maintain your health deliciously. ready when you are. nhk world-japan. ♪ hello. and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thursday marks one year til the opening of tokyo 2020, which was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. nhk has learned the organizing committee of the tokyo olympic and paralympic games is studying detailed measures to prevent infections.

sources say committee officials have more than 400 proposals for anti-virus steps. they're using saitama super arena, the basketball venue, as a model. the measures for athletes cover transportation by bus, media interviews, and doping tests. in locker rooms, athletes will be asked to refrain from eating or shouting. during media interviews, athletes and interviewers are to remain at least 1.5 meters apart with a transparent partition placed between them. spectators will be asked not to shout and will be required or asked to wear face masks. the proposals also include mandatory use of cashless payment systems at shops. the committee will assess the feasibility of the proposals. it will then look into measurer for all 43 venues for the games by year end. latest figures show the global coronavirus pandemic has continued to pick up steam. data from johns hopkins

university puts confirmed cases worldwide at over 15 million. the global death toll tops 617,000. infections hit t the 5 million mark on may 21st. the number had doubled to 10 million by the end of june. the pandemic has kept accelerating with new caseses reaching the 15 million threshshold less thaa a month lalater. rerecord single-daday increasese been renewed on a near daily basis this month. over 250,000 cases were confirmed on july 16th. the resumption of economic activities has been blamed for the infection surge in countries with the most cases, including the u.s. and brazil. thailand's government says it will extend the nationwide state of emergency until the end of august. that's despite no coronavirus transmission being reported within the country for nearly two months. it's the fourth such extension by the government.

officials say the measure is necessary to control the spread of infection. >> translator: it's nenessary to keep the emergency decree because we're opening up the country. >> criticism is mounting over the extensions. last week, thousands of people demonstrated in central bangkok, saying the decree enables the government to ban gatherings, including political ones. the government says it will only use the emergency powers to contain the pandemic, not to block rallies. china has claimed sovereignty over a wildlife sanctuary in eastern bhutan, saying it falls within an area where the border between the two nations has been disputed for decades. the move, the latest in a series of territorial assertions, is likely to increase the sense of caution among beijing's neighbors.

according to the minutes of an international meeting on the environment in developing countries last month, china's representative said the sakteng wildlife sanctuary is located in china/bhutan disputed areas. but representatives for a group of neighboring countries including bhutan rejected the claim, saying the sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of bhutan. bhutan says it has preserved the 650 kilometer sanctuary since 2003. beijing maintains the sanctuary is included in the area subject to border negotiations. >> translator: china calls for a resolution to the border issue through bilateral negotiations and is opposed to bringing up bilateral territorial disputes at international occasions. >> the two countries have held talks to try to settle the border dozens of times since 1984, but sources say those negotiations only cover the disputed western and central

regions and did not include the wildlife sanctuary. in june, a military clash between china and india at their disputed himalayan border left at least 20 indian troops dead. it was triggered by india's construction of roads and air strips to match china's growing border infrastructure. the white house has confirmed that it ordered china to close its consulate in houston, texas. state department spokesperson morgan ortagus said in a statement on wednesday that the closure was to protect american intellectual property and american's private information. she also highlighted how state ts have a duty not to interfore in the internal affairs of a host natation accordingng to th vienna convention. meanwhile, secretaryry of state mimike pompeo m met reporters dg his visisit to denmark. without offering spspecifics, h referred to the a accusatioions

chchinese theft of u.s. intellectual property. > we're going to take action that protect the american people, protect our security, our national security, and also protect our economy and jobs. >> republican senator marco rubio, known to take a hardline stance against china tweeted his support for the closure. he wrote china's consulate in houston is not a diplomatic facility. he aedded that t the building mt close. the chinese government appears set to retal yacht. multiple outlets have ordered that china will order the closure of the u.s. consulate in wuhan, a move that will chill bilateral relations. sumo wrestlers are back in action at the july tournament in tokyo.

our sumo announcer morita hiroshi has the details. >> reporter: the wrestlers have finally returned to the ring after four months of downtime due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. to prevent infection, the arena is at just a quarter capacity, meaning wrestlers compete in front of no more than 2,500 spectators. a couple of high-profile wrestlers are taking command early. they are asanoyama and hakuho who are both undefeated. asanoyama is a newly promoted ozeki while hakuho is gunning for his 45th title. the ozeki, asanoyama, is already aiming higher saying he has aspirations beyond the second highest rank. a fierce pushing and thrusting battle. daiesho advances but asanoyama shifts away and sends daiesho up from the rear. it wasn't pretty, but the new

ozeki delivers again and goes to 4-0. the top dog, hakuho, wants to prove he is still the king of the ring by winning back-to-back championships. full attack fast. takanosho pushes fast and hakuho thrusts him down. hakuho is perfect after four days. now here is the story of a dream comeback for former ozeki terunofuji. the 28-year-old mongolian has suffered from injuries and illness, but he's battled to earn a fairy tale return to the top division for the first time in more than two years. terunofuji says it was a tough and grueling past couple of years, but he's glad he didn't give up. chiyoshoma gets a double inside grip and tries to attack but terunofuji locks up the arms. he flexes his muscles and forces chiyoshoma back and out. terunofuji has four wins and no losses and is looking good.

and that's it for today. i'll be back next week with an update for the championship race. so, see you then. here's a three-day weather forecast for selected cities. ♪ ♪ ♪

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ on "ceramic treasures" we take you around japan to encounter enchanting pottery. in this episode we look at onta-yaki.

potters in a small village in south western japan have been making vessels like this for generations. hita city in oita prefecture, an abundance of water from the surrounding mountains enriches people's lives and industry. let's take a drive into the mountains, 30 minutes from the center of town. potters here have been making ceramics for around three centuries. this is the home of onta-yaki. one of the main features of onta-yaki is its hand-made method. no machines are used.

and naturally this elegant twirling p pattern is a also crd by h hand. the potters who use these vessels work only around oita. let's look at their special characteristics. the village occupies an area of only 14 hectares. and of the 14 houses in the village, ten are onta-yaki kilns. we visit a kiln with a 150-year history.

the kiln master is this 37-year-o 37-year-old. he takes us to the edge of the village where the clay is dug up. since ancient times, the potters have used soil from the surrounding mountains. . >> the villagers look on the clay as a valuable resource. they ban together to dig it up

twice a year. then they distribute it among the ten kilns. next, kuroki takes us to a shed along the river. >> these karausu or clay pounders crush the clay into fine powder. the river runs through the village center. along it are 15 karausu sheds. about 40 karausu machines operate throughout the year.

to turn the raw material into firm particles takes about one month. the villagers carry the clay to the kiln yard where they dissolve it in water. then they filter it to remove foreign substances such as sand. the process is repeated until the clay is clean. the clay is then dried in the sun for ten days. once the excess moisture has evaporated, it is firm enough to be scooped by hand. it's dried for another ten days until it's more elastic. it takes months to process the

raw soil into clay for onta-yaki. the pottery wheel the manually operated. it's a kick wheel. this sort of wheel demands expert skills to achieve an even shape. >> the villagers also produce white clay. it provides a strong contrast against the base material, which turns blackish when fired.

kuroki has taken the dish and half dried it in the sun for about three days. now it's time to apply the pattern. as he turns the wheel, he uses a special tool. it's called a kanna. it's a thin flat blade. this one is made from the spring of an antique clock. the potter presses the kanna against the dish as it turns. seconds later, these distinctive marks emerge. they called the technique tobi-kanna, or chatter marking. the blade hits the half-dried

surface, which is coated with white clay. it chatters across the surface of the dish, leaving marks. this is the completed piece after curing. it has a rhythmic geometric spiral. the potter adjusts the wheel's speed and the pressure of the kanna, can create many different designs. kuroki shows us another classic technique of onta-yaki. this brush stroke pattern is known as hakeme.

kuroki pats itt d delicately on the surface of the dish. as he's doing this, he turns the wheel at a steady speed. this is a finished hakeme piece. each brush mark appears to cast a gentle shadow as together they radiatee outward. they resemble the petals of a chrysanthemum we asked chim about how modern artists feel about it.

>> a short stroll lets us see how onta-yaki is rooted in village life. another thing we notice on our stroll, there are far more women moving around the village than men. in onta, most tasks, except for making pots, are left to the women. this wheelbarrow is whiled with ababout 20 kilograms of clay. the woman pushing it makes several trips every day.

>> onta-yaki craftsmen never sign their vessels. they inscribe only the characters onta. that's because the people regard onta-yaki as the work of everyone in the village. they share pride in what they see as the onta brand, so no indivividual takes the spotligh. the potters of onta follow

village customs and hand down their skills to the oldest son. among them is a young man named takuma sack mow toe. he's the youngest potter in the village and hopes to pass down the tradition. >> to kuma made this plate. he still has a lot to learn. coji sakamoto is his father and the master of this kiln. since his early days as a potter, koji has enjoyed high acclaim for the detail and beauty of his work.

he now works silently alongside his son. that's how takuma will pick up the craft. in onta, the way of teaching is not to teach. they say young artists must steal their techniques t throu observation.

>> like his son, koji learned by watching his father work. onta limits the numberr of w whs to two for each family. the point of sustainability to, leave enough clay for future generations. those w who have passed on thei skills step aside for the next generation. the potters have followed this way for centuries. with few kilns existing today, this village continues to cherish the customs of creating pottery by hand. for the last years, this small community has come together to build a strong bond.

for as long as the rhythm continues, onta-yaki is sure to be passed on. ♪ >> how is your daily life at home? >> very different than usual. i used to traravel a lotot, and usused to be verery fewew days home. and it would be two months that

i've been here, so it's probably a record for me. ♪ >> we had to stop skating. we also got the news that would the world would be cancel ld. it was mid-marcrch. it was pretty difficult to accept the situation because my skater's most important goal of the season was suddenly gone. and we didn't knonow for how lo it's goingng to be. so, therere was a lot of unknow factors that was putting us in a big question mark situation.

with my athlhles, i i statayed contactt every day.. and also important to keep the contact. even though we are notot togeth, it's i important to stay with se news andnd explain how it t is g here, how it is going there. there was a really nice solidarity and friendship among our g group of skaters. and like i said before, from the start of this situation, we have settled downn this rhythm. so, itit became our usual rhyth for this period. and it was really useful to keep our motivation and to keep our activity. >> and letet's switch, go. 1, 2, 3.. onlyly going to twist, okay? and 2. andd let's go. and come up. and deep squat. relax. and come up and 2.

>> i think the mental and the body is connecting non-stop. so, in orderr to stay healthy mentally, it was really important to stay active anchchor: the u.s. consulate in

toas, u.s. orders china close it over spying accusations. ♪ hello, i am bararbara seserra. this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up -- president trump: we will surge federal law w enforcement toto e city of chicagago. says he president trump is deploying federal agegents to chicago. plus -- >> it is not