welcome to nhk "newsline". i'm gene otani in tokyo. former u.s. vice president joe biden has been officially nominated to be the democratic presidential candidate at his party's national convention. >> thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart. thank you, all. >> delegates from across u.s. ststates andnd territories appe on video for a traditional roll call vote on the second day of the convention. the event is being held mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

biden participated from his home state of delaware and will give his acceptance speech on thursday. democrats also adopted a party platform that promises a fairer economy. on wednesday biden's running mate senator kamala harris is scheduled to speak. she is the first black woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket. crowds of holiday makers at events and leisure facilities in countries such as china and france are debating over the risk of further spreading the coronavirus. people in wuhan crowded into a huge swimming pool without masks for a music event. the city was the scene of the

first coronavirus outbreak. organizers say the crowd was only half the venue's capacity. some criticized them saying they are repeating mistakes despite thousands of deaths. in western france, a history themed amusement park is under fire after nearly 9,000 people gathered there for a shore on saturday. local media report that officials allegedly gave organizers special consideration because it is a friend of emmanunuel macron. the french government banned gatherings over 500 people. a massive blood test indicate a quarter of the city's public school students have been infected withh the virus in the past. the city examined 6,000 students between the ages of 4 and 14 early this month. public schools in sao paulo have been closed since mid-may but

are to resume classes in october. officials say ththey will reconsiderer the schededule. johns s hopkins ununiversity's global tally of cocoronavirus infections statands at more tha 22 million as of 3:00 p.m. on wednesday japan time. more than 780,000 people have died. north korea claims it is one of the few countries without a single case of covid-19, but sweden says issues related to the virus have forced it to temporarily pull its diplomats from the country. the swedish foreign embassy in pyongyang remains open but is being staffed by local employees. the embassy represents the united states and others without ties to the country. they have had strict virus prevention measures including tough border controls. britain and germany have already withdrawn their personnel from

north korea saying the restrictions make it difficult to rotate staff. the virus is resurging in south korea. the prime minister announced restrictions as a precautionary measure. >> translator: if we cannot regain control of the virus now, we will have to raise social distancing rules to the highest level of three. that would have a large impact on our economy and people's livelihoods. >> officials said that 297 new cases were confirmed on tuesday mainly in the seoul metropolitan area. the daily tally has been over 100 for six days running. the largest cluster is traced to a church in the capital. more than 450 infections have been linked to the congregation since last wednesday. under the new measures, churches are being banned from holding in-person services and public facilities such as libraries and museums are closed.

chinese companies have begun showcasing their anti-coronavirus products at a fair in shanghai with an eye on expanding into foreign markets. more than 300 makers of face masks, protective gear, and ore items to combat the coronavirus are taking part in the two-day trade fair that opened on tuesday. the items include breathable protective gear for medical workers, decorated face masks, and disinfectant spraying devices. one product that is drawing the attention of overseas buyers is a machine that can produce 120 masks per minute. >> i want a machine that will do mass production of face masks. >> translator: 80% of orders are from overseas. my firm hopes to take this opportunity to sell high-quality machines around the world. >> many chinese manufacturers are looking outside the country

as the domestic mask market is set to be over-supplied. ♪ zblmpls authorities in mauritius have arrested the captain of a japanese-owned cargo ship that spilled oil into the indian ocean. officials say sa kneel kumar was

arrested along with his deputy on tuesday on suspicion of endangering navigation. the boat ran aground in late july on a reef off the coast of the island nation. mamaritime trafficic data shows ship made a sudden almostt 90 degree tnn to the rightht and slslowed down o off the coast. locall mededia say the crew may have maneuvered the ship close to shore to get a wi-fi signal. meanwhile, a second group of experts from japan has left for mauritius on wednesday to help reduce the environmental impact. the seven-member team includes experts from the national institute for environmental studies and the environment ministry. earlier this month the japanese government sent the first team of experts including members of the coast guard. japanese private companies are assisting efforts to clean up the waters around mauritius. this company in tokyo has developed a special fabric that absorbs susurface oil.

>> translator: the a accident tk placace in a pristine natural environment. it must be difficult for local residentss to have to go throug this. we want to offer our help to them. >> the company says the material will be sent to m mauritius to assist cleanup efforts. new data for july show that japan's imports and exports both remain sluggish due to the coronavirus pandemic. however, exports to china showed growth for the first time in seven months. exports last month fell 19.2%. imports fell 22.3% year on year. stood a at approximately $110 million. exports to the united states were down 19.5% while those too thee european union plungnged b 30.5%. meanwhile, exports to china sa

8.2% growth on metals, semiconductor machinery, and automobiles. while stimulus measures appear to be working in the automotive and other sectors in china, the u.s. and europe are seeing restricted economic activity. they are due to resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks resulting in sluggish trade overall. the cabinet office has now downgraded its overall assessment of machinery orders saying they're on the decline. the cabinet office said on wednesday that core machinery orders fell 7.6% in june from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis. it was the first decline in two months. orders from the non-manufacturing sector were even worse falling by over 10%. the drop was especially bad in the transport and finance sectors. but the manufacturiring sector mamanaged a gain of over 5%..

still the report forecast ordrds will dropgain in the jululy through septemberer period. it's these poor machinery orders down nearly 2% from the previous quarter. president ibrahim boubacar keita in the african nation of mali said late tuesday he will resign. he was being detained by rebel soldiers in a military coup. >> translator: this is my decisision. i'm stepping down from my duties, all my duties, starting now. >> keitata also announced on ste television the dissolution of mali's parliament hours after he and other government officials were detained near the capital, bamako. the turmoil comes amid continuing insurgency by islamic extremists i in northern mali where french forces have been helping the government fight back. however, the fresh political crisis could affect those operations and allow the militants to gain ground.

♪ ♪ ♪

and here's a look at what the weather will be like in your part of the world.

we have a glimpse of summer in a part of northeast japan that's emerging from difficult times. namie town is in fukushima prefecture. this farmland was abandoned after the 2011 nuclear accident forced local people to evacuate. now the 12-hectare site is filled with sunflowers. the evacuation order was lifted three years ago, but not everyone has returned. some of the displaced residents came back temporarily to plant sunflowers this year with seeds provided by a nonprofit organization from fukushima city. >> translator: i'm happy to see them in full bloom. i hope lots of people will get to see them. >> the group is also producing honey y and growining buckwheat the land. and that's the news this hour.

i'm gene otani. for all of us here at nhk "newsline," thanks very much for joining us. welcome to "newsline in-depth." i'm shibuya aki. summer in japan is a time of reflection. it marks the end of world war ii. each year lessons of the conflict become harder to hand down as the number of survivors declines. in our stories today, we look at how young people are finding new ways of sending out messages of hope. this year has special significance as it's the 75th anniversary of the end of the war.

on june 23rd, japan's southern prefecture of okinawa commemorated the victims of one of the bloodst conflicts of world war ii. th battle of okinawa between the u.s.s. military and the now-defunct japese imperial eces of t war sll hangore overkinawa whi shoders out 70 of t u.s. litary faciliti in japa but thi yr t cldren of soldie at one.s. bas eated aessage o peace featurinpaper cres. >> one by one, origami cranes take flight around the world as symbols of peace. bringing people together, the video was made by former pupils at an elementary school located on the u.s. military base in okinawa, japan.

five years ago, the school started teaching its students about the battle of okinawa. these class are taught by who believes it's important to know the history you livive in. her family survived, but many other people hiding in island caves lost their lives. >> but if my family won't survive, i wouldn't be able to be standing here. >> when these two families are fighting against each other in your house, how would that make you feel? >> upset. >> bringing the tragic story to live, shimojo wants the children to put themselelves in t the sh of those caught there.

the school learned of a disturbing event. vandals attacked a memorial from the war. the site honors victims of a mass suicide at one of the caves. seeing the destruction, shimojo put out a call on social media asking for help to make new paper cranes. people around the world responded. shimojo says the incident was an opportunity for her students to listen more closely to the storories of the people of okinawa. >> t the important part of thiss to listen andnd try to ununders the other side of f the people. of w what they're see inging wh they'r're here. >> becausese of the coronavirur the studedents were unabable t visit t war memorialals this ye. shimojo organized an online

visit. and the cranes tookk flightht. she receivedd videoeos not just from her formerr studentss but students in local schools as well. one of those who took part in anna miller from t united states. anna has a japanese mother and an american father. she first learned about the battttle of o okinawa in shimoj class. anna says the class struck a chord in herer and made her sta thinking about her own place in the world. >> it madee me f feel really gratefeful that i'm living in a time where there's not a wororl wawar going onon. and it made me realizeze that im kind of p privileged andnd i neo use my privilege t to speak out against whatat's wrong. >> listening to anna, shimojo realalized the trurue value of clasass. >> i was actualllly tear iing.

uh-huh. so thank you. >> thank you for thinking of me for this projeject. >> i if w we don't teachch the we cannot have a better understatanding of the society our life and move forward to the right future. >> that message off peace and hope w was shared by 111 people around the worlrld. junene 23rdrd, thehe day okikin remembmbers the victctims of th war. nhk world. >> another catastrophe of the war we could never forget is the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. our next story looks at a major artwork about the bombings in danger of being lost. it's now become the focus of a rescue operation.

>> souls roaming like ghosts. flames engulfing victims. the hiroshima panels depicts the devastation of the first atomic bombing 75 years ago. an artist couple maruki iri and toshi saw t devastation with their own ey. theerukis s ent almost three decade completin t series of 15 paintings. in 1967 t they built a gallery next to their homes northwest of tokyo. for half a century, their creation has testified to the atrocities of war. but now it's under threat as the building is getting old.

>> translator: you can see the ceiling right above this painting is leaking and beginning to peel away. >> recent extreme weather is adding to the danger. this is what happens when torrential rain hits. the panels are worn in places. the curator says thehe gallery needs a new home as soon as possible. but how to pay for it? the facility relies only on entry fees and donations. but when the coronavirus pandemic struck, it had to close for two months. the gallery was at a crossroads. >> translator: i thought it was high time we reconsidered how we operate the gallery. which has mainly relied on the number of visitors to get by. >> amid the crisis, the maruki

gallery is looking for a rebirth. the staff was over 50 and they only accepted donations by money orders sent by mail. but a new generation of workers have started to make big changes. one is bilingual. another is a fund raising expert. umiko has been a fan of the marukis since she was a a chili. >> we need to get workingng to t young people involved. maybe the people in overseas involved. that part was, perhaps, a little bit lacking. >> together they've launched an international crowd funding project online. and they are creating a virtual tour of the gallery so that people around the world can get to know the marukis' art. they believe it's important to

spread the message of the hiroshima paintings saying it's just as relevant today. . >> their works are all about feeling the pain of others. so that's the universal message of the marukis that we need to feel the pain of others.. so thahat is universal. >> translator: we want to preserve these works for the future. working hand in hand with people in japan and around the world. >> the history of the small but special gallery continues. with the next generation writing the next chapter. nhk world. >> the crowd funding project is still ongoing with people around the world sending in over $7500 so far.

the gallery plans to launch a virtual tour on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of hiroshima to send a message of peace around the world. and speaking of messages, people couped up for days because of the coronavirus are re-evaluating the importance of keeping in touch. one train station near tokyo has put up an old fashioned black board so that passengers can reach out to each other. this is japan railways higashi kanagawa station. in april a message board appeared on the wall by the ticket gate. i'm set up working from home. i want to go back to the office soon. i hope we get back to normal life quickly. back in the days when everyone didn't have smartphones, people used the message board to put up meeting times for each other to check. now they're using it to share

how they feel as the pandemic drags on. >> translator: i think it's very good. looking at this message board, i can feel the presence of other people. and feel a connection with them. >> this is an office worker who's been working from home. >> after the pandemic began, young staffers at the station suggested reviving the board to allow passengers to share their thoughts and communicate with one another. they felt that handwritten

messages migight seem warm and encouraging. >> translator: t the station's mot fe -- atmosphere was a bit dpresing. we hope the messasage board wil help cheer everyone up. ♪ >> translator: i wrote that i want to see my best friend. i'm lonely. we have so much to talk about. >> now the stationon workersrs to keep the message board up as long as possible to give passengers an extra human touch.

in this time of crisis, sharing our feelings can certainly help keep our spirits up. that's all for this edition of "newsline in-depth." i'm shibuya aki. >> the president of mali forced

to resign. the military arrests the president week after -- weeks after a disisputed election. toitary leaders are going organize new elections. the european union is showing support for protesters in belarus. people have poured into the streets over an election that handed a sixth term to alexander lukashenko. biden is formally nomed