the area. preliminary data shows 500 millimeters fell and residents have been advised to watch out for flying debris, flooding, and traffic delays due to this pattern. this morning it was quite a bit on the busy side. when you have gusts hitting up to 80 kilometers per hour with

124 millimeters falling in a six-hour period. this rainy season front has a lot of rain packed with it. and as we look forward into the next few hours, it's going to be rolling out toward the east. now, the cold front is going to be moving through and behind it we're going to actually see something quite different. much drier weather and, yeah, it's going to warm some places seeing highs near 30 degrees as we go through thursday. looking at the forecast here, tokyo up to 31 on thursday. 29 in osaka and fukuoka. you need your umbrellas. friday and through the weekend it's going to be wet once again. as we look at what's happening across north america up toward the upper plains, we have been dealing with these storms that have been firing up here. and another system down toward the deep south, that's just lingered and stayed around. it'll still be in the area as we go through wednesday. be on the lookout for strong

thunderstorms possible. and then we're going to be dealing with temperatures of around 36 in places like oklahoma city. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. much more to come here on nhk

world japan, so please do stay with us. welcome to "newsline in-depth." businesses and countries are lifting their coronavirus restrictions are reopening their doors to a much changed world. restaurant owners are finding it particularly hard to get back up and running. many are being forced to innovate to adjust to the new normal of post-covid-19 life. today we start by taking a look at restaurants that are focusing on safety. they are aiming to use social distancing to give their

customers peace of mind. and this new way of doing things is actually bringing in more people and profits. >> this restaurant has a lot of changes including this new seating map to help people to find their own table. it's an effort to reduce contact by 80%. after being greeted through the monitor, you check the map and seat yourself. waiters no longer hand out menus. instead customers choose what they want by smartphone after scanning a qr code. food isn't delivered right to the table either. it's left a short distance away

under a plastic cover. the only time patrons comome face-to-face with staff is when they are paying the bill. >> translator: under the current circumstances, we believe that contactless customer service provides better hospitality. >> a project called the no seat restaurant is now working to reorganize establishments that put antivirus measures like this in place. it's developed in consultation with a doctor to avoid the so-call so-called -- and close contact. doctors visit participating restaurants to offer advice and see whether key measures are in place. limit the number of customers to allow them to maintain social

distancing. avoid face-to-face seating. keep indoor spaces well ventilated and let customers know about the risk of infection while eating. >> translator: clothes could spread infections. don't wear gloves if you can wash your hands in the kitchen. or if you can use disinfectant. >> after the doctors' inspection, the restaurant gets a feel for the customers. 20 establishments in tokyo have signed up for the project so far. >> translator: i am very grateful because i was able to get a doctors opinion. i hope this will give our customers peace of mind so we can make them feel better eating with friends which is important.

>> reopening the doors is only the start of the process. for restaurants in the city are determined to make dining safe and profitable in the coronavirus era. >> many restaurants around the world have reduced their seating to free up space between customers. it's just one of several measures to ensure a less crowded dining experience. take a a look at this app. it shows how crowded these restaurants are and arrangements. more than 200 businesses have already signed up. it wasn't so long ago it was a point of pride for restaurants to be as full as possible. now the aim of the game is to show off empty space. next let's take a look at restaurants banding together to

get through the coronavirus crisis. they decided the best way is a model that helps them through difficult times. that includes sharing the kitchen. >> this is one of tokyo's most popular tourist destinations. but the tourists are gone. one restaurant in the area is betting on an innovative concept. this chef is making a japanese style lunchbox. the other is cooking hamburgers. both come from different restaurants. they're using the space as a shared kitchen. five eateries currently share the space giving customers a wider choice of cuisine in a single location. the main source of income here is food delivery. the group shares the same

service meaning all the dishes apear on one single menu. the advantage of this b busines model is the absence of up front cost. each restaurant simply contributes a portion of its profits. one eatery even shut down its own space and joinened the grou to save on rent and overhead. the owner of this shared kitchen is sa ka megumi who used to run her own restaurant here. she opened last november hoping to cash in on the tourism boom from the 2020 olympics. but her hopes were dashed by the covid-19 pandemic. visitor numbers plunged in march. realizing tourists wouldn't return for a long while, saka decided in may to transform her

restaurant into a shared kitchen. >> t translator: i thought i should shift my focus to providing services for local customers b by joining forces wh other restaurants, we're developing a whole new market. >> the response has been great. saka tries to expand her business as a match maker. saka is here to introduce a chef hoping to start his own business to an owner interested in launching a shared kitchen. >> translator: but sharing our kitchen we can provide a wide variety of services to the local community and the system really helps restaurants too. >> translator: we can change the symptom allow chefs from different restaurants to work as a team and help each other. i think we can l lead the way toward a new business model that's better suited to the lifestyles of today and

tomorrow. >> saka hopes her shared kitchen recipe can make a difference across japan. >> the pandemic has forced the world to re-evaluate its traditional business practices. given this pivot to a sharere business concept, resestaurants will have to re-examine the way they rebrand and differentiate themselves. some viewers watching this program may have enenjoyed a virtual lunch or tea with friends online. our next report is about an idea that builds on this concept. it involves restaurants that connect with customers online and help them recreate thehe experirience of their favorite establishment. we originally brought you this story in may when tokyo residents were being asked to stay at home. >> the district in western tokyo, both the popular old style entertainment style. but these days the area is much

quieter as people self-isolate at home. local resident kondo joji set up customers online with their favorite eateries. >> transnslator: i w wanted to create a way for people to enjy being at the bar or restaurant chatting and drinking even if it's just online. >> this small thai restaurant has started using the servicice. its counter is popular with customers who gather there and chat with the cooks among themselves. but since the start of the state of emergency, the restaurant has only offered a takeout service. and it's s seen sales dropp b b. so the resestaurant signened up ththe new s svice whichch conne it with customers via an online conferencing system.

customers first pick a favorite pub or restaurant that they want to access. simply by clicking on a seat, they're connected and their fass show up o on the screenen. then they y can speak with the staff a and w with the other on customers. besides chatting, customers can also order food. they have d delivery in a 2 kilometer raus..

>> translator: this b brings it home to m me how mucuch i enjoy chattingng with peopople. of course i'm looking forward to the restaurants reopening, but it's fun to enjoy them from home. >> translator: the situation is reallyouough and doing nothing just makes it worse. i decided to start using this as a way to see some hope for the future. forr me it's been a lifesaver ad my customers enjoy it too. so i definitely plan to continue with it. >> thehe firstst three weeks af th r restauranant s signed up f the online servicice, as m many 25 customers visited on some days. and about 30% of them ordered food deliveries. >> that report was about an

initiative that's drawing people together across the local business district. but some services have started connecting people from around the whole country. this website provides a service that connects customers with bars and restaurants nationwide. customers can have food delivered to their home. then while they are dining, they can visit bars and restaurants online and enjoy meeting other customers with similar tastes. this model is making us rethink our restaurant habits and challenging our notion of what we are really looking for when we dine out. the survival plan for the restaurant industry goes beyond the immediate situation. the changes we are seeing now could become the basis for a long-term bususiness model. thank you for watching "newsline in-depth" and see you again next time.

♪ anchor: scores of people arrested in hong kong, as beijing's new national security law comes into effect. among the penalties is life in prison. last chance in russia to vote on constitutional reforms. one of them will reset president vladimir pututin's term limits. and it is going to be