heo and weome lcto nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto mi inik tokyo. weta srt this hour in the united states wre president-elect joe biden is putting theoron ciravus pandemic at the center of his transitionplans. ut with psiredent donald trump still fighting eleionct results there are signs that transition can delad. >>le this ection is over. it's time to put aside the

partisanship. d the rhericto designed to demonize one otnianher. and we're united in our shared goal, defeating this virus. > biden says he plans to follow thescience, adding public health experts to his transition .eam he emphasized the need to work with leaders of all political stripes and strengthen u.s. diplomacy. cana an prime minister justin trudu seapoke to biden by phone, reportedly sringha their covid-19 priorities. but trump continues to make waves. u.s. media reports that an appointee of his admintrisatio is refusing to sign a letter that would allow biden's tmea to formally begin the transition process. trump also fired his secretary of defense, announcing the dismissal on twitr. mark esper has been at odds with trump overhe t president's threats to use the military to amp down on black lives matter protests. u.s. pharmaceutical giant

pfizer says initial test results of i covid-19 vaccine suggests it is more than 90% effecve.ffec data ia n large-scale clinical test in a milestone in the global vaccine race. pfizer's vaccine is in its final phase of tals in the united states a othnder countries. the drugmaker says among 43,000 participants it reported 94 ronavis rucases. pfizer says the split between vaccinated individuals and those who receive the placebo indicates aaccine efficacy rate above 90%. it also reported no serious safety concerns. therials stillgoing,nd a pfizer says data could angech. but it plans to apply for emergency use authorization as soon as possible. izer expects to produce up to 50 mlionilaccineos des globally in 2020 andp to 1.3 llion doses in 2021.

now, investors reacted positively to the news. share prices in new york hit a recordig hh on monday. just after the start of trading the dow set its first intraday record since february. it ended the day at 29,157, up osinclg.% from last week's now, let's go over to nhk world's catherine kobayas in noorkho's watching all the developments from there. biden's victory also seems t soe having an effect. what's ahead for the economy? >> thanks, miki. joe biden will teak his seatn ann open fder full of chamgchamg challenges, an economy encumbered by th effects of the conarovirus, millions unemployed, businesses shut down, and he may heav to navigate his way through a divided congress. for more on what's ahead we're joined by michael moran. he's the cef ehiconomist at daiwaapit cal markeer it camari. mr. moran, thank you very much

for joining us now. how do you think the president-elect is planningo t address all these cllges? if you lookt a those challenges, they're all related to the covid situion. and i tnk he's going to take a much more serious approach to battling covid. he's already putting together a task force to address the issue. and he's going to provide effective guidance in how to deal with the virus. i don't think he'll close the economy down or impose restrictions but he'll have a lot of goodooommon sense guidance to offe >> let's also talk about unemployment. what can be done for the millions of americans who've lost their jobs? >> well, provide fisl support. look back in thespring, congressssressvi pded a generou ck oagfcal suort and that helpedhe tatnomy great deal during the summer months. i think we're going to see a similar type package, much smaller in sizeut b still one that will provide good support. we'll have enhanced unployemment benefitsor f individuals. we'll probably have some rate

checks that is effectively tax cuts. and we'll probably also get aid o some key industriesuch sas th aireline industries and stata and local governments, which llwip h keep the economy going and i think bring many of the individuals back to wo.rk and trump has been tough on china. let's talk about that. how do you think mr. biden will deal with china in terms of trade? >> i think i biden will continua tough line of argument with china. in yrs peaast we turned a blind eye to china. e pretended they were a fair trading partner. but presidentrump t exposed china as an unfair trading partner. and i don't think you can close the door on thatn now. i think we have to continue to deal with china and try to get it to come with a more open freeriew v of trade. so i think biden will continue a tough stance against china. i think he'll be more diplomicat less confrontational than tmp was. but i think hs still going to

take a tough stand. >>nd some analysts say that more predictable, which is great for business leaders, so that they canak me plans more efctivfeely. >> i would agree with that. i think that's a fai rstatement. and that'll be helpful too for the economy. >> and how much leverage does the presint have to address thblese proems on his own? >> he has some leverage and seom power b nut a great deal. he can take some executive action but oftentimes those don' havamehe t se force as legislation does. also, when you take an execuveti action, they often mtee legal challenges in court and get pre-empted or thrownow out. president trump, for example, his immigration policies had ny of his executivecu actions thrown out by various courts. >> and of course we may have a split senate, which makes it more challenging as well. >> tt's harrcoect. but i think one of the

advantages of biden is he had many years of experience in the senate and i think he has good relationships with man senators and congressmen. ,speally with mitch mcconnell who's the majorityea lder in the senate. mitch mcconnell has a great deal of power in considering what legislation gets dcussised and ed.s and biden reportedl hasy a good relationship with mitch mcconnell and thatight m be opening the doors for some cooperation and progress on the legislativ freont. >> it will be interesting to see how thing sunfold. mr. moran, thankou very much for being with us. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> and of course we'll have lots more on the transition in the days and weeks ahead. now, japan is keeping an eye on coronavirus cases as numbers in some areas rise. the northern prefecture of

corovirunas infections on monday, a new daily record. the tally has exceeded 100 for five consecutive da.ys a governmentan pelel of experts has put forth an emergency proposal in rpoesnse to the om rsease in hokkaido and se >> translator: there is no doubt that the number of infectis is increasing across the cotry.un we are acknowledging the diversification of clusters and an increasing number of clusters. it is therefore highly likely that the infections will expand rapidly unless theover gnment takes stronger measures to curb >> the proposal calls on the le. government to step up measures againscluster infections and further strengthen border control measures between countries. the panel calls r fomore fective and efenficiant measures

ainsagt cluster infections at bars, nightclubs, and universities. it also suggests providing information for foreigners in cooperation with embassies and support groups. thpandalem iics ecso affting the employment situation. japan's labor ministry says that more than 70,000 people in the country have lost their jobsthr are about to because of the coronavirus outbreak. the manufacturing sector was the ardest hit with nearl13,0y 00 bsjo lost. this worker in h0sis 4r in aic prefecture lost his job at a ceramics manufacturer in late september. the company said hwas e being let go because it was downsizing due to a drop in orders resultinfrg omon t cheor.avirus >> translator: my ndmi went blank because i never expected such a thing to haen. being dismissed was unthinkable a year ago.

>> he's been frequently going to a public job placement office but he's found it hard to secure employment. meanwhil 6wh 64 vietnamese who hoped to work as nurses or caregivers arrived in japaonn monday. edpan accepts its trainees bas on a bilateral enocomic partnership agreement.en e t buthasdeal w put on hold amid the panmidec. their traingni will begin after they self-olisate for two weeks as a precaution. the governmentlans to resume accepting trainees from indonesia and the philippines as well. ouabt 11ca000, reported so far across japan. over 1,800 people have died. japanese noh theater rsperforme have teamed up with acaicl med fashion designer junko kosho. this year, traditional performances have en mbeore difficuldue t to t pandemic.

the theater presentation took pl fashion show produced by kosho.in modelsalke wd on theoh n stage to traditional music of pajanese flutes a drundms. is unique collaboration featured differe antspects of the japanese artistic sense. in the second part of e th perforncmae a noh actor played a demon disguised as a beautiful woman who seduces a warlord. the actor embodies the terror of the demon wearg ina gorgeous d. the organizers say they nt twao promote traditional performing arts in vel ys.wa let's check out the world weathe withr our meoroeteo soso yoko, the tropical storm i the gulf of mexico has brought hey ravain to the bahamas and florida. how seveer is the situation now? >> the southern parts of florida

saw more than 450 millimeters of rainfall, causing some life-threatening flooding. a wietll connutienuti to bring y rainfall and flooding in the bahamas as we go to tuesday. southern floridaad w hdin gusts of 110 kilometers per ,hour leading to widespread power outages. we've got aid veo of what happeden over the.er the storm brought strong winds on monday.rain to south florida commuters were stuck this d stdetsm eta moved along florida ba tens ofhous tands of oes and businesseser we left without but the outer band of th stoermd the southsterean portion of sthe u.s. as we go through tuesday. expect up to 200 millimeters of rainfall through the next 72 hours. the ground is alrdy saturated in some areas after eta croed ss

over cuba and the florida keys. rainfall could trigger further life-threatening floong.di some showers will persist in miami on tuesday with the high of 30 degrees. ome showers will also spread to hinouston and lantata.ntat different story in the northwest. vaouver and seattle will see winterike-l temperatures. in southeast aa we have two tropical storms. tropical storm eta is located just southeast of vietnam, and the other one named bamko is heading toward luzon on tuesda. rainfallin will increase widyeln centralnt vietnam and the north rainfall is expected. e d't nee any rainfall in the aesreas because we've already had downpours from the previous storms. any initial rainfall could trigger life-threatening flooding and landslides. that's all for n.ow a stay safe.

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and that's nhk "newsline" .i'mamamoto miki inokyo t. an forks wchinatg.orksch deh."elmeco"newine in the awarding of this year's nobel peace prize to the world fo proodgram, or wfp, has drawn welcome attention to the importance of urgent food support. especially during this time of 19vid-. need of nutrition.larly in stable diets are vitalor f their minds and bodies to develop.

malnutrition affects both economicallyev deloped and lodeping vecountries. today we look at efforts in japan to make sure children get the sustenance they need. we start with an innovative proj tt feed disadvantaged children. accordin to gthe ministry of health, labor, and welfare one in seven japanese children live in whatnanter ancies defi as relative porty.ve th circumstances of such children may not be immediately obvious. but some could nouever be able goo t high school or univer.ty they may only be aaye to eatne o nutritionally balanceead mall a day they're provided at hoscol. an initiative known as the children's cafeteria provides nutritious mea flsor free, or at low cost in a caring atmosphere. during the past few years the t number of such facilieit has elleswd throughout japan. now a volunteer group is hitting the road with a new version of

the cafeteria. >> reporter: at firste glanc this looks like an ordinary bus. but wheitn stops it transforms rito a children's cafeteria. the service wasnc lauhe thids ar by a volunteer group in aomori prefecture. mizushiru kazuyuki started the paoup aftea herring about single re s who couldn't afford to heir children. >> translator: when i researched the number of children's cafeterias in aomori prefecture, i learned that we had the second lowest rate outf any prefecturen ithe nation. when i discoved that children had thisneed, i decided to find a way to solve the problem. >> repter: ator first mizushiri set up cafeterias for the children using community centers and city offices. but he soon came across a problem. edhe lrnea that some children couldn't make it to their location. that's when he came up with the

idea of going mole.bi using crowd funding he raised enough money to buy a used s.bu he built the kitchen and tables himself along wh thite ventilation system. but it's not just his hdy man skills that have proved useful. others on the team pointo t his personality. >> translator: he doesn't get angry and never says mean things. he sets an example of kindness thatvery eone around him follows. >> the first day of serving meals othen bus and the group of local volunteers has come to help out for the big occasion. at this stophere t were 45 stomachs to tfill. but when the team starts cooking there's trouble. the equipment has suddenly stopped working.wo

after the hiccupooki cng resumed withou a hitch. today's bus fare, sausages and scrambled eggs. glad got to see the ksid so happy. we plan to go to small towns al ents as well as feeding them. heand with fun activitie scipin up the menu assl it looks like cldrehin wilvel have en more reason to get o board.

xperts worry that thee coronavirus pmiancdes p p rswoening the contionsdihat create childhood poverty. mizushiri's organization has been distruting monthly meals in his ho recently the group began visiting other districts in the prefecture to deliverood and ingredients for children in need.ne our next story's about a project to help newborn babies who face life-threatening illnesses because of a lack of breast milk. currtlyen close to 10% of babies in japan are born weighing under 2,500 grams. this may be due to the creainsing age of mothers as well as micaled advances that help save the lives of underweight newborns. doctors say a vital factor in the survival of premature infants is breastmilk, escialpely for nboewrns who weigh uernd 1,500 grs. in our next report we meet a couple who have created a nektwo t deliver this

avfeli-sing substance to babies nd.ee >> reporter: mizuno katsum sichlt a pied tration who runs the only breast milk bank in japan. >> translator: this is our breast milk bank. >> reporter: he shares the work with his wife, noriko, who's a mid-fe.wi th started the project in 2014. ey do not take salaries and use filacities inside a .niversity ithospal they bought the refrigeration system and other equme mizuno's researchfund. they cover theunni rng costs using donations and iomencenc f lectures. >> translator: this is breast milk that was pastureized at az low temperature. reporter: this is donor milk.

since 2017 the mizunos have supported a network of medical institutions around the country. babies a yeafreer f o ycharge. >> translator: thank youy vernk much. > reporter: this is a delivery of milk from a registered donor. 's scipeitally spackaged to st frozen. the milk is thawed in the fr erator for0or hours so as t tnoo lose l anyny nutrients. then it's put in a special bottle and pasteurized for safety. itust me bt m consumed within o month. >> translator: all babies are precious. they mhtig onlyay w 400 or 500 grams, but they do their best to survive.iv even ify the thave endure painful procedures. neewed to be more arewa of that.

>> reporter: mizuno first hea australia. acilities were just starting out in the country. mizuno saw the results. >> translator: when breast milk banks were started in the state of western australia the rate of entero coatis wanted to nobodyo one in japan. >> neck roh tidesing e rnt collegitis is a disease that curs when bacteria enter the ne t itis.ou intesou mplicocations can be fatal. eastbr milk creates a coating in the intestines and protes .hem once mizuno was back in japan he visited the health ministry and medical authorities. he told them aboutre bast milk banks and elained why ty'rehe needed.

mo tn tehan years ler hate cread a network for donating donor milk all over the cotry.un over 100 mothers have shared the mizuno vision s'and donated their milk. we visited one of them. e has a five-month-old boy.ol >> translator: this is the breast mp. and it pumps theilk mfor you.' in theags. >> reporter: a mom who wants to become a donor needs to teak a bloodtest, share her medical history, and list any medicines she's .taking

>> translator: it's for frids who were born at the seam time as you. icit n'stoe help them. >> reporter: in mid augtus a baby needed donated breast milk. this is nonoka. st tjuwo days after her birth. sh only weiedgh 884 grams. a oka's mother, kotomi,ad h an emerncy in danger goiofng into labor when she w only 25 weeks pregnant. she pumped her own milk, but erthe wasn't enough. mothers like her who give birth prematuryel are not physically ready to produce milk. her doctor suggested using donated milk uilnt she was read

donated breastk mil helpsel the mom as well as her baby. >> translator: this helps the mother feel less guiltybouty not bng able to breast feed and gives her peace of mind whil she's waiti to produce her own milk.. >epor rter: mizuno's visnio of breast milk banks is a growing reality. a second latoc sion opened in september with support from

private companies. the two together can deliver enough donated breast milk for 0 babies. es>> tnslator: i wanto keep delivering a steady supply of safe donated breastas milk to t babies who need it.it >> there'so n questasion bret milk banks fill a vital need. more than 600 such systems rrenytl operate in over 50 countries. in japan 3,000 babiesach e year are said tbeai in need of milk omfr a donor. iniait tives such as japan's two breast milk banks aren't enough to address the situation. n.thwi gerovnment suppo the mizunos are conducting a field study to address demand a d the effectiveness of breast milk they hopeo t to expand their effortsswi.wionde > society. this is parlatirly tcurue of japan wh its aging and shrinking population. efforts to create environments in which iantsnf and children

can thrive are more imporntta for our futur thaen ever. because proctinteg chdrenil's health is really about building the foundatns of a healthy world. that'st i for today's "newslin in depth." thank you for watching and see u again next time. xxxxxxdo

>> ideal has been signed to end armenians were with azerbaijan. -- war with as a vision. in armenia, anger but russia is sending peacekeepers. this is al jazeera. coming up, trump announces an un-semiramis exit -- unceremonious exit saying he has been t