hello and welcome to nhk use noo u "newsline." i'm raja pradhan. the number of coronavirus races remains relatively high. as the virus continues to spread, the government is forging ahead with itsts plan t boost the economy. >> translator: i think it's necessary to strike a balance of social and economic activities, while taking effective measures to prevent infection. >> one of the government initiatives to boost business is the go-to travel campaign.

it picked off last week and promotes domestic travel by offering discoununts on transpo and accomommodation. > translator: we're taking sufficient measures and hope everyone will come. >> many worry the campaign could fan the spread of the virus. tokyo has been the country's coronavirus hot spot and was excluded from the travel campaign. the capital recorded 131 new infections on monday, with the daily figure exceeding 200 the past six days. over the weekend, several prefectures reported record numbers. in total, there have been nearly 32,000 confirmed infections across the country. over 1,000 people have died. infectious disease experts are calling on japan's professional baseball and soccer leagues to review their coronavirus policies. it comes after two players and one staff member from a a nagoya-based team tested

positive before a match on sunday, causing it to be canceled. a joint task force h held an onlinene meeting onn monday.. clubub officials explained they didd not have enough time befor the match to establish who had been in close contact with those who were infected. disesease experts urge sports officials to find a way to enable any infected team to conduct comprehensive testing before its next game. j league officials will use the advice. they plan to cap the spectators at each game to 5,000, just like pro baseball. the postponed tokyo olympics are less than a year away, but many questions are unanswered. athletes are struggling to train during the pandemic, and japan is making sure it can still safely host the games. we spoke with international olympic committee presidentnt thomas babach to find out how t latest plans are taking shape.

>> reporter: japan's new national stadium would have been packed with fans this week. instead, it stands empty. but olympic organizers remain optimistic it will see the world's greatest athletes this time next year. >> we are fully committed to celebrate the olympic games, tokyo 2020, next year in july and august, all together with the japanese people. >> reporter: bach says ensuring the safety of athletes and spectators is the top priority for all involved. but it'sard to knonow how best to do that. >> we're doing great with education and with great commitmement, all following the same principle from the very beginning, that we want to organize olympic games only in a

safe environment f for all peop involved. >> reporter: many countries have already expressed concerns. nhk sent surveys to 239 national olympic committees and international sports federations. 22 responded. nearly 70% want the games canceled. most of the others say it should be further postponed. the olympic committee says the pandemic has made it very difficult for athletes to train. this committee said, this many international voters remain closed, it's worried about qualifying events. in areas dealing with massive outbreaks, athletes have nowhere to train. brazil's rising coronavirus infections and mounting death toll are the second highest in the world.

now, its top athletes are being sent to europe. >> t translator: b brazil is not a safe e environment foror athl. we have a world champion in open water swimming, but we can't bring the ocean to her. >> reporter: organizers hope to welcome spectators along with competitors. but have no way of knowing what will be possible. even cancellation is on the tablble. >> one day we'll have to decide. but when t this day y comes wil depend on the circumstances. and as i i said befofore, nobod this world knows about the circumstances one year from now. >> reporter: but bach and the many people repairing for the olympics in japan still have hope that next year's games will be a chance to show humanity's triumph over the coronavirus.

nhk world, tokyo. >> north korea is calling for unconditional adherence to quarantine measures of the coronavirus after a report that a defector who returned from the south may have been infected. pyongyang sealed off the city near the border with south korea. its state-run media says the defector had illegally entered on july 19th. the ruling party newspaper in the north described this as a dangerous development, and suggested this could have led to the coronavirus entering the country. but it did not mention whether the person tested positive. the editorial said anyone who doesn't obey antivirus instructions will be strictly dealt with. south korea's military says that a bag, suspected to belong to the alleged defector, was found on an island near the north. the country's news agency quoted police as saying the person is a man in his 20s, who swam across the border three years ago. it says he was investigated by

police last month for assaulting a female acquaintance, and is believed to have taken to the water again, this time, to return to the north. the annual muslim pilgrimage, known as the hajj, is about to get u under way in saudi arabia. only a number of worshippers will be allowed to perform the ritual due to the coronavirus. the first bus carrying pilgrims arrived saturday. each had their temperatures checked at hotel entrances. in normal years, 2 million pilgrims from around the globe descend on the holy cityy a and surrounding sites. this year's hajj lasts through early august, and it has officials on high alert, ass daily coronavirus cases across the country has exceeded more than 2,000.

internationally renonowned japanese fashion designer yamamototo kansai has died f fr leleukemia. yamamoto was known for his style, dressing some of the most iconic celebrities, including musician david bowie. yamamoto passed awayay last

tuesday in tyoyo, whe hehe h been receingng trementnt sce earlier isis yea yayamato worord for other signers beforebecong the fifirst paneneseo hold aashionon show in london. he was 27 at the time. he won acclaim for his novel designs and bold, dynamic shows, inspired by the traditional japanese performing art of kabuki. yamamomoto kansai was 76. an icon of hollywood's golden age, olivia de havilland has died at the age of 104. the academy-awarard winningng actress was born in tokyo in 1916 to british parents, and soon moved to california. she started her career in the theater at a young age. de havilland appeared in the movie "gone with the wind" in 1939, playing the role of melanie hahamilton, whoho marri ththe f first love of main charr

sh charlotte -- scarlet o'hara. nominated for best supporting actress. she went on to win two best actress oscars for "to each his own" and "the heiress." media reports she died of natural causes at her home in paris on sunday. she is survived by her daughter. the chinese government has announced the u.s. consulate general in the inland city of chengdu is closed. beijing ordered the closure on friday, in retaliation for a similar move by washington. as the face-off between the two global powerhouses continues, state-run china central television says the u.s. national flag at the consulate was lowered monday morning. buses and trucks were seen driving in and out of the premises on sunday.

the plaque at the entrance has also been removed. china's foreign ministry said the government ordered the u.s. consulate to be closed within 72 hours, which is the same deadline given by the united states. last week, the u.s. government ordered the closure of the chinese consulate in houston, citing the need to protect american intellectual property and private information. the u.s. and china have been at odds over the coronavirus and the security situation in hong kong. consulate closures may escalate tensions between the world's two largest economies. australia has rejected china's claims of vast terririty inin the south china sea. it sent a note to the united nations, saying the claims are not consistent with international law. the note was dated july 23rd. it says there's no legal basis for china's claim s in the area based on drawing straight lines connecting maritime features and

so-called island groups. it says australia rejejects any claims to internal watersrs, territorial l seas, or exclusiv econonomic zonones baseded on s lines. australia calls for all concerned partieses to clarify their clclaims and peacecefully resolve the issue under international law. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo issued a statement this month, saying, china's claims to offshore resources across much of the south china sea are completely unlawful. shifting now to hong kong, where some pro-democracy candidates hoping to run in the upcoming legislative council election are being asked to clarify their political positions. the move is raising speculation how candidates answer could determine whether they'll appear on the ballot. local media report that at least 1111 candidates, including prominent activist joshua wong, received a letter from electoral authorities. in it, candidates were asked a series of questions, including whether they would veto

government budget bills, request foreign governments to pressure china, or seek hong kong's independence. wong wrote on twitter that the letters have long been considered a way to disqualify candidates since electoral officers have huge powers to bar candidates from running. the hong kong government recently said the pro-democracy camp could be in violation of the new national security law that came into effect last month. and on sunday, the government said a candidate's ability to stand will be made in accordance with relevant laws and information. voters head to the polls september 6th. in other news, russian president vladimir putin has vowed to arm the navy with missiles that travel many times faster than sounund. putin m made thehe commements s at an annual naval day parade in st. petersburg. on the same day, the defense ministry said it test l launchea hypersononic cruruise missile t can be fired from shipips.

hypersonic weapons can travel at least five times the speed of sound. observers say t they could penetrate u u.s. missile defens networks. moscow says putin and u.s. president donald trump discussed arms control in a telephone call on thursday. a nuclear reduction treaty signed by the countries is due to expire next year. russia appears e eager t to avo full-scale arms race that would cost a lot of money. it apparently wants to keep the united states in check by building up parts of its military, while simultaneously negotiating nuclear disarmament. japanese two-way baseball star ohtani has made a disappointing return to the pitcher's mound. he was replaced in the first inning without getting any batters out. ohtani was the starter for the los angeles angels in sunday's game against the oakland athletics.

it was his first game as a pitcher since september 2018. he under way surgery on his right elbow in october that year. the first batter he faced hammered a fastball into center field for a single. ohtani walked the second and third batters. with the bases loaded, he walked the clean-up batter, giving up a run. the fifth batter got a two-run single. and the sixth b brought home another runner. ohtani was the losing pitcher with five earned runs. the angels lost to the athletics, 4-4-6. moving now to a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan ohhnathan oh. people in tokyo have seen rain on and off throughout the weekend and rain is scattered throughout the weekend. how is the weather into tuesday? >> we'll be dealing with rain for a good portion of japan, as

we go throughout tuesday. and in tokyo, probably for the rest of this week. so you're going to want to have the umbrella nearby. it's kind of a pesky pattern to continue to see all that rain nearby, as the rainy season front is kind of draped across the sea of japan and across portions of the tohoku region. this is going to be the reason why we seecoming up for tuesday. western areas of japan can be dealing with the rain. in terms of heavier amounts though, tohoku region and up to the north is where we'll see most of the intense rainfall. you need to be on the lookout for that. tokyo, have umbrellas nearby, not just for tuesday but also wednesday and thursday. you can see some of the heavier rain bands from sendai, points around there, even into portions through the north and west, as well. look at the forecast. tokyo made it up to a little above 30 degrees on monday. 29 for the high on tuesday. 24 for wednesday. we're taking a roller coaster

ride in terms of temperatures. highs in the low 30s for osaka and fukuoka, with showers tuesday. clouds give way to sunshine on thursday. it'll be on the drier side by the end of the week. we are looking at the rain to not only impact a good portion of japan, but also into china, as well, especially to the eastern side of the country, as we see that front nearby. low pressure system also triggering some of the storms, as well. thunderstorms, beijing, shanghai, hong kong looking at wet weather. tokyo looking at some rain cocoming up on tuesday. meanwhile, we are keeping an eye on douglas, which is coming ever so uncomfortably close to hawaii. the storm is expected to continue to move out towards open waters as we go throughout the next 24 hours, but the surf is going to be quite rough. we'll still see instability in the area. that's going to bring some showers into places like honolulu and points eastward.

it'll be on the wet side. surf, especially for the north and west, particularly rough as we go through monday. we do have a cold front moving through the central portions of the united states. this will bring some thunderstorms as we go through monday. the remnants, or eventually the remnants of hanna, will continue to batter the northern areas of mexico, bringing a decent amount of rainfall throughout the day. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪

that concludes this edition of nhk use nooin. coming up is ""newsline biz"

with ramin mellegard. do stay with us. ♪ japanese auto maker mitsubishi is projecting a loss. the company reported a net loss of 176 billion yen for april/june quarter. for the full year, it expects a loss off 360 billion yen, or $34 bibillion. asas part o restruructuring ste executives say they'll stop production at its general

manufacturing by june next year, then close it. the plant assembles the suv and other vehicles for export, accounting for 10% of mitsubishi's domestic output. they want to retain the work force. mitsubishi freezed the introduction of new models for the european market. they'll focusregion, which is s expected to grow. this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. trading began monday on a derivatives exchange in osaka, western japan.n. the aim is to attract investments from around the world with one-stop trading platform for financial and commodities futures. the nearly integrated exchange handles contracts for precious metals like gold and silver, and foreign products such as corn transfers from tokyo. they'll be able to trade the ososaka financials f futures instrumentnts linked to the

average. regulations had hampered the derivatives products under one roof. investors can now trade them with a single account. in japan trade and commonties, futures has shrunk since 2005. it's grown five-fold globally, led by u.s. and other markets. chains ss across japan doub after restrictions related to coronavirus were lifted. the food association says revenue was 22% lower than the same month last year. that's the fourth consecutive month on a year on year drop, but the margin was less than april and may when the emergency declaration was in place. sales slumped by 60% as people refrained from socializing in large groups. social officials say some members fear july has been another tough month, as the number of infections is heading

upwards. meanwhile, restaurants in the united states are having an even tougher time. u.s. social networking site yelp reports that 6060% of the restaurants on its platform that closed temporarily due to the coronavirus pandedemic have g g out of busisiness. the operator of yelp says more than 15,000 restaurants in the country that closed temporarily since march had shut down for good as of july 10th. many restaurants tried unsuccessfully to adapt to take-out and delivery services. yelp allows users to post reviews of restaurants and other businesses. data on capital investment by japanese companies for the january to march period has been revised down, after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic became clearer. investments in plant and equipment was up 0.1% year on year, down from a preliminary reading of 4.3% growth.

spending on non-manufacturers had a 6.2%. the change was mainly due to automakers refraining from investing in production facilities. corporate sales for the january to march quarter fell 7.5% year on year, a steeper decline than the 3.5% contraction in preliminary data. the survey targeted roughly 30,000 firms with capital equivalence to at least $94,000. companies in japan are taking measures to prevent coronavirus infections among staff. some are relying on new equipment and technology to make their offices safer. others focus on remote working. the key challenge is how to maintain productivity. nhk world reports. >> repororter: this is an n off furniture manufacturer.

customers are asking for help. >> translator: everyone asks about droplet infection. >> reporter: ensusuring worker safety has become a top priority during the pandemic. the furniture supplier is responding with panels to stop droplets and automatic doors so no one has to touch doorknobs. smart cards also. they track worker movements in case an infection occurs. telecommuting is another way to keep workers safe. but how to maintain productivity? this woman works at a major food maker. she's free to choose when to work at home and when to go to the office. for teleworkrk, she likes to

handle individual assignments and routine meetings. other tasks are better suited to the office. she says that it's essential for brainstorming ideas and picking up tips from colleagues. her company began testing new work styles well before the pandemic. with the focus on productivity. staff are encouraged to interact across departments. that still happens, but now they pay attention to social distancing. the company also set up meeting spaces for smaller groups. meetings are kept short and on point. participants set a clear goal in advance, and everyone studies background materials before they come. >> translalator: previously,oro than half the meeteting was fof explanation. now more time is spent discussing ideas.

>> reporter: this effort has paid off. profit per man hour has risen 10% over the past three years. >> translator: i think it's enhanced by different places to work, and this work style innovation will accelerate from now on. >> reporter: whatever path is taken in the pandemic response, productivity has to be part of the solulution. nhk world. okay. let's get a check on the markets. ♪

and that's it for "newsline biz." from our tokyo studios, i'm ramin mellegarard. thk k you very mucuch for joini us.

♪ ♪ >> a number of european countries witness a surge in covid-19 cases while spain and france are facing new outbreaks. the sudden move by the yuka government -- by the government to put in quarantine british tourists returning from spain. ,