thank you for joining us from our studios in tokyo. this is nhk "newsline." we begin this hour with the latest on the pandemic here in japan. the total number of confirmed covid-19 cases has topped 200,000. the 100,000 mark was reached at the end of october, meaning the country's caseload took less than two months to double. the recentaily tallies have been much higher than the figures reported when japan was under a state of emergency in the spring. more than a quarter of total cases have been from the capital, tokyo.

local officials confirmed 392 new cases on monday. that's the highest figure on a monday when the number is usually lower because many medical institutions are closed on weekends. the total number of infections now stands at nearly 52,000 in the city of 14 million. >> translator: please give priority to your lives first during the year end and new year holidays. i want you to protect your family, people around you, and your own life. >> governor koike is calling on residents to stay home during the holidays. meanwhile,he tokyo government has begun offering free hotel rooms over the new year period to people hit hard by the pandemic. officials say people who lost their homes can stay at business hotels free of charge for four weeks. officials took a similar measure earlier this year when the capital was under a state of emergency.

they say it was applied in about 1,250 instances between april and june. as it pushes to fight the outbreak, japan's government has approved a record budget of 150 trillion yen. that's more than $1 trillion. the draft plan was given the go ahead at a cabinet meeting on monday. than the initial budget for the current fiscal year. the package includes a range of policies to support businesses hit hard by covid, and to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed. it includes nearly $50 billion that would be set aside to deal with other aspects of the pandemic. the government expects tax revenues to drop by more than $50 billion through about 550 billion as the outbreak steps corporate earnings. it plans to raise $450 billion for new bonds to fund over 40

percent of the new budget. the draft budget is expected to go to the diet early next year. in the united states congress has struck a deal on a $900 billion stimulus package for businesses and workers affected by the pandemic. congressional leaders announced the agreement on sunday. the legislation will include a direct payment of $600 per adult and a temporary $300 per week in additional jobless benefits. financial assistance will go to struggling small and medium-sized businesses as well as airline companies to help them retain jobs. it took congress eight months to seal the deal due to partisan disputes and the presidential election in november. this latest rescue package brings total spending in response to the crisis to nearly $4 trillion.

that's almost equivalent to the u.s. government's entire annual spending. staying in the country, the united states government has started domestic shipments of the coronavirus vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company moderna. the vaccine's emergency use was authorized by the food and drug administration on friday. it's the second vaccine to be approved by the regulators following one shortly developed by u.s. pharmaceutical pfizer and german partner biontech. moderna's vaccine can be stored at 90 degrees celsius, that's higher than the minus 70 degrees required to store the pfizer biontech vaccine. moderna doses are easier to send to small medical institutions and remote areas. pele first in line to be vaccinatedncludeedical pressions and derly residents of care facilities. the government is aiming to deliver nationwide a total of 20

million doses of the two vaccines through early january. london and other parts of southeast england are under lockdown again amid fears over a new strain of the virus. strict rules came into force on sunday. people must stay home unless they have a specific reason to go out. nonessential shops are closed. it's the third lockdown in the british capital since spring. the heart of the city was nearly deserted on sunday as the usual crowds of christmas shoppers stayed away. >> it is more important than ever that people are responsible not only stick to the rules but even within the rules restrict social contact as much as is possible because this is -- this is deadly serious.

>> the health secretary said a new variant of covid is out of control. the government says the new strain can spread more easily, but there's no evidence it causes more serious illness. other european countries have reacted to the development, france, the netherlands and germany are banning passenger flights from the uk. britain and the european union are still trying to thrash out a post-brexit deal. the two sides are at loggerheads over issues such as fishing rights in british waters. on sunday, britain's health secretary said the eu would have to shift positions. >> i want to see a deal, but i also think that the eu demands are unreasonable, and they're not demands that can be accepted. >> the eu's chief brexit

negotiator michel barnier tweeted that discussions were at a crucial point. he says the eu is committed to a fair agreement. the european parliament had called for an agreement to be reached by sunday in oer to ratify it this year. the talks are now expected to continue to monday. trade between the uk and eu will face custom checks from january 1st regardless of whether there's a deal, potentially slowing supply chains. if there's no agreement products will also be hit by tariffs. in belarus, the leader of the opposition has revealed details of alleged crimes by security forces and election workers. that comes as antigovernment protests continue following a disputed presidential election. demonstrators took to the streets across the country on sunday. a citizens group says about 150 people were detained in the capital and other places. mass protests erupted after president alexander lukashenko

won a sixth term in august over opposition leader svetlana tikhanovskaya. demonstrators say the vote was rigged demanding lukashenko step down. she has compiled a database of nearly 400 cases of election irregularities and crack downs on demonstrators that were reported by citizens. about 30 of those cases were posted on the internet on sunday. they included maps of locations of alleged incidents as well as the names of security force members accused of assaulting citizens. the opposition hopes the database will help investigators look into the cases if the current government faults. they also want western nations to use it when they impose sanctions on the government. the opposition leader said on social media that a new fight for justice has begun. she's calling for more information from the public. a top u.s. scholar on east

asia, ezra vogel has died at the age of 90 at a hospital in massachusetts on sunday. he was a professor emeritus at harvard university and the author of "japan is number one." after obtaining a doctorate in sociology at harvard, vogel spent two years in japan to study the country's language and society. his 1979 best seller "japan is number one" analyzed factors behind japan's rapid economic growth in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. vogel was also known as an expert on china. he spent nearly ten years to publish a book on the life of deng xiaoping who advocated a policy of reform and opening up. his linguistic abilities allowed him access to a vast network in japan and china. last year he published "china and japan" a book that addresses the history of exchanges between

the countries. the u.s. embassy in tokyo has posted a comment on twitter saying vogel's scholarship brought americans and japanese closer together and "japan is number one" is still essential reading for understanding japan's economic might. the 2004 indian ocean tsunami killed over 220,000 people making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, but 16 years on, memories of the tragedy are fading. one teacher is sharing his experience with people too young to have memories of their own. nhk world has more. >> a school teacher in an area of southern thailand that was devastated by the 2004 tsunami. >> please raise your hand if you know what a tsunami is. is that all?

>> he was 10 years old when giant waves approached his village. he was told to run to the second floor of a neighbor's house. from there he watched the destruction unfold. >> translator: back then we didn't know about tsunamis or how to survive them. even the word tsunami was unknown to us. >> the province reported over 4,000 deaths, including many in nikun's neighborhood. after the disaster, the government put up shelters and evacuation signs, but many of these have not been properly cared for. nikun was concerned about the lack of awareness and worked with other teachers to make an evacuation map. he believes regular drills can help students memorize evacuation routes and save lives

when disaster strikes. >> translator: making the map was challenging because i didn't have any experience doing this kind of thing. there are a lot of factors to keep in mind. >> in december, an evacuation drill was held based on new national guidelines. nikun is among the trainers. >> translator: when the water level goes down rapidly and your friends want to go fishing, what would you say to them? >> students joined several training sessions including a quiz using cartoons. first aid practice, and information on how to respond when a tsunami looks likely. the new guidelines assigned teaches to one of five groups such as evacuating students or joining rescue teams. about 700 students participated in the drill. for some it's their first time.

they say regular drills could help ease the fears of tsunami. >> translator: i learned about preparation and helping each other survive, so if a tsunami strikes we'll be prepared. >> translator: i hope to pass on my experience to the younger generation so they know exactly what to do during a tsunami. i want them to survive using both their intuition and what they learned during trainings like this. >> as people's memories fade over time, it is essential to continue sharing the survivor's experiences and be well prepared to avoid another tragedy. nhk world, thailand. ♪ and now a check on the world weather for the next three days.

♪ ♪ that wraps up this hour. thank you for watching nhk "newsline." hope you'll join us again.

hi, i am shaula vogue. welcome to a special edition of "biz stream." joseph craft, it is good to see you. let's take a look at this week's featured stories. >> reporter: the ongoing pandemic pushed many commuters using bicycles to get to work. for those whose jobs allowed teleworking a unique business model is turning empty houses

across japan into share houses. the system allows clients to rotate locations, giving them the chance of the best. today's report features rental businesses that are meeting the new need of japan's work force during the pandemic. social distancing have become a new norm. businesses are changing and some are thriving, you know, and some are not? what do you think is the key to keep business afloat right now? >> i would call it asset repurposing or adaptability. as consumer needs or values change depending on the

pandemic. companies need to adapt to those changes with products they already have. >> we are seeing a lot of rental business popping up everywhere. i think the younger generation are leading the way. what are your thoughts there? >> my generation is having something tangible goods, the two generations down, they don't see that. my kids don't think owning a car is a good thing. so you know parking and upkeep is uncool in many ways. so their values are changing. >> the cool thing in japan was having a lamborghini and ferrari, we are not seeing that here. many customers disappeared instantly when the pandemic hits. they were able to change gears and find a new business model that kept them up right during hard times. >> reporter: the pandemic have

brought japan's thriving industry to a halt. this bicycle rental company has eight locations and been in business for nearly ten years. when the pandemic hit, the damage was a mute. with a sudden drop in tourists, we saw sales fall nearly 50%. >> reporter: a new customer base came to the forefront as more and more people began cycling to work in order to avoid the risk of riding on crowded trains. it was this that led to a new rental business model that lets users keep the bicycles as if they were their own. >> translator: users don't want to be sharing bikes with other people as another thing to worry about when it comes to protecting one self from

infection. i saw this as a business opportunity for our company. >> reporter: the bicycle costs over 1,000 each and renting it around $40 a month. 60% increase over the previous month. since the bike don't have to be returned, users keep them as if they were their own, riding them to and from work as well as their free time. he works at an office in central tokyo. he's been using the new monthly rental service since the middle of august. >> translator: i could have bought my own bicycle but i really need it for work. on top of that there is a possibility that i may have to move in the near future. this rental service just seems like a convenient option for me.

>> reporter: an increase in demand for food delivery and influx of new delivery staff. many were prepared for the up front cost of purchasing a bicycle. since the beginning of the new month rental service in april, the company saw profits recovered but surged. compares to last year, sales were up 140% meaning they did better than they were prepandemic. >> i see demand for food delivery remaining strong and think a lot of people discovered that riding a bike to work can be better than using public transport, hopefully we can continue to appeal both groups and grow our business even more. >> they quickly adapted their business. this is why they have been successful, right? >> this is a classic case of repurposing and positives, the pandemic have concerns of the

infection. these are great. i think people are used to rental services these days especially i-tunes started it off. people are used to that concept. this is a natural progression. itunes change the music industry. when streaming started, i would never give up actually owning the record or the cd and now everybody got rid of their cds. >> i recently sold a ton of my cds. i just think of how much money we can save when we had itunes back when. >> they have different system for short term rental fees. the one day unlimited ride for touris about $20 a day. the fee for commuters start about $30 which is a good deal. half of the uses are for food

delivery. they have different system. those plans cost $50 into $150. what do you think of the system? >> i think is great. monthly payment system is convenient. if you don't need it, there is a new group of people needing bicycles have increase. this is a simple way for them to get into and use. it is a win-win situation for both definitely. >> next week we feature a company that's not only riding the telework wave in japan but making use of some of the pop up home that is are popping up across the country. >> reporter: east tokyo. this morning he was up early to catch some waves.

he works for a large tokyo base company but today he's staying at this two-bedroom share house located on the east coast of jiba prefecture. he starts his workday by joining a video conference with his co-workers. >> good morning, how is evyone doing? >> reporter: the share house he's staying at is part of a unique change that operates over 90 properties across japan. members rotate between them and are able to choose which locations they want to stay at from beach side bungalow to rusted cabins, members can experience a wide variety of property for a monthly fees that's less than $400. >> so many properties are surrounded by natural beauty.

ing able to and in these wonderful places help me unwind which helps me focus on my work when i need to. >> reporter: he's the ceo of address, the company that runs this new type of rotating share house business. the increase number of people wanting to shift to a remote work led to a surge of new clients. >> we see our membership increasing to three or four times prior to the pandemic. just under half of them under full-time company's employees shifted to working remotely. >> reporter: most of the share houses that the company operates were transitioned from vacant homes located all over japan. the share house company signs contract with the homeowners.

the owners are then responsible for renovating their property. once it is ready, address will pay a rental fee for it. >> hello. come on in, these are the koyabashi, they own two houses right next to each other on the same lot. one house is theirs and the other belong to mr. kobayashi seven years ago. since then the house has sat empty and has been a financial burden on them. from a cash flow to end point is a big help to get rental money from it. it will help pay the property taxes and other related expenses. as japan's population ages and shrinks, some estimates there will be as many as 20 million vacant homes across the country.

our goals is to use as many as we can to match the need of our business model. we plan to add four or five thousand properties throughout the country. >> like we saw we are going through a lot of changes, teleworking is one of them. i would love to work at the beach. why not make the most of teleworking, right? >> teleworking is here to stay. it is really exciting because before you have to take a vacation to have fun touring and come back to work. you can do those at the same time. so there is a lot of opportunity. i do wonder and worry while larger companies are better equipped for teleworking, the smaller and medium size companies don't have the capital

or the hardware to do it. there is a challenge for those types of smaller companies. >> right, some adjustments that need to be made. to give you a better idea of how this company works, people rotate between a variety of locations and they can only stay in one location for a maximum of seven days at a time. if you love the place, you can leave one night and come back for another seven days. this is a system made so the popular places are not dominated by one person. what's really interesting is most people use it as a short term stay location but 30% of their customers are using the service full-time. they only live by jumping back and forth between places. this is a shock to me. is this something that interests you? >> well, if i was 20 years younger yes -- >> age does not matter. >> i do think it is attractive. it is good for the community and especially people are staying there longer. that is win-win for both communities and workers. it is great.

>> with the aging population, right? >> i may try it. >> i would love to try it. joe, thank you very much for being with us today. >> absolutely thank you. this is "biz stream," we'll see ç ñxñññ@óóñuñutfvfvfvfvfvfvfv

>> the u.s. food and drug administration expected to approve a second coronavirus vaccine for emergency use imminently. makers of the dharna vaccine are waiting for the green light to dispatch 6 billion doses nationwide. u.s. vice president mike was inoculated with the prizer biontech vaccine and president-elect joe biden will do the same monday. the nation's t