glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo with the latest at this hour. we start in japan's capital where the cumulative total of coronavirus cases has now surpassed 50,000. with the new year fast approaching, many are concerned pressure on the health care system will only grow. tokyo reported 664 new coronavirus cases on friday after seeing record-breaking numbers the day before. the tokyo governor is asking residents to work together to prevent further spread of the virus during the upcoming holidays.

>> translator: tokyo relies on three things to protect the lives of residents. we need to prevent deaths, serious cases, and the collapse of the medical system. >> with serious cases going up, the tokyo government has raised its alert for the health care system to the highest level. one medical expert told nhk infections are spreading faster than expected and could stretch the city's health care system beyond the brink. he says hospitals that provide specialty treatment are now caring for people with covid-19. >> translator: so, for example, if you find out you have cancer, you find out that you have heart problems, the hospitals you would go to are treating coronavirus patients. now routine treatment for other life-threatening ailments are being compromised. >> he stressed simple measures like washing your hands, staying home, and wearing a mask could make a major difference. the virus is also spreading

outside tokyo. the national tally for friday stands around 2,800. more than 194,000 people have tested positive nationwide. meanwhile, pfizer is the first supplier to seek fasttrack approval in japan for the use of its covid-19 vaccine. pfizer says the firm applied to the nation's health ministry on friday. the japaneseovernment has a deal with the company to receive doses for 60 million people by the end of june next year. >> translator: once the vaccine is vetted for effectiveness and safety, we will step up efforts to improve the system to make sure that everyo can be vaccinated as soon as possible. >> pfizer's vaccine needs to be frozen at around 70 degrees celsius. the government plans to secure special treesers and dry ice to preserve it. authorities are considering prioritizing inoculation of

health care workers, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions. authorities say it would be a historic feat if everyone could be vaccinated within a year. >> translator: the discussion will start whether japanese people can get vaccinated or not. i think a thorough examination will be needed. >> a senior official says the health ministry hopes to make the process as quick as possible and finish it by february. the critical three weeks set by the japanese government as a focused fight against the coronavirus are over. but with nationwide cases at an all-time high, it does appear more time and more effort may be needed. nhk world's kurabayashi tomoko breaks down the detail. >> reporter: the virus production rate refers to the average number of people that one infected person would spread the virus to. when the figure is above 1, an outbreak is in place. when it is below 1, the outbreak is being contained.

even after the government called for the public to take extra precautions during the three-week period, the nationwide spread at the end of that period stood at 1.11. nhk's numbers are based on simple calculations with guidance from experts. other studies can involve more detailed data. tokyo and the prefectures of aichi and osaka are over 1, indicating infections continue to be on the rise. an expert says there's a tendency for urban areas to have more people whose infection routes are unknown. >> translator: the number of infected people whose infection routes cannot be traced is now increasing. and cluster measures tt were taken are no longer enough. it creates a negative spiral. >> reporr: infections are spreading to rural areas from major cities.

in hiroshima prefecture, cases began to rise sharply around late november. the daily tally has exceeded 100 twice so far this week. in hiroshima, the reproduction rate stood at 1.5 on wednesday. at least 24 clusters were confirmed there between late november and friday. nearly half originated in restaurants and host or hostess clubs, and among people dining in groups. >> translator: as people move around, infections in big cities are likely to spread to core cities in the countryside. then that spreads grually throughout a prefecture. >> reporter: the japanese government recently halted its domestic tourism stimulus campaign from december 28th to january 11th and expressed

urging people to hold back from travel during the upcoming year-end holidays, evidence that this fight is far from over. kurabayashi tomoko, nhk world. staying with japan, record-breaking snowfall continues to down power lines and close off traffic arteries in northern and western japan, with little relief in sight. for some it has meant many hours stuck on the highway without food and with nowhere to go. about 2,000 vehicles were straineded wednesday on this expressway which links tokyo to niigata. workers are slowly digging out drivers, but about 600 vehicles remain stuck. members of japan's self-defense rces areanding out food and blankets to those still waiting. >> translator: i was stuck for about 36 hours. i didn't have water, food, or a clue of what's going on. >> translator: i was really in trouble. no food, no drinks.

i had to eat snow. >> local authorities say three people had to be hospitalized. with another 40 centimeters of fresh snow expected before saturday morning, a new danger has emerged. officials are warning people along the sea of japan coast to watch for avalanches. moving next to a political scandal involving japan's former prime minister, prosecutors are thought to be investigating one of abe shinzo's secretaries for failing to report revenue and payments related to annual parties held for supporters. now the former prime minister has suggested he'll personally provide an explanation to the diet after investigators have reached a conclusion. the parties were held annually on the eve of government-funded gatherings for cherry blossom viewing. abe's office is suspected of putting tens of thousands of dollars toward the parties when fees collected from the participants failed to cover

costs, but there are no official financial reports. when asked about the parties then prime mister abe told the diet his office didn't pay for or make money from them. he said there was no need to file financial report. as the investigation progressed, his political opposition came to suspect abe made false statements and demanded further explanation. now it looks like they'll get it. abe told reporters on friday he'll sincerely address the issue in the diet once investigators reach a conclusion. the leader of the largest opposition party reacted to the news. >> translator: this is about lying to the diet, so it would be ideal for him to be accused of perjury. but those sorts of arrangements are left to party officials in charge of diet affairs. >> japan's top government spokesperson says decisions related to managing the diet should be left up to the diet itself. japan's cabinet has

a new missile defense policy which includes developing a new long-range cruise missile. >> translator: we must establish a firm new missile defense system, as the threat posed to our country by north korea's missiles is growing. >> the development of what's described as a standoff missile significantly broadens the range of the ground self-defense force. the government insists this change from the current surface-to-ship model is necessary to block enemy attacks while securing the safety of personnel. the new missile defense policy comes after japan scrapped a plan for the land-based aegis ashore missile defense system. nearby communities voiced concerns about falling rocket boosters. the cabinet decision does not directly touch on the thorny issue of japan's capability to attack enemy bases. it only states the government will continue to study how to strengthen japan's deterrent

capabilities. north korea has been relatively quiet on the world stage lately. that's leaving surveyors at a loss with what's happening in the reclusive country. clues can be found along the border with china. >> reporter: modern apartments line the riverbank in tandong, eastern china. the river is the border with north korea. we approach by boat within several hundred meters of the north korean side. the riverbank is dotted with watchtowers. soldiers seem to be using trees and grass to build an impromptu lookout. we are told the number of these posts appears to increase every day. the surveillance is constant,

along with the military presence. the lone soldier at this facility watches us coolly. this footage of the same site was taken five years ago. people who appeared to be civilians waved from a boat. but this year, things are different. our chinese guide says the situation has changed completely from before. the guide says he has not seen north koreans fishing this year. he says that's because the activity is banned.

also banned is contact with chinese people. the number of soldiers and the stricter atmosphere suggests the north is intensifying its border security. >> earlier, ai uchida spoke with the reporter on that story in beijing. >> fascinating report. are there any signs as to why pyongyang is taking these steps? >> reporter: closing the border shows just h worried the government is about covid-19. the move has stopped the flow of goods with the north's largest trading partner, which must be hurting the economy. it has also apparently led to affairs of smuggling, since that could bring the virus as well. >> the ruling workers party is due to hold its eighth congress

early next month. do you think that will shed more light on the situation? >> reporter: leader kim jong-un is expected to deliver a speech at the event, when is being held for the first time since 2016. he will likely try measures to limit the pandemic's economic impact. observers will also be watching for statements about the nuclear and missile programs. it may also be a chance for kim to lay out policyies as the u.s biden administration prepares to take power. a long-running court battle over an ancient relic is set to resume in south korea. it centers on a small statue that was stolen from a japanese temple eight years ago. although that place is worship is so far not part of the latest

legal sparring. when the south korean government recovered the statue, the japanese government asked for its return. but the pusok temple in south korea claimed ownership, launching a legal challenge. a court ruled three years ago the statue should be returned to pusok temple, but the south korean government has appealed. sources say officials in seoul have sent a learn to the temple through diplomatic channels, asking it to be part of the new legal proceedings. the government argued it's simply too difficult to verify the statue's origins. there's a mix of celebration and anger as tunisians marked the tenth anniversary of the arab spring pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets to protest continuing hardships.

in 2010, a young vegetable seller touched off mass demonstrations when he set himself on fire to protest police abuse. the fallout put an end to the 23-year rule of president abe n abedin. the violence spread to other arab nations. authoritarian regimes were toppled in countries like egypt and libya. he said many of the revolution's goals have been achieved. he cited gains in employment, freedom and dignity. but during the ceremony, hundreds of people protested near the square where the man set himself ablaze. they expressed anger at chronic high unemployment and economic inequality. >> translator: we have yet to achieve anything that we protested for during the revolution. only our pain has increased. >> tunisia is often held up as the arab spring's only success story. but growing public discontent with its stagnant economy

suggests tunisia's struggle for stability is far from over. switching gears now for a check on the world weather with meteorologist jonathan oh. a tropical system swiped through fiji bringing strong winds and heavy rain. where is the storm heading next? >> we've been keeping an eye on yasa as it went over fiji and continues south and east. in the process we saw strong winds. i wanted to show you the video to give you an idea how things looked as cyclone yasa made landfall as a category 5 storm. fiji had ordered its entire population of about 1 million people to seek shelter and implemented a night curfew. two fatalities have been confirmed but the number could rise. yasa was the first category 5 storm since 2016 for the nation. we are continuing to see strong storms becoming more of a common

thing for the southern pacific ocean. the storm will continue to move toward the south and east and impact tonga and eventually go out into the open waters, but at least for the next 24 hours or so, we're still talking about rain, heavy at times, along with the strong winds as the storm continues to move down south. meanwhile, across japan, more snow taking place from the northern areas along the sea of japan, back down toward the south and west. we will still see snow continuing, though the pattern changes a little bit as low pressure runs over northern portions of the country with a cold front attached to that. we will see snow in places like sapporo into the weekend and the first part of next week. tokyo, osaka, fukuoka, temperatures around 10 under partly cloudy skies for the weekend and into the first part of next week. we broaden out the view. high pressure is controlling the weather across east asia, and that's driving in some of that northerly flow. that's keeping things quite chilly. in fact, we're looking at temperatures below freezing on

saturday for daytime highs. single-digit highs from beijing and shanghai. toward manila and the philippines, we're monitoring a tropical low pressure system and that's going to bring in a decent amount of rain, so be on the lookout for that as we go through the weekend. across north america, we do have this nor'easter that raced along the eastern seaboard and departing out of the area. we have two systems, one across the central portion of canada, one into the central portion of the united states. both will be pushing toward the east, and that will bring the chance for some rain, possibly snow up toward the north. looking at the forecast for new york, staying dry for the next couple of days. you need a little time to recover from all that snow. rain in the picture for sunday and monday. that's a look at the forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away.

♪ ♪ this is "newsline biz," i'm ramin mellegard. the bank of japan has decided to keep its current monetary-easing policy unchanged. it also decided to extend its program to support companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic. policymakers decided on friday that the central bank will maintain the negative short-term interest rate and buy unlimited amounts of government bonds. their program to support companies hit by the pandemic will be extended for six months from the current deadline of march 31st, 2021. policymakers will consider

extending it further if needed. the boj is also setting sights on how to achieve its inflation target amid concerns about the impact of the current downturn. >> translator: economic activity and prices are projected to remain under downward pressure for a prolonged period due to the impact of the the pandemic, so i'll likely take some time to achieve the price stability target of 2%. >> the bank will conduct an assessment into effective and sustainable monetary easing that it hopes will achieve the 2% goal. that inflation target seems a long way off with consumer prices in japan tumbling at the steepest rate in a decade. a government travel incentive program and lower energy costs contributed to the plunge. the internal affairs ministry, the consumer price index, excluding fresh food, was down 0.9% in november from a year earlier. it's the largest year-on-year

drop since september 2010. accommodation fell 34%. that's largely cue to the domestic travel campaign that offers hefty discounts. the go to program has been suspended for the new year holiday period as coronavirus infections surge. with oil prices on the up, ministry officials say they're closely monitoring how both changes will affect the index. japan airlines is assigning some staff to temporary jobs outside the group as the carrier tries to navigate the turbulent tiles brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. jal is sending 600 workers a day to more than 20 entities, including other companies and local governments. a call center in tokyo is manned by 30 flight attendants. each of them works up to eight days a month and the arrangements allows them to stay on the airline's payroll. call centers in japan are short of staff, as many businesses are opting for phone surveys over face-to-face encounters to minimize contact among people.

one of the cabin attendants says her inflight shifts are now halved and she sees her temporary position as a way to learn a new skill set. >> translator: it's a rare opportunity for me to experience another kind of job while i'm still with the company. i view it positively and see it as a chance to challenge myself. >> another major japanese carrier, all nippon airways, also plans to sign over 400 employees to outside jobs by next spring. in the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, many companies have begun looking at new business opportunities. in japan, some sake producers are drawing on the beneficial properties of their brews to develop a new range of products.

>> reporter: this japanese sake is known for its crisp flavor and refreshing aftertaste. the brewery that makes this sake has become the first in its field to launch a line of women's cosmetics. it includes lipstick, foundation, and a range of other products that all contain sake or rice bran. for over 1,000 years, the rice bran left over from sake-making has been valued as a skin cleanser. ukioye woodblock prints from the 19th century show women at that time using bags of rice bran as they bathed. researchers have found that the ethyl glucocide has a moisturizing effect. nihon brewery founded in 1889 produces sake for the imperial

household. in recent years, demand for sake has been in decline. and the coronavirus pandemic has led to a further slump in sales to restaurants. the new cosmetics line is aimed at women in their 50s and over who may have skin problems. as a sake brewer, the company can procure ingredients in bulk, which helps to reduce costs. >> translator: our aim is to go all out to grow our skin care business. we hope our brand will be recognized and used by as many people as possible. >> reporter: another sake brewery that has launched a new cosmetics brand is kiku masanume. it now offers a line of men's cosmetics made with sake ingredients. >> translator: sales of cosmetics for men have been increasing year by year. these products use a sake-based moisturizing agent. this line is aimed at men, and i feel it will appeal to people looking for skin care products.

>> reporter: kikmasamune is counting on its masculine brand image to boost its presence in the expanding market for men's cosmetics. a sales representative from the brewery has come to negotiate with this trading firm. >> translator: i really enjoy dealing with sake. it can also be used on the skin. >> translator: i can feel the products helped to moisturize my skin. >> translator: we blend in sake and sake byproducts such as extract from the sake leaves, together with yeast-based ingredients, to create cosmetics that focus on moisturizing. our aim is to create products that help men with skin problems. >> reporter: in japan it's often said sake is the best medicine. now the essential ingredients of sake are contributing to healthy skin care. meanwhile, the brewers are

hoping their new products will work as a tonic for their finances too. okay, let's get a check on the markets.

that's it for "newsline biz." from our tokyo studios, i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching. ú 1ú1hxxakfvfvfvfvf.

♪ it is good to have you with us. more than 300 schoolboys objected -- adducted -- abducted last week have been released. there has been pressure on the government to improve security. >> so far, 340 schoolchildren, we understand four have joined, so we have 344hi