♪ thank you for joining us. from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we begin in japan where the front runner to become the next prime minister says the people in the country can likely expect to pay more in consumption tax. suga yososh hid says i it will to be raised as the population

falls. suga made the reremarks in a tv intervieww on thursday. he's one of three candidates vying to be leader of the main ruling democratic party next week. the winner is almost certain to become the next prime minister, with abe shinzo stepping down over heahh issues. suga said japan's aging population is expected to fall, regardless of what efforts are made to reverse the trend. the government raised the consumption tax from 8% to 10% last year to help cover ballooning social security costs. the move took a bite out of household spending in the world's third largest economy. turning to the latest on the race to develop a vaccine for covid-19. the head of british pharmaceuticalal firm astrazene says the company should know whether it's experimental vaccine works by the end o of t year. but he says t that wilill depen how quickly the company can resume trials.

astrazeneca ceo pascal saidd decision. the company announced it was pausing late stage trials of the vaccine after a participant developeped an unexpected illne. the ceoeo said its common foror vaccine trialss to be halted temporarily. he referred to reports that the symptoms are consistent with an inflammation of the spinal cord known as tran verse myelitis. he said it will take time. asastrazeneca has been developi the vaccine with the university of oxford. japan and india have signed an agreement for their defense forces to exchange supplies and logistical support as part of efforts to strengthen security cooperation.

japan's ambassador to india signed the acquisition on wednesday. it allows spies to be shared such as food and fuel. the agreement also applies to rescue operations in case of disasters. ammunition was excluded from the pact, at india's request. japan has signed similar defense logistics agreements with five other countries, including the united states and australia. taiwan says chinese fighter planes entered its air defense identification zone during drills off the coast of the island this week. > military maneuvers s by ch government constitute a serious provocation on taiwan and a grave threat to international

peace and stability. >> taiwan's defense ministry said china's air force and navy held a two-day exercise off the taiwan's south western coast through thursday. the ministry said the chinese fighter jets were flying about 160 kilometers from the taiwanese mainland. chinese military aircraft have often entered the air defense identification zone in the past. the ministry said china's latest drills were intended to put military pressure on taiwan. >> translator: we call on the beijing authorities to order its people's liberation army to exercise restraint. the recent harassment actions have drawn the resentment of the taiwananese people. china should stop being a troublemaker and make contributions instead to regional peace and stability. >> china has made no announcement about the exercises, but it's believed to be stepping up pressure on taiwan.

taiwan has been closely coordinating with the united states amid rising tensions between washington and beijing. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has hinted senior officials in moscow were behind the suspected poisoning of russian opposition leader alexei navalny. pompeo said in a video interview on wednesday, he thinks people all around the world will see this kind of activity for what it is. he added, quote, when they see the effort to poison a dissident, they recognize that there is a substantial chance that this actually came from russia. pompeo noted the united states along with the eu have made clear to russia the u.s. will hold those responsible accountable. navalny is an outspoken critic of russian president vladimir putin. he fell ill on a russian flight last month and was taken to a hospital in berlin. a major german magazine on thursday said navalny appears to be getting better and is able to speak again.

the magazine added he's also able -- he also said he probably remembers the details of what happened before he lost consciousness. last week, german chancellor angela merkel said test results showed the nerve agent novichok was used to poison navalny. the substance was developed during the soviet era. putin has denied his government wawas involved, calling the acaccusation totally baseless. a russssn spokesperson reiterated they will not investigate the case. walt disney is facing a babalash overr its release of oe of the biggest movies of the year. some critics are calling for a boycott of the live action remake of "mulan" becausese the film was partially filmed in a chinese region w wherefficials have been accused of ccking down on ethnic minoriti.. the film premied last week on

disney's streaming service. it fococes on a yngng chinese woman who disguising heelelf as a man so she can take her fath's spot nay war. the movie was supposed to be released in theaters earlier this year but waselayed due to the coronavirus pandem.. in the movie' closing credits, disney thanks a number of governnt organizations. some media report that one of these organizations is a public security bureau blacklisteded b the u.s. govovernment. washington has accused chinese authorities of committing human rights violations against weaker muslims in the autonomous region. it says they're being detained in mass internment camps there. the u.s. government has imposed sanctions on a number of chinese officials and banned u.s. companies from doing business with some chinese organizations. china'a's foreign ministry spokesperson denied the existence of re-education camps on tuesday. >> translator: the vocational education and training centers

in gin zhang are in accordance with the law and actively explore useful methods to prevent terrorism and radicalization. >> an international human rights group and hong kong democratic activist are among those accusing disneney. beijing wiwill host the nex winter olympic games, scheduled in 2022. ski areas in china have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but the government has launched an endeavor to boost winter sports before the next season starts. nhk world reports. >> reporter: there was no need for icy temperatures or plenty of powder at this trade fair in beijing. instead, the winning appeal of winter sports was given the to

sports show cased in the most space in the fair. some exhibiters let people experience winter sports via virtual reality, no freezing required. >> translator: it's my first visit to an event of this kind. the high-tech exhibits are expanding my views on the winter sports industry. pitched a ski and snowboard training simulator, touting the easy transport, setup, and little space required compared to findingng an actual mountain. it means people in southern china can get just as much practice on the slopes as people in areas with more snowfall. snow 51 is banking on the global market for winter sports. in the past 2 1/2 years, it's opened ten clubs in shanghai. the facilities remained closed

for about two months due to the pandemic, but after reopening in april, the number of customers, including trial visitors, has continued to grow by around 30% a month. membership also rose to roughly 3,000 across the ten clubs. >> translator: since the machines can also be used in urban areas, a new winter sports boom is happening among the middle class in southern china. >> toes and down. toes and down. >> reporter: the shanghai location now has a team made up of kids with high potential for athletic careers, coached by international veterans. it's part of a government initiative to nurture future olympic athletes. >> translator: by practicing with the machine, i will be able to do the same things on real snow. the training simulates actual competition on snow-covered mountains. i will work hard to win a spot on the national team.

>> china has a short history of winter sports compared with europe and the u.s., winning its first olympic medal only in 1992. but the government wants to change that, vowing that 300 million people will directly and indirectly take part in the 2022 games. winter is coming, and beijing is determined to be ready. nhk world. ♪ now for world weather, we turn to our meteorologist -- excuse me, our meteorologist

yoko komagata. sorry about that yoko. we start in the u.s. where wild fires are raging in the west. are people seeing relief any time soon? >> no rainfall is expected across western portions of the u.s. for the next several days. conditions resolve a bit as winds calm down. the fire season has yet to begin, however a large portion of california and the rockies are facing more than 100 forest fires. the fires have been spreading into the pacific northwest. fire danger will persist in these areas into friday morning. thick smoke completely blocked sunlight in many areas of california on thursday. a high pressure system will keep smoke in place. smoke from the u.s. fires could spread into the north, leading to poor air quality in places like vancouver and seattle on friday. hazy conditions will appear with a high of 29 degrees on friday.

portland hasasn't had any rainfl for three weeks, but some relief from dry weather will come as we go into the next week. a high pressure storm system from the pacific will produce much-needed rainfall in the north western portion of the u.s. by tuesday. showers will bring improvements. at the same time, flash flooding would be possible. in japan severe thunderstorms are spreading across the western portions of the country. in kochi prefecture, 120 millimeters of rain has fallen in just one hour. a stationary front will continue to bring scattered showers across the country. expect downpours, hail, and even tornados. we also have a tropical depression south of japan. it will likely approach the kanto and tokai regions on saturday producing heavy rainfall. more than 200 millimeters of rain is expected in the kanto region, including tokyo by

sunday morning. we are looking at blue skies in tokyo on friday morning, butut u may see severe thunderstorms in the evening. that's all for now. stay safe. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

this has been nhk "newsline." thank you for watching and hope you'll join us again. ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm shibuya aki. our two stories today take up sports and how some seemingly unrelated activities can make a difference in athletes' lives. we start with hand crafted kimono. but not just niki many kimono.

the traditional agarments you're about to see are contemporary artworks created to honor athletes for the olympic and paralympic games. it comprises over 2 hun00 kii m know from crafts people. unfortunately due to the coronavirus, the games have been postponed. but the garments still carry the olympic spirit. they have been put on display in an online event. we look into how these wearable masterpieces came into being and the response from athletes. . >> reporter: a world united through one of japan's most iconic garments. a stunning collection of 213 kimono, one for each country and territory competing in the next olympics, all of them unveiled

at a special event online. representing the united d state an intricate motif featuring a bald eagle looking down from space. a world famous symbol of liberty and the conquest of space. representing italy, iconic architecture from the renaissae and a glimpse of venice. and vietnam, children in all kinds of traditional clothing, symbols of harmonious multi-ethnic society. the project is this man's brainchild, the owner of a store in south western japan. over the past six years, he and

his team enlisted artisans and sponsors across the country to produce one garment for each olympic team. the last piece, representing japan, was completed. his plan was to unveil the collection in time for the tokyo olympics opening ceremony to honor all the athletes coming to japan. >> translator: i want athletes from all around the world to know that we've thought about each and every country and are people welcoming and encouraging them with all their heart. >> the project brought together krafts people from the most prestigious manufacturers. up and coming contemporary artist received a special assignment. the kimono for the refugee olympic team. she says she wanted to celebrate

the courage it takes to overcome great obstacles and make it on to the world stage. >> translator: i created this ze zion to send out a design where people could live more equally and move towards enlightenment. >> reporter: as the artworks neared completion, the project suffered an unexpected double blow, the pandemic and the postponement of the tokyo olympics. all the special events had to be cancelelled. tackck c takakura a and his team bounced and back. among the athletes looking forward to attending event in japan was this greek cyclist. the pandemic forced the suspension of his training for more than six weeks, and now he

faces uncertain prospect o of t olympics taking place as scheduled next year. >> translator: the most poenment of the olympic social cucurits challenge. we need to practice rigorously the next year sacrificing a lot to achieve our goals. the road to japan will be a hard one. >> reporter: here's the kimono representing greece. it features the parthenon and doves, the symbol of peace, a design celebrating the birth place of ththe olympics. people from around the world atattended the online ceremony. he sent to the organizers a special message of gratitude.

>> translator: it is truly an honor for us to study the culture and manage to predict it so beautifully in this craft. i'm very much looking forward to seeing the kimono in person during the tokyo olympics next year. >> reporter: another athlete looking forward to the event was this man, a top beach volley ball player from japan. nishimura grew up in kyoto, the heart of japan's kimono industry. he was contemplating retirement, as he turned 47 this yorear. but he says the kimono project has convinced him to carry on. nishimura was particularly proud of the kimono for japan. it was created byy one of the tp manufacturers in kyoto.

a large ribbon is adorned with hundreds of flowers representing the countries and territories coming to tokyo for the olympics. >> translator: the kimono conveyed to us such a warm feeling. and i think athletes from around the world probably feel the same. no one knowsws what's going to happen from now on. but this project has been a huge source of inspiration for all of us. to give one more big push. >> translator: we spent so much titime and energy to compete al the kimono, soo i wasas so happo hear comments recognizing our efforts and harard work. it shows how our culture can transcend borders and send a powerful message to the world. >> with the olympics facing an uncertain future, takakura and

his team aim to keep cheering on athletes around the world and hope to welcome them in tokyo next year. nhk world, tokyo. >> many of the kimono carry famous images of each country and territory, such as iconic buildings, national costumes, and other recognizable symbols. but one of the most challenging pieces was the one for athletes with no country to represent, the olympic refugee t team. the young artist behind the olympic refugee kimono is gaining attention around the world for her live performances. here's a closer look at what she designed. it looks white at first glance. but beneath the surface are colorful galaxies, trees firmly rooted in the earth, and a dna

strand depicting life. the kimono describes a universe where all living things have value, as if to say life should be equally enjoyed by all. let's look forward to seeing this kimono and others cheer leading the world's athletes someday soon. we now turn to running. the simplest sport requires only the most basic equipment. but not everyone in the world has shoes. in our next story, we look at a man who's giving a leg up to barefoot athletes. >> reporter: a room filled with running shoes. they have been collected by this man in niigata prefecture. tra

>> translator: i hope to help athletes who are not economicallylessed. these shoes arere waitingng to sent to traanzania. >> reporter: he began collecting athletic trainers to send to people in need. he endured a running carrier representing tanzania at three olympic games and winning several top races. in 1994 he was in japan. that's when he met imai, a town official in charge of the race. the two became friends and have kept in touch. he calleled on his japanese frid to help with t the major proble in tanzania. >> there are athletes in tanzania who are not able to buy

shoes. >> reporter: the athletic women's competition started just three years ago. with a third of the athletes running barefoot. as m many are stilill unable to afford p proper shoes. put out a call to help tanzaniaia's talalented athlete. >> to get the performance. >> imai took to social media in february to help out his good friend. and as a shared passion for age athletics. responses poured in from all over japan. >> translator: we've brought two pairs. they haven't been worn much. >> translator: they're like new, great. >> reporter: soon people around japan had donated around 250 pairs, more than double imai's

target. >> translator: i hope the donated shoes will be really useful and the athletes can grab the chance. i hope they can all get shoes. >> reporter: imai is b bween japan andd tanzania athletes. nhk world. >> and the latest we hear is more than 300 pairs of shoes are ready for the runners of tanzania. in this age of fast fashion, it would be interesting to see how much further such donation drives can go in supporting the dreams of athletes. the kimono and shoe projects are the fruit of many people's

efforts. at a time when the world might look like it's coming apart, activities that connect us across borders are more important than ever. and that's all for today's newsline in depth.

anchor: disparate scenes on the greek island of lesboss after a second fire destroys the remaining tenths in europe's , leavingefugee camp thousands without shelter. ♪ i am lauren taylor. this is al jazeera. a huge fire breaks out in beirut, sending thick, black smoke across the traumatized city. seven dead after a night of rage in colombia. the death of a man repeatedly tasered