♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasarawa in tokyo. pfizer says initial test results of its vaccine suggests it is more than 90% effective. the company's chairman says it's a great day for science and humanity. >> when you realize that your vaccine has a 90% effectiveness, that's overwhelming. you understand the hopes of billions of people and millions

of businesses and hundreds of govements, all felt on our shoulders. now, i think we can see light at the end of the tunnel. >> the messenger rna-based vaccine is considered a revolutionary, new approach, intended to boost the production of antibodies. the trial is still ongoing, and pfizer says data could change. but it plans to apply for emergency use ahorization as soon as possle. pfizer expects toroduce upo 50 million vaccine doses globally this year, and up to 1.3 doses next year. the company has agreed to supply japan with doses of the vaccine for 60 million people by the end of next june. experts welcomed the first successful interim data from a large-scale clinical test, but they say they need to know more details, especially about the vaccine's safety.

>> right now,e're told 90% effica efficacy, but we're not quite sure what that means. does that mean preventing any illness, just serious illns? what about the transmission? does the vaccine prevent tranission? we need a lot more informatn, but indeed, this is very promising. no question. >> meanwhile, brazil says it's temporarily halting clinical trials for a vaccine being developed by the chinese pharmaceutical firm. officials say a participant existed unexplained symptoms last month, and they're looking into the cause. the trial involves more than 10,000 volunteers in brazil. the government had recently announced that it would import 6 million doses by the end of the year. more than 50 million coronavirus cases have been reported globally, with over 1.2 million deaths, according to a survey by johns hopkins university in the u.s.

u.s. president-elect joe biden has hailed pfizer's announcement, calling it great news. but he's urging americans to wear masks as it'll take months before vaccinations become available. two days after his victory speech, biden convened a task force to tackle the public health crisis that's resulted in over 10 million americans contracting the virus. >> we could save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. >> and the incoming president had a telephone conversation with canada's leader to pledge more cooperation in fighting the disease. but the trump administration is poised to continue a legal fight over what trump calls election fraud. >> this election is not over. far from it. we have only begun the process of obtaining an accurate, honest vote count. >> journalists urged trump's

team to come up with evidence. >> do you know that fraudulent votes were actually cast, or are you simply saying you don't know because you couldn't see? >> what we are asking for here is patience. we're aware of the reports of thousands of votes in nevada that were cast by those who are not eligible. we're hearing these reports. we're seeing them come in. we are vetting them. >> but so far, they've failed to provide clear answers. the incumbent president has not appeared in public for days. he took to twitter to criticize the timing of the pfizer announcement. he said the fda and democrats didn't want him to have a vaccine win prior to the election, so instead, the news came out five days later. leaders around the world have been congratulating biden as they prepare for change in washington. for some insight into what the transition will mean for china, japan, and other asian countries, nhk world spoke to an

expert on international politics. >> many observers say it may be dif difficult for biden to change washington's hardline stance toward beijing. do you agree? >> i should say that beijing -- president-elect biden. biden wrote a piece for foreign affairs in the march/april iss of 2020, about the global reach of china. there is necessity to work on a united prompt. >> fujiwhara says that's one of the many ways a biden presidency will be different. rather than unilateral, america first policies, a more cooperative approach to containing beijing. >> trump was tough on words but did little for the nation between allies when facing

china. biden would be different. biden would strengthen allies, including japan, in a way that would prevent china from taking actions. >> here in japan, he says the election result will require a shift of thinking in talking about whether trump has been good for this country's national inters es. >> the relationship between allies has become so dysfunctional. the united states actually became weaker during the trump administration. this was an isolation regime. what w can do is strengthen our alliance. dropping the idea that trump is better for japan. >> fujiwhara also points out that many governments in asia may have troubles getting on biden's agendas, since he is likely to focus more on repairing ties in europe. >> i do think there is good

opportunity to bring washington's attention back to asia, for the simple reason being that china is concerned not only for asian nions but also for european nations. >> last but not least, he says the way diplomacy is conducted with the u.s. will change significant significantly. >> we are going back to the good, old, mundane, intergovernmental relations, which may be slightly boring, but nonetheless, far more predictable and sustainable. that's the way we will work with washington. >> no more emphasis on high-profile summits. instead, a return to business as usual after a chaotic four years. sakamoto, nhk world. one of the pressing issues biden will have to address is

his country's relationship with taiwan. president trump has forged closer ties with taiwan in recent years, making it a flash point in the ongoing rivalry between the u.s. and china. to find out more, my colleague spoke to nhk world's patricia yu from taipei. >> patricia, given trump's efforts to bolster ties with taiwan, what's been the reaction there to biden's win? >> the president was among the first leaders to congratulate biden. there was a tweet about their shared values, saying she was looking forward to working together. ties between the u.s. and taiwan have strengthened during trump's time in office. but for taiwan, it's not who is in the white house that matters most, it's whether that person can help taiwan counter china's increased pressures.

the u.s. government recently approved arms sales to taiwan worth billions of dollars. two high-ranking u.s. officials have traveled to taiwan this year. the visit by the house secreta y secretaries and under secretaries of state were considered a win for taiwan but angered beijing, which described them as serious violations of the one china principle. >> does this administration think biden will continue along this path? >> i think officials here are taking a cautious but optimistic approach. while many experts expect biden will maintain a hard line stance against china, they also think he will be more pragmatic. it's unclear whether this could negatively affect taiwan. but there have been some

encouraging signs from biden. when the president was re-elected earlier this year, he sent his congratulations, saying the u.s. should continue strengthening ties with taiwan and other like-minded democracies. the japanese government has decided to extend the maritime self-defense forces count counter-piracy mission another year. it was set to end november 19th, but officials point to a continued threat. since 2009, japanese destroyers and patrol aircraft have been guarding ships in the area based on the anti-pyiracy law. the extension was granted at a cabinet meeting on tuesday. >> translator: anti-piracy

measures taken by troops from various countries, including the self-defense forces, are a significant deterrent. we need to continue this kind of arrangement. >> the government will increase the number of personnel on standby to cope with any problems on aircraft, and also as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. in hong kong, 19 pro-democracy lawmakers have threatened to resign en masse amid reports china may disqualify four of them from the legislative council. the 19 opposition lawmakers held a news conference on monday night. media outlets say the standing committee of china's national peoples congress is expected to disqualify four among them for violating hong kong's basic law. a scheduled meeting begins on tuesday. >> this is a serious departure

from the original spirit of one country, two systems and also the provisions of the basic law. >> if the four legislators lose their status pro-beijing politicians will account for more than two-thirds of the council, gaining more power to dismiss fellow lawmakers and influence decisions. russian president vladimir putin says the leaders of armenia and azerbaijan have signed a deal to halt the military conflict in the disputed nagorno-karabakh region. >> translator: we presume that the agreement reached will set up the conditions needed for the lasting and definitive settling of the crisis on the base of justice and to the benefit of armenia and azerbaijan. >> the conflict erupted september and previous cease-fires have failed to hold. but under the deal announced tuesday russian peace keepers

will be deployed in the enclave inside azerbaijan. putin also said displaced people and refugees will return under united nations supervision, and prisoners of war will be exchanged. t the armenian prime minister said on social media that the decision to end the fighting was based on deep analyses of the conga situation. armenian protesters stormed government buildings in the capital, demanding the government revoke the deal. the country had just lost control of the enclave strategically important second city to the forces. the conflict has claimed more than 1,000 lives. members of japan's imperial family have celebrated crown prince akishino's public proclamation as heir to the

throne. the emperor, empress, and crown prince and princess attended the celebration together with other imperial family members at the palace in tokyo on tuesday. the emperor reportedly expressed appreciation for congratulatory messages. the ceremony of proclamation was held on sunday. crown prince akishino became the first in line of succession in may last year, when his older brher, the emperor, attended the throne after his father's abdication. four astronauts set to depart for the international space station say they're ready and excited. they'll be traveling there on a privately developed spacecraft for the first time. three u.s. astronauts from nasa and one japanese wilbe on board the crew agon vehicle from spacex. liftff ischeduled saturday fromhe kennedy spa center in

florida. the tronauts held an oine news cference monday. mmanderichael hopkins sd th're rarg to go >> it'pretty azing. we've en here ss than hos, and ithat time weave seen our rocket. we've seen our space vehicle resilience, and we've seen our space suits. and so for an astronaut th's considered a pretty good day. >> the japanese astronaut will be on his third space mission. he previously traveled on both a u.s. space shuttle and a russian vessel. he says he's excited to try the new craft. >> they have a coue of very distinct noise or sound through the final stage. so that was kind of a sign that the rocket is filled up, ready to go. really anxious to feel that vibration. >> the four astronauts will stay at the international space

station for about six months. they'll carry out scientific experiments and broadcast programs back down to earth. it's time for a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. jonathan, it was a nice day here in tokyo, but i hear this morning was quite chilly for northern parts of japan. what's ahead for wednesday? >> hello. looks like we're going to be dealing with a little bit more in terms of cooler weather and also precipitation, rain and snow in the northern areas of japan as we go into wednesday. elsewhere, we will be dealing with fair weather with highs in the mid to upper teens as we go through wednesday. you may notice some of the clouds moving in from the north and west, into places like h hokkaido into the tohoku regions. this is a pattern. as we see the pattern of air flowing over the waterwaters, w start to see development of snow for the colder areas of japan, especially hokkaido and mountain regions, and showers more to the

south. high pressure will be moving in from the west. what that means is we're going to be dealing with fair weather for most of japan. then we will be seeing some warmer air by the weekend, as we see winds coming in from the south as the system pushes toward the east. morning lows, though, may be at or probably below freezing for the northern areas. that's where we were at as we went through tuesday morning. we go to wednesday morning, same type of pattern. spotty precipitation, then we will be seeing drier weather coming into play. sapporo, a little snow activity. showers back on friday. tohoku and fukuoka, mid to upper teens, seasonable this time of year. friday, the southerly flow will come into the picture, and that means temperatures will move up a little, closer toward 20 degrees for the daytime high. down toward the south near vietnam, we had landfall by etau, adding to the landslide

problem. vamco is east of the philippines. it is expected to become a -- from a tropical storm to a typhoon by the time we go into wednesday. so this is something you have to watch closely because this is the second storm that's hit in the matter of several days. once the storm clears the philippines, it'll be headed toward vaietnam. meantime, showers are the story for the central regions of the country. this is not going to be good news. it'll continue to be a problem as we go throughout the rest of this week and even into the weekend. across north america, big pool of cool air coming down from the north, into the western portions of the united states. in front of that cold air mass is a frontal boundary. seeing storms popping up with this. we are looking at some rain from chicago down toward the southern plains as we go throughout tuesday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. ♪

♪ that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching, and do stay with us for more.

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. tokyo's benchmark stock index extended its winning streak on tuesday, touching 25,000 for the first time in nearly three decades. that followed a wall street rally sparked by hopes for a coronavirus vaccine. the nikkei average finished at 24,905, up 0.3% from monday. it rose more than 400 points at one stage, but lost momentum, as many investors locked in profits. travel-related shares, including airlines, took off on hopes for a covid vaccine.

major operators, japan airlines and ana holdings both soared about 20%. nikkei 225s run of gains has now stretched to six days. it added more than 1,900 points, or over 8% so far this month. some analysts are urging caution. they say the rally might not reflect the state of the real economy. a new survey shows that japanese workers in a range of industries are feeling more optimistic about the state of the economy. it may be a sign that japan's economy is improving, despite the pandemic. the economy watchers survey found the index for workers sentiment in october was 54.5. that marks the sixth straight month of improvement. when the index exceeds 50, that means more workers have a positive view than those who are negative. the survey covered more than 2,000 people, including those in

retail and taxi drivers. in the monthly survey, a hotel employee said in the survey that the number of guests was at the same level as last year after people from tokyo were included in the government's go to travel campaign. another worker at a department store said business had been brisk, as they could hold events that were unable to be held three months earlier. meanwhile, it appears that many workers in japan can expect a cut in their winter bonuses, apparently because of the pandemic. several associations representing labor unions conducted a survey, which showed that nearly half of 147 unions predict the cuts. the survey says workers will receive bonuses worth about $4,900 on average, representing 1.82 months of salary. it's the lowest amount in ten years and will mark a decline of

more than $1,600 from a year ago. the cuts will mainly hit small and mid-sized firms. >> translator: the report shows that the situation is severe. we would like theentral and local governments to step up measures to support small and medium-sized companies as soon as possible. >> the associations are expected to compile a final report on winter bonuses sometime in mid-december. japan's prime minister instructed his cabinet to compile a third, supplementary budget draft for fiscal 2020. suga yoshihide is calling for efforts to maintain an economic recovery while preventing the spread of the coronavirus. suga told a cabinet meeting on tuesday that the budget should cover additional economic measures based on three major pillars. the first is to prevent a further spread of coronavirus infections. the second is to achieve a

virtuous cycle, by shifting the economic structure toward digital reforms and a greener society. and the third is to make japan stronger against disasters. japan's finance minister was more specific about details. >> translator: looking at the current situation, demand is picking up, n only for automobiles but in many other industries, as well. i think the government needs to take this into account and ensure a recovery is led by private demand. >> meanwhile, aso did not mention the expected scale of the budget. a city in brazil is trying to keep economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic to a minimum. it's expanding government subsidies that work with a currency, which can only be used locally. nhk world's rafael nogara has more. >> reporter: this city is of 160,000, about an hour's drive

outside rio de janeiro. posters are everywhere, promoting a digital form of money that is exclusive to the city. electronic currency named mumbuca that can be used with this card is helping to support the economy in this city. the currency can be spent using a debit card or smartphone. it's given to about 25% of residents, mainly those in low-income households. mumbuca started in 2013 as a form of social serity. as the pandemic brought more hardship to households, the provision went up to roughly $60 per person, per month. 36-year-old vienna is raising three children. earnings from her work as a m manicurist have dropped sharply, and she no longer has any

regular income. her family's monthly mumbuca benefit is equivalent to about $200. the money is spent not only on food and other basics but also on some essential items for the children. >> translator: my children want nice clothes. i am able to buy them using mumbuca. >> reporter: mumbuca has also helped keep people in the city employed, including at this supermart. in rio de janeiro, a store operated by the same supermarket chain laid off 30% of their employees because of the coronavirus. but the branch here has been able to retain its staff. >> translator: thanks to sales we are getting from mumbuca, we can keep the store running during the pandemic. >> reporter: herein lies the main benefit of having a local

currency. if the city government bailout subsidies, the national brazilian currency real, people may use it to shop online or outside the community. but because mumbuca can only be spent in the city, it helps the local economy exclusivy. marica i rying on . its said toxpec for 75% o thecity's come, helping to ma t program possible. if officials have their way by 2022, all but the city's wealthiest residents could be receiving mumbuca. rafael nogara, nhk world. a quick look at the markets.

♪ that's a look at business news. thanks for joining us. awc websi.

check it out. ♪ >> these are the top stories. the president has confirmed his country signed a deal to end the fighting. the agreement with armenia and russia had 2000 russia peacekeepers deployed in the region. after the truce was announced, crowds of angry protesters stormed the armenia government headquarters. many are calling for his resignation. here is the latest from the capital. >> i