thank you for joining us. from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we start in the u.s. with another grim milestone. johns hopkins university says the country's coronavirus deaths have climbed above 200,000. the united states has been hit worse than any other nation,

sparking intense criticism of president donald trump as the country inches closer to an electition. morere than 6.8 million cases he been confirmed since the pandemic began. it showed signs of decline in august, but recently the tide has changed with fresh outbreaks in several states. about 20,000 flags were planted at the foot of the washington monument tuesday as a way to honor the victims. democrat nancy pelosi, the house speaker, and an outspoken critic of trump, spoke at the event. >> this was preventablele, not l of it, but much of it. and what could be lost in the future is preventable too if we embrace science. >> the white house defended its antivirus measures as appropriate. press secretary kayleigh mcenany pointed to early estimates which suggested 2 million people would die. >> the fact that we have come

nowhere near that number is a testament to this president taking immediate action to shutting down travel from china. >> trump is still promising to have a vaccine by the end of the year, while rejecting a national mask mandate, something his democratic opponent joe biden has promised. now trump took advantage of the un general asemily to once again blame china for the pandemic. leaders of the two countries drew battle lines during the international gathering, which was held mainly online. trump condemned china for failing to condemn the virus and urged his fellow world leaders to hold the country accountable. >> we have waged a fierce battle against the invisisible enemy, e china virus, which has claimed countlesess lives in 188 countrieies. the c chinese government and approximate the world health organization, which i is virtuay controlled by china, falsely

declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. >> chinese president xi jinping used his pre-recorded message to emphasize the need to work together. >> translator: facing the virus, we should enhance solidarity and uphold the leading role of the w.h.o. any attempt to plit advertise the issue or stigmatization must be rejected. >> the country also struck out against the u.s., calling trump's accusations baseless and complete lies. u.s. secretary general antonio gutierrez expresseded deep concern. he called for global solidarity. an organization that helps immunize people in developing nations says 156 countries and territories s have joined a sche to promote the fair distribution of covid-19 vaccines.

gavi says 38 more are expected to participant. gavi, the world healthth organization and other entities jointly launched a scheme known as covax in june. ththe window to apapply closede friday. gavi's ceo, seth berklkley, joid the briefing online. >> as of tododay, 64 higher ince countries including 29 economies operating as team eururope have submitted legally binding commitments to join the covaxax facicility. >apan is one ofhe nationsns funding the scheme. the united states and china have not t joined. the w.h.o. says countries and charity organizations have pledged about $1.4 billionon towards vaccine development, but it says an additional $800 million are needed. the u.s. national football league has levied fines totaling more than $1 milillion after th head coaches of three teams

failed to wear masks during their games on sunday. u.s. media outlets report the seattle seahawks, san francisco 49ers, and denver broncos and their respective head coaches were fined monday for violating rules that require wearing masks. each team was fined $250,000 and each coach, 1 hundred thousand dollar. the nfl introduced the strict mask rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus after its regular season opened on september 10th. during games all coaches and staff members in the bench areas are required to wear masks.

♪ south korea has restated its concerns about japan's plan t t release waste water from the fukushima daiic fukushima daiichi new clear plant site into the ocean. a japanese representative rejected these concerns. a senior official of korea's science ministry sent a video on tutuesday to the general meetin to the international atomic agency in vienna. >> it's no issue of japan itself but one that could have wide impact on the global environment as well as the neighboring countries. >> he said japan has an

overarching obligation to communicate clearlyly with glob society before making a decision. he said south korea needed to be part o of that communicatation. hehe askeded the iaea to play a active role. bubut japan's rerepresentative it's abiding by intnternational law and sharing enough informrmation. >> thehe governmen o oapan has a veven to abide b international law. an sreshatevernformati h in aropriateannerohe inrnatatiolomommuni. >> in february, a japanese panel of experts produced a report saying diluting the waste water and releasing it into the sea was a realistic option. the government plans to make a final decision after hearing from local residents and associations. italians have voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to reduce the number of the country's lawmakers by about a

third. as a result the total number of seats in the next election will be decreased by more than 340. the referendum was held over two days through monday, following parliamentary approval of the change initiated by the ruling five star movement. the interior ministry says with all votes counted, about 70% of people voted in favor of the change, while about 30% opposed. turnout was over 51%. foreign minister lieu i ji de y mayo, the former head of the five stars described the movement as historic. he added without the movement, it would never have happened. the antiestablishment five stars achieved significant gains in the 2018 elections. it criticized existing political parties and pledged to cut the size of government, as the country had been plagued by corruption scandals for many

years. the coronavirirus pandemic y have postponed the tokyo paralympic games, but it hasn't stopped some of the celebrations. on the day the opening ceremony was supposed to take place, paralylympians and mododels participipated in a unique fashn show.. in our next story, we meet a model who took to the catwalk as a way to change her outlook on life. >> reporter: women strut down a runway, proudly displaying what they all have in common, talent, beauty, strength and prosthesis. to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus, the amputee venus show was held without an audience and streamed live online. the photographer planned this event. >> translator: well, i've seen the dynamic appearance of paralympians and athletes with prosthetic legs while shooting, so i was shocked to know there are quite a few people hiding

their prosthesis. were quite a few people hididin >> reporter: this 18-year-old took part in the show. she used to be a child model, but she had to give up her work six years ago after contracting an illness that resulted in having her right leg amputated. since then, she has been hiding her prosthesis. >> translator: i didn't like the fact that i wasn't an ordinary person with a prosthesis, so i hid it. my school uniform was supposed to be about this length, but i had it made longer. >> reporter: four years ago, she had a change of heart. during the closing ceremony of the paralympics, she watched a model with an artificial leg appear on the stage. >> translator: it was really cool to see her walking proudly with prosthesis. i thought it would be okay to show a prosthesis. >> reporter: amane decided to

take part in the amputee venus show. she visited a prosthetist who created a beautiful silver prosthesis for her lower leg. >> translator: how about the length? mostly okay? >> translator: do you think we can walk on the runway with this? >> translator: yes. ♪ >> reporter: on the day of the performance, amane was the first on stage. she appeared confident and cool in a short skirt she couldn't wear when she was in high school. >> translator: i could walk with confidence. i felt like i was reboborn. i think i was able to walk with a smile as a new self. >> reporter: the amputee venus

show doesn't focus on what some might see as missing and instead opens up a whole new world of opportunities for the participants. now let's check our world water with our meteorologist tsietsi monare. tsietsi, in japan we're seeing the tropical storm approaching us in the eastern part of the country. >> yes. >> what are the impacts we're expecting from this? >> yes. well, the impact is most likely going to be the heavy rainfall we expect to come through the coastal parts of the pacific side of japan. that could lead to flooding and swelling of a number of rivers and dams. as you can see from the satellite image, the movement is slightly so forth. it looks like it right turn toward the eastern side and turning of the movement there is because of strong wind sheer coming in on the western side of the storm. it's pushing it further towards the eastern direction. might not have a very big impact along much of the eastern side or the eastern coast of japan. but the storm is quite severe,

as we call it a severe tropical storm, and it's coming in with gusts of over 160 kilometers per hour. so, those could be slightly difficult. i just wanted to show you about -- a little bit about the storm. in terms of looking at the frontal system here, the storm is going to combine with the cold front, and that will lead to a lot of unstable conditions in shthe areas there. possibilities of hail and strong gusts to come in. the rainfall we could see in tokai could leave up to 200 millimeters there. that could be very dangerous which could lead to possibility of flooding of low-lying areas and making commute slightly difficult between wednesday, thursday and friday for most of these highly residential areas. but i wanted to bring you back to just give you focus on the temperatures, so dropping from wednesday to thursday here in tokyo and also other parts of the central japan. about 6 or 7 degegrees lower th

normal. then it will get warmer again my friday at about 30 degrees do. be prepared for the cooling conditions for the next two days or so. then for the united states ar, couple of active storms we're seein see, leading to cig nif can't weather. some heavy showers. temperatures dropping to about 19 for seattle. that's all for the weather. take care. ♪

that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you for watching, and hope you'll join us again. ♪ welcome back to "newsline in depth. today we visit a man who is in a fight for his life. the author of this book, "keep moving." in it, he describes his battle against als. there is no cure for als, which

affects the nerves, eventually stopping the body from functioning. but muto is living his life to the full. we catch up with him to see where he is at with his project. >> reporter: muto masatane on stage in december 2019. muto dejays at music events. he also has created borderless clothing, garments that everyone can wear. and he takes any platform to speak about als, including radio. muto has been embracing the restrictions due to als and is continuing to raise awarereness through his organizatation call with als. now muto cannot vocalize on his own. muscles in his throat had atrophied, requiring an operation in january to prevent choking, and that cost him his natural voice.

muto can now only move his eyes and his fingertips. he communicates by using eye tracking input a and voice synthesis. this artificial voice is based on his original voice. muto needs 24-hour care, and he says that he loses more and more of his abilities with each passing day. >> reporter: muto was diagnosed

with als six years ago when he was 27. he was working at an advertising agency and had just started thinking about marrying yuko, now his wife. here is muto two yearsrs ago flecting o on how he reacted to the diagnosis. >> reporter: he also felt conflicted about accepting help from anyone but his wife, but that approach soon left both muto and yuko exhausted. muto started to realize that he

needed to promote a society where he can ask for help and keep having hope. he decided to work with various experts to develop technologies to make the impossible possible. knowing he would eventually lose the ability to speak and use his hands, they worked to create a system that allows muto to keep communicating with his voice combmbined with anan eye-tracki keyboard. to make this a reality, he recorded himself speaking for days on end. as als progresses, patients lose their ability to control t thei eyes and eyelids. muto wanted to answer this challenge by using his brain, which would remain unaffected, to communicate. he began researching technology to do this, offering himself as

a guinea pig. his research partner is this i.t. technician. using an electroencephalograph to read muto's brain waves, he's been using artificial intelligence to interpret the course as accurately as possible. the team aims to realize a system that is affordable and simple to operate. >> translator: until now, basically large electroencephalographs cost $300,000 or more to read brain waves. since muto joined this project, our aim is to create something that als patients can really get and use easily. >> reporter: in december last t year, muto i introduced the e technology at his event. muto used the system to create rap by reading and interpreting his own brain waves.

first the ai displayed two words frequently used by muto. muto then chooses the word he wants and a brain wave sensor with his selection. the ai system which has learned muto's ideas, uses the chosen word to create lyrics. muto and his team hope to start selling the system to read brain waves by the end of this year. >> translator: it has inspired me to live life to the fullest from now on. >> reporter: muto is working furiously not only for his own sake but also for others who are struggliling with als. in july, a new story left muto in shock. two doctors were arrested on suspicion of killing an als patient.

the female patient was reportedly seeking euthanasia, which is illegal in japan. she had contacted the doctors through social media. >> reporter: that sense of hope is driving muto to take on new challenges. together with his collaborators and family, he's searching for new possibilities in technology, business and music.

>> we have in our studio the clothing muto designed for people with and without disabilities. this jacket is one of his pieces. it uses magnets instead of buttons, and there's a pocket on the sleeve to hold cards so you don't need to pull them out. the profits from the line go to als research for a cure. similar projects for a barrier-free society are going on around us. this small device translates sounds into vibrations and light, as you can see. it's to help the hearing-impaired become more active in their communities. in our next story, we see how the developer is working with

users to make this tool even more useful and fun. >> reporter: this is a man who developed this device. here he is introducing the device to a dance and theater group that include people with disabilities. he believes those who actually use the technology give the best feedback, both positive and negative.. >> translator: making something with the help of peoplple who actually use the product results in something that makes everyone, not just p people wit didisabilities, smile together. i wawa to make t things the wor finds enjoyable. >> reporter: kamimoto eri has had hearing difficulties since birth. the device transforms sound into vibrations. with the assistance, she can successfully sing with other people, perfectly synchronized.

>> reporter: honda started developing the technology seven years ago when he was in college. as he mingled with hearing impaired friends, he wondered if there was an easy way to share the sounds of everyday life with them. honda later joined a large electronics company that agreed to support his project. last year, honda distributed the ontenia to 70% of schools for hearing impaired in japan. but the coronavirus pandemic forced the schools to close. honda learned that the stayay-at-home measures caused e children to suffer physically

and mentally. honda had an ideaea, dancing. by modifying the ontenia to automatically respond to the rhythm of a dance track, children would have a reason to move around. he chose a song, "dancing on the inside." the lyrics encourage people to enjoy emselves during the stay-at-home campaign. he wanted children to be able to count the rhythm easily. seeking help, he turned to emi, a professional hearing impaired dancer. following her advice, he reprogrammed the ontenna, allowing it to vibrate in time with the song's fast and irregular rhythm. time to try it out.

a computer with the ontenna program installed arrives at the home of two hearing-impaired children. it's subtitled so they can understand what the song is saying while dancing. honda connects online so he can watch the children dance. >> translator: u up to now, thinking centered on how to get people with disabilities to do the same things as able bodied people focused on how to minimize their disability. but through technology we can create completely new and different values that will make it irrelevant whether a person has disabilities or not.

>> muto and honda use technology and collaborations n not only t break down the walls between those with and without disabilities but to help all sorts of people have fun together. and that's the dream of a barrier-free and inclusive society.

>> the global fight against the coronavirus is center stage at the united nations general assembly. as the global community calls for unity, the u.s. president blames china for the pandemic. >> we have waged war against an invisible enemy, the china virus. >> you're watching al jazeera. coming up on the program, trump's attack on china came on the same day u.s.'s covid-19 death toll past