hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." we start this hour with the latest on the coronavirus. the race to create a vaccine is intensifying. more than 20 potential vaccines are being developed but one from oxford university appears to be leading the way. preliminary results of early stage trials were published in

the british medical journal "the lancet" on monday. the university is working on the vaccine with pharmacaceutical company astrazeneca. researchers say antibody levels in 127 participants peaked after four weeks and rememained elevad afteter eight weeks. they also confirmed neutralizing antibodies in more than 90% of 35 participapants after one dos. but around 70% of the participants reported headaches and fatigue. researchers suggest the vaccine has no serious negative effects and are planning further clinical trials. the world health organization says it is encouraged by the progress. >> we do welcome the study and congratulate our colleagues at the oxford university's institute and the oxford vaccine group. >> ryan added there are significant production challenges to ensure people around the world have access to

the possible vaccine. meanwhile, japan's health ministry has set up a new team to coordinate talks with groups developing coronavirus vaccines. the health minister revealed on monday that negotiations are already under way and he also suggested that coronavirus vaccines could become available in japan by early next year. as we all know, for now the pandemic rages on. in japan the number of coronavirus deaths exceedd 1,000 on monday. the figure includes 13 deaths from the diamond princess cruise ship that docked just outside tokyo earlier this year. health authorities confirmed the latest deaths in the greater tokyo area bringing the total to 1,001. over 26,000 people have tested positive, including more than 700 cases from the cruise ship. across the country, numbers have been rising with tokyo reporting over 100 new infections per day.

many seem to have emerged from night life districts but there are growing concerns about the elderly. one infectious disease expert says local medical services must quickly increase capacity to deal with the potential spike. he says older patients are of particular concern since they are more likely to become seriously ill. officials in tokyo are calling for night clubs to take precautionary measures to fight the coronavirus. it is one of the largest entertainment districts in japan and has been one of the sources of a recent surge of infections in the capital. about 80 people including local officials visited the clubs on monday and urged operators to let fresh air in at least once every 30 minutes and to regularly disinfect sofas and chairs. officials are also plannining t visit all of the host and hostess clubs in the district.

>> translator: it is very important for us to continue to patrol regularly and ask for cooperation from each other in a way that will make the cityy betttter. > the science council off ja is also asking the government to establish a perermanent committ to fight infectious diseas. the council says the committee would be made up of medical experts and provide advice to the cabinet. meanwhile, japan's government says it is going to compensate people for cancellation fees for bookings made under a discount program to promote domestic tourism. the go to travel campaign is set to start on wednesday. it is aimed at helping revive the economy, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. the last week travel to and from tokyo was dropped from the program. trips by tokyo residents were also excluded. the decision came as a number of coronavirus cases in the capital rose significantly. the government initially said it would not cover any of the

cancellation costs, but now it is reversing that decision as calls for compensation arose from people who had made plans in the hopes of discounts. industry is looking into the situation and studying measures to support the industry whihile reducing the trouble for users. >> the confusion has been mounting with only two dayss before the campaign starts. travel agents have been swamped with questions. the government says it aims to come up with measures to address the situation quickly. spain is one of the european countries that suffered the most from the pandemic. the surge in cases overwhelmed its medical system and as you will see in our next report, that led to a lot of difficult decisions about who to save.

>> reporter: this woman lost her 83-year-old father luis to the coronavirus four months ago. >> translator: dad, i'm so sorry i haven't been able to give you a proper buririal, but i sure wl as soon ass i am allowed. >> reporter: after luis was hospitalized, the doctor told her he wasn't eleligible for a respirator. translator: she repepeatedly told me my father wasas not a a overer 80 yearss ololsese he wa i asked her to transfefer him t another hospital but s she saide could not be released because he was infected. >> reporter: in march as her father was growing increasingly ill, more than 340 peoplple die in a s single day in madrid alo. hospitalss in the city werere desperatelely trying to figure t

how to cope. >> translator:r: we're n not treating the eldlderly anymore. if they are incted, they're out of luck. we wish we weren't in this situation. >> reporter: luis's death certificate says he passed away in his sleep after receiving palliative care. the hospital maintains that luis had underlying conditions and had received appropriate treatment. family members were unable to say their last good-byes. she is furious about what happened. she is writing a letter to her father to help make sense of the tragedy. >> translator: the doctors decided the time to end my father's life had come. the only treatment he could g g were sedativives and thahat was wiout ourur consesent. i think t this is a kind of hidn euthanasia. >> reporteter: lopez-rey says s is now planning to sue the

hospital. the coronavirus has claimed over 28,000 lives in spain, a staggering 69% of the victims dying in nursing homes, a sign of how much the medical system was over loaded. infections have started rising again in the past few weeks. some regions have imposed a second lockdown. many people are worried that a second wave could lead to more life-and-death choices in hospitals, yet the is growing opposition to how those decisions are made. international fallout from china passing the new hong kong national security law continues. the british government says it is suspending an extradition treaty with its former colony and that it will take immediate

effect. >> we would not consider react investigating those arrangements unless and until there are clear and robust safeguards which are able to prevent extradition from the uk being misused under the new national security legislation. >> australia and canada have already taken similar steps. the uk announcement follows its decisionon to remove products me by chinese telecom manufacturer huawei from its 5g mobile networks by 2027. the government is also working on giving people in hong kong who have a british national overseas passport a pass to citizenship. china is criticizing the moves and urged the uk to avoid further damaging bilateral relations. >> translator: britain's measures on hong kong are wrong and significantly interfere with china's internal affairs. we strongly condemn them. >> observers say britain's increasing criticism of china's

treatment of ethnic uighurs is also expected to amplify tensions. now, eating grilled eels in the summer time is a long standing tradition in japan and is said to bring relief from the heat and build stamina. so consumers should be happy to see the price down slightly this year. the fisheries agency says the domestic catch of juvenile japanese eels for cultivation between november and april was around 17 tons. that is the highest in six years. including imports from overseas about 20 tons of eels were placed into aqua culture ponds. that is around 30% more than last year. all this means eels shipped from farmers are about 10% cheaper. it also means lower prices at supermarkets. major retailer aeon is selling a single grilled eel for about $19, about 10% less than last

year. the eels now being cultivated will be shipped in a few months' time and that means prices will probably drop even further in the fall. let's check out the world weather with our meteorologist. yoko, we've been talking about torrential rains in china and japan for the past few weeks. do you see any relief in sight? >> so usually it's about time to talk about the end of the rainy season in many parts of southern china and western japan, but this year may be different. the rainy season front will continue to be active in central china all the way to japan throughout the week so people in eastern china and western japan are still struggling with the aftetermath of flooding and landslides. so additional rainfall is not welcome. looking at the next 24-hour rainfall, more rain will spread. expect up to 160 millimeters possible. and heavy rain will also spread

into the south korea and western portions of japan as we're going into wednesday. some thunderstorms may develop with the potential for hail and damaging winds. seoul should avoid rain on tuesday. however, wet weather will persist in shanghai as we go into tuesday morning. tokyo will have a gloomy sky for the next few days with a chance of showers. however, osaka should avoid rain on tuesday but rain will return to the area as we go into the weekend. people in northeastern u.s. are experiencing nearly record breaking temperatures on monday. the high mark about 34 degrees in new york on monday afternoon. excessive heat warnings and advisories are issued in many parts of the mid-atlantic all the way up to new england. the combination of heat and a lot of moisture could create unstable conditions. expect to see thunderstorms in the plains and a large portion

of the eastern u.s. as we go into tuesday. thundershowers are expected in washington, d.c. with a high of 37 degrees. 31 degrees in new york on tuesday. temperatures will be cooling off by mid week but highs will still be a few degrees warmer than normal. that's it for now. stay safe. ♪

that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you for staying with us on nhk world japan. ♪ xxxx welcome to "newsline in depth." the covid-19 pandemic has slowed down economies around the world. one side effect has been a temporary reduction in environmental solutions. cities in china and india for example have experienced the clearest skies in decades but these short term effects have

not stopped climate change. recent record rainfall in japan resulting in deadly flooding and destruction is further evidence of that. can these trends be reversed? green recovery is the new catch phrase of hope. it refers to the process of engineering a global recovery from covid-19 that reduces climate change and protects natural habitats. on today's "newsline i in depth we'll be delving into various ways japan is working to address environmental problems in this new era. let's start with plastic waste. japan is second only to the u.s. in its per capita use of plastic containers and packaging. many c countries have banned th use of plastic bags at stores while others make customers pay for them. at the beginning of the month japan joined their ranks by introducing a charge for single use plastic bags.

our first story looks at how two high profile companies are coming to grips with the issue. >> it's still a common sight in japan. the government hopes having to pay a few cents extra for plastic bags will make shoppers think twice about taking one. >> translator: i think it is a little inconvenient. >> translator: if garbage is reduced that is definitely better. i used to throw them all away except when i used them as a garbage bag so i was creating a lot of waste. >> reporter: l lawson has nearl 14,000 convenience stores across japan. the retail giant b began chargi three yen or three u.s. cents a bag starting july 1st. to get people reaeady for the change. it is making eco friendly, reusable bags. customers will be able to get them in exchange for reward points. but bags are only part of the

problem. the company is also trying to reduce the use of plastic cups by changing to paper. >> i've heard plalastic doesn't decompose easasily and has a negative effect on animals. we would like to take on the challenge of improving the global environment. >> reporter: plastic waste is hurting the world's o oceans an the animals who live t there. the world econonomic forum says that by 2050 there will more plastic in the ocean than fish. this restaurant is still handing out their popular dish in plastic bags for free. these are made from 25% waste materials. for now it is the safer and cleaner option. it also says it is better not

asking customers if they need a bag especially since more people are opting for takeout because of the corononavirus. > we considerered the safety hygiene of customers. we want customers to feel safe as they eat and give them a new bag with each purchase. >> reporter: it is hoped this change will make people use less plastic but with the environmental ministry saying check out bags only make up about 3% of japan's plastic waste. it will take much more to solve the problem. nhk world, tokyo. hitting customers where it hurts seems to work. the convenience store featured in our story reports plastic bag usage dropped 70% this month. in the latest twist in greener packaging some department stores started offering water proof paper bags in the food sections

also for a fee. phasing out plastic bags as small step but if it gets consnsumers thinking about the environment, that seems like a good start. let's take a deeper dive into marine pollutionon. ourur oceces arere in danged one alarmingg exampmp iss the great bararrier reeff off the ct of australia. the coral reef is dying off in large numbers and researchers blame a sharp increase in sea water temperatures. warmer sea water is affecting marine ecosystems across the globe. seaweed is disappearing because it can't survive the higher temperatures. on the other hand the sea urchin population is exploding. it may not sound like a bad thing. in japan sea urchin is a high end sushi topping. but this is also regarded as a menace because in large enough numbers they can strip the ocean floorr of vegetation. now a businesess startup is

working onn the profitable solution. >> fishermen in oita prefecture have little interest in the sea archins that grow in the l loca waters. look under the surface and you see there are far too manany of the sea u urchins becauause the ten up the s seaweed as their main food. the urchins don't reach full maturity. while sea urchins have had a serious impact on the ecosystem, one localal startup sees this challenge as a business opportunity. >> these are the sea urchin tanks. >> it takes just two months for them to mature and develop plenty of their rich,, deliciou row. the seed pellets are made from seaweed using left over parts that cannot be sold for cooking. the pellets have to be processed

so they don't develop too quickly. this gives the urchins time to eat plenty. >> translator: thanks to this technology sea urchin will soon be a local specialty. >> reporter: the approach was first pioneered in norway. sea bed beautification has become a major problem there so researchers looked for ways to make use of the troublesome sea urchins. however, since norwegians don't eat sea urchins the project had no commercial value. instead one norway based company has set its sites on japan and launched a joint venture with one fisherman in oita. >> translator: if we can develop sea urchin that japanese consumers find delicious we can turn this resource into a luxury product. >> the new company is now starting to cultivate a market

for its sea urchins. one major selling point is they are available year round. >> if they can offer a consistent supply of fresh, local s sea urchins i'll certaiy consider it. >> we hope that stressing the ecological aspect will make many people keen to eat it. >> reporter: the company is planning to start marketing its sea urchins from april, next year. eventually it hopes to supply this new specialty to gourmets in other countries, too. terai sumire, nhk world, oita. >> other areas of japan are working on programs to cultivate sea urchins. flourishing seaweed will bring back fish and help absorb carbon monoxide. that could be a win-win for both the planet and sushi lovers. our last story focuses on an alternative source of food.

industrial live stock farming accelerates climate change by releasing huge amounts of methane gas. but there is another abundant source of protein on this planet that can be produced with much less harm to the environment. insects. the only challenge is getting more people to eat them. here is one such effort in western japan. >> these crackers hit the market in may. they may look like ordinary snacks but they are made of something different. cricket powder, basic potato starch. at first they taste like crackers. the more you eat the sweeter they get. a company provides the cricket powder using the crackers. this business was started by this man. he is an insect ecology

professor at the university. his team is raising 700,000 crickets. they are big ones. over time the team is raising them from eggs. in a month they'll be three centimeters long. the fast growth makes them a quickly renewable source of protein and they needless space and food than cows or pigs. >> we are using crickets as food so we need to keep good records from the moment they hatch until they're harvested. we have to make sure they're safe to eat. >> reporter: the crickets eat a type of weed that is often discarded. it makes the project even more eco friendly. recentlyly, they've also been

feasting on over ripe citrus grown in the area. this is part of an experiment to produce new versions of the cricket powder. the crickets are freeze dried and turned into powder. watanabe has teamed up with a large company that likes to be environmentally aware. cricket crackers, a first corroboration with him. every shipment is selling out. >> i didn't expect people to accept the product s so easily. putting it on the market has definitely proven to be worth while. >> if people start eating edible crickets or edible insects as a supplement to meat, that would be a great result. we may f face difffficulties, b i'm determined to keep going. >> eric: the goal now is mass

production. if watanabe has his way, we'll all be eating insects without getting bugged. nhk world, tokushima. >> the cricket crackers went on sale in 11 stores this month and the makers say the new product is flying off the shelves. it is definitely an appealing way to get people more familiar with the insect based food. and there is another pay-off for watanabe's local community. residents at a facility for people with disabilities helped grow the crickets. with demand growing, there are now plans to expand production. the united nations announced in early july that owingng to covid-19 it is unlikely that the globe's sustainable development goals will be achieved by 2030. however, there could be a silver lining. the pandemic has forced us to reflect on our lifestyles

starting small these changes could eventually transform how we do business and run our economies. thank you for watching. see you again next time.

>> an important step in the fight against the coronavavirus, triaials of a vavaccine in the . find a triggered immune response in health balance years -- health volunteers. ♪ >> this is al jazeera live from london. a fourth day of talks in brussels on the eu pandemic recovery plan. leaders consider a new proposal. will it be enough to break the deadlock? antigovernment protesters once again defend the capital, determined to remove a president

from power.