♪ hello, glad to have you with us on nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. we start this hour in canada, where health authorities have approved the covid-19 vaccine developed by pfizer of the united states and germany's biontech. >> at last, we have a reason to feel optimistic and excited about returning to the lives we led precovid. the latest agreement is bringing vaccines to canadians earlier than we hoped.

>> health canada said on wednesday it authorized the vaccine after screening, based on provisional standards for drugs and vaccines for the coronavirus. it said the vaccine meets stringent safety requirements, describing the review process as rigorous. canadian media say the country expects to receive up to a quarter million doses this month, with the first batch set to arrive as soon as next week. meanwhile, inoculation of the vaccine began tuesday in britain. medical authorities issued an advisory after two people injected with the new vaccine showed sharp allergic reactions. the national health rvice says the nhs workers developed symptoms of anaphylactoid reaction, which can involve skin rash, breathlessness and drop in bloopressure, shortly after getting their shots. >> we know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feature but if we

need to strengthen our advice, we get that advice to the field immediately. >> britain's drug regulator issued a guidance to doctors as a precaution. it advises them not to inoculate people who have shown anaphylactoid symptoms to vaccines, medicine, or food. now, americans have also looked to a vaccine as a lifeline. this week, regulators will decide whether to recommend emergency use of the first ones. william hassletine is the founder of harvard university's cancer and hiv/aids research department. nhk world's catherine kobayashi spoke with him earlier. >> professor, thank you very much for joining us. as you know, u.s. regulators are considering whether to approve a vaccine. how should americans look upon these shots? >> well, it's very promising.

the initial data looks very good, that it's highly effective at preventing mild disease. we have yet to know whether it prevents serious disease, but it's very likely it will do so. there's some unanswered questions about whether it's going to be long-term protection, whether it will prevent transmission that those are answers we'll get in the future. it's very, very good news. >> we heard joe biden promise to thrive e deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days. what are the biggest shots in distributing the vaccine? >> this vaccine is difficult to store and handle. this vaccine has to be handled in very cold conditions. i think that part will be handled by the u.s. military. but then difficulties come in at the local level. the system we have in the united states is that it is the local vaccine deliverers and the states that determine who will get it, how it will be

delivered. i think there's goi to be some initial confusion. >> so many americans are nervous about the prospect of getting a shot. how do you think that will affect the vaccination program? >> i think it will be a program initially. i think once people see many people have gotten it and there's very few side effects, if there are very few side effects, people will be moring in to take it. it's really difficult for people to wear masks all the time, to stay home, not to go shopping, especially withheir kids in school. so if they're vaccinated, they can begin to do some of those things and it wl change their minds quickly. >> vaccine trials have warned of intense symptoms after the second shot, you have to take two doses. what do you say to that? >> i think it's an issue. it's been an issue for some of these vaccines in their early phase, that the second dose of these vaccines can be quite

intense. it can make you feel dizzy, it can give you a fever, a number of other things that can happen. i think you're going to see some pushback from that. but when you balance the risk versus the reward, i think the risk is worth it. >> how does advent of vaccines change your view of the pandemic over the next several months? >> you know, we in the united states are in for a very bad time. we have mishandled the way the vaccine -- the virus infection has been handled. we have an exponential growth still, even increasing as i speak. the number of people infected and the number of people dead. and the vaccine is not going to change that in the future. we're not going to see any effect until well into the spring and summer. so we're in for a rough time. i wish people would follow the recommended guidelines. and i'm really worried aut people traveng over the chrimas holidays. it's a very dangerous thing to do. >> thank you very much, professor, for being with us.

>> you're welcome. thank you. >> of course, we'll be following the latest developments on the vaccines and other stories. but for now, let's hand it back to our studio in tokyo. in japan, the number of elderly people found to be infected with the coronavirus in tokyo has risen sharply. cases have nearly doubled compared with august when japan was hit by a second wave of infection. during the summer, the virus was mostly reported in young people. but now it's spreading among seniors. on wednesday, 103 people aged 65 or older in the capital were confirmed to be infected. it was the first time the daily tally topped 100 for that age group. elderly people are at higher risk of developing severe sympt symptoms. officials at the tokyo metropolitan government say 1,348 seniors tested positive in the capital in november, about 80% more than in august.

according to nhk'd calculation, elderly peopled accounted for 90% in august. tokyo officials say many of the infections occurred at medical institutions, welfare facilities and people's homes. across japan, 2,811 new cases were confirmed on wednesday, a record high. the total number of infections nationwide has topped 170,000, bringing the death toll to 2500.

u.s. president donald trump wants to join a lawsuit that aims to overturn his election loss in several key states and hand him a second term. this follows a string of legal losses. trump requested to intervene on wednesday, a day after the deadline to finalize results. president-elect joe biden has featured more than enough electoral college votes to claim victory, but trump's camp continues to allege voter fraud tied to mail-in ballots. texas has asked the supreme court to throw out the vote in four highly contested states including pennsylvania and wisconsin. it argues the states unlawfully changed voting procedures. trump tweeted this case is a big one, saying the country needs a victory. he also distanced himself from

a case rejested by the supreme court on tuesday which looked to reverse the certification of biden's win in pennsylvania. lawmakers from japan's main ruling party have approved a replacement plan for the land-bas land-based aegis missile defense program. japan had planned to deploy the system as north korea is developing its ballistic missile program, but it scrapped the idea, due to technical problems in ensuring rocket boosters. >> translator: in order to build a sustainable system to continuously protect our country's entire territory, we want to move forward with the defense ministry's plan to build two new vessels equipped with the aegis system, to be oh -- to be operated by the maritime self-defense forces. >> the main mission of the new vessels will be to shoot down ballistic missiles. defense ministry officials hope to give the ships multiple functions so they can handle diversified threats such as cruise missiles.

the liberal democratic party defense meeting also approved plans to develop a standoff missile that can be launched far enough away to evade fire from the target. the defense ministry plans to extend the range of a surface-to-ship missile and modify it to be fired from a ship or a plane. the government intends to include funding for the egis ships and standoff missile in the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts in april. nhk has learned that the 2025 world exposition in osaka will shed light on ways the world can achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. the plan is laid out in a draft prepared by the japanese government. it says the expo will serve as a laboratory for a future society. the plan says it will present a world using japan's cutting edge technology. the government has set a goal of achieving a carbon-neutral society by 2050. the draft also points out that

the coronavirus pandemic is causing major social changes, prompting the world to increase its reliance on digital technology. the government says osaka expo 2025 should feature a mixture of the real and virtual, allowing large numbers of people to take part. that government is to decide on its basic plan for the event by the end of the year. let's check in with our meteorologist tsietsi monare for world weather. they say people in western australia are dealing with heavy rainfall and dangerous lightning strikes. >> yeah, right across much of western australia, there's been lots of activity happening because of low pressure systems bringing unstable weather in certain parts, close to 200,000 lightning strikes. that could be very dangerous for people. and people are urged to be on the lookout, people in the

region have children being sent to hospitals due to lightning strikes hitting the playground. so it is quite dangerous. now moving to western australia. we saw heavy rainfall coming in due to a monsoonal system along indonesia and a low pressure systems leading to rainfall of over 160 millimeters in just eight days. unfortunately, more of that will be coming this way in the second system and although we're not entirely sure about this magnitude and direction, but we basically get the idea it will be moving towards the coastal part and that will bring flooding rain, which would cut off someville a villages and to. that could be very difficult for people to get around there. the rainfall could lead to much lightning and some significant flooding, i expect in parts of the northern and western coast regions of australia. if you're in japan, expect unstable weather to come through towards through the

hokaruku region. especially along the sea of japan side, also due to a low pressure system and they could see the first batch of snow as temperatures continue to drop along those regions into the lower single digits. sapporo of north is at 6 on thursday. we are going to be seeing double digits to for the next few days, going into the weekend. the rest of asia, quite cool for beijing, but still slightly warm for hong kong. thunder showers in places such as the philippines. crossing over towards europe, you can basically see the activity here. frontal systems developing coming into the united kingdom. as well as along western parts of europe. you'll see some showers and possibly temperatures dropping as those fronts move in. snowfall towards warsaw, moscow continues to be fairly chilly at around minus 7 degrees.

that's all now. stay tuned for more. >> and that's all for this

edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. thank you for staying with us on nhk tokyo japan. ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm catherine kobayashi in new york. this part of the city used to be home to power plants, a pencil factory, a slaughterhouse. the carnage of world war ii gave rise to an institution that would transform the area and international diplomacy. the united nations promised to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. now its mission extends to

refugees, climate change, and more than ever, contagious disease. we'll examine the u.n. in depth as it mark it is 75th anniversary and today, the u.n. is an organization divided. nhk world reports. >> reporter: international heads of state and government met at the u.n. general assembly every year since 1946. but this year, the coronavirus forced the assembly to go virtual. only one diplomat per country was allowed inside. the u.n. secretary-general directed the assembly in person. he called for a return of the u.n. ideal of global unity. >> solidarity is self-interest. if you fail to grasp that fact, everyone loses. >> reporter: u.s. president donald trump has been stepping back from the approach of multilateralism in world affairs and made a point to blame china for the pandemic. >> we have waged a fierce battle

against the invisible enemy, the china virus, which has claimed countless lives in 188 countries. we must hold accountable the nation whi unleashed this plague on to the world. china. >> reporter: chinese president xi jinping used his prerecorded remarks to rebuff trump's claim without mentioning the u.s. by name. >> translator: facing the virus, we should enhance solidarity and uphold leading role of the w.h.o. any attempt to politicize the issue or stigmatization must be rejected. >> reporter: some leaders express the concern about the split between u.s. and chinese leaders. >> when the demand for covid is rising, our ability to provide then is weakening.

multilate ralism suffers from inward talking nationalism. >> translator: it is evident that the u.n.'s idea of multilateralism will be tested whether it can distribute covid vaccinations to all nations or not. >> reporter: high ranking u.n. official says we're seeing a weakened sense of shared responsibility, and that many countries have come to feel that the cost of diplomacy outweigh the benefits. >> there was an obligation to work together for the greater good, and i think now that sense of common obligation to work together for the greater good seems to be not as strong as it should be. i would almost say it's a multilateralism fatigue. i think many states that were traditionally friends of multilateralism just feel it's grown too difficult, especially where the superpowers disagree

where if you take a position that is not in accordance with this or that super power, you're immediately accused of playing into the camp of the other. but it's just become too much hard work. and the u.n. has always relied on having a handful that will bravely push the way forward despite that super power rivalry, and i think now it's the sense that it's grown too difficult. >> we're back in from the cold joined by the reporter we just heard from, toby burns. you talked about multilateralism fatigue, of diplomats tiring of diplomacy. how do they move past that? >> well, this fatigue is really the result of the superpowers diverging, the u.s. going one way, china going the other way. u.n. is looking to middle power nations such as japan to bridge

the gap and find ways to collaborate and cooperate constructively. another idea is that the u.n. isn't just about states, but it's about people as well and civil society organizations and the one that's really important right now to the u.n. is youth leadership organizations, looking to young people for new ideas. >> that's right. they want to benefit from their views and insights. so toby, what do delegates need to do to solve the wealth of challenges that they face? >> there's so many right now. the climate is is a big one. and the idea that the u.n. is putting forward right now with regard to the climate change is they want to make it friendly to the private sector. they want to show that environmental reform can be good for business. the other one, the other interesting idea right now is, of course, on the pandemic, and there's a lot of excitement about the new u.s. administration. there's hope that they will return to the world health organization to lead the effort to make sure that the vaccine is seen as a global public good and

something that should be distributed to all people fairly. >> to give you some context, president trump began a process that would see the u.s. withdraw from the body next july. on the other hand, joe biden tweeted before the election he would rejoin the w.h.o. on his first day as president. we'll see what happens there. diplomats have made some recent progress in the area of denuclearization. what's the latest on that? >> well, this is called the nuclear band treaty or treaty for the prohibition of nuclear weapons. the ppnw sometimes it's shortened as, and received 50th ratification in october from honduras and makes nuclear weapons illegal. it says it's illegal to develop them, to use them and it calls for their total elimination. >> this watershed was well received by those who work in disarmament. let's take a look. >> so many survivors in their stories talk about the processions of obaki, that means ghost or demon. >> this is steven leaper,

talking to american students about the atomic bombing of hiroshima 75 years ago. >> they don't even look human. their hair is frazzled. their faces, their bodies are so burned, you can't even tell if they're male or female. >> using illustrations and photographs he hopes to show the bombing was so horrific, it must never happen again. >> the only way to prevent such an attack is to iminate nuclear weapons. >> leeper is based here in the state of georgia. in october, he received the happy news about the u.n. nuclear deal. for leeper, it was a significant step forward. he's been working on nuclear disarmament for more than 30 years. >> i'm very happy about that because this is the success of the rebellion.

the non-nuclear world is successfully creating international law. >> reporter: leeper's activism started in the 1980s when he came to japan as a translator. he was working in hiroshima when he read a survivor's account of the bombing by the u.s. military during world war ii. it included the memories of a girl forced to abandon her mother who was trapped under rubble, so she could escape approaching flames. >> that one made me think about how horrible the experience was for those children. so then i realized that the bombings were really a war crime. >> reporter: leeper gained prominence for anti-nuclear activities. he became the first foreign chairman of the foundation that runs the hiroshima peace

memorial museum. during his tenure, he helped organize the first atomic bomb exhibition in the u.s. americans were able to see with their own eyes the full horrors of the attack. one survivor of the bombing has worked with leeper for decades. after stepping down from the foundation, leeper joined the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. he worked toward the creation of the tpnw. he noticed that firsthand

testimony of survivors is a powerf tool. today, he arranged for his students to hear frookata. the students were moved by her story. >> hearing from mrs. okada, a survivor of the hiroshima atomic bombing was incredibly profound. >> we just kind of sat there in since for a little bit and i think you could just feel the impact of hearing that firsthand account. >> reporter: leeper is convinced abolishing nuclear weapons is literally a matter of life and death for humanity. >> there is no justification for killing human civilization and possibly extinguishing human life on this planet.

there is no justification for that, so stop it. that is the meaning of the tpnw. >> so toby, what happens next? >> well, as we said, the 50th ratification for the treaty came back in october with honduras, 90 days from then, goes into legal force and that happens on january 22nd, 2021, and many critics and analysts are thinking of this truly as a new era, a new moment in nuclear disarmament, but there needs to be a couple of caveats kept in mind because the nuclear powers, the major nuclear powers which include the u.s., russia and china are not expected to sign this treaty. there's nowhere near the amount of enthusiasm as in some of the world's smaller capitals but doesn't mean it won't be effective because the idea and the thinking behind this treaty is really to stigmatize nuclear weapons in the same way that chemical weapons and biological weapons are seen by the world as morally unacceptable.

that's what this treaty is really trying to accomplish for nuclear weapons. >> thanks very much for your insight, toby. >> thank you. u.n. delegates mark the 75th anniversary with the resolution that recalled their shared history and looked to the future. no other global organization gives hope to so many people for a better world, they wrote. the urgency for all countries to come together to fulfill the promise of the nation's united has rarely been greater. whether they realize the promise will be a question for anniversies to come, and that's all for this edition of "newsline in-depth." thank you for being with us.

the winner. the son of u.s. president-elect joe biden says he is under investigation over his taxes, but remains defiant. brexit talks to continue over the weekend after boris johnson and urszula von der leyen tried to hammer out a deal. facebook under fire. a joint lawsuit against the social media giant for unfair competition practices. ♪