♪ glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. we begin in japan with developments in the coronavirus pandemic. 804 new cases have been confirirmed across the nation o tuesday with figures on the rise again here in the capital along with other prefectures. tokyo remains the country's hot spot with a daily figure of 266.

a growing number of other cities are on alert after reporting new clusters. officials say infections tend to spread faster in nightlife districts. tokyo governor koik co-used co-is calling on people to practice social distancing and take proper hygiene measures. >> translator: business operators and customers must be careful. otherwise, the disease will never stop spreading. >> japan is trying to increase the number of pcr tests that can be conducted nationwide. the number of people being tested daily has risen to about 13,000. over 32,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country. more than 1,000 people have died. the japan meteorological agency is calling on people in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country to be on alert for heavy rain. it says more than 200 millimeters of rain was recorded during a 24-hour period through

tuesday evening in parts of yamagata prefecture in the southern tohoku region. someme areas o of the river are risk of overflowing. more than 50 millimeters is forecast for the tohoku region and niigata prefectures through last tuesday evening. up to 100 millimeters is forecast in the region through wednesday. a mudslide warning has been issued for parts of yamagata, nagano and gee hewitt prefectures. weather officials are urging people to stay on the alert for landslides, overflowing rivers and flooding in over lying areas. our meteorologist jonathan oh joins us with what's happening in the northeastern part of japan. what's the latest? >> we're talking about rain still in the area. we'll still see wet weather as we go through the overnight period and into wednesday, this pattern due to the stationary

front enhanced by a low pressure system moving across the sea of japan has brought high, taupe yus amounts of rain sometimes in a very short period of time. if we show you the radar, you'll notice these spots of pink and orange indicating rainfall rates exceeding 6060 millimemeters pe hour o mo. wewe are seeing that pattern fr akita all the way through ni rm niigataa prefectcturg and i will contue throughgh wednesdaday. we'll say the rain pushi out. landslide risks are a big part of the story. this is the reason why. we had numbers where in a three-hour period anywhere from 96 millimeters of rainfall in yamagata prefecture and up to 110 millimeters in agata frequent. and then the land starts to get

looser. the landslide risks are extremely high and continues to stay in place as long as we have the moisture in the ground. this low pressure system is bringing in all that southerly flow and what that means is a lot of moisture is being put up into the clouds and being dropped across land in a short period of time. we are looking at the possibility of seeing rainfall amounts from 60 to 100 millimeters of rainfall over the next 24 hours. eventually we should see a drier period for the region as we head towards thursday. more coming up in just a few minutes. ♪ the head of the world health organization has called on people to maintain their guard against the coronavirus pandemic as the total number of infections has roughly doubled in the past six weeks. w.h.o. director general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus told

reporters monday that over 640,000 deaths have been reported to the organization. >> and the pandemic continues to accelerate, keep your distance from others, clean your hands. avoid crowded and enclosed areas. >> he said canada, china, germany and south korea have brought large outbreaks under control by strictly adhering to basic preventive measures. the w.h.o.'s top emergency expert michael ryan pointed to some countries where there are relatively fewer infections than others. >> countries like japan and australia have had good success in containing the disease. >> he said their governments deserved praise for the way they're trying to contain the coronavirus. u.s. republicans have announced an additional coronavirus aid plan. the package unveiled on monday includes direct payments of $1,200 to americans. >> we think this is about a

trillion dollars. and we've allocated that in a way that we think makes the most sense for the country at this particular time. >> the plan will retetain the expanded unemployment benefits due to expire at the end of july, but w will scale down the payments frorom the currerent $ per weweek by two-thirds.. the package also incncludes funding for businesses that maintain jobs, schools that resume classes, and researchers trying to develop vaccines. however, democrats have already proposed a $3 trillion package focusing on supporting the unemplployed. the two parties are expected to negotiate to narrow the gap. the u.s. has already spent about $3 trillion for coronavirus relief, raising concerns over a rapid deterioration in federal finances.

♪ north korea marked the 67th anniversary of the korean war armistice with remarks from kim jong un about the defensive effects of its nuclear arsenal. the north's rulingararty

newspaper said kim spoke at a conference of vetens on monday. he said that north korea developed nuclear weapons in order to possess absolute strength in order to stave off another armed conflict. he said the north had guaranteed its future and is now capable of defending itself from any form of military threats from hostile foforces. in 2018 kim agrgreed with u.s. presididt donald d trump in the summit to work told a goal of denuclearization, but talks between the two stalled after the north sought the lifting of sanctions andhe united ststates called it a lacack o of concret actition by pypyongyang.g. the u.n. security council president is asking member stateses to observe sancnctions against nonorth korea. >> to remind cololleagueues how important it is to implement the sanctions regime, taking i into consideration that north korea's continued efforts to build up its nuclear program. >> the council convened on monday after receiving a

document from the u.s. and 42 other countries saying that north korea continues to import more refined petroleum products than allowed under sanctions. the german ambassador to the u.n. and the council's president emphasized that import control must be observed to prevent the products from being converted for military purposes. now to south korea where a newly erected statue could bebecome yet another source of frictionon with japan. it's said to symbolize the japanese leader bowing his head in front of a girl, herself referred to as comfort women. the work titled "eternal atonement" was installed in the korea botanic garden in the northeastern city of pypyeongchang. a press release said the male statue symbolizes abe shinzo, and it was set up in the hope that japan faces up to its past. the head of the garden told nhk on tuesday says it doesn't specifically i'm sbol lies abe

but a person who owes the girl an apology. japan's top government spokesperson commented on the issue on tuesdayay. >> traranslator: thihings like cannot be accepted in teterms o international protocol. if the media reports are true, it will have a severe impact on japan/south korea ties. >> suga added the government will continue to demand that south korea steadily implement a 2015 bilateral agreement that the issue of comfort women has been finally and irreversibly resolved. tensions between the united states and iran may heat up again after iran reportedly moved a mockup of a u.s. aircraft carrier to the straight of who muse likely for target practice. media outlets including the associated press reported it was moved from band har abbas to the strategic shipping channel through which 20% of the world's oil passes. they cited satellite imagery

taken on sunday. the fake carrier is about 200 meters long and 50 meters wide. it carries 16 momockups of fighr jets. there's been no official word from tehran about the development. in 2015 iran conducted a military exercise involving a similar vessel being destroyed by missiles. relations between iran and the u.s. have been strained since washington withdrew from a nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed the punishing economic sanctions. in january iran fired ballistic missiles at u.s.-related facilities in iraq in retaliation for the u.s. killing of an iranian general. next, the tit for tat consulate closures between the united states and china is intensifying the confrontation between the two global heavyweights. the u.s. state department expressed its disappointment at china owes order to close a consulate in chung due. beijing said this was in retaliation for a u.s. order

last week to chose the chinese cons late in houston, texas. the trump administration has accused beijing of stealing u.s. intellectual property through the houston consulate. a state department spokesperson commented on monday the u.s. is disappointed by the communist decision to retaliate in kind oopsz. japan's government is closely following the developments. on monday japan's chief cabinet secretary stressed the importance of stable relations between the u. smt and china. he said international cooperation has become increasingly crucial amid the coronavirus pandemic. a japanese high court has overturned a ruling that found a nurse guilty of professional negligence resulting in death. an elderly woman died on the defendant's watch after eating a doughnut. the 60-year-old spoke of her relief at a press conference.

>> translator: the truth has been proven. i really appreciate your support over such a long time. 6 1/2 years. >> she was charged in 2013 for failing to check what an 85-year-old woman should eat. the district court also ordered herr to pay a fine of about $1900. before the death, the facility switched the patient's snack from solids to jellies. the trial focused on whether the defendant should have checked. on tuesday the presiding judge at the tokyo high court am meld the district court's ruling saying the nurse could not have known about the change. the judge also pointed out the unlikeliness of her knowing doughnuts can be lethal to elderly people. a petition calling for the nurse to be cleared was submitted to the tokyo high court. it was signed by more than 270,000 people who claimed the initial guilty verdict would heap pressure on care workers. as people in japan adjust to

a life during a pandemic, many are turning to pets for comfort. our next report shows a shelter that wants to ensure new owners will be able to take care of their furry friends even after things return to normal. >> reporter: everyone here is hoping to add a new member to the family. after five months of waiting, a local nonprofit organization was able to hold an adoption fair safely. and people hoping to find the perfect pet are grateful. >> translator: i've been waiting a long time for an adoption fair. this one's my favorite. i want to play with him all over my house. >> reporter: the organization taking care of these dogs and cats also has high hopes for the event. >> translator: i'm sure we can find good families to take care of these animals. >> reporter: over the past few months, the nonprofit group turned to social media to find prospective owners. and the strategy was a success.

during japan's state of emergency, the group saw 50% more adoptions than usual. but an emergency call for help raised a red flag. this person lost their job because of the coronavirus and wanted to give up a few pets. in all, kumazaki's group saved ten animals who had clearly been kept in unsanitary conditions. this cat's fur was so matted and tangled, it t needed to bebe sh. >> translator: when i am asked to take in pets bebeuse of theh coronavirus, i realize that for some people it's just a convenient excuse. i can tell that they weren't capable of caring for the pets even before the pandemic. >> reporter: the group hopes to prevent neglect by asking owners to prorovide regular updates.. >> translator: this photo was

sent to us by the owner. it was taken exactly one year after the pet was adopted. >> reporter: every two months, owners send a photo as a way to show the animals are healthy and enjoying their new home. >> translator: dogs can't decide where they want to live or who they want as their owner. we need to carry that responsibility for them. >> reporter: kumazaki hopes the new families created at these events will bring joy to the animals and owners, forging connections that last a lifetime. our meteorologist jonathan oh is back with a look at the world weather. jonathan. >> hello. we continue to see the rainy season impacting not those just in japan, but also across portions of the korean peninsula and the southeastern areas of china. looking at the satellite perspective, you can see the clouds all the way through those regions, and we are going to still see this pattern continuing as we go throughout

the next few days. now, across japan, the reason why we saw particularly heavy rainfall in the tohoku region is over the sea of japan we had the low pressure system bringing in the southerly flow. that increased the stability and led to some of the heavy rain. but we are still seeing some very unstable weather into western japan, also into south korea and then also into the southeastern areas of china which we'll still see thunderstorm activity as we go into wednesday. be on the lookout for that from shanghai to hong kong, we're looking at the wet weather. it doesn't look like we're going to be seeing a break from this any time soon. look at this. on wednesday, 33 for the high in shanghai, 31 in hong kong with thunderstorms. beijing also seeing activity with thunderstorms with a high of 31. wednesday is going to be wet for a good portion of east asia. have the umbrella nearby. speaking of wet weather, across

north america we had this front that was draped all the way from the great lakes down towards the southern plains. we had another low down towards the south and the gulf of mexico that threw some moisture into the front. we will see some more wet activity for the south earn united states, pretty much the eastern seaboard will see more wet weather. up to the north and east, be on the lookout for very unstable weather because we'll be looking at some of this stronger wind activity along with thunderstorms coming up as we go through tuesday. d.c. at 34, thunderstorms. atlanta, 29, looking at temperatures up to 32. denver partly cloudy skies through tuesday. that's a look at your 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. ♪ the latest earnings forecast from nissan motors suggests the coronavirus is making life even harder for the struggling automaker. the firm is projecting a net loss of more than $6 billion in the current fiscal year. company executives say the loss for the april to june quarter reached 285 billion yen or $2.7

billion. they say the full-year net loss is likely to be 670 billion yen or $6.4 billion, about the same as the previous year. they say the plunge in income is due to a decline in new car and auto parts sales as w well as write-downs on leased vehicles, especially in the u.s. nissan isn't the only major japanese manufacturer d dialing down expectations. canon says it posted a quarterly net loss for the first time ever. the company says it was in the red by nearly 9 billion yen during the latest quarter. sales of office equipment and related services declined and revenue from digital cameras was lower. cannon expects a net profit of 43 billion yet for the full year, but that's a 65% drop from a year ago. this is "newsline biz," i'm ramin mellegard. the pandemic has also hit restaurants and retailers especially hard. a major fast food chain as well as a duty-free consumer electronics company say they're closing outlets.

yoshinoya holdings says up to 150 restaurants will close by the end of march. the company is best known for its rice bowls topped with sliced beefment it operates 3,300 stores in japan and abroad. it says the pandemic has zapped earningsgs. meanwhile, the operator of laox duty-free stores says it's closing half of its 24 outlets. the decision comes after a sharp drop in foreign tourists. a group of japanese lawmakakers is looking to p pce restrictions on chinese-made apps because of concerns about security. they say they're worried user data could end up in the handsd of the chinese government. the lawmakers from the ruling liberal democratic party say they'll urge japan's government to t take l legislative steps t limit the use of video-sharing app tiktok and others. they plan to submit plans to the

government as early as september. the group's leader says they need to take measures to prevent personal information fromm leaking in ways they don't expe. last month india banned tiktok and other chinese apps over privacy concerns. earlier this month secretary of state mike pompeo says the u.s. is considering doing the say. japan is planning to set up a reservation system to get coronavirus testings before they go abboud. this comes as the company prepares to boosed international business travel mainly with other parts of asia. the government is in talks with 16 countries and territories about allowing business travelers to come and go. chi china, thailand and vietnam are all on the list. but many places require certificates of negative pcr test results. that's instead of keeping visitors inn quarantine for extended periods. the japanese government aims to set up the reservation system in

late september. business people should be able to get pcr tests quickly at nearby hospitals. the industry ministry says at the moment only a few hundred people can be tested a day before going abroad on business. pcr tetesting, therefore, needso be significantly expanded.. as many medical institutions as possible will be registered in the new system, testing facilities may also be set u upt airprports. the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter companies arouound the world, but two chinese tech giaias h have seen saleles grow morore than 20%. one of them is tencurrent, china's largest social media company. the other is alibaba which runs the online shopping mall. they're finding way to survive the pandemic and contribute to the fight against the virus.

>> reporter: these women are marketing japanese products to chinese consumers through smart phones. it's called livee commerce and it's been gaining popularity during thehe pandndemic. it's more interactive t than tv shopping. users comment and hosts respond in realtime while demonstrating products. >> this hair dye lasts just one day. i've tried it here and here. >> reporter: by marketing to people staying at home during the lockdown, the company saw sales skyrocket. >> translalator: we had brisk sales today soaring 20-fold during a live stream show. >> reporter: tencurrent is the driving force. it has developed a system so that 1.2 billion users of its we chat social media platform can easily sell online. live commerce has helped online sales jump more than tenfold in

the past six months. >> translator: with 5g technology live commerce will become the norm, both for shopping and for businesess management. >> reporter: alibaba builtlt a cutting e edge facility in the eastern city of hang joy. researchers developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to analyze ct scans of lungs.s. the project leader says the system can detect early signs of covid-19 that even pcr tests might miss. >> translator: this ground glass opacity is one sign of covid-19. >> reporter: researchers collected 5,000 ct scans from facilities in coronavirus hot spots and fed them into the system. using this data, the ai learned to spot early signs of infection including ground glass opacities. now when it's shown an image, it can make a diagnosis in just ten seconds. the system is already being used at over 500 hospitals in china and abroad.

thee group says its accuracy is over 95%. >> translator:r: the coronaviru crisis was a good opportunity for us demonstrate our technical capability. we intend to stay on the cutting edge of development to fulfill unmet neneeds. >> reporter: chinese i.t. giants are creating opportunities to grow in this crisis. >> okay. let's get a check on the markets. ♪

annette: hello, and welcome back to the "france 24" newsroom.m. i am annette young. we begin in berlin, where agencies e express concern over rising virus numbers in the country. this as authorities issued a travel warning for northern parts of spain. germany, having fared better than many of its european neighbors in suppressing covid-19, but authorities are urging its citizizens to not squander the progress, following a spike in numbers in recent weeks.s. right to