♪ hello. you're watching nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begegin this hour in japan. parts of the country are b bracg for more torrential downpours over the next few days. the rain has already left widespread flooding and landslides in its wake. at least 64 people are dead, two others have no vital signs, and 16 are missing. the southwestern island of

kyushu has suffered the brunt of the damage. a car was believed to be carrying a family when it was swept away by this river. police are searching for the passengers. cars lie overturned on local roads. water reached the second floor of some homes, causing widespread damage. >> translator: water came up to about 20 cenentimeters on the second floor. >> flooding also hit fields and greenhouses. one farmer says his 60 greenhouses were affected and the timing couldn't have been worse. >> translator: it was just before the harvest. the whole area around here was completely destroyed. the amount of damage may be around $93,000. >> the destruction also touched areas outside kyushu. in kyoto, a powerful mudslide plowed into three cars near an interchange. officials say two drivers suffered minor injuries. in gifu, houses were engulfed

or hid by landslides. officials say about 2,300 people in two cities there remain unreachable. in total, more than 4,700 houses were flooded across 22 prefectures. officials are warning to expect more destruction. prime minister abe shinzo says 130,000 police officers, firefighters and self-defense force persononnel are engaged i rescue operations. >> translator: we must do all we can to rebuild the affecteted areas as soon as possible. >> abe called on people across the country to remain on alert and get the latest information from their local government. relief and rescue operations are still under way, but the coronavirus is complicating an already difficult situation. nhk world spoke to one doctor who is helping coordinate support efforts.

>> translator: it is still raining heavily today. things have yet to settle down. >> reporter: it's a race against time for the doctor and his team. their goal is to deliver medical support and supplies to the hardest hit areas. but, as extreme w weather continues t to pound the region they're being forced to exercise patience. >> translator: even if we receive information that there are people in need, it's difficult to get to them. so it's been very stressful.l. >> repororter: he's used to challenging circumstances, but this time is didifferent. the doctor says it's the first natural disaster since the coronavirus outbreak which has made it d difficult t to recrui enough volunteers. >> translator: people who want to help would be covering from areas where the number of cases

is high. they're worried about infececti those they're trying to support. locals may be hesitant to accept help for the same reasons. >> reporter: as a result inaba says people are trying to come up with their own solutions, including evacuating by car. he says during such a chaotic time, it's essential that people look after their physicacal and mental health. >> translator: by trying to prevent infections people are making sacrifices in other areas. i'm very worried about how residents are dealing with separation and isolation. it's very important that they try to strike a balance. > reporter: somee have found refuge at emergency shelters while others have no other choice but to wait to be

rescued. nhk world. now for the latest on the coronavirus in japan where restrictions on large gatherings such as sports matches and concerts will ease on friday. the government has told local authorities to make sure organizers remain cautious. organizers and stadium managers must check the temperature of everybody who comes to their event. people with a fever or other symptoms should be refused entry and given a refund. japan's professionon baseball l league started its season last month without spectators. fans will be welcomed back from friday, but they should not expect a typical ball game. they are being asked to wear masks, limit cheering, and leave musical instruments like trumpets at home.

but as japan rolls back restrictions, it is seeing infections spike in the capital. tokyo is reporting 224 new cases on thursday, an all-time high. the number of daily infections have been creeping up above the 100 mark more than a month after the emergency declaration was lifted. altogether, tokyo has recorded 7,272 infections since the start of the pandemic. across the country, more than 20,000 people have contracted the virus.s. more than 980 have died. many of the recent cases in tokyo have been linked to night life entertainment districts. officials have been aggressively testing for the virus in those areas. metropolitan government officials held a meetingng with experts on thursday to assess the situation. they were told the number of new patients and untraceabable case are rising compared to the previous week.

>> translator: the roots of infection aren't limited to entertainment establishments. they include homes, workplaces and restaurants. we need to watch out for transmission to elderly people if you live or dine with them. >> tokyo officials are securing 3,000 hospital beds s to cope wh an expected rise in patients needing medical treatment. >> translator: even ifif the number of people who test positive increases, we want to ensure there are facilities in place to help them. a subway operator in tokyo is trying to limit the spread by providing an antiviral coating in trains. staff at tokyo metro say the main component is ionic silver. they say it's harmless too peope and e effective against influen viruses, but they haven't't confirmed whether it works against the coronavirurus.

>> translator: a second wave could be imminent. we want passengers to use tokyo metro with peace of mind. >> t the company p plans to app the coating in all of its 3,000 cars by mid august. a top german official tackling the coronavirus outbreak says the nation's testing capacity has been increased to 1.1.1 m million a . beiler is with the goverernment agency responsible for disease control. hehe outlilined germrmany's ants measures on wedndnesday. >> translator: strength thej an organization like a public health center that knows the region plays a major role in curbing the infection. >> he stressed germany is capable of carryrying out 1.1 million pcr tests a week.

he also highlighted the importanceff using digital technology incluesingng virirus tracing apps. germany confirmed more t than 190,000 infecections and over 9,000 deaths. new daily cases topped 6,0000 a one point but have recently fallen to several hundred a day. dataa fromm johns hopkins university in the united states puts -- the global death toll is over 545,000. many americans hoped summer would curb the spread of the coronavirus, instead cases are surging and have pushed past 3 million. nhk's katherine kobayashi reports. >> reporter: firefighters in arizona rush out on yet another emergency call. they arrive to find a construction worker complaining of headaches and a fever. his partner just gave birth over the weekend to their son. >> what am i going to do?

i don't know. >> reporter: the virus has surged in arizona, florida, california, across the sunbelt. for the first time new cases nationally in a day have topped 60,000. since the beginning over 3 million cases in all. hospitals are running short on beds. testing cenenters are running o of swabs, and several states th forged ahead witheopening are rolling ck. >> we saw large gatherings over memori day, multipl gaereringsurrorounng gradtions. saw denstratio. saw the fouh ouly celeations a we reall did anticiteeeing a uptick in numbers. >> reporter: across the country the virus has killed more than 130,000 people. still the president minimizes the s severity off the outbreak. we're doing ry, very well.

again, mortality rate the lowest anywhere in the world. >> it's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death. >> reporter: some americans are sticking to such narratives. disney world in florida will reopen this weekend, even as cases climb. for many, another troubling tale in fantasy land. catherine kobayashi, nhk world, new york. analysts in the united states say north korea may still be making nuclear warheads. they based that on satellite images taken in may. this north korean facility stands west of the capital near the village. the images were taken by satellite operator planet labs. they were analyze at middlebury institute of international studies. analysts there say the facility shares characteristics with

other north korean nuclear sites. they point out a security perimeter, entrances that lead underground and what appears to be housing for scientists. they also say trucks, other vehicles and containers suggest the site is operating. talks on north korea's denuclearization are stalled. the u.s. government envoy in chargege of north korean affair is deputy secretary of state steechk big league gan visiting south korea and japan this week to discuss a way forward. officials in pyongyang say they aren't interested in holding any more talks with the trump administration, but one of the u.s. president's former top advisers thinks another summit with leader kim jong-un could still happen. nhk world spoke with john bolton in an exclusive interview. >> reporter: the former u.s. national security adviser is back in the headlines. after being fired last

september, bolton's new book "the room where it happened" has been getting attention for showing trump in a negative light. one episode itt mentions is of particular significance to japan. bolton writes that on behalf of president trump he asked officials in tokyo to take $8 billion a year to host american troops. >> i understand you probably don't like hearing these numbers, but for trump who looks at alliances in balance sheet terms, it means a lot. so this question of base support costs was so important for trump -- >> reporter: bolton believes the president could go so far as to pull tens of thousands of u.s. forces out of the country if he isn't satisfied with the cost sharing arrangement. >> but what i feared was that the president would follow through, first in s south koreaf he couldn't get a base support payment that was acceptable to him, he might pull our t troops out.

i think this would be a hujs mistake, huge mistake to leave south korea and even bigger mistake to leave japan. >> reporter: with less than four months to go until the president election in november, any bit of news could impact the race. bolton says president trump could be hoping to stage some kind of diplomatic showdown. >> i think there's always the risk in american politics of what we call an october surprise, when the president is behind, he may do something. i think this year's october surprise could be another meeting with kim jong-un. i don't think anything could come from such a meeting other than bad concessions by the united states. i think it's m much riskier tha perhaps trump really thought about, but he likes the show. he likes the attention. it's a way of showing him on the world stage, and if you're in a period three or four weeks

before the election and nothing else is working, it might be worth taking the chance. >> reporter: t the president's niece, mary trump is releasing her own tell-all book next week, following a legal campaign to stop its publication. as the presidential election closes in, more searing accounts of trump's past are expected to hit store shelves, and they could make the president's road to re-election much bumpier. takashi, nhk world. the european parliament is urging japan to improve child custody laws and take steps to prevent the abduction of children by estranged parents. members of parliament adopted a resolution on wednesday voicing concern over a high number of parental abduction cases here. the resolution says the country is not complying with international laws on child protection. it also called on japan to amend its legal system to allow joint

custody when parents separate, which is not currently permitted. the country became a member of the international child custody treaty known as the hague convention six years ago. the treaty sets out rules for resolving child custody disputes between parents living in different countries. it allows parents to seek the return of a child taken to another nation by the other parent without their consent. western and central japan continue to face the threats of flooding and landslides over the next several days. our meteorologist sayaka mori has the update. >> historic heavy rain has been pounding many places of japan, especially over western japan. take a look at these numbers. over the past one week we've got over 1,000 millimeters of rain in the southwest. kawaya prefecture saw almost

half the annual rainfall to the area. to compare, washington, d.c.'s annual rainfall is about 1,000 millimeters. that amount fell in just one week. parts of central japan saw over 900 millimeters of rain. now, the wet season will likely continue for the next couple weeks. the ground is very well saturated. we have extreme to high risk for landslides in the north off kyushu, and also the tokai region and nag nah prefecturement we'll see plenty of rain for the next couple days. we still have the rainy season front. typically this front moves upward as the season progresses. usually a pacific high pushes the front towards the north, however, it's not doing so. we'll continue to see this frontal system over japan at least into n next week. we'll see lotots of heavy rainfall. take a look at this forecast

into your saturday. kyushu will see heavy rain from tonight into tomorrow. other areas in central japan will see plenty of rain as well. the total rainfall within the next 48 hours could see 400 millimeterss across the west, 30 millimeters for the tokai region. flooding will be high risk at least until sunday. the same frontal system has been bringing heavy rainfall to the south and central places of china. some areas including hubei province are experiencing one of the wettest rainy seasons in history. more rain is on the way. india has been wet as well. this is the southwest monsoon season. flooding is taking place across the northwest. take a look at this video. heavy rain continue in western india frorom sunday into wednesday. about 500 millimeters of rain fell in the area leading to

flooded roads and loams. although the rain is needed for the farming activities, too much causes damage and water-borne diseases. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪ >> that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching and do stay withs for mo.

♪ this is "newsline" biz, i'm gene otani. the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect businesses across japan. the latest big name to report a drop in earnings is the operator of casual clothing take uniqlo. its sales and profits have taken a big hit. >> translator: in our view the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest crisis of the post-war

era. the current business climate is bleak. we're battling some powerful heheadlines. >> the company's revenue for the nine-month period through may fell by 15% year on year to about $14.4 billion. net profit tumbled by 43% to over 840 million. executives attribute the slump mainly to a sharp decline in sales during the march to may quarter. the company temporarily closed many of its stores as the pandemic worsened worldwide. the firm expects revenue to be down 13% from the year earlier. it estimates net profit will drop 47%. united airlines is considering cutting up to 40% of its workforce. the carrier cited depressed travel demand caused by the coronavirus. uniteded says up to ,000 pilots,

flight attendants and other workers may lose their jobs. the airline says staff members would be i involuntaririly furlougheded. it says it needsds to detetermi the appropriate size of its workforce as passenger demand has yet to recover,r, united intends to impmplement the p pln october 1st or later. u.s. carriers are barred from conducting lay-offs through the end of september under the terms of a federal payroll aid program. britain will slash its value-added tax in several service industries, an event to stimulate consumer spending amid covid-19. the cut will affect restaurants and h hotels which are two of t hardest hit industries. the chancellor of the exchequer has told parliament the rate will come down 5% from julyly 15th to jananuary 12th n year. it is currently at 20%.

customers at pubs, movie theaters and theme parks will also enjoy the lower rate. >> people need to know we will do all we can to give everyone the opportunity of good and secure work. people need to know that although hardshipp lies ahead, o one will be left without hope. so today we act with a plan for jobs. >> sunak noted the restaurant and tourism industries employ more than in other sectors. he stressed the importance of invigorating c consumer spendin. he added the cut will helplp bos jobs in rural areas. germany lowered its vat rates on july 1st. japanese financial institutions are offering support for victims of the heavy rains that have battered

southwestern and central japan. four major banks say they will lend money aalit at reduced intt rates to people who need their homes rebuilt or renovated. the banks are sumitomo mitsui, mitsubishi ufj, mizuho and resona. they say they will offer special interest rates for residential renovations and auto loans. they're also willing to review mortgage and other lending terms if necessary. meanwhile, major insurers say they will offer a grace period on premium payments. life insurers will also make payouts even if the policy certificate has been lost. telework is turning into the new normal in japan amid the coronavirus pandemic. it's also sparking another new trend. people are taking upside jobs. for some this is the only

solution to offset income losses from primary employment with businesses hit by the coronavirus. >> reporter: she runs a private lodging business for oversrseas visitors. but since april, she's had zero reservations. >> translator: i was a little panicked with no idea of when i'd see guests again. >> reporter: she hit on an idea, weekend cooking queue torting. >> translator: h how thick shou i slice the sweet potato. >> 1 to 1.1.5 centimeters thick like this. >> reporter: she offers lessons every week for $7.00. they're getting popular. >> translator: thank you very much. >> translator: thanks for joining. >> reporter: about two months later her profit reached nearly

$1,00000. >> translator: i never imagined i would be cooking from home. i'm surprised i could start this side job right now. >> reporter: this website is gaining popularity for matching people offering online courses with perspective students. this type of service is catching on. more than 1,000 online couourse providers newly registered in april and may. that's about 40%% more compared to prepandemic days. >> translalator: i thinknk the coronavirus has made more people worries over the possibility of losing their job. i think this is what is fueling our service. >> reporter: people who have dependeded on side jobs in the past are seeing new potential in online business. this man works f for an i.t. startup in tokyo. >> translator: hello everyone. >> reporter: he offers weekend tu torting on how to create

clear presentation materials for business. he once used rental conference spaces for teaching, but with thee coronavirus he moved onlin. >> translator: people from all over japan or even abroad c can take my online courses. this platform is great for attracting people outside tokyo, too. >> reporter: taking advantage of spare time to translate hobbies and expertise into online classes is becoming easy and convenient. this work style may become a new normal option at a time when we are learning to co-exist with the coronavirus. >> all right. let's have a look at the markets.

from the "newsline biz"" tem in tokyo, i'm gene otani.i. thanks v vermuch for joioining .

>> hello and thanks for joining us here on france 24 first to the u.s. where federal health officials issue new guidelines for reopening schooools a after donald trump criticized the current recommemendations as tough, expensive and impractitical. the presidident is threatening cut federal fundnding if they don't reopen in the autumn, saying earlier this week that the country is, quote, in a good place regarding the coronavirus pandemic. but the number of new cases is actutually been going up steadi since mid june and on wednesday, the u.s. recorded the biggest daily jump of any country. more than 60,000 new cases. aaron has more.