how about in your country? do you enjoy viewing the moon? ♪ welcome to o nhk "newslinin" i'm yamamototo miki in tokyo.. people in japapan are taking a moment to pause and remember the victims of a catastrophic event. 75 years ago, an american war plane dropped an atomic bomb on hiroshima. an estimated 140,000 people lost

their lived by the end of the year. while following safety measures in place from the coronavirus, the pandemic has not prevented people from reflecting on the tragedy and praying for world peace. >> translator: when you think out thatt time, it's tragic and cruel. this kind of tragedy should never happen again. >> translator: my parents are survivors. i've come here to tell victims that i'll never forget them even though i haven't been able to do anything to abolish nuclear weapons. >> about 800 people attended the hiroshima peace memorial ceremony, including survivors of the bombing. they're getting older with your average age now over 83. representatives of 80 countries were also there. due to the pandemic, the number of people attending the event were limited to less than 1/10

of the usual. hiroshima mayor placed the victims. it includes the names of survivors who died over the past year. 324,129 people are now commemorated in the monument. the city fell silent at 8:15 a.m., the exact moment when the u.s. bomb struck the city. in his peace declaration, the mayor urged world leaders to work toward a security system that does not rely on nuclear weapons. >> translator: to enhance its role as mediator between the nuclear weapon and non-nuclear weapon states, i ask the japanese government to heed the

appeal of the that it signed and ratified. as the o only nation to suffer nuclear attack, japan must persuade the global public to unite with the spirit of hiroshima. >> nuclear powers like the u.s. and russia do not support the treaty in japan which relies on nuclear protection from the u.s. has not signed it. prime minister abe shinzo has maintained japan will not join the un treaty. he has said the treaty's goal of nuclear abolishment is the same as japan's, but their approaches are different. >> translator: when adhering to the three non-nuclear principles, our nation will serve as a bridge between countries that take different stands and prompt them into

action. by doing so, we will lead efforts by the global community to realize a world without nuclear weapons. >> he said japan will worork to make the next review conference of the nuclear non-proliferatin treaty as significant one. the meeting was due to be held in april but postponed to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. ♪ a local high school choir brought the ceremony to a close with a song calling for peace. in a recentnt nhk survey ov 80% of young u.s. respondents said they want to know more about the u.s. atomic bombing of japan. it also found more believe the abolition of nuclear arms is possible. we look at why opinions on the issue are changing. >> my name is mary, and i'll be your guide today.

>> mary popeo is from the united states. she's lived in hiroshima since 2016 and works as a guide at the atomic bomb site. now she's leading the first ever online tour of the peace memorial museum. >> his uniform was actually burned to his skin, so his mother had to cut it off using scissors. >> reporter: with international travel disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic, the online tour was created by the noble prize winning ngo ican for people around the world. popeo's own views on nuclear weapons changed greatly after she heard first hand accounts from survivors of the atomic bombings. now, she wants to explpln the devastation to visitors. >> the aim of the online tour is to reach young people around the

world. over the past few years, many of them have changed their views on nuclear weapons significantly. in 2015, in a poll by a u.s. think tank, 47% of young americans sasaid they felt the bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki were justified. by contrast, an nhk poll of young americans this year found only 31% of respondents thought the bombings were necessary, while 42% said they were unforgivable. at the same time, more than 70% said they feel nuclear weapons are unnecessary. emily y rubino works witith a n york-basased group for the abolition of nuclear weapons. she says there's growing support for this movement. >> i think thahat it's a time periodod growing up ththat you realize that something is very wrong with our goverernment. >> reporter: under the trump administration, tensions have risen with north korea and iran. rubino says a growing number of

americans like her are alarmed by the huge budget devoted t to developing nuclear arms. >> thahat money insteaead could used for free hehealth care, medidicare for all, tutuition, college tutuition.n. a lot of students in the united states have taken on large debt to go to school. >> reporter: many young people in america seem to feel that countries should not follow policies that assume war is unavoidable and that change is needed. the peace museum's online tour, led by popeo, takes about 30 minutes. >> he was in his front yard riding on his tricycle when the bomb exploded, burning both him and the tricycle. and he dyed later thied later t.

>> reporter: her aim is to drive the message home that those who died in the atomic bomb attack were each individuals whose lives were cut short. today, young americans are among those leading the campaign for peace and working to ensure that the tragedy of hiroshima is never repepeated. japan's midsummer bond holiday when people traditionally visit hometowns and families is starting next week. the government is calling on the public to protect the elderly. >> translator: we ask people to refrain from visiting their hometown. >> the minister in charge of the coronavirus responsee held a nes confnference on wednesday. calalled on people to dining in large groups to take other

anti-infection measures during their hometown visits. meanwhile, a government panel of experts recommended that people stick to online chatting or other means if it is difficult to take proper infection prevent measures. on wednesday, more than 1,350 new coronavirus cases were confirmed nationwide, including 263 in tokyo and 196 in osaka. the government has warned that serious cases are gradually increasing and the number of patients receiving treatment at hospitals is on an upward trend. turning to tuesday's huge explosion in beirut. the lebanese government has declared a state of emergency. it's investigatingng how a chemical compound that can be used to make bombs came to be stored for years, and it's vowed to hold those to blame accountable. the health minister told local media on wednesday the blast killed at least 135 people and

injured 5,000 others. several dozen people are missing. beirut's governor said the explosion caused between $3 billion and $5 billion worth of damage. satellite images show how enormous the blast was. before the catastrophe, warehouses could be seen on the key. afterwards, on rubble remains. announced two-week statate of emergency in beirut. >> translator: we are determined to investigate and reveal what happened as soon as possible and punish those responsible. >> multiple media outlets, including qatar-basased alga ze rah say cargo vessel navigating near the city in september 2013. the materials had been stored in

a hangar at beirut port since then. french president emanuel macron plans to visit t to show his solidarity w with lebanon. author of the european union countries and britain have pledged aid. let's check out the world weather with o our meteorologis tsietsi monare. so, tsietsi, people in south korea have been battered by heavy rain this week. how much rain are we talking about in detail, and what are the risks? >> yeah, there has been quite a lot of rainfall, and the reported amounts go way above 500 mul meters of rain. and that's all due to the typhoon that has passed by which is now no longer a typhoon but just a depression. and it is expected to continue in the northeastern direction closer towards tokai. this is the rainfall.

we start off by the northern part of south korea in the province where we saw almost 691 millimeters of rainfall, very large amount, since about saturday. so, the whole week has been plummeted with heavy rain along those parts. and also in china, starting off, close to 200 millimeters of rainfall in the last 24 hours. and the problem is that over the next couple of days that might spread all the way along the northeastern parts. and that should continue into places such as hokkaido in japan. so, please do take care at all times there as the rainfall could increase and become a little bit more heavier leading to possibility of landslides and also disruptions in the commute and people traveling across much of shanghai going up in towards seoul. but if you're in japan, it's going to be a lot dryer and warmer temperatures are expected in certain parts. tokyo 34 degrees and it could go

on up until saturday as we head into your weekend. we see osaka is expected to be mid-30s. please do take care in this hotter weather coming up for the next few days or so. in australia, there's been unstable weather conditions due to low pressure systems across western and central australia and another one through new zealand leading to gentle breeze along the east coast of australia and heavy rainfall expected in parts of new zealand. please do take care there. the northern islands of new zealand are going to see rainy weather. dry conditions are expected for much of the northeast as well as over the south western parts of the country. soshlgs it's looking a little bit better in those regards. for the united states we're still seeing much of the east coast stretching up north in towards canada where we saw the

isaias in much of the region. that's all for the weather. take care. ♪ ♪

and that's nhk "newsline" for this hour. i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. welcome back to "newsline in depth." i'm yanaka marie. 75 years have past since world war ii. as the people who lived through the horrors of that period age, the preserve to pass on their

stories is more important. making the challenge greater is the spread of coronavirus. today, we look at ways people are confrontinthisis problem. devastated by atomic bombs in 1945. the first struck roshima on augu 6th. d three day later, the second hit nagasaki. hundreds of thousands of people died. both cities have museums dedicated to the tragedy which usually draw people from all over the world. but the coronavirus forced them to temporarily close. and since reopening, visitor numbers have been down. now, the museums are working with the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, or ican, to reach an international audience once again. together they've offered english tours on social media. we've compiled come excerpts for you to see. >> over here, you can see the famous atomic bomb dome.

it was in the fourth bomb, the prefectural industrial hall. due to the atomic bombing, over 6,200 mobibilized students were killed. this set of shirt and pants belonged to a 13-year-old. and agi was at his building demolition site about 600 meter from the hypocenter when the bomb exploded. his body was burned black and he was thrown in the river. >> as you can see, the clock cease to tick at 11:02 a.m., august 9th, 1945. that's when an atomic bomb was dropped here in nagasaki. it was located only 500 meerter away, so it was almost completely destroyed. so, that was only a reproduction. but here in this museum, there

are some artifacts dug out from the ruins. here are some examples. >>he coronavirus is also changing howow war survivor sha their accounts. the battle of okinawa was the bloodiestonflict on janese soil. over 200,000eople di, most themivilians auarter o prefture's popution perhed. one woma who lived through the tragedy is determined not to let the pandemic stop her from spreading her message of peace. >> reporter: this woman was nine years old when it ravaged her homeland. the conflict claimed the lives of her father and brother.

she's spent decades sharing subpoena experiences with younger generations. but this year has been different. from february, the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of her lectures. >> translator: i was very disappointed when i lost the chance to speak. i was really looking forward to it. >> in may, the situation improved. new infections in okinawa dropped to zero and schools reopened. she received a request to address this junior high school. she spepeaks at s school halls, ththis time to avoid crowding, e used the p.a. system. she wasn't able to see the students face to face, but that didn't detract from the power of her message. she talked about the time she and her younger siblings fled

the u.s. attacks by crawling into a cave. >> translator: it was dark inside the cave. there were about 200 people huddled together there, and they were all being very quiet. then the four of us arrived, and my 7-month-old brother was scar scared, so he started to cry. somebody said, make him bequiet! i tried to comfort him, but he wouldn't stop. the more i tried, the more he sobbed. his screams were echoing around the cave. then some people said, you can't stay, get out, leave! it was the voices of people we knew, old ladies and mothers. they u used to o be so kind.

>> she wanted the students to think about how the h horrors o war change people, a lesson made evenen more meaningful as the coronavirus continues to make the future so uncertain. >> translator: her stories help to bring the period in history to life for me.. it made me realize how fortunate we are to have what we have. >> translator: the students give me a lot of positive energy. i feel more determined to healthy. i want the younger enj ratigeneo have a bright future, so there must never another war. >> reporter: as survivors of the world grow older and with the world facing a new threat, the

lessons they have to share are more significant thanver. another survelance vivorf the re who's passg on sries thrgh a pture book. she was orphane in the 1945 u.s. air raids on tokyo which estimated killed 100,000 people. for her and other children who lost their parents, the tragedy was only just beginning, a as i trait illustrated in her book. >> that faithful night of march 10th, the roads were piled with burnt corpses. people had tried to escape the flames by diving head first into tanks of water, but their bodies were burnt to a crisp. i found my uncle, and he told me, your mom and dad have died. > reporter: these are the

memori memories of this 86-year-old. the great tokyo air raid left her an orphahan. after losing her mother and father, she went to live with relativeves. she was 11 at the timeme. >> translator: i was just sad but i had to keep living. i think the people who suffer don'n't is are the power to fen for themselves. >> reporter: hoshino madede it throrough the hard times and we on to live a normal life. but 75 years on, there are still people who experienced the war.

so, she began the work on the picture book to share the story ofof the war with future generations. >> translator: i had to write about our experiences for people to know about the consequences of war. >> reporter: hoshino has collected testimonies from other war orphans. today, she visiting a woman who also lost her parents in the great tokyo air raid. >> translator: only my older brother had survived. after my parents died i had absolutely no idea what to do with my life. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the war, japan suffered from severe food shortages. she remembers being treated as a nuisance even by relatives she was forced to depend on.

>> translator: everyone a at th table asksked for seconds, but when i did it, my grandfather accused me of being a free loader. i was shocked to realize that i was just a parasite to them now that marnts were gone. >> translator: you were so vulnerable, there wasn't anyone to protect you. >> repeporter: inn her book, hoshshino used text andnd illustrations to bring the experiences of war orphans to life. >> one day i had a stomach upset and accidentally wet my bed. my aunt got very angry and dragged me outside on a snowy night to douse mee witith a buc of half-frozen water. all i could do was beg for forgiveness. she said, she wished i had died with my parents. >> we were bundled on to carts

or motor tricycles and taken to orphanages. street children were seen as stray dogs and treated like trash. >> reporter: so far hoshino have turned the experiences of 50 war orphans into illustrated stories. she says she hopes to keep crcreating them for as long as she's able. >> translator: i hope my b book wiwill show people what war reay means. children can live normal, uneventful lives as long as their parents are around. but everything changes if their parents are suddenly torn away from them. that's's what i want people to understand. >> reporter: hoshino book concludes with a poem describes

an ororphan's dream. if i i had magical powers, all d want is a normal life. i wouldn't care if we were poor or live in a tiny room as long as my mother and father were with me. matz mnhk world. >> she hopes her books will reach people who are staying at home during this time. now, hoshino isn't the only person who's used drawings to sill strait the horrors of war. the maruki couple for artists who drew after the bombing. the museum is seeing a decline in visitors amid covid-19, but its staff are eager to get their work out to an audience. they recently held online collaborations with a university and are working on virtual tours

through crowd funding. only about learning about history through first hand and other accounts can we hope to avoid repeating the worst of it. ensuring that the lessons of war are passed on even during these difficult times of social distancing is essential

after the leaving devastating blast. at least 135 people dead, hospitals overwhelmed and hundreds of thousands are left homeless. shock turns to anger. ♪ jazeerare watching al live from london. also coming up on the program, afghanistan health minister says antibody testing suggests a third of the pat