hello and welcome to nhk "newslinine." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. we begin here in tokyo where the capitol has been put on the highest level of alert for the coronavirus after a string of triple digit new daily cases. officials are urging people to tatake cautionary measures. >> translator:r: we decided we neededed to raise alert levels warn residents infection is spreading. >> more than 200 cases were reported for four days in a row through sunday. since then, numbers have dipped

slightly but are still topping 100 with 165 cases reported on wednesday. experti expertings are o'especially concern concerned. >> translator: the numbers couod be many times from now. that would mean 1200 people. it would increase my 256 fold. >> the governor is calling on residents to refrain from non-essential travel to other prefecture prefecture. the number of infections continue to rise in other parts of japan. 61 cases were confirmed in the western prefecture of osaka on wednesday. that's the highest since the nationwide state of emergency was lifted in may. now, across japan, morore than

22,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. nearly 1,000 people have died. officials are also closely watching developments in the southern prefecture of okinawa home to several m military u.s. bases. the okinawa governor met the defense minister in tokyo. he asked the minister to push the u.s. militaryy to swiftly provide detailed information on the infected people. > translator: i hope he w wi tell the u.s. side what he has to say as japan's defense minister. i also want him to think of the position of those that host the u.s. bases. the central government plans to launch a campaign next week to boost domestic tourism. but local officials are worried it could spread infections from

tokyo. >> reporter: the pandemic has seriously affected tourism in japan. the government wants to bring visitors back. officials are set to kick off a project to help the industry recover. it includes discounts of up to 35% or as much as $130 per night. this hotel in the resort town of karuizawa is normally full of guests from tokyo. while the manager says he appreciates the intent of the campaign, right now he's hesitant about hosting anyone from the country's largest city. >> translator: about 30% to 40% of our reservations have been canceled. many people are asking whether they're allowed to visit the area now that so many infections are being reported in tokyo. >> reporter: people in the capital are also hesitating. >> translator: i had planned to go on a trip next week, but i canceled it.

>> translator: the campaign itself is a good idea, but whether i'm able to travel i is different matter. >> reporter: local government officials are raising concerns too. >> translalator: i wonder if th time is right to start this nationwidede. i can't t say i'm happppy about. >> translator: if this campaign reresults in an outbreak, itit be a manmade disaster caused by the central government. >> reporter: the tourism minister is playing down such concerns, saying that participating hotels and inns will have to take precautions. >> translator: efforts to prevent infectctions must be maintained at all costs. healthth and safety should be t top priority. >> reporter: the government is considering detailed guidelines for travel agencies and hotels. they include temperature checks for all customers and petitions at all check-in counters. they also urge tourists to avoid crowds in restaurants and bathhouses. this infectious disease expert

says a cautious approach is needed considering the current situation. >> translator: the fact that we're seeing a lot of community transmission means we will need to review our actions once again. >> reporter: the economic revitalization minister says on thursday he'll hear from experts on the matter. >> translator: i would like to know what they are thinking about this campaigign, which is promoting travel between prefectures. >> reporter: meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are demanding the scheme be postponed. they say the government should wait until it looks like infections are being contained before moving ahead. researchers from european countries have called on the japanese govovernment to ease restrictions to allow foreign students to re-enter the country. many of the researchers h have

been s studying in japan for several years.s. they made the appeal in an online conference. >> i i think for the future of japapan, it is verery important let internatitional studedents . i think letetting students in is -- should be considered seriously. >> she told reporters her university has resumed classes, but 88 foreign students and 2 teacachers havave been unable t re-enter japan. she says their s studies have bn disrupted and warn this may discouragege foreign students fm eventually wanting to work in japan. foreign nationals from 129 countries and regions are currentlyy denied entry into th country due to the the pandemic. it also applies to foreign nationals living in japan who are only allowed to re-enter with special permission. now, over in the united states, the trump administration has reversed a plan to pull visas for foreign students whose classes will be exclusively

taught online. >> i felt t like there's a hugu sense of relieief, and i felelts huge amomount of bden n just go or takenen away. >> the big win is a quick win, but i i would d say that theher lot t to be e done. and i'm going toakake this d da to celebrate it, a and then tomorrrrow i might wake up andne what else there is. >> the flip-flop comes about a week after u.s. immigration authorities announced the new policy for the september school year, the first since the pandemic began. it would have forced foreign students to leave the country or transfer to schools with in-person classes. the decision was announced after the launch of a legal challenge mounted by high-profile universities and more than a dozen states. the u.s. issueued visas to abou 400,000 foreign students in the 2019 fiscal year.

weather officials in japan say the worst may be over for areas devastated by intense downpours. but as the rain moves south, authorities are warning of a continued threat of landslides. water has begun to recede where in the western prefecture of shimane where a swollen river inundated homes, many filling up to the ceiling. evacuation orders in gotsu city remain am place for more than 6,000 people. >> translator: i'm glad that the worst part of f the rain is ove. but i'm worried that the ground looks unstable in some places. >> rescue efforts continue in the southwest. ten people are still missing. 77 others have died. the government says s more than 15,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed across 24 prefectures.

affected areas are also dealing with new concerns about the coronavirus. hundreds of people from across the country have been flown in to help with relief efforts. including a nurse who later tested positive for the virus. officials are now testing about 400 people who may have been in contact with him. >> translator: it's essential to recruit manpower from outside kumamoto to promote reconstruction efforts. what we need are measures to make sure that everyone coming in is free of the virus. >> the central government estimates the current damage to the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries to be over $170 million. in other news, the u.s. president is stepping up pressure on china over its crackdown on hong kong. donald trump signed an executive order ending preferential economic and trade treatment for the territory. >> hong kong will now be treated the same as mainland china. no special privivileges.

no special economic trtreatment. and no export of sensitive technologies. >> trump also signed into law a bill aimed at holding china accountable for what he called oppressive actions against hong kong. it allows the u.s. to impose sanctions on chinese authorities, and financial institutions that contribute to the removal of hong kong's autonomy. that could include freezing their assets. china reacted sharply to the news. its foreign ministry said in a statement that they plan to take whatever actions it deems necessary including imposing sanctions on american officials and organizations. the united states is also weighing in on primaries held over the weekend to choose pro-democracy candidates in hong kong's upcoming legislative council election. the territory's government warned the unofficial vote may have violated china's new national security law. u.s. secretary of state mike

pompeo said the warning demonstrates the chinese communist party's fear of democracy and its own people's free thinking. a chinese law professor known as a critic of xi jingping has been reportedly fired. he was detained on what his friends describe as false accusations. xu zhangrun had already been suspended by the university for writing an article in 2018. in it, he denounced beijing for removing presidential term limits which enabled xi to stay in office indefinitely. most recently xu a accused the government of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak. he was detained earlier this month and released on sunday. police reportedly told his wife he was detained for allegedly soliciciting prorostitution. his friends say the move was meant to discredit xu.

a a major attraction at festivals in hong kong are majestic paper floats known as flower cannons. but the pandemic has dealt a blow to the artisans who have been keeping the tradition alive. >> reporter: the floats can tower 10 meters high. they come in various designs of animals or guardian deities. and each one is infused with wishes for health, peace, and abundan abundance. kenneth moe is a 20 year artisan. noww he is one of only four who create these floats. >> translator: since the 1980s,

we've had few apprentice tiss. fa pau should be passed down as a characteristic of hong kong. >> reporter: as a master, moe creates many in a year. >> translalator: we've asked hi to create fa pau all these y yes because it's so intricate and good thihings happen to the peoe who take them over after a festival. >> reporter: but regional festivals have been canceled due to the pandemic. so far this year moe has received almost zero commissions. >> translator: by this time of the year, i would normally have made 70 fa pau. but eveverything has stopped. it's very sad. i feel helpless. >> reporter: now he has embarked

on something new. workshops to teach people his art. he's passionate about passing on this hong kong tradition to as many people as possible. >> translator: a all traraditio crafts should be preserved. i want to get a deeper knowledge through hands-on experience. >> reporter: recently mo had some bright news. a commission from an organization in san francisco to create a fa pau for a festival in chinatown. >> translator: they found me on the internet. i was thrilled that hong kong's fa pau caught the eye of people abroad. >> reporter: the group asked for a work featuring a deity that protects against disaster. the powerfully raised arm and

formidable expression are meant to drive the coronavirus away. as he works, he infuses the piece with a wish to eradicate the virus as well as peace and good health for all. and of course he wishes to see hong kong adorned with fa pau again next year. switching gears now for a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. e downpours covering eastern asia have been making headlines this month. any chance of a respite in the coming days? >> hello. looks like we'll be dealing with a mixed bag. heavy rain some places, also reprieve in some areas we've been dealing with heavy rainfall over the past few weeks. as we look at the satellite perspective over the past 24 hours, we're still talking about heavy rain taking place into central and southern areas of china. but across western portions of japan, the rain is starting to let up a bit. and we really need a break from the rain because it has been

tremendously serious when it comes to the continued downpours from this rainy season front. now, the front has moved south to the pacific side of japan, but still for those of you in kyushu, you may be dealing with rain once again coming up on thursday. back towards southern areas of china, yes, you will still be dealing with some rain as we go through thursday because the front is still in the area. it may lighten up in terms of how heavy the intensity the rain may be, but still something you need to look out for. let me give you a closer look across japan. if you look closely, we'll be talking about southern areas of kyushu through thursday. also another low through the tohoku region. here's a look at the forecast for the next four days. sapporo, you're the dry spot mid to upper 20s. we've been dealing with highs that felt more like may here in tokyo.

we'll still see temperatures are relatively cool with mid-20s expected for the next several days. but then the rain comes back. osaka, fukuoka also seeing showers as well. we broaden out the view and once again, looking at rains. also looking at rain with a high of 29. meanwhile, dry and hot weather towards the desert southwest. it's been incredibly dry even into portions of colorado. we're talking about wildfire concerns. monday afternoon we had this fire taking place in jefferson county. by tuesday afternoon, still reports of only 25% containment with this blaze. no structures have been damaged. thankfully no injuries at this point, but still the fire is in place. we are looking at the dry pattern to continue, but hopefully the heat will ease. ahead of that we have a cold front through the central portion of the united states. look out for flash flooding with

thunderstorms throughout the day. that's the forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away.

bank of japan policy makers have spent two days talking about ways to rev up the economy. they say they'll hold the negative short-term interest rate in place and buy unlimited amounts of government bonds. they'll also maintain a roughly $1 trillion support program for firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic. boj governor said there are some positive signs emerging fofor t japanese economy. >> translator: corporate

investment is solilid. i think the slump in private consumption and produduction ha bottomeded out. >> but the central bank chiefs suggested the sector could take some time to recover. the boj also releases the quarter lookout. it is for a 4.7% contraction due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. nissan motor has unveiled their new sport utility vehicle. they plan to release it in japan around mid-2021. it's the first ev to roll off the nissan production line in about ten years since the leaf. the new model can travel further than the company's previous evs. up to 610 kilometers on one charge. autonomous technology lets

drivers relax on expresswsways. they're ablble to take their has off the wheel under c certain conditions. it comes with a redesigned logo as the firm tries to resescue i business. they plan to rerelease 12 model worldwidee by the end of next year. >> translator: we put all of nissan's most advanced technology into this car. we want to excite customers and really hope they enjoy it. >> toyota, honda, and mazazda ao aim to make full fledged inroads into the ev market this business year. there's plenty of room for growth. electric vehicles currently account for only half a percent of new car sales. many saw the onset of the coronavirus as a good time to try out work from home practices. but it seems a big portion were less than impressed by the results. a survey shows nearly half who set up remote work arrangements subsequently abandoned them.

a private research firm surveyed about 14,000 firms nationwide between june and july. just over 30% said they currently allow employees to work from home. 27% said they put a stop to the practice. 42% said t they never offered remote work as an option. out of the companies that canceled their work from home arrangements, some said it was too hard to keep sensitive information secure. others said their employees struggled to work remotely. now, britain will remove huawei from its 5g mobile networks. the move reverses an earlier decision to give the company a limited role. the government decided that huawei products should be purged by 2027. mobile service providers will be banned from purchasing from the company starting next year. digital minister oliver dowden said sanctions against the

company means that britain can no longer be confident it will be ableo guarantetee the fure equipment. china's ambassador said it was wrong. whether the uk can provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for companies. the british government said in january it would allow service providers to use huawei for up to 30% of their networks. but that decision came under review following the u.s. sanctions on the company. criticism of china is growing within the ruling party after beijing introduced the national security law for hong kong. now, japanese style dining bars can usually be found on any high street and are also popular with foreign tourists. but t the coronavirus pandemic s dealt a big low to the companies operating them. they cannot conduct business as usual with their bars filled

with customers. so they y are embarking on some radical reforms. >> reporter: this company operates about 180 stores across japan, but they temporarily clososed allll their outletets april. during that time, sales fell to virtuaually zero. from june 1st, the company reopened its bars aware that in this harsh environment, it cannot return too business as usuaual. >> translator: a second emergency declaration could be announced in december. when we are usually very busy. >> translator: if we can't get customers in december, it will be difficult to continue. >> reporter: they are looking at all steps to keep the company afloat. first it started too slim the company down and closed its head office in the center of tokyo. the company moved its headquarters to one of its stores where sales were sluggish. the premises is 1/10 the size of

the previous hq. management is aiming to reduce fixed costs by 1 billion yen annually. the number of employees working at the relocated headquarters has been cut in half. the others help out while continuing to work in marketing, product development, and accounting as they used to as the head office. >> translator: it's wrong to say that without headquarterers you can't hire talented people or develop good dishes. >> reporter: to make up for declining sales, the firm introduced a new business strategy. it is starting a delivery service. food is delivered by employees who are not so busy. they used to only be open at night, but now staff are there during the day cooking the food for the deliveries. first the company is trying to win back its regular customers by offering familiar f food

prepared speedily and fresh from its kitchens. many restaurants are using delivery services, but this company plans to reduce costs and increase profits by having its own staff deliver the food. >> translator: even if we wait, our business perfoformance will not improve. estimating recovery of 40% to 50% of conventional sales, i think only companies that can adapt to life with corona and after corona can survive. >> reporter: it's sink or swim for those in this business. streamlining operations and grasping new opportunities is key to staying afloat through the pandemic. okay. let's get a check on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline biz" from our tokyo studio. thank you very much for joining us. >> the u.s. targets china over

hong kong, saying it will slap sanctions on those restricting hong kong's autonomyy, china promising to retaliate with sanctions. vows tontitrust chief continue her fight against tax measures used by multinationals after a tax ruling by apple and ireland. a bill looking at the return of artwork to africa, much which had been looted during france's colonial era. beijing says it is ready to