♪ hello and welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo with the latest at this hour. ballots in the u.s. presidential election are still being counted days after polls closed. several key states remain too close to call, but democrat joe biden's chances for victory seem to be growing even as president donald trump challenges the results. in his first public appearance since election night, trump called the vote rigged but gave no evidence of any fraud. he lashed out at election

officials, the media, and his opponents, suggesting but not proving wrongdoing. >> if you count the legal votes, i easily win. we were winning in all the key locations by a lot, actually. and then our numbers started miraculously getting whittled away in secret. >> state and federal officials have defended the process, but trump is doubling down. he says he may take his fight to the supreme court, although that requires a long legal process. >> a lot of litigation. because we have so much evidence. so much proof. and it's going to end up perhaps at the highest court in the land. >> trump campaign representatives have launched legal challenges in closely fought races, but cases in michigan and georgia have already been tossed out. trump's family is also making a fuss. donald trump jr. fired off a tweet saying the best thing for america would be for the president to wage total war over the election.

twitter flagged the tweet as disputed or misleading. biden set a different tone at a news conference earlier on thursday, saying the vote is sacred. >> we have no doubt when the count is finished, senator harris and i will be declared the winners. so i ask everyone so stay calm, all people to stay calm. the process is working. the count is being completed. and we'll know very soon. thank you all for your patience, but we got to count the votes. >> tusands of protesters took to the streets in pennsylvania, holding a banner calling for full counts of every vote. no major violence has been reported, but election officials are concerned about securing safety. >> we want trump! >> in phoenix, trump supporters gathered at an eleion center. the associated press reports some carried military style rifles and handguns. arizona is one of the remaining states where results are still

to be determined. to secure a victory, either candidate needs to win 270 electoral votes. our u.s. partner abc news currently projects biden has 253 and trump, 214. biden needs 17 more. biden is leading in nevada which has 6 electoral votes, and arizona, with 11. if his lead holds, he will win the presidency. even if he loses in one of those states, he can still win if he picks up georgia's 16 electoral votes. biden and trump are locked in a tight race there. if he fails to take georgia, arizona, or nevada, biden can still win if he secures pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes. trump currently has 214 votes, meaning he needs 56 more. pennsylvania is a must-win state and his most viable path to victory involves taking north

carolina and georgia and surpassing biden in either arizona or nevada. while all eyes are on the presidential election, johns hopkins university reported more than 100,000 new coronavirus infections in the u.s. on wednesday, marking the most in a single day. u.s. media reports that more than 52,000 coronavirus patients are being treated at hospitals with over 10,000 in intensive care. some hospitals are nearly at full capacity and are converting all available spaces into coronavirus units. other facilities are reporting a lack of personal protective equipment and a shortage of doctors and nurses. health officials are worried infections could spread further as more people are expected to travel during the winter holiday season. in the uk, a second nationwide lockdown went into effect thursday. the country has seen a surge in both infections and deaths over

the past few weeks. johns hopkins university said there have been a total of more than 48 million cases reported worldwide. over 1.2 million people have died. here in japan, coronavirus cases remain relatively low but the situation is changing in the northern prefecture of hokkaido. infections are rising sharply there, and nhk has learned the prefectural government may impose tougher anti-virus measures as early as this weekend. officials say indicators like the weekly average of new cases are worsening, putting a strain on the medical system. the prefecture has been urging residents and businesses to take additional precautions since late last month. now hokkaido is considering raising its alert level for the second time in two weeks, this time from 2 to 3 on its 5-point scale. bars and night clubs in the biggest city of sapporo's

entertainment district would be encouraged to close at 10:00 p.m. restaurants would be asked to stop serving alcohol by that time. authorities are talking about offering subsidies to businesses that comply. the prefecture reported 119 new cases thursday, hitting triple digits for the first time. most of the infections are centered in sapporo. across japan, more than 105,000 infections have been reported. over 1,800 people have died. the austrian government is looking into why anti-terrorism measures failed to work properly in a deadly attack in vienna. interior minister karl hahammer

said authorities in slovakia had tipped off officials there in july about a man's failed attempt to buy ammunition there for an assault rifle. the austrian security minister admitted there had been a communication problem and intelligence wasn't shared properly among related authorities. mourners gathered at the scene of the rampage offering flowers and candles. >> translator: my first thought when i saw the news was, what is happening to my vienna? i felt a great loss at that moment and great shock, because i always felt safe here. >> the gunman killed four people and wounded 23 in central vienna on monday before being shot and killed by police. the interior ministry and the police suspect the 20-year-old attacker was an islamic state group sympathizer who acted alone. ethiopia's prime minister has ordered a military offensive in the northern state of tigre

where tensions withhe government have been mounting for months. it's in response to a deadly attack on a milary bas b a powerful ethnicfaction. the deputy chief of the army described the attack as an unexpected war. reuters news agency quoted a witness as saying nearly two dozen soldiers were injured. the conflict pits government groups against the tigre people's liberation front that had dominated political power for decades. last year, prime minister abe won aobel pea prize. the.s. sectary of ate said on twitt he was concern out theituaon and cald formmedia action to restore

peac a deschatensions. tning back to japan, where prime minister suga yoshihide's refusal to appoint six nominees to the country's top academic body, the science council, is still causing controversy. more than 200 academic societies are now demanding a better explanation for the decision. they released a joint statement on friday. it was signed by the heads of several societies in the humanities and social sciences. >> translator: the government's refusal is suppressing critical discussions that ahe lifeline of the humanities and social sciences. it increases pressure to side with thegovernment's wishes. we cannot overlook the situation. >> another professor said the issue has implications for japanese society as a whole and may cause a chilling effect on freedom of thought, speech, and

expression. suga made the decision on the appointments weeks ago, drawing criticism from opposition parties as well as academics. the six nominated scholars are from the humanities and social centses. all have been critical of government policy on matters including national security. the japanese government is set to subsidize a pilot rare earth metal refinery in india. the move is part of the country's effort to secure a stable supply of the key industrial metal in the indo-pacific region. a japanese trading company will carry out the roughly five-year trial to iron out technical problems and check financial feasibility. toyota tsusho plans to refine rare metals from australia and other countries at the facility in india. japan relies on china to meet about 60% of domestic demand for the metals and depends on facilities in china to refine all of the rare earth metals it obtains. china is one of the world's

biggest producers. rare earth metals are a crucial component in electronics, cars, and high-tech products. demand for the metals is likely to rise in coming years with the increasing prevalence of electric vehicles. the united states is stepping up imports from australia to reduce its own heavy reliance on china. beijing has hinted at the possibity of limitinexports of the metals amid escalating trade friction with washington. next, most schools here in japan hold a sports day every year. students compete in events such as group dance performances to learn about the value of cooperation. but this year, with the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing measures pose an added challenge. nhk world's watanabe yuriko has the details. >> reporter: sports day at this elementary school in saga prefecture is different this

year. in order to prevent the coronavirus spreading. the school decided not to hold events where students gather closely together. only two family members are allowed to attend. yukiko is in charge of dancing instruction. her challenge is to create a dance with a low risk of spreading infections. at last year's sports day, everyone gathered in one place. >> translator: i was wondering if the children could express themselves properly. >> reporter: kasahara hopes to entertain visitors while ensuring the students keep apart. she created what is called the social distance dance. >> translator: it should be a big movement, moving upwards and

open like this. >> reporter: on the first joint practice day in the schoolyard, the teachers showed the children that their arms should be wide open and spaced apart. they are unable to form a circle. the first graders can't remember their positions. in the last scene, the children can't synchronize well. they had to practice repeatedly. finally, it's sports day. the dance has begun. the children keep sufficient distance between themselves. they form a big full circle.

>> translator: yes! >> translator: it's a big success. i'm glad that the students have developed the awareness of keeping a distance and can use this awareness in the future. >> kasahara's social distance dance is giving children not only a sense of accomplishment, but also a hint on how to live through the difficult time of the corona pandemic. watanabe yuriko, nhk world.

it's time for a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. it's been cloudier here in tokyo on friday. will we be seeing rain for the weekend? >> hello. it looks like we're going to be dealing with some clouds in tokyo as we go into saturday, but most of the rain will be located toward the western and central portions of japan, particularly on the pacific side of the country. the reason why is because we have this little frontal boundary. you might notice the clouds here moving up toward the north. that's bringing with it some moisture and also some warmer weather as well. as we go through saturday, anywhere from kyushu over into places like the kinki region, like osaka, you'll be dealing with some rain, so have umbrellas nearby. as we go toward sunday, things

will start to dry out. the exception will be to the north where we'll be dealing with maybe some snow. we'll have another system moving through hokkaido. that's going to bring a chance for snow into sapporo sunday into monday. tokyo, i wouldn't rule out a sprinkle or two, but mainly going to be dry. up to 23 on sunday. then we drop off to 17 by monday. osaka and fukuoka looking wet for saturday, a little drier as we go through sunday. central america, we've been watching eta as it continues to try to keep itself together. it is now moving over the waters after hitting places like nicaragua, honduras, also into guatemala as well, making its way toward cuba. here's a look at video that will give you an idea how this storm impacted the region. thursday, eta inundated homes in guatemala with heavy rain. at least 50 people have been killed due to landslides. honduras was also hit by eta.

a fire brigade rescued a baby from floodwaters. at least 70 people have reportedly been killed in central america so far. the storm continues to be a part of the story here as it moves toward the north and east. it's going to head toward cuba, but then it's going to have a little bit of a turn and steer, moving back toward florida, beginning by next week. the keys might be impacted as the storm continues to move in that direction. high pressure across a good portion of the united states. we saw this frontal boundary coming out of the pacific northwest, bringing some showers into the region, maybe snow into the upper rockies. we talk about highs that are quite warm for this time of year. denver with a high of 23. 22 oklahoma city. warmth also in chicago and atlanta as we go through friday. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

and one last item on our menu about a regional winter delicacy.

snow crab season began on friday in an area along the sea of japan. about 50 crab boats set out the night before from fukui prefecture. fishermen started to cast their nets into the water the moment the clock struck midnight. some of the crabs had shells 15 centimeters across. the season runs through december for the female crustaceans and march for the male. >> translator: for a first catch, i think it's better than last year. >> to help shore up sales during the pandemic, the local government plans to help retailers offer discounts for snow crab gift packages. that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so please do stay with us.

♪ ♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. tokyo's benchmark stock index hit a 29-year high on friday. that was in line with other markets around the world that seemed to take a relaxed attitude to the emerging outcome of the u.s. presidential election. the nikkei stock average opened the day lower but quickly swung to positive territory. it notched its highest level since november 1991. the nikkei ended the day at 24,325 action or 0.9%.

the index has gained in recent days thanks to signs of an earnings recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. and continuing policy support globally. japanese auto giant toyota is managing to turn a profit despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. its results are in positive territory for the first half of this fiscal year with a strong outlook for the whole period. >> translator: our plants that were suspended by covid-19 are back in operation. that return to work has been re-energizing on many levels. let's make automobiles a driving force of the japanese economy. we're moving in a positive direction thanks to the committed efforts of our workforce. >> company executives say cost-cutting efforts are bearing fruit. a rebound in vehicle sales is also helping the bottom line. toyota's net profit forecast for the year ending in march is

1.4 trillion yen or about $13.7 billion. that's up about 95% from the previous estimate. the company is also revising its operating profit outlook by 160%. the automaker expects to sell 9.4 million vehicles globally over the same period, an uptick of 300,000 units from its last sales projection. while toyota's latest earnings results shows the group managed to stay in the black during the difficult april-to-september period, sales and net income were down by double digits compared with a year earlier. another major japanese automaker, honda motor, has revised its earnings forecast as sales in china have rebounded. honda now expects a net profit of about 390 billion yen or around $3.7 billion, well over double its previous estimate. the company more than doubled

its operating profit outlook. this comes after new car sales in china jumped as a result of government subsidies. china is the world's largest auto market, but it took a hit from the coronavirus pandemic. a company executive said the sales recovery was unexpected. he also said the company will focus its resources on electric vehicle s which it sees as a major challenge for the future. >> translator: there's no time to waste in pressing ahead with electronfication in light of global warmi and growing interest in a sustainable society. >> honda says sales dropped 25% in the first half of the financial year from april to september from a year earlier. net profit fell by 56%. the latest japanese government data show that the coronavirus crisis continues to hurt people incomes in september. the figures show that average wages fell for the sixth straight month.

the labor ministry says workers earned an average of just under 270,000 yen or about $2,600. that's down about 1% in yen terms from a year earlier. the figure includes base pay and any overtime and other pay. overtime and nonregular pay have been falling for the past six months. the september figure was down 12% from a year earlier. meanwhile, households with two or more people spent an average of 270,000 yen for the month. that was down over 10% from a year earlier. it was the 12th straight month of decline. one reason for the drop was a spike in spending in september last year before the consumption tax went up. spending on travel plunged as people stopped goi out. air travel expenses were down 68%. those for train travel were down 65%. the amount people spent drinking out fell by more than half.

one of japan's major airlines is trialing a biofuel in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint. all nippon airways is taking on extra costs to implement the measure despite the pressure it's under amid the coronavirus pandemic. the fuel is derived from food waste, including fat produced in meat processing. ana officials say its use can reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions by aut 90% compared with conventional jet fuel. at tokyo's haneda airport, workers check its content as they fill up the aircraft. >> translator: we will continue these efforts to ensure our passengers feel confident that their travel decisions aren't

harming the environment and they can relax and enjoy the flight. >> the additional cost is an extra burden for the struggling carrier, but ana maintains it's a necessary step to keep up with environmental regulations and expectations. specialty pears from northern japan have been shipped to tokyo at breakneck speed using shinkansen bullet trains. it's part of a plan after profits were hurt by covid-19. the project was put together by a major producer of the so-called queen of fruits. it's considered an autumn delicacy in japan. four bullet trains carried a total of about 180 kilograms of pears to the capital on thursday. the pears were grown in tendo city. they were sold off at a store in tokyo station. jr east has been working on plans to expand its distribution services using shinkansen bullet trains.

>> translator: i hope local specialties and agricultural products will be shipped to various places and lots of different customers. >> the company says it's going to be difficult to get passenger numbers back to pre-pandemic levels as the outbreak has changed people's lifestyles. jr east now forecasts its first annual net loss, expecting to lose about $4 billion for the year through march. let's get a check on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline biz" from our tokyo studios. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for joining us. ÷é÷é÷éléddddd]

>> the race to the white house is going down to the wire. after flipping michigan and wisconsin, joe biden has a projected total of 264 electoral votes according to the associated press. it takes 270 to win the election. president donald trump has said all the states recently claimed by biden will be challenged by the courts. they have filed legal challenges by his campaign