♪ welcome back to nhk "newsline." it is wednesday, december 23rd. i'm ai uchida. we begin with the coronavirus. the tokyo metropolitan department reported 738 new cases in the japanese capital wednesday. the figure is the second highest after last thursday's record of 821. the last time the daily tally surpassed 700 was saturday when

736 infections were confirmed. the total number of cases confirmed in tokyo since the start of the pandemic now stands at 53,130. concern about the spread of a new variant of the virus is causing major disruptions in the united kingdom as some countries have banned passenger flights from britain. japan's government says it will refuse new entries from the uk for the time being. >> translator: the government will continue to protect people's health. our top priority is ensuring everyone is safe and secure over the year-end holidays. we will implement border controls to prevent new coronavirus infections. >> chief cabinet secretary kato katsunoba said japan's stepped-up measures will take effect from thursday. he said japanese and nonjapanese residents who take short

business trips to the uk will be asked to self-quarantine up to 14 days upon return. kato said japanese nationals returning from the uk will be asked from december 27th to provide proof they were tested within 72 hours prior to leaving britain. the british government says france has agreed to admit truck drivers from the uk if they test negative. france banned entry from the uk across the strait of dover on monday to stop the variant from spreading. the french entry ban has left about 3,000 trucks stranded, disrupting the flow of goods. the strait of dover is a vital trade route. the uk said on tuesday that france had agreed to let truck drivers in if they showed proof of a negative test. it says drivers will be asked to take a test that can detect the virus, including the new strain, in about 30 minutes. the french government will also conduct sample testing on drivers. the british government notes that an extensive testing

program will have to be set up. it's calling on truck drivers not to approach ports for now to avoid overcrowding. observers say alleviating the congestion may take time. now moving on to the worst-hit country, the united states, where more than 320,000 people have died from covid-19. president-elect joe biden has warned the situation is expected to worsen and called for national cooperation to contain the spread. >> here's the simple truth. our darkest days in the battle against covid are ahead of us, not behind us. we need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines, as frustrating as it is to hear. it's going to take patience, persistence, and determination to beat this virus. >> biden cald on people to remain vigilant, as it will take many more months to deliver

vaccines to millions of americans. he welcomed the bipartisan effort earlier this week in congress to pass a $900 billion rescue package to support businesses, but biden said he would seek further measures next year to fund the full distribution of vaccines and help all those who lost their jobs. the international table tennis federation says it will cancel the world championships in south korea due to the pandemic. the federation made the decision tuesday, citing the increasing number of infections in south korea and many other parts of the world. the world team table tennis championships were to be held in pusan from february 28th to march 7th, 2021. they were originally scheduled for march of this year but were postponed three times. world championships alternate each year between individu and team events. the next turn was to be the team championship. the federation says it is the first time the world championships have been

canceled since world war ii. turning now to japanese politics and the scandal involving a former japanese prime minister. tokyo prosecutors are soon expected to bring a summary indictment against a secretary of abe shinzo over alleged political funding violations. the violations involve parties that took place on the night before government-funded cherry blossom viewing events while abe was in office. about $220,000 was spent on the parties during the five years through 2019. abe is thought to have paid at least a third of that. one of abe's secretaries is suspected of violating the political funds control law of failing to report revenue and spending related to funding for

hotels. the total revenue and costs not declared in political fund reports was said to be about $290,000 over the four years through 2019. then prime minister abe repeatedly told the diet that all expenses were covered by the participants. said his staff put the former prime minister in a position of stating something contrary to the facts. earlier this year, a group of lawyers and legal scholars from across japan filed a criminal complaint against abe over the issue. prosecutors questioned abe on a voluntary basis on monday. he denied any involvement in the failure to report outlays covering part of the dinner costs. prosecutors are not expected to indict abe, as it is seen as difficult to hold him criminally responsible. nhk has learned that the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant plans to postpone the removal of radioactive debris from inside one of the reactors.

tokyo electric power company has determined that it will be impossible to start the operation in 2021 as planned. tepco had planned to conduct preparatory tests of a robotic arm in britain this year, but the plan was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. transporting the robotic arm to japan would also be difficult. the firm is now making arrangements to carry out the tests in japan. the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused a triple meltdown at the plant. removing fuel debris from the numbers one, t, and three reactors is said to be one of the biggest challenges in the plant's decommissioning process. this is because of the extremely high levels of radiation inside the reactors. tepco and the japanese government had planned to start with the number two reactor in 2021 as robot and other surveys have provided the most detailed images and data from inside that reactor. the united nations has appointed a senior official from

japan to lead its office in serbia in support of a peace-building mission in kosovo. a u.n. spokesperson said tuesday that yamashita mari will serve as representative and director of the u.n. office in the serbian city of belgrade. she spoke with nhk following her appointment. >> translator: i think listening to other people's voices is the first step in u.n. diplomacy. i've worked for the u.n. for about 30 years, but i think i have to go back to basics an will brace up to make a fresh start. >> reporter: yamashita currently holds a senior position at the u.n.'s department of political and peace-building affairs and peace operations. the ethnic strife in the former yugoslavia has continued for years over the independence of kosovo. a u.n. mission is operating in kosovo to help promote its autonomy and achieve peace.

yamashita joined the united nations in 1990 and has worked in several nations. she also serves as deputy head and director of the peace-building support office and director of the u.n. information center in tokyo. china says it has launched a new carrier rocket as part of efforts to develop reusable launch vehicles. the country is accelerating its space development efforts to achieve a goal of becoming a major space power by 2030. china's space agency says the long march 8 rocket made its maiden flight from a launch site on the southern island of hainan on tuesday. the rocket uses liquid fuel that is said to have relatively low impact on the environment. reports say it is capable of carrying a payload of 4.5 tons to an altitude of 700 kilometers. china reportedly aims to develop reusableockets le those produced by u.s. aerospace venture spacex. last week the country announced its lunar mission brought back a

capsule containing rocks from the moon. the discovery of the bodies of 39 vietnamese migrants in a container truck outside london last year highlighted the risks people are willing to take in search of a better life. we visited the parents of one of the victims who had traveled halfway around the world for the sake of her family. nhk world's gwen kamtui reports. >> reporter: more than a year has passed since they lost their daughter. >> translator: i miss her all the time. this suffering cannot be healed. >> reporter: their daughter was

26 when she died. she was apparently smuggled to britaivia chinand france. she managed to send a text message to her family from inside the container. "my journey has failed," she said. "father and mother, i love you from the bottom of my heart. i can't breathe. i'm about to die." >> translator: if i knew there was a risk, even just 1%, i would never have let my daughter go. >> reporter: her parents are now drowning in debt of about $24,000 she borrowed to pay for the journey. income of about $200 a month barely covers the interest payments. >> translator: we're in dire straits. i'm already old, and i don't know when i can pay off her debt.

>> reporter: why do vietnamese risk everything to travel overseas? we met a young man in the central province of the country, home to 21 of the 39 people who died in the container. the 21-year-old says he was planning to go to germany this year, traveling via russia. >> translator: i want to go abroad. because i want to earn more money for my family. >> reporter: average monthly incomes in rural vietnam are less than half those in urban areas. people from poorer provinces make easy targets for smugglers promising riches overseas. >> translator: regular routes are difficult. i can't speak foreign languages. it's easier to use an illegal

way. >> reporter: the coronavirus pandemic prevented him from leaving this year, but he still intends to go when he can and says he's not worried about the risks. >> translator: tragic incidents like that almost never happen, so i'm not worried about it happening to me. because such incidents are extremely rare. >> reporter: a rise in people smuggling seems inevitable when pandemic travel restrictions ease. economic hardship means some people are still willing to risk everything in search of a better life. let's check out the weather. here's a look at the the-day forecast for cities around the world.

you've been watching nhk "newsline." we're back at the topf the hour. join us again then. ♪ >> hi and welcome to a special edition of "biz stream" with joseph kraft. glad to have you back. >> glad to be back. >> let's look at the feature report. >> one of the key ingredients needed for sustaining our rich oceans is kelp forests,

stretching along coast lines these large swaths of plant life provide food and shelter for a variety of sea life. in recent years, however, a variety of factors have contributed to coastal sea beds dekals fiction all over the world. >> it's not just having a negative impact on the environment, it's hurting the >> fortunately some companies are stepping in to help bring back marine plan thes and turning kelp-eating sea urchins into cash. today's report looks at sustainable development goals by those looking to protect the ecosystems.

>> this was a way to pr work together to resolve issue today we're looking at life below water with the goal to sustainability use the ocean's seas and marines resources, focussing on the sea floor dessert fiction where it becoming barren of all life. this is a very important issue. >> absolutely important. given how much the government is spending on covid we're under-spending on these issues. >> and unfortunately we're very behind. hopefully we can get with the program. >> yes. >> when it comes to sea floor dessert fiction sea urchins are one of the main culprits. now a tasty way to turn these pests into profit.

>> this kelp forest is teeming with life but at the edge lies a barren, rocky sea floor. the only creature found in abundance here is the sea urchin, these spiney shell fish have voracious appetites and can easily decimate an entire kelp forest. although considered a delicacy in japan used in a variety of dishes including sushi, the sea urchin's found here known as you arechin barrens are now worthless as they have no edible inner lobes and fishermen see no value in them and most of the prickly pests are left on the sea floor. this ceo of a start up called urchin nommics hoping to bring

back kelp farms to barren, coastal areas. >> by removing the urchin we allow the kelp forest to recover which brings back one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. we convert them from eco logical pest to a premium seafood pruct in s to twel weeks. >> in 2019 his company opened a sea urchin farming facility, buying the urchin at a price near the same as healthy urchin and they are placed in temperature-controlled water that is ideal for their growth. on top of that, they feed them

with a special formula that includes dried kelp. after three years they came up with a formula it to give them rich color and high-level of umami. in two months the once-nearly hollowed urchin are now filled with gooey, edible lobes. the company is now putting its product to the test by offering their urchins to local restaurants. >> translator: it's got just the right balance of saltiness and sweetness for being served at sashimi. >> by paying fishermen to capture the empty urchin, this is providing a new revenue service to local fisherman and playing a new role in bringing

balance back to the sea floor. >> the urchin barrens around the world are quite significant, hopefully in the next couple years will have multiple sites around the world restoring kelp forest. >> so sea urchin in japan is a gourmet food and ises catching on around the world. i really like this company, applying their bid model not only in japan but also in the u.s., looking to expand in norway and canada. what did you think of their business model? >> i thought it was interesting they're buying useless urchin from the fishermen, so immediately giving back to the community. don't know if the economic business model works but what's very important for any company involved in svg is to provide a viable product at a good price.

>> good point, it all comes down to price, that's a big one. we're seeing a lot of these start-ups that are environmentally friendly now, this is something that new companies all need to keep in mind now. >> all companies are cognizant of the environment and i think whether they can invest in change for positive green impact is a big challenge. >> next, a major steel manufacturer is helping to restore kelp forests in by surprising way. >> another thing necessary is nutrients for their growth. when it comes to healthy sea floors one doesn't immediately think of mountains and rivers but nutrients that are played to the sea play a crucial role in healthy plant life. deforestation has drastically reduced the flow from rivers to sea and having a negative impact on sea weed growth.

recently an unexpected ally has stepped in to offer support to japan's struggling areas, nippon steel is working on a unique project that makes use of steel slag a biproduct during the steel manufacturer process to promote the growth of marine plant life. a professor of the university of tokyo is overseeing the project. >> in addition to night -- nitrogen and phosphorous we found iron is extremely effective, our research has confirmed iron is particularly useful in promoting sea weed growth when provided in the early stages of development. >> in 2018 the company began testing special sea weed

fertilizer units in a small fishing village on the northern island of haikd with a one-to-one ratio of steel slag and soil are poured into bags and placed on the edge of the sea shore. as the waves crash on the bags, and tide go to sea, the iron modules go with it to provide a boost to the sea weed growth. for the last 30 years this areas coastal waters have been ffering from expanding see floor desserfiction and two years later after the project began sea weed has begun to grow here. >> the areas where the steel slag bags are placed are seeing various types of see weed growing back and for the last ten years have been releasing herring fry in the river here and if the sea weed growth continues to increase will make more habitat the for them to lay

their eggs in and that will mean a bigger harvest of fish for us. >> marine plant life reclamation projects are under way in 30 locations across japan. the company hopes to find other ways of using its steel slag as it seeks to continue to protect and replenish japan's coastal waters. >> translator: as long as our steel slag can play a role in bringing back japan's coastal ecosystems we will continue to look for areas where we can help through similar reclamation projects. >> so far this company has tried this restoration method in 38 locations and revived kelp in 26 of them, a success rate of nearly 70%, quite impressive. and now they're developing blocks made out of the same kind

of steel slag and instead of putting them on the coast line they're directly placing them on the sea bed so that the kelp can grow directly off them. which is really cool. i mean, i had no idea that a biproduct of steel would be so helpful in kelp forests. >> neither did i, this is a classic case of repurposing biproducts and if more companies can find ways to repurpose their biproducts we'll see a lot more positive results. wonder if we'll see more concrete slabs in the ocean, that's a different story. >> that's true but something we can handle, we want the health of the ocean. >> exactly. >> throughout the show we're seeing new companies and old school companies making huge changes, how much should the government step in? it feels they should take a more active role to push this movement forward. >> i would like to see much more government activity. it's so far limited to the private sector and i think this

sdg environmental protection if it's going to take off it has to be private and government cooperation of the government definitely has to do more. >> and right now with all of the corona news a lot of this is over shadowed. >> yes. >> it's easy to pretend to forget about it but these issues are still happening and changes need to be made. >> well we'll have a new u.s. administration more cognizant of the environment and hopefully u.s. will impact the japanese government to could more. >> i think you also mentioned crisis with a lot of these companies. how do these companies go about getting investments? >> again they're mostly getting investments through the private sector which is a healthy way of doing it but there's a lot of onus to succeed and be profitable.

if the government can also invest in these companies, they may be given more time until they can be successful and profitable. >> right. >> i think it's important both private and government invest in these companies. >> absolutely. that's it for this week, we'll v

opportunities in the hope her children might have better ones. ♪ anchor: this is al jazeera. israel will be holding its fourth election in two years after its coalition that briefly united netanyahu and benny gantz collapsed. parliament was dissolved after failing to meet the deadline. >> it really all goes back to that power-sharing agreement between netanyahu and gantz. that agreement was signed after the last election. the idea was that netanyahu and gantz would