hello and thank you for joining us on nhk "newsline." here's the latest at this hour. let's start here in tokyo where officials reported 678 new coronavirus cases on wednesday, another record daily tally. the increase comes on the last day of a three-week period which the central government said would be crucial to curbing the spread of the virus. more than 48,000 cases have now been confirmed in tokyo, a city of 14 million. the latest upward trend has also seen a rise in severe cases with 69 people now in serious condition.

tokyo opened a new facility dedicated to covid-19 patients on wednesday that will focus on non-serious cases. it specializes in treating patients who can't speak japanese and the elderly, a population that's recently seen a surge in cases. the facility has 100 beds. for now officials plan to ran at about a third capacity and bring in new staff as needed. officials across the country have been bracing for a further strain on the health care system, especially in the hard hit prefectures of hokkaido and osaka. japanese prosecutors indicted a man over a deadly arson attack. he was arrested in may maine. sources say he told police he

set the blaze because the studio stole his novel and thought he would kill many people by using gasoline. the prosecutors kept him for six months for mental evalindication. they determined he could be held criminally responsible because the crime was planned. nhk spoke to one victim's father. >> my son will never come back. that's a reality. whatever will happen is mean g meaningless because it won't get my son back. >> the case is to be heard in a judge trial. u.s. president-elect joe biden is campaigning in the state of georgia ahead of next month's senate runoff election. attention as the outcome will determine whether democrats or republicans will control the senate. >> we've got a lot of work to do, and i plan to get to work right away doing it.

i need two senators from the state who want to get something done. not two senators who are just going to get in the way. >> two seats are up for grabs in the january 5th vote. if democrats secure both seats the party will control both chambers of congress and give biden greater freedom to enact his legislative agenda. but if republicans win even one seat the party will retain control and make it difficult for biden to pass bills and get his nominees confirmed. on tuesday biden nominated his former rival pete buttigieg as secretary of transportation. the former mayor of south bend, indiana, would be the first openly lgbtq cabinet secretary. meanwhile senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has finally recognized biden as the country's next president. the acknowledgement comes as many other top republicans refuse to do the same including president donald trump who continues to pursue litigation

in an attempt to overturn the outcome. the united states appears set to authorize another vaccine. it would come just days after a vaccine developed by pfizer and bion tech began rolling out across the country. the u.s. food and drug administration has found that a vaccine being developed by u.s. drug company moderna is safe and effective. the agency says the vaccine has no specific safety concerns and appears suitable for emergency use. a newly released briefing document looked at effectiveness and safety based on a trial involving about 30,000 people. that report estimates the shot is 94.1% effective at least two wes aftepatits recve a seco dose. an fdadvisory nel is expected to issue auorizatio r emergency usafter meing on trsday. thu.s. has alrea begun inoculating ople witthe

ccine deloped byfizer an biontech there's been or 16.7illion coronarus infeions ithe mo than 3,000 pele hav ed. the governme hopes tmake 40 million doses available by the end of the year. the coronavirus pandemic has been depriving children of access to education. we have the story of one facility that's struggling to survive in an effort here in japan to sure it does. >> reporter: residents have a bound that's rooted in helping others. they began in the 2011 triple disaster.

when she came to him asking to lend a hand, he knew it was serious. two decades ago, they founded this elementary school in her native rwanda. the financial help from people across japan. her goal is to use education to avoid conflict. she came up with the idea after surviving a horrific chapter in history, genocide, which killed 800,000 people and led her to flee to japan. >> i wanted to have where we can find a family. who gave the opportunity to get an education and they could dream about their future. >> in march to celebrate the school's 20th ab verse ri.

then the government ordered the national lockdown that's left. that meant students were missing class as well as school lunches, which many were crucial to stave off hunger. some resulted to some haven't reduced for the younger grades. the pandemic left many parents unable to pay school fees. so she turned to her adoptive country. in spobs they launched a social media campaign. organizing video conferences like this one.

>> it's not about thschool meal. this is the first time i have received an s, s from her. >> one of the participating businesses is this local bakery. it it donates part of the proceeds from one type of to help pay for school lunches and plans to step up protectiductio. they used the bread at the cafe he runs and collects donations for the school. he says they are more than deserving of their help. >> she's been growing together with us dedicating herself for the sake of people. now she is in trouble. we want to do everything we can to support her. >> so far, the campaign has raised $18,000. some of the money has paid for measures mandated by the

government. like this hand washing station. but more is needed for the fundraising continues. >> no matter how difficult the situation, there's always a reason b for hope. they are determined to repay for the bond she's been leaving with when people in rwanda and japan. nhk world. a new airline has started operating flights to and from japan. and the company says it plans to

add more once the demand for tourism recovers. starlux launched its first flight near taipei and consay airport in osaka on tuesday. only nine passengers were onboard, and some expressed relief they were finally able to travel. >> translator: i was supposed to land in july but there's been months of delays. i just couldn't wait any longer. >> starlux was founded only two years ago. the carrier is focused on serving the southeast asian market but plans to expand links to other parts of japan as well. the tokyo metropolitan government says it plans to scale back public viewing events during next summer's olympics and paralympics. the restrictions will be aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

officials say they plan to require reservations and limit the number of spectators at six sites including two parks in tokyo. they also plan to strengthen anti-virus measures at the venues including disinfection. a viewing event at the metropolitan government building is expected to be scrapped, but the officials are considering allowing visitors to take photos with the olympic mascot. they say they want to draw up an implementation plan by next spring. they'll work out the details such as setting maximum visitor numbers. as japan continues to market itself as a global tourist destination english language signage is becoming increasingly common. but mistranslations can cause confusion for non-japanese speakers. with the resumption of foreign travel on the horizon pressure to get it right is mounting. a group of women working to make sure lost in translation stays a hollywood movie and not reality. >> reporter: this is a common

sign-on buildings doing cleaning. but while a japanese warning simply urges people to be careful of slippery floors, the english version is more mysterious. should they remove their shoes, change into special slippers? because japan has traditions around footwear at shrines and homes and english speaking foreigner might be unsure what the correct action is. then there's this board. it indicates the destinations but it isn't clear if it goes to all four of those cities, something a tourist would need to know. the person who tweeted this -- these are just two examples of funny english which is often seen in japan. most of them are harmless but sometimes they can cause big issues.

>> translator: now let's commemorate the establishment of the association for the better of public english in japan. >> reporter: seven japanese women graduates from columbia university and one american make up this group of passionate language correctors. their leader is a professor at tokyo womens christian university and a simultaneous interpreter. >> our aim is not really to say that -- or to be condescending or kind of looking down on people saying oh, why can't you just get it right? that's not our purpose, but we really feel that it doesn't do justice. >> the group wants to inspire change. translation and including a ai warning that it's not 100% accurate. one member in chiba prefecture was successful in getting local officials to discuss revising its english website next week. the professor says this sets an

example for other local vernments to follow in your steps. >> if the japanese public, if we can feel empathy for those people who are coming from abroad to having more imagination and more empathy about those people who would be the real receiving end, i think we can change the attitudes that we currently have. >> reporter: the association says automatic translation can't be relied on and that it's important checks by native speakers still happen. they're hopi both languages will impro communicaon one sign at a time. nhk world, tokyo.

a broad swath of japan is digging itself out from a snowfall. they are warning of slippery roads and avalanches from areas down to western jah pab. a record 128 centimeters of the white stuff fell in a single day. >> translator: it's blocking the front door of my house. i have to use a shovel to get my way out. >> translator: the snow kept coming throughout the night. now it's over a meter deep. >> the dumping created a bit of a mess for drivers. plows have been out rescuing trucks and cars lost in drifts. and it's not over yet.

officials are forecasting more snow before thursday evening up to 90 centimeters in the region. and our meteorologist jonathan oh joins us for a closer look on the heavy snow. will these conditions persist into the rest of the week? >> hello, we're going to be getting more snow from the northern and western portions of japan as we go through thursday and even into friday. look at these totals. these are pretty impressive amounts. anywhere from 120 to the north and even back over to the west here 144 to 176 centimeters of snowfall in 48 hours. just to give you some context, it would be covering me in terms of the height. and we are going to keep seeing the snow taking place because we'll see these northly flow

coming over the warmer waters of the sea of japan. so with that, we actually see kind of like a snow machine that this continues to blow into the the mountain of the coastal areas of japan. so as we go throughout the next 24 hours, all the areas in white, may be dealing with some of that snow and then we will see things lighting up in the west, but to the north, not over. it's going to be snowing for the rest of the week into the weekend. also looking at snow for thursday. notice high of only 6. the cold air is going to be a big part of the story once again for thursday. we'll see the temperatures starting to creep become up as we head toward the weekend. but bundle up. get ready to keep shovel iing t snow. cold air has been a part of the story for a good portion of east asia as well as high pressure has been helping to usher in the

flow. temperatures are going tb chilly. 1 for the high on thursday. 4 in beijing. 8 in shanghai. aso overnight lows will be quit cold. we are talking about a nor nor'easter that's likely developing for the northeastern united states. you see the clouds spin up right there. that's developing low pressure system that's going to move along the eastern sea board and breathe strong winds from new york city into new england toda. so be on the lookout for that. also looking at a bit of a stormier setup with heavy rain and snow into the rockies through the next couple day its. you're talking about the snow as we go through the next couple days so be on the lookout as we're seeing strong winds. hope you have a good day.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." up next is "newsline biz." stay right there.

this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. people buying stocks in japan b have had a richer choice of where to put their money this year. 100 companies have gone public or planning to list. fast fitness japan on wednesday celebrated its debut on the stock exchange mothers market

for starters. the firm had originally intended to go public in march but held off due to the impact of the pandemic. officials say some firms have reversed earlier decisions to cancel their listings after an uptick in shares worldwide. the boost to global stock markets backed by the fiscal spending of governments by central banks. they add expectations for coronavirus vaccines are also lifting share prices. telework and other forms of social distancing are pushing demand nor information technology to new heights. analysts at the japan electronics and information technologies association estimate global production will amount to about $2.97 trillion. that's up 2% from last year. the forecast for next year is

almost $3.2 trillion, exceeding the 3 trillion mark for the first time. the researchers say the pandemic has boosted demand for personal computers as companies embrace remote working and more schools take classes online. internet trachk has soared fueling demand for semiconductors for more powerful data centers. among predictions for next year are a wider spread of remote i.t. technologies and 5g networks. australia is peeling after beijing slapped tariffs on imports of barley. australia's trade minister says the 80.5% levee is unjustified. china started the tax in may saying it wanted to protect its barley growers from unfairly cheap competition. >> the industry has been about

australia defending the interests of australian producers by doing so in a calm, methodical and careful manner. >> it said the move was taken after an objective investigation. ties between have soured this year. in april australia called for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. china responded by restricting imports of australian goods including wine and meat. it's the first time australian has appealed to the w.t.o. by a series of measures by beijing. with the dine itting in experience curtailed or even banned in many places around the world rksz restaurants are turning to takeout orders to survive.

in thailand competition to deliver these restaurant meals is heating up and spawning new business ideas. >> reporter: food delivery bikes speed through the streets of bangkok. it's symbolic how a shift instead of eating at restaurants. food deliveries are projected to surge by 80% this year. some companies have encouraged employees to use delivery services. this i.t. firm has about 20 employees. it covers the delivery fees for all lunch orders by its staff. that costs about $700 a month, but the company believes it's

worth it because it limits the amount of contact the staff has with other people. >> translator: for employees it takes away the wereo of having to go outleticide. i've heard that many other companies are starting to do this for their workers, too. >> reporter: grab is a company that largely offers ride share services. it's launched a new initiative to meet the growing demand of food delivery. it has brought together chefs from several restaurants to offer a variety of menu options under one roof. a thai stir fry and japanese style curry with rice and pork cutlet, are two of the many dishes prepared in the kitchen. there are over ten restaurants in all. this offers maximum flexibility. customers can receive a mix of items in a single order or limit the choice to just one dish. >> the food delivery market

still continues to grow and we will see several more creativity and new services coming up. >> reporter: a major bank group is also seeking to take advantage of the newly booming market. it started developing a delivery app after the pandemic started. it hopes the app will help it attract new business from the restaurant industry. the bank asked restaurant owners to open an account. after that the restaurant can use an app like robin hood to deliver to customers online. through this initiative the bank aims to increase its customer base and expand its lending activities. for restaurant owners there's no commission fee to use the app whereas they might have to pay a fee if they use a rival delivery app. that could allow the restaurant to offer dishes at lower prices to attract more customers. >> translator: our goal is to create a business model in which we benefit and also help small restaurants. >> reporter: with no certainty about when the pandemic will end, it seems a number of food delivery bikes speeding through the streets of bangkok will only

increase. nhk world, bangkok. okay, 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 watching.

calling -- fighting in northern mozambique displaces thousands. this is "inside story." ♪ imran: hello and welcome to the program. i am imran khan. fighting in northern mozambique is worsening a humanitarian crisis. the military is struggling to hold back isil groups in