welcome back to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, december 29th, i'm ai uchida, in tokyo. let's start, right here, in japan, where it has been a bullish day for financial markets. tokyo's benchmark stock index surged to a 30-year closing high, boosted by hopes for a long-awaited u.s. pandemic-relief package. the nikkei 225 ended, tuesday, at 27,568. that's up more than 700 points, or around 2.7%, from monday's close. it's the highest-finishing

level, since august, 1990. investors snapped up a wide range of shares, after key indices in new york hit new peaks. now, to the latest on the pandemic. the tokyo metropolitan government reported 856 new coronavirus cases in the japanese capital, on tuesday. that daily tally is the highest for a tuesday, since the pandemic began. the tuesday figure is usually lower, as many medical institutions are closed on weekends. the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in tokyo now stands at 57,896. the economic impact of the virus is becoming clearer, in japan. a government survey has found nearly 80,000 people have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. a group of labor lawyers has set up a counseling service for people struggling to make ends meet. the service, launched on

tuesday, based out of a tokyo park. lawyers and labor-union officials interviewed the visitors. they included a man, in his 40s, who apparently was laid off by a construction company. he was staying at an internet cafe, and had less than a dollar in cash left. the executive committee supports people who have lost their homes to apply for temporary accommodations, supplied by the tokyo metropolitan government. the committee also gives them meals and money for living expenses. >> translator: we hope people will spend the new year holiday safely, so they can start job hunting. if they can't find jobs, we want to help them live and receive welfare benefits. >> elsewhere, daily, coronavirus cases in britain topped 40,000, for the first time, on monday. as a new strain spreads, nationwide. last week, authorities expanded an area subject to tougher

restrictions, initially put in place for london and much of southeast england. the office for national statistics says infections have been spreading rapidly in the southeast, since mid-december. the government believes the new strain is more contagious. but it, also, says there is no evidence to suggest it makes people more sick or weakens the effectiveness of vaccines. south africa is, also, dealing with a new strain of the virus. on monday, the president announced a series of tougher restrictions. the measures include a stay-at-home order and the nation's third ban on alcohol sales since the outbreak began. >> t number of new coronavirus infections is climbing, at an alarming and unprecedented rate. >> gatherings will, also, be banned. shops and restaurants wil be required to close, at 8:00 p.m.

the world health organization is calling for cooperation to deal with the new variants of the virus. >> we're working, closely, with scientists all over the world to better understand any and all changes to the virus, and how these changes affect its ability to spread or make people sick. or any, potential impact on available tests, treatments, and vaccines. >> well, that virus strain, first detected in south africa, has already made its way to japan. on monday, the health ministry said it was found in a woman, who arrived at narita airport, near tokyo, on december 19th. she is in her 30s, and traveled from south africa. the officials, also, said they have now confirmed six more cases of the variant first detected in britain. the people are aged from their teens to their 40s. they arrived from britain, between december 1st and the 24th.

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with less than a month to go before he takes office, u.s. president-elect joe biden has criticized seni criticized officials at some federal agencies for not cooperating with his transition team. biden says they were hollowed out by president trump. >> we've encountered roadblocks from the political leadership at department of defense and the office of management and budget. right now, we just aren't getting all the information that we need with the ongoing, outgoing, and from the outgoing administration in key, national-security areas. it's nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility. >> speaking in his home state of delaware, on monday, biden also referred to russia's possible involvement in a series of cyberattacks against the government and businesses. he said the attacks were a threat to national security. biden said a smooth handoff between administrations was

essential. he said the country's adversaries could exploit what he called a window of confusion. he pledged to hold such countries to account. >> as we compete with china, to hold china's government accountable for its trade abuses, technology, human rights, and other fronts, our position was much stronger. build coalitions of like-minded partners and allies. >> biden's team criticized some pentagon officials, earlier this month, for resisting their requests for information. russian president, vladimir putin, and his chinese counterpart, xi jinping, have pledged to strengthen cooperation, ahead of the change of u.s. government in january. russia's presidential office said the two leaders spoke, by phone, monday. it said they described bilateral ties as being at the highest livable level in history, and truly beneficial to both sides.

and they said they reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate in the international a rethat. their strategic cooperation could resist any attempt to suppress and divide them. joint surveillance operations using strategic bombers over the sea of japan and the east china sea, on december 22nd. monday's phone summit is seen as an attempt to reinforce ties, before biden takes office next month. now, u.s.-china relations face further stress after washington enacted a new law about tibet. the legislation offers support to the tibetan people, when the time comes to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the dalai lama. ump signed the bill into law, on sunday. it says chinese interference in the dalaw also stipulates that

china will not be allowed to establish any, new -- in the u.s., until washington can open its own, diplomatic outpost in tibet's main city. >> translator: tibet-related issues touch on china's sovereignty and territorial integrity. and no interference by any external forces will be allowed. we urge the u.s. to stop exploiting relevant issues aimed at interfering in china's internal affairs. >> relations between the u.s. and china have soured, over issues related to trade and the south china sea. biden is expected to take a tough stance with beijing over human rights issues in hong kong and the xinjiang uighur autonomous region. a woman for independently reporting on the coronavirus outbreak in the city of wuhan. that's where the first cases were identified. the court in shanghai sentenced

the former lawyer on monday, on charges of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. she, then, posted firsthand accounts of the situation, online, including the response of the authorities to the outbreak. she was, later, detained and accused of spreading fse information and disrupting social order. at the first hearing, monday, her lawyer said the defendant denied the charges, and even refused to be tried. the lawyer described the ruling as unjust. >> translator: prosecutors presented no evidence of jazhan spreading false information. >> zhang is one of several people who have been detained in china, for attempting to publicize the coronavirus situation in wuhan.

media outlets in hong kong say 30 pro-democracy activists, including some who are based abroad, have been placed on a wanted list. they are accused of violating a national-security law, imposed on the territory by china. the reports, which also come from china's state-run central television, say hong kong police are searching for individuals, now living in britain, the united states, and other countries. they face accusations of inciting secession, and colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security. the list includes former pro-democracy lawmaker, ted huei, who has been charged with disrupting proceedings at the legislative couple. huei traveled to europe after being released on bail. he announced, earlier this month, he was going into exile. the list also includes prominent activist, nathan law, who has relocated to britain. pro-democracy protests in hong kong have been severely restricted since the

national-security law was enacted, in june. authorities are, also, intensifying their crackdown outside the territory. acts committed abroad are punishable under the new law, and foreigners can, also, be prosecuted. separately, the united states and britain have expressed concern over the trial of a group of hong kong activists, who were caught as they tried to flee to taiwan. 12 pro-democracy activists were detained by china's coast guard in august, as they tried to reach taiwan by boat. they were later charged with being in waters illegally. several of them were on bail or indicted in connection with anti-government protests in hong kong. one had been arrested on suspicion of violating the territory's national-security law. the trial, for ten of them, started monday in a court in the southern city of shenzhen, neighboring hong kong. diplomats from western countries and hong kong journalists visited the court, but were not

allowed to observe the hearing. the court said it heard opinions from the prosecutors and the defense, without revealing further details of the proceedings. ahead of the trial, the u.s. embassy in beijing released a statement calling for the activists to be released. the statement said, their so-called crime was to flee tyranny. british foreign secretary, dominic raab said on monday the activists have been given just three days notice of their trial, and have not had access to lawyers of their choosing. he urged china to conduct the trial in a fair and transparent manner. ♪ ♪

all right. we are going to take a look at weather, now. here is a look at the three-day forecast for cities around the world. ♪ ♪ ♪ you've been watching nhk

"newsline." we are back at the top of the hour. join us again, then. hi, i am shaula vogue, businesses innovations coming out of japan. our commentator is martin schultz, at one of japan's leading company. good to see you again. >> thank you for having me. >> let's take a look at today's report. water scarcity affects much of the globe. today nearly 30% of the earth's population lacks access to cleaning water leading to the

deaths of hundreds of thousands of children every year. if no action is taken, some forecast models predict that number to grow rapidly. by 2050, 40% of the world's population could be facing a lack of water. as the crisis looms on the horizon, many are turning their attention to recycling. >> humans need to recognize that water is a finite resource and make an effort to use it efficiently. >> today on side report featuring japanese companies that are developing water conservation technology. >> so today we are talking about effective use of water resources. we have u.n.'s sustainable goals and clean waters and sanitation. japan's clean water and an san

sanitation is rated as challenging and remaining. the problem with japan is we are using too much water. what do you think of the usage year. >> japan is a pacific island nation, there is a lot of rain and water. the problem is it comes in big swells, during the typhoons. the main issue is about starting water and distributing and treating water. this is where japan is really good at. >> the first company we visited come up with a new water treatment technology that can play a major role that cuts down on water usage. >> at the end of september, this shopping center at ginza placed a unique water station at its entrance. a standing sink running for 30

seconds runs water. it can provide clean water for 500 hand washes using just 20 liters of water. ai computer analyzed its purity. >> it is environmentally friendly. it is great. >> this is amazing. we should put it all over the place. since it does not need to be nnecteto a wer supy, it >> as ng as the is an elecical outt to plug it in. while the company previously developed the filtration, this sink was created three months in

the fight of covid-19. it was created by wata. it began developing its own water treatmt with the aim of public health and sanitation around the world. >> this is their portable shower which incorporates the same advance filtration and recycling system as the sink. we decided to test it out by pouring in some dirty water. the system removes small particles and smells and the final levels of filter removes dangerous microbes. when finished, the water is pure before it was used. >> water runs through the system

meets or surpasses the w.h.o.s standards for drinking water. use it and provide clean recycled water for 100 people. last september a local government tried out the showers while conducting trials for disaster relief products. >> it puts out a steady stream of water so i was able to take a shower with no problems. >> it felt clean and smelled fine. >> reporter: shortly after the trials were completed, the system was put to use when a powerful typhoon struck the area. 14 showers were set up at evacuation centers. in one month were able to provide 4,000 hot showers to evacuees staying there. >> water is a precious limited resource. we need to implement efficient way tose the water we have now like through recycling or even

if the world's population becomes ten times larger, we'll have enough water for everyone. >> you know this is really incredible. imagine if this could be adopted widely. the amount of water we give is safe. >> that would be a big impact. with this company i am really impressed that you can use it anywhere. you don't need plumbing or sewage system. you have a need for something and you just put it there. >> we looked at the stgs earlier. it is getting a lot of attention recently. does it make a difference? >> when luke at the stgs in a comprehensive way. you have to introduce to a circular economy. meaning not just water. that's one of the most important topics and this is where this company is coming from. >> absolutely. >> as much as i would like to see this adopted in a lot of

places, we have to look at the prices here. the sink we saw at $13,000, the showers are more expensive going for $50,000. what do you make of the price here? >> that's a problem for a start up. if particular, basically tailormade. this company is selling the whole package. you don't need plumbing, you can use it anywhere and it is really for disaster relief which opens up a whole range of customers. >> we have learned over the last year it is happening more and more often. >> absolutely. a business venture that comes up with a way to drastically reduce the amount of water to grow crops.

>> reporter: much of the water used in open area farming is lost in the soils. for example, on average it takes about 50 liters of water to grow one tomatoes while using sprinklers or other standard method of watering. this planter is able to grow vegetables using far andless water. it does sell by circulating water back from the bottom of the planter for reuse. >> translator: it takes less than 2 liters of water to grow one tomato. using the bare minimum amount of water needed to do so. >> reporter: the system requires no electricity and operates usg changes and sunlight. the air insight is needed and expand which puts pressure on the pump causing water to be expelled into the planter.

the air and the pump tank contracts, causing the pump to return to normal which draws water from the bottom of the planter. when the amount of water at the bottom runs low, the water replenished. the air in the pump warms and expands and the pressure pushes the pump to push water out. when the sunlight is blocked, pressure is taken off the pump which causes to contract and this technical college incorporated the water circulation system into one of its projects. >> they set up over 30 individual planters to create a rooftop garden on top of their

buildings to see how well vegetables can be grown in an urban setting. >> translator: just because you don't have a field, does not mean you can't farm. our goal is to see how well we can grow vegetables in a big city like osaka. >> reporter: this system is useful in farm fields, too. local governments are now testing out the technology to see if it can help farmers increase efficiency when it comes to water usage. >> farming requires a decent amount of water and soil but now as long as you have land, you can turn it into farmland which is just a small amount of water. i like to see our system being used all over the world. where ever there is a limited water supply. >> what's great about this planter is they can be placed

virtually everywhere. that's really cool. >> what kind of potential do you see here? >> japan has a high intensity agriculture meaning very little space and we have a solution that needs really little space. >> jace pan serious when it comes to farming in the cities? >> i would think so. even my company, i.t. company is experimenting and we are confirming. we are seeing it is spreading into asia and it is much smarter to produce things actually being used. >> just like all the stories we saw today, this saves a lot of water. >> it saves a lot of water and it is also a very smart and simple solution so you don't need all the high-tech solution for everything. just doing smart thing on the

go. >> i think what you said is true. the technology is so simple. the way they applied it is quite amazing. >> that's why i am so surprised any day in japan to find little solutions that work so well. just the toilet you are using, you wash your hands with the water that's flowing in the toilets. it is double use and it makes a lot of sense. >> that's japan specific. those toilets, you don't see them abroad. >> water being used from the bathtub to wash in the washing machine. >> it is really that multi-cultural. use the most of what we have. >> this is what we need to use for energy as well. that's all the time we have today, martin, thank you very

much for being with us, always a pleasure. i am shaula vogue and this is "biz stream," we'll see you next time.

and some bread to our people. -- and sell bread to our people. ♪ >> the headlines on al jazeera. the u.s. house of representatives back to threefold increase on pandemic relief checks to $2000. it will need a two thirds majority and says senate to pass. the house overturned trumps veto of the annual defense spending bill. >> congress voted for the spending measure, to find the military through october 1 of 2021. the president objected to the legislation for a number of reasons and