♪ hello and thank you for joining us on this edidition of nhk news land. i'm raja pradhan with the latest from tokyo. we start with the developing story from hong kong where p pro-democracy activist joshua wong has been arrested for allegedly participating in an unauthorized assembly nearly a year ago. police say they arrested 23-year-old wong and another activist on thursday for illegal assembly inn october lastt year. wong has been on baill for othe

charges erertaking parart in rallies. he says he was arrested when he wass repeporting to the central police ststation. he later left t the station and spokee to journalists. >> no matter what happens i will still continue to resist and hopefulllly let the worldld know hong kong hasas chosese notot t surrender. >> wong tweeted he's also accused of violating an anti mask regulations during protests put in place to help identifyy protesters suspected of committing crimes. wong was a student leader during the 2014 umbrella movement pro-democracy movement seeking universal suffrage. next monday will mark six years since the movement. they've arrested activists since the new national security law for the territory took effect in late june. south korea says north korean troops shot and killed a south korean fisheries official who had gone missing earlier this week. the man's body was burned. seoul has severely condemned the

act. >> translator: it cannot be justified for any reason that north korea fatally shot and damaged the body of a south korean citizen who was neither armed or resisted. >> the south korean government is demanding north korea provide an explanation and punish those responsible. the victim in his 40s was an employee of the ministry of oceans and fisheries. it sayays the man went missingn monday while on duty on board a patrol vessel in the yellow sea near i don't think upon island which is close to north korea. the south korean military says it's investigating the case including how the man went missing. officials say the man was wearing a life jacket and riding on a floating substance. he appeared to be defecting to the north. south korean officials say north korea's tough stance on preventing the entry of the coronavirus into the country is behind the incident.

turning now to a push to move beyond a diplomatic stalemate between japan and south korea. their leaders spoke over the phone on thursday on the first call since japanese prime minister suga yoshihide took office. the talks were organized at seoul's proposal. after speaking with president moon jae-in for 20 minutes, suga met with reporters to share key details. he says he urged moon to take appropriate steps to resolve an outststanding historical issue. >> translator: starting with a wartime lalabor isissue, i told president moon that we must not ignore thehe very difficult t situation between our two countries. >> relations cooleled after sou korea's top court ruled that japanese companies should pay koreans who say they were forced to work during world war ii. the japanese government maintains the issue of

compensation was settled more than half a century ago. trade friction has also threatened the bilateralal relalationship sparked by japan decision last year to tighten export controls of high-tech materials. suga says things cannot be left as they are considering pressing regional issues that require cooperation, including bringing back japanese abductees taken by north korea in the 1970s and '80s. suga said he told moon the issue is one of the top priorities for japan and moon supported his stance. they agreed on the importance of the alliance between the two countries as w well as the role the united states plays as a third party. progress was also made on the coronavirus front. the leaders agreed to step up negotiations of lifting travel restrictions with the hopes of making business and other trips easier. suga has also been on the phone with united nations secretary general antonio guterres.

he said his country would push to contribute more on the fight against coronavirus. suga said multi lateralism is very important for japan when it comes to international relations. he added that he wants to work closely with the u.n. to maintain a free and open indo-pacific and to make sure the region is governed by the rule of law. the two leaders also agreed to cooperate on a wide range of areas including climate change, denuclearizing north korea, and resolving the issue of japanese nationals abducted by the north. experts monitoring the coronavirus situation in japan say the pace of de klein in the number of newlyly infected peop is slowing. they're calling on people to stay on alert as social and economic activities increase.. japan's new health minister met the expert panel on thursday to hear their advice. >> translator: measures against covid-19 continue to be the top priority in the suga government. we want to learn from your free

and frank discussions. >> the panel noted the average number of healthy people infected by one virus carrier was below one in many areas in late july, but when it comes to the reproduction rate for the entire nation, that number is approaching one due to the rise of new infections since late august in tokyo and other city area. 195 new cases were confirmed here in tokyo on thursday. experts say the average daily number of cases for the past seven days has fallen to 145 after rising to 181 the previous week. but they say fewer virus tests were conducted during a four-day holiday through tuesday. >> translator: as people increase their activities and face higher risks, the number of new infections could rise again leading to a rapid spread. >> with the capital to possibly be included in the go-to travel

incentive campaign starting october 1st, experts are pointing out more movement will likely require taking more precautions in the fight against the virus. more than 81,000 coronavirus cases have been reported across japan with over 1,500 deaths. now to france where officials are tightening virus measures after reporting more than 13,000 new daily infections. the new measures include the closure of bars and restaurants in some areas, and will go into effect this weekend, depending on location. on wednesday, france's health minister unveiled a map of coronavirus danger zones across the country at a news conference. he said memeasures will be undertaken locally according to the alert level. marseilles is one of two areas put on the maximum alert level, bars and restaurants will be closed. the second biggest city of

france has been one of the hardest hit and will see other facilities like cinemas and theaters ordered to close unless they take strict preventative measures. eleven cities including paris and bordeaux are at the second highest level. bars and restaurants in these cities must close at 10:00 p.m. and gatherings are limited to ten people. data from johns hopkins university show more than 38.1 million cases of covid-19 have been reported worldwide. the global death toll is approaching 1 million people. in the united states, the head of the food and drug administration says any decisions to approve vaccines will be guided by science. fda commissioner stephen hahn spoke in a senate hearing. he stressed the importance of data from final stage clinical trials. >> fda will not authorize or approve any covid-19 vaccine before it has met the agency's rigorous expectations for safety and effectiveness. >> hahn said fda officials will be guided by science and will not allow pressure from anyone

to change that. also speaking was the director of the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention, robert redfield. he says he expects about 700 million doses of vaccines to be available by late march or april.l. u.s. president donald trump has repeatedly said vaccines will be ready as early as october. some experts are concerned the administration may be pressuring health authorities to approve a vaccine before the presidential election in november. ♪ an australian think tank says it's identified more than 380 chinese internment camps used to detain uyghurs and other muslim authorities in xinjiang. it says more than a dozen are under construction.

the australian policy institute released the report on thursday based on satellite images and survive or accounts. china has faced strong criticism for detaining more than 1 million peoplple in xinjianang e 201717. the government sayays they're i reeducatioion programss needed counterterrorism. the agency says 61 have been constructed since july last year. it says location in t t silk road city of cash gar opened in january a and is surrounded by 14-meter high wall and watch towers. last year a senior officiall in xinjiang said most people held in facilities had returned to society. tensions between china and the united states continue to sisimilar her at the u.n. genen assembly. china a 57 peered to criticize s. policyy during a private video conference wednesday with u.n. s secretary guterres.

xi jinping acknowledged the u . u.n.'s policy. xi said permanent members of the susupreme ururt councilil shoul ay an exemplarily role. he added seeeekingnk unilaterar lichl will bee rejected guterre reportedly expressed gratitude for china's support for the u.. and knowed a willingness to contin sengtheni cooperatio xi's's cments came ds after trump called for c china to be held accountable for the coronavirus during a speech at the summit. the annual event is taking place largely online this year. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has warned d local governmement officials to o be the lert against chinese influence and espionage. >> the beauty of our federal system is we don't have to.

youu all can take up this mantl. protecting american interest requires vigilance, vigilance that starts with you and all state legislators recordless of party. >> pompeo referred to an email allegedly sent byby the chinese consulate inn chicago in febrbruary. the m message called o on the wisconsin state government to pass a resolution praising chinina's response to the coronavirus. pompeo said i it was parart of wide ranging public relations campaign by beijing. some observers say president trump and pompeo are stepping up pressure on beijing in the run-up to the november elections. next, the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the environment as well as on public health. the up thooet tick in takeout and food delivery services is creating a mountain of trash. as you'll see in our next report, some countries in asia are trying to come up with solutions. >> in china, the waste is piling up and one environmental group

is raising the alarm particularly when it comes to food deliveries. it says on average three containers are used per order, and just one delivery app reportedly received more than 40 million orders last month. south korea is experiencing a similar problem. >> translator: the pandemic is leading more people to use food delivery services. >> officials there are starting to take action. they plan to send thousands of workers to garbage depots to ensure residents are recycling everything they can. plastic waste isn't the only issue. personal protective equipment is also adding to the problem. in thailand, authorities have set up garbage cans where people can dispose ofof their u used f masks. >> translator: this is a good way to reduce the risk of infection for people who use masks and for those who are collecting their trash.

>> in japan, one waste management expert says that plastic waste from containers and packaging is up as mucuch a 1616%. >> the first goal is to reduce plastic waste and substitute it with other materials that are environmentally friendly and make the switch to such products. >> some japanese cities have started to reduce the use of plastic containers. one in the country's southwest is asking restaurants to pack food in the containers that customers bring. the city is also providing restaurants with reusable containers as another option. >> we would need extra money to prepare these containers on our own. even though they may not be returned. so this is very helpful.

>> but the professor says the scale of the problem means it can't be solved by consumers and small businesses alone. the companies making the package also needed to do much more to address the growing environmental toll as the pandemic continues. ♪

residents of tokyo and many parts of japan went through a day of scattered showers with quite a drop in the merkley. jonathan, will this be the trend heading into friday. >> it looks like we'll be dealing with a bit of a cool pattern with wet weather as we go through friday and the temperatures should start to rebound in many places across japan as we head into the weekend. we were keeping an eye on what was dolphin. now it's just a low pressure system. it's still hanging off the coast of japan. we have another low that is back toward the western portion of the country. that's going to continue to bring wet weather for the western and central portions of japan as we head into friday, and these two systems are not moving very quickly. it's going to take their time as they continue to move toward the east. so we're talking about some rain

that's going to be the story for friday and areas to the east and north on saturday as well. now, for those toward the west over a 24-hour period we may be talking about up to 200 millimeters of rain. along toward the north and east of the tohoku region up to 200 millimeters possible. from fukuoka to the east to tokyo and sapporo in the north, all looking at a west friday. the focus shifts towards the north and east, saturday we'll see rain and a slightly drier day sunday in tokyo. broadening out the view for friday, looking at rain in shanghai. beijing a high of 27 with partly cloudy skies. meanwhile, we are still ooh llo at some of thehe remnants of be bringing plenty of wetet weathe to the south and east.

back toward the west it is dry and we really could use some rain. here is a look at video coming out of california where we're still talking about wildfires. california seeing one of the biggest and most dangerous wild fires in mt. wilson the past couple days. the u.s. forest service saying the fire expanded to more than 45,000 hectares warning of further dry and windy conditions as we head into the weekend which is not going to help out with this particular situation. the conditions are going to remain dry, and we're going to see that pattern going forward. all the rain toward the north, to the pacific northwest and we're looking at fire danger concerns into the rockies. yeah, we're talking about dry weather continuing for the west. showers down to the south and east. maybe thunderstorms embedded in that as we head into thursday and friday things should start to move to the north. 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.

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. a new study shows japanese inventors and firms are leading the way in patent applications for battery tech, a vital front in the shift to evs and other green tech. the finding is detailed in a report by the european patent office and the international energy agency. the report says in 2018 individuals and firms worldwide generated more than 7,100 patent families for battery tech. it says roughly one-third were

from japan. between 2000 and 2018, seven of thee top ten global applicants n ththe field were japanese firm. the report notes japan's leadership hasn't translated into a big domestic market for electric vehicles. it says in 2019 the country represented only 2% of the global market. in contrast, china recorded 1.1 million sales last year accounting for h half of the globalal plarkt. nobel laureate aquino sayshe chchallenge for japan is puttin techchnology to industriaial us. >> translator: critics say japan is workiking very hard on technological develop but falling behind in the actual business side of things. japan should focus on both. >> officials with softbank group have started using a coronavirus testing facility near tokyo to provide tests to local government and company employees. they say they plan to expanan te offer r to the widerer publilic.

the company is running in collaboration with the national center for global health and medicinene. softbank group and chairman moss ososhie, says the aim i is to provide fast pcr test, he says that will reduce the risk posed by asymptomatic coronavirus terriers. >> translator: enabling anyone to take a test cheheap pi at an time and any number of times is essential for reopening the economy. >> tests cost 2,000 yen or about $19 each. the center sends kits to local governments and firms who request them. the center hopes to ramp up capacity to 10,000 tests a day in november. officials with the chinese firm that owns tiktok are hoping to end u.s. plans to ban their

video sharing app. they are asking beijing authorities for an export license. it is believed the permit would let them transfer the technology in the app to a new firm in the u.s.@@ the officials from the chinese owner byte dance are negotiating with two amerirican firms to create the stand alone company. they hope the deal with the tech company oracle and retail giant walmart will appease the u.s. government, but they already appepe to be at t odds with the amamericanan counter parts over terms. they say byte dance will own 80% of the company, but oracle officials say majority ownership will be in american hands in compliance with an order by president donald trump. trump recently ordered bytyte dance to relinquish ownership of tiktok in the u.s. market. he said the chinese government could access and leverage user private data.

geothermal power has been gaining ground in several countries in africa, driving economic growth with an affordable stable supply of electricity. we see how cutting-edge technology from japan is contributing. >> during the oil crisis of the 1970s, geothermal power was seen as an alternative,e, a burst of research put japan at the forefront in terms of technology. but many proposed sites for plans were in national parks and were rejected by the government. that and other obstacles caused development in the field to lose momentum. japanese technology was finally put to use far from home in kenya. the east african nation's economy has been growing at about 5% per year, creating great demand for electricity. but it has been difficult for thee supply to keep up. >> translator: some rural areas

still don't have electricity. in fact, electricity is quite expensive. >> reporter: the need to increase length cal out put led the power authority to look for a place suited to geothermal power. helps gate national part is known for wild animals. the park is above the great rift valley which stretches 7,000 kilometers, home to many volcanos and steam blows out of the ground here and there. now pipes stretch along the mountains carrying that steam. tltl developopnt of the geotherl power station has accelerated over the past decade. it now produces 700 megawatts per hour, making it the largest plant of its kind in africa. steamm and hot water that have accumulated 2,000 meters under ground spin tururbines that generate power. the system produces electricity consistently at a low cost making it's deal for developing

countries. kenya's success in this field is thanks in part to a special delivery all the way from japan. companies sent turbines that withstand highly yococorrive stm and rotate. > tralator: ts i isur compans turbine. itit's currently rotating 3,000 times per minute. >> reporter: the japan international cooperation agency has been sending specialists to kenya to research underground resources it's also trained local engineers and given loans worth $800 million over the past decade. thanks in part to these efforts, geothermal plants provide nearly half the electricity in kenya. the local power authority wants to increase output six fold in the next decade to 5,000 megawatts per hour. the authority is also building a network to send electricity to tanzania, ethiopia and other neighboring countries starting

next year. >> kenya becomes a knew industrialized nation and improves the livelihoods of kenyans. that's the main reason. >> reporter: geothermal energy projects are finding success in africa, helpedd along by cuttin edge technology from japan. okay. let's get a check on the markets. ♪

that's it for "newsline biz" from our tokyo studios. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for joining us. >> this is frarance 24, live

around the world, the headlines. a grand break out after jury brings no direct charges against police in the death of breonna taylor. two officers were shot overnight in her hometown of louisville, kentucky. bars and restaurants closing in the southern city of marseille and on the french island of guadeloupe. bars in paris said to close at 10 p.m. as the e.u. . urges nations to stop rising covert numbers across the rock. an a