♪ hello and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. we begin in japan where the spike in coronavirus cases continues to reach new peaks. thursday saw another record with nearly 2,900 cases confirmed so far in a single day. tokyo reported more than 600 new infections, a record daily tally for the capital. more than 45,000 people have now tested positive. experts warn cases involving elderly people who face higher risk of getting seriously ill

are on the rise. >> translator: the number of newly infected people who are aged 65 or older, as well as the ratio against the total new cases, are increasing. we need to protect our elderly from being infected at all opportunities. >> hospitals, well care facilities, and schools in the northern prefecture of hokkaido have been hit by cluster infections. officials are asking residents in the capital city of sapporo to stay at home and avoid travel to other areas as much as possible until christmas. bars and restaurants are also asked to close early. >> translator: it is difficult to provide usual medical services during the new year holidays in the first place. we must ease the burden on the health care system before that period so that it doesn't become overwhelmed. >> as kawa city is facing a shortage of health care workers.

residents there will be asked to refrain from nonessential outings. >> translator: after shopping, i go home right away. my relatives gather to celebrate the new year every year, but maybe not this time. >> translator: all of us have to do whatever little we can do. >> the western prefecture of osaka confirmed 450 new cases on thursday. a cluster infection occurred at a hospital there that treats serious covid-19 cases. eight patients and five medical staff tested positive earlier this month. all of them show light or no symptoms. occurred in a different er department in a different building. at this point, i don't think the hospital will be forced to stop treating coronavirus patients. >> more than 173,000 cases have been reported across japan since the pandemic began. over 2,500 people have died.

now records are toppling in the united states with the latest daily death toll exceed is 3,000 for the first time on wednesday. preparations are under way across the country to transport covid-19 vaccines ahead of imminent approval for emergency use. experts at the food and drug administration are scheduled to meet on thursday. they will assess the vaccine developed by u.s. pharmaceutical giant pfizer and its german partner biontech. the fda is expected to make its decision on approval based on the outcome of the meeting. new york governor andrew cuomo told reporters on wednesday, if approved, vaccines could arrive in the state as early as this weekend. he said the first batch of 170,000 doses will be sent to medical institutions via 90 delivery bases equipped with freezers. they will be given to health care workers and others. meanwhile, the u.s. defense department says it's prepared to

start swiftly administering vaccines to military personnel and others once emergency use authorization has been issued. officials said wednesday they expect to receive around 44,000 doses as early as next week. they said the batch will be distributed to 16 locations. they also said the sites have been chosen because they have sufficient medical staff and cold storage capabilities. three of the sites are outside the united states. officials named cadena air base in japan and facilities in south korea and germany. in britain, inoculations began on tuesday, but medical authorities issued an advisory after two health workers injected with the new vaccine showed sharp letter jek reactions. the national health service says they develod sympto of anaphylactoid reacti which can involve a skin rash, breathlessness, ana drop in blood pressure.

>> we know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feate. but if we need to strengthen our advice, we get that advice to the field immediately. >> britain's drug regulator issued guidance to doctors as a precaution. it advises them not to inoculate people who have shown anaphylactic symptoms due to vaccines, medicine, or food. pfizer and biontech say hackers have illegally accessed data relating to their coronavirus vaccine. the documents were hacked from the european medicines agency, the eu's drugs regulator, based in amsterdam. it's in charge of approving covid-19 vaccines in the region. the agency confirmed on its website on wednesday it had been the target of a cyber attack. pfizer and biontech jointly said in a statement they had been notified of the cyber attack. they added their own systems had not been breached and company not believe study participants had been identified. the ema is working to approve the pfizer-biontech vaccine for the states by the end of the

year. the cyber attack is not expected to impact the timeline. according to data by johns hopkins university in the united states, the global tally for confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to over 68 million. the global death toll has topped 1.5 million. south korea's chief prosecutor is facing a disciplinary committee. the focus is on whether he acted improperly during past investigations. but the details remain unclear, leading some to speculate the case may be politically motivated. thursday's meeting is being held behind closed doors. jun has called the process unconstitutional and says he hasn't been given enough time to prepare. yoon has been at odds with president moon jae-in's

investigation since corrupting investigation allegations involving the former justice minister and his family. the current justice minister has demoted and transferred a number of people close to yoon. last month, yoon was suspended and went to court to have the decision overturned. local media say the disciplinary committee may decide to dismiss him earlier. \w. >> reporter: this island in south korea is just 10 kilometers off the coast of north korea. it's even closer to a group of north korean islands.

south korean troops carry out regular drills on yongbyon while they monitor the horizon. they have good reason to be alert. ten years ago, the island came under sudden attack by the rth. heavy shelling killed four people, two civilians, and two soldiers. these are the buildings destroyed by north korea. authorities made a decision to leave the charred buildings and shells as they were so the world could remember what happened. this woman said the events of ten years ago are indelibly etched in her memory. >> translator: the spire place here burnt down.

it was like a battlefield. >> reporter: the shattered windows brought the korean conflict into stark relief. >> translator: i used to be less interested in inter-korean relations. but after the attack, i started paying more attention to the news. >> reporter: in 2018, it appears long-running tensions might give way to a new era of reconciliation. an inter-korean declaration of peace was followed by the first-ever u.s./north korean summit. but the optimism soon faded amid familiar accusations. then in september this year -- >> translator: we never know when another attack will happen, so i'm always anxious.

>> reporter: the islanders also find themselves at the whim of shifting international diplomacy. in the u.s., president-elect joe biden is likely to change washington's approach on pyongyang. >> translator: it would be nice if the change to biden helps our cause. >> reporter: some may be positive about the change in the u.s., but she holds out little hope for change closer to home. >> translator: i hoped that the north and the south could compromise and have regular visits. but things have stalled. there's nothing i can do. i feel it's not easy. >> reporter: people on yongbyon will continue to watch the

horizon and wonder what comes next in this decades-old dispute. a report from the u.n. environment program is urging governments to put climate policy first as they draw pandemic recovery plans. the agency also says the shipping sector needs to do more to cut emissions. as nhk world reports, some companies in japan are working on solutions. >> reporter: the world's third-largest economy depends heavily on maritime traffic to get by. everything from oil to textiles arrived in the japanese archipelago aboard massive ships, which also carry exports to key markets.

but the industry is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to shrink its environmental footprint. dozens of tankers go in and out of tokyo bay every day. japanese ship brokers are well aware that these vessels are polluting the air, and they're committing to changing that by going completely emission free starting in two years. asahi tanker, matsui osk lines, and two other companies have launched the ambitious joint venture. ♪ to start with, they're hoping to put the world's first electric-powered tankers to commercial use in tokyo bay by 2022. the vessels are expected to cost significantly more than conventional models. >> translator: shipping plays a very important role in supporting society and regional infrastructure. the point is how to make this business environmentally

sustainable. >> reporter: ichida says his industry is ready for radical change. he believes it will make the business more marketable and help attract young sailors in japan's tight labor market. while luxury-powered ferries are already being produced in europe, ichida's venture hopes to go much further. >> translator: we will make every vessel in japan electric. from tugboats to ferries to cargo ships and water buses. >> reporter: the country's shipping industry is also looking at using renewable energy. matsui osk lines joined a project to build a vessel powered by wind and hydrogen. the design envisions sails above deck and turbines below to

generate energy that can be used to propel the ship, even when the wind is low. with many companies reeling from the pandemic's fallout, it is a difficult time to be pushing for major change. but there are signs the japanese shipping industry knows the direction it needs to travel in. nishikawa mitsuko, nhk world. next in sports, a mongolian who came to japan and fought his way to the top in sumo has taken a step toward his next goal. he wants to become a stablemaster and help train the next generation of wrestlers, so he's become a japanese citizen. >> translator: i've been able to come this far thanks to sumo. i need to repay that debt. i made my decision so i can nurture good wrestlers and show my gratitude to the sumo association. >> the japan sumo association

requires any foreign wrestler who wants to become a stablemaster after he retires to become a japanese citizen. contact c kakuryu is 35 years old. he reached the top rank in 2014. he has six titles under his belt. 12 tournaments have been held since 2018. kakuryu has missed eight because of injuries. last month the council issued an unprecedented warning over his absences. he's following in the footsteps of another mongolian-born wrestler, hakuho. he became a japanese resident last year.

relentless drenching rains are raising the risk of flooding in parts of western australia. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us now with the details. >> hello, there. heavy rain has been hitting western australia. the rainy season has arrived in the area. we've got 365 millimeters of rainfall in four days or so over the north. more rain is likely. a tropical low made landfall in western australia, and then another tropical low back behind it is expected to pound the same region, so lots of rain is on the menu. we could be looking at heavy rainfall, plus strong winds as well. watch out for river rise and also flooding. rain will also spread towards south australia, parts of the northern territory, including

alice spring, will see rains too. your expected highs on friday, darwin at 33 with a chance for thunderstorms. unstable weather will continue into next week. sydney could see a high of 19 degrees. if you remember, the city had 40 degrees celsius for two days in a row, making it the first time since 1960 for the month of november. meanwhile, we are looking at calm conditions across many places of japan. but in the morning, it was freezing cold in northern japan and we had nearly 1 meter of snowfall on the ground in hokkaido. more snow is possible in low-lying areas, could see thunderstorm risk and also heavy rainfall. we are looking at very low temperatures next week, be careful. we have a frigid air mass in the north. that's expected to head down toward the south. by the way, a suburb of seoul had the first snowfall of the season today. it was 19 days later than usual.

ulaanbaatar will see a low of minus 39 degrees. that's 15 degrees lower than normal for this time of year. be careful of frostbite and hypothermia. cover your skin. beijing could see a morning low of minus 13 on tuesday. sapporo will see temperatures dropping every day into next week. heavy snow is likely to fall in the area. meanwhile, it's mostly calm across many places of the u.s. but on friday, thunderstorms could occur in texas. cold air in the north will likely move down towards the south, affecting the northern parts of the united states next week. take a look at this. chicago could see a morning low of minus 5 degrees on monday. calgary, winnipeg will see significantly low temperatures on monday, bundle up. that's it for me. stay safe.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with gene otani, so please do stay with us.

this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. lawmakers from japan's ruling parties have backed a number of tax reforms designed to kick start the economy and get businesses to become more environmentally friendly. they say the measures can offset the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and help japan hit its long-term goal of carbon neutrality. the liberal democratic party and coalition partner komeito have adopted a package for fiscal 2021 starting in april. it includes a freeze for tax hikes on land, including

residential and commercial plots. it also extends tax breaks for eco-friendly vehicles for two years. the package includes a range of incentives for firms to work toward targets set by the administration of prime minister suga yoshihide. and cut japan's greenhouse gas emissions net zero by 2050. firms will be rewarded for embracing innovative and eco-friendly technology in production lines, and companies that go digital by using cloud services or other options will be eligible for tax benefits. the government plans to submit a bill incorporating the package to the diet next year. a unit of sony is planning to buy the animation business of u.s. telecom giant at&t. the japanese company views its acquisition of crunchyroll as part of a strategy to improve its global anime streaming

service. funny nation global group will pay nearly $1.2 billion. it has about 90 million subscribers around the world. sony is aiming to make japanese anime titles available tloud the world. that includes "demon slayer," a smash hit movie codistributed by a sony subsidiary. early investors in u.s. delivery food service door dash are among the big winners following the firm's much-hyped launch on the new york stock exchange. they watched on wednesday as shares in the company shot up to generate a market valuation of $60 billion. the company's stock closed at $189 on the first day of trading. that's an increase of 85% from the initial offer of $102. analysts say the strong ipo reflects strong expectations for

food delivery businesses in a world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. san francisco-based startup door dash was born in 2013. it now has more than half of the u.s. market share. softbank group has plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into the firm through its vision fund. u.s. media are reporting the investment is one of the japanese firm's biggest successes. there is a fight back in japan's beverage industry. shochu is an alcoholic drink usually distilled by >> reporter:odzilla is here.

popular manga and anime characters are coming to the rescue of japan's shochu maker. >> translator: it's a collaboration with many familiar characters. looking at something like this, i would want to buy it. >> reporter: there is a backstory to these new corporations. japan's leading shochu producer is in trouble. several years ago, the industry was riding high. shochu shops opened all over the country as people developed a taste for shochu. but it didn't last. after peaking in 2007, it dropped 20% in the following decade. this distillery in kawashima prefecture, japan's home of shochu, is staging to fight

back. it's cooperating with popular brands to boost sales. its target audience this time is people in their 40s and 50s, with manga that were big hits when they were young. >> translator: i want to encourage nostalgia for that period in their lives. you can drink it while fondly remembering the manga on the packaging. >> reporter: the merger of pop culture and shochu seems to be working. >> translator: i think it's a good collaboration. it reminds me of my younger days. >> reporter: the new packaging launched in september. the company target was 30,000 bottles in just one month. this is another distillery tapping into pop culture. it is focusing on customers in

their 20s and 30s. this is a popular anime in that age group. itold more than 68 milli copies, and both men and women are big fans. >> translator: "kingdom" manga and anime is supreme in japan. collaborating means you can reach a large numr of consumers across the country. >> reporter: social media marketing has boosted the appeal of "kingdom" shochu. and not just for drinkers. some customers are buying the bottles simply as decoration manga fame has helped save the day, but shochu makers now face a test.

continuing in a market with past changing taste. let's have a look at the markets.

from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for joining us. l

rob: u.s. health experts are warning that the surge coronavirus infections is likely to keep going up, especially after the holiday season. the country reported its daily seven days april.