♪ hello, you're watching nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin this hour here in japan where the government has declared a state of emergency for tokyo and three neighboring prefectures in an attempt to curb the rise in coronavirus cases. >> translator: the rapid spread of covid-19 across the country has created a situation that could have a serious impact on people's lives and the economy.

therefore, i hereby declare a state of emergency based on the anti-virus law. >> the declaration will cover tokyo, kanagawa, saitama, and chiba prefectures. it will go into effect on friday and remain in place until february 7th. a state of emergency is less strict in japan than in many western countries. prefectural xorgovernors will h the legal authority to urge residents to cooperate with prevention efforts. bars and restaurants will be asked to close by 8:00 p.m. and stop serving alcohol an hour earlier. residents will also be asked to retafrain from nonessential outings after 8:00 p.m. companies will be asked to encourage remote work and reduce the number of staff in their offices by 70%. the number of spectators at live events will be limited to half the available seats and no greater than 5,000.

schools, however, will not be asked to close. >> translator: the coronavirus pandemic is becoming worse than we had ever imagined. but i believe we can overcome the situation. to accomplish this, we have no choice but to ask you once again to restrict your lifestyle. we are determined to improve the situation within the next month. as prime minister, i will do my utmost and take every possible measure to prevent the spread of infection. >> suga added the government hopes to start vaccinations by

late next month. he also said he's determined to hold the postponed tokyo olympics and paralympics in the summer. this is the second state of emergency declaration for the greater tokyo area and comes amid a surge in daily cases. on thursday, daily cases in japan surpassed 7,000 for the first time. about half of that figure comes from the tokyo area. officials in the capital confirmed a record 2,4 revenue cases on thursday. 121 people are now in serious condition. the highest figure to date. meanwhile, the governor of osaka says he plans to ask the central government to declare a state of emergency for the western prefecture. >> translator: there are clear signs that infections are spreading rapidly. we should take preemptive measures. >> yoshimura says he wants to

coordinate osaka's response with neighboring hyogo and kyoto prefectures. as the state of emergency is about to take effect, many people are wondering if they have the coronavirus or not. nhk world's shirakawa marina looks at the growing popularity of private pcr testing. >> reporter: even before opening its doors for the first time, this private testing company was booked up for months. people line up looking for peace of mind ahead of holidays or business meetings. >> translator: my company told me to come here to take a test. it's cheap, so i think i might actually use it regularly. >> translator: i am afraid i could be the source of a cluster infection when i return home. >> reporter: this company has experience selling this very

test kit to hospitals. but here, you are on your own. step into a booth, spit in the kit, and expect news, good or bad, the very next day. just blocks away is a famous nightlife district, and the site of some early outbreaks. in response, the government asked bars and restaurants to better manage risks, and many customers stayed away. this should be the busiest time of year for this chinese restaurant. people would line the stairs to wait for a table. instead, almost every seat is empty and sales have plummeted. despite taking precautions to keep customers and themselves safe, staff are stressed. their families back in china worry about their safety. the manager hopes private testing will ease their minds.

>> translator: if we're always worried that we might get infected with the coronavirus, we can't provide service at 100%. >> reporter: up until now, japan has only provided tests to people who have likely been infected. for example, displaying symptoms or traveling abroad. with the health care system close to collapse, people want options. but the government has concerns about quality, and companies are not obligated to inform them of positive test results. this expert with japan's coronavirus advisory panel says as long as people use reliable companies, potential benefits outweigh t risks. >> translator: if a lot of people take the tests, we can find asymptomatic cas in tokyo. if the facility can find carriers and swiftly connect

them to medical institutions, it should be possible to prevent secondary and tertiary infections in the city. >> reporter: back at the restaurant, iwakami can't wait to share some good news. the results are back and everyone is negative. >> i was a little relieved. >> translator: i was a little relieved. i think that if we keep doing what we are doing, we might be able to continue operating. i feel so much better. >> with no word on when life can return to normal, many are looking for some feeling of safety. being able to easily get a test is one step toward finding peace of mind. shirakawa marina, nhk world, tokyo.

we now move on to breaking news from the united states. congress has officially certified joe biden's presidential election win. the development comes just hours after washington erupted into chaos when supporters of president donald trump stormed the capitol. a joint session of congress counted the votes of the 538 electo electors. >> joseph r. biden jr. of the state of delaware has received 306 votes. donald j. trump of the state of florida has received 232 votes. >> biden won more than the 270 votes needed to win the presidency. he'll be inaugurated the 46th president of the united states on january 20th. shortly after the certification, trump issued a statement through his white house deputy chief of staff for communications. trump said that even though he totally disagrees with the outcome, there will be an orderly transition.

those words were an abrupt change from earlier in the day when trump urged his supporters to help overturn the results. mobs charged past police barricades and flooded onto the balconies. they later smashed their way into the senate chambers, the house of representatives, and the offices of some lawmakers. police say four people died on the capitol grounds and several officers were injured. trump has been roundly castigated for inflaming the riot. hours after the chaos began, the president released a video on twitter asking the crowd to go home. but he stopped short of criticizing the siege and repeated his baseless claims of mass voter fraud. twitter has now locked trump's account for 12 hours and facebook and youtube have removed his video message. meanwhile, u.s. health officials say coronavirus vaccines have triggered some

serious allergic reactions. they're warning people not to have a shot if they're allergic to vaccine ingredients. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention say about 1.9 million people had received vaccines developed by pfizer and biontech as of december 23rd. they identified 21 cases of a serious allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. 17 of those people had documented history of allergies or allergic reactions. the cdc report said the people who suffered anaphylaxis had a median age of 40 and 90% were women. 70% showed symptoms within 15 minutes of injection. it says 20 of the 21 people have completely recovered. a senior cdc official says anaphylaxis caused by a coronavirus vaccine is rare but that people receiving shots should be observed for a while.

south koreans are hoping for a smoother start to 2021 as a coronavirus-weary world settles into the first week of the new year. the government tightened restrictions during the holiday period and recently expanded a ban on private gatherings larger than four people to the whole country. but a prolonged surge in infections is taking its toll on citizens. nhk world's kim chan-ju has more on the atmosphere in seoul as 2021 begins. >> reporter: it's been a muted and atypical start to the new year. this market, one of the most famous traditional markets in the country, it's usually bustling with people. but with daily cases topping 1,000 recently, it's no longer the hub it once was. many of the annual new year events were also canceled this

year, including a midnight bell-ringing ceremony on new year's eve. the event in central seoul has happened annually since 1953, one of the key sites and sounds of new year's end. but for the first time in nearly seven decades, the bell stayed silent. >> translator: i used to come here every year to take photos and look back on the past year. i felt so sad that the ceremony was canceled, so i just came to see the bell. >> reporter: instead, the city prerecorded the ceremony and released it online at midnight.

turning to tech is a safer alternative we are seeing others adopt, too. one of the most popular things to do on new year's day in south korea is to catch the first sunrise. but this year, all sunrise events were banned at tourist destinations in coastal areas, and access was cut to the beach. restaurant dining was also banned. instead, six local governments with popular sunrise spots livestreamed it on youtube, attracting over 1,000 viewers for each broadcast. despite being in a third wave of the virus, people in south korea say they're staying cautiously optimistic the new year will bring a new reality. >> translator: business has declined by 90% compared to last year. company owners are all hoping

for the pandemic to be over so we can go back to normal. >> translator: i hear vaccines are coming in february, so my wish is for the pandemic to end and we can live without wearing masks. >> reporter: that woman mentioned the vaccines. president moon jae-in has faced widespread criticism over the timing of his government's vaccine rollout plans. the february start date for medical workers and the elderly is later than european countries and the u.s. for now, 2021 is looking anything but predictable. kim chan-ju, nhk world, seoul. turning back to japan, violent snowstorms have been hitting coastal aas along the sea of japan. there are warnings of avalanches and blizzards. the meteorological agency said on thursday that winds are becoming stronger nationwide.

a rapidly developing low pressure system and weather front are to blame. wind gusts of around 100 kilometers per hour were recorded at tottori airport in tottori prefecture in western japan on thursday morning. further north, yokota city in akita prefecture has seen record snowfall. as of 11:00 a.m. on thursday, 151 centimeters of snow had accumulated, and there were reports of power outages. the snowfall has been deadly in places, with around 30 people known to have died while shoveling snow since december 15th. a total of 546 domestic flights have been canceled on thursday and friday. weather officials say a winter pressure pattern will strengthen, bringing heavy snow until around sunday, affecting areas along the sea of japan coast and mountainous areas on the pacific coast. people are advised to refrain from nonessential outings.

our meet yofrt jonathan oh has a look at what's ahead for japan as we go through the next few days. jonathan? >> hello. we did see plenty of snow being reported across japan, especially on the sea of japan coastline, along with some strong winds. even here in tokyo we saw wind gusts as high as 92 kilometers per hour setting a january record. in other places in japan, gusts hit up to 143 kilometers per hour. the snowfall will continue to take place as we go through the next few days. keep an eye into the northern areas of japan. snow depths sitting around 254 centimeters, and that is up from what we saw earlier this week, about 150 centimeters. little by little we're seeing this, bit by bit seeing it grow up. low pressure pushing off toward the east. that northwesterly flow will really help to generate more snow as we go through friday, saturday, and even into sunday.

and the strong winds are going to make things quite difficult in terms of any type of travel outdoors. that's the reason why officials are saying stay indoors as we go throughout the next few days. notice these lines that are indicating wind. that is going to be taking place as we go through the next couple of days. winds will continue to propel that snow that's moving into the area. let me give you more of a 3d look what was this actually looks like. the warmer waters of the sea of japan compared to the very cold upper layers of the atmosphere is helping to generate this precipitation, especially along the mountainous areas along the sea of japan. we will see this taking place as we go throughout friday into saturday, even into sunday we'll be seeing the accumulation quite high. this is the 72-hour snowfall forecast taking us through sunday evening local time. the hokuriku region looking at up to 292 centimeters of additional snowfall by that

point. 170 areas in the west, looking at more than 100 centimeters of snow as we go through the next few days. so yes, snow is a big part of the forecast. sapporo looking at snow for the rest of the week into the weekend. tokyo, windy, chilly, it's going to be colder coming up friday, with a high of 7. then 8 for the high on saturday and sunday. fukuoka looking at a little bit of snow on friday and saturday. quick note on europe. we're keeping an eye on a system moving into the norther area of the continent, bringing unstable weather into the united kingdom, also into the scandinavia peninsula. that's a look at your forecast. hope you're having a good day wherever you are.

that's all for this hour on nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching, and do stay with us for more.

this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. japan's labor ministry says that over 80,000 jobs have been lost as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the ministry says that from the end of january last year through wednesday this week, around 80,100 became unemployed or were about to lose their job. the actual figure is believed to be even higher. the ministry's data only covers cases known to labor authorities and public job placement centers.

as of december 25th, 17,000 have lost their jobs in manufacturing. another 11,000 were out of work in the restaurant industry. trade unions are warning of more job losses to come with a state of emergency in tokyo and the surrounding prefectures. the ministry is urging companies to apply for the latest government subsidies to save jobs. other data show that the pandemic is squeezing people's incomes. wages in november fell for the eighth straight month. the ministry says average monthly pay was about $2,700, down 2.2% in yen perms from a year ago. officials say some firms had drastically slashed bonuses as a result of the crisis. a japanese credit research firm says the number of pubs and restaurants going bankrupt last year hit a record high due to the pandemic. 780 businesses went out of business or started bankruptcy

procedures. drinking establishments made up the highest number, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total. the situation will likely get tougher as tokyo and three neighboring prefectures go into a state of emergency. operators will be asked to shorten their opening hours. >> translator: many in the industry say they've just about reached their limits, or the situation has become financially impossible. there have been many recent reportsf delayed payments. >> akama says more businesses could fail if the uncertain outlook continues. investors in tokyo snapped up stocks on thursday on hopes for additional stimulus measures in the u.s. an overnight rally in new york also supported the rise. the benchmark nikkei average ended at 27,490, up 1 ] 6% from wednesday's close. the index briefly reached its highest level in more than 30 years. reports of another surge in coronavirus cases across japan capped the gains.

financial stocks got a boost after the yield on the u.s. 10-year treasury note rose to its highest point in about 10 months. investors believe higher interest rates will make lending by banks more profitable. on wall street, the benchmark dow jones industrial average ended wednesday at 30,829. that was up 1.4% from the previous day's close. investors went on a buying spree on bets the democratic win in georgia would lead to more fiscal stimulus and infrastructure spending. this week we're focusing on economic issues for 2021. last year covid-19 put the brakes on global growth. the economic fallout led the stock market lower but ended with gains in 2020. nhk world's yanaka marie asked two experts if they think this volatility will continue. >> reporter: are stocks overvalued? and is this the year they'll come tumbling down?

ito motishige said there's an element of risk, but the most likelyase is that stocks hd their value. -- the problem is whent is very high, you always have to be very cautious about the future development of stock prices. my wish or expectation, the stock price is just staying at the present level for a while. >> reporter: ito takeshi of columbia university says stocks are correctly valued and the discrepancy will be resolved this year with the real economy getting back on track. >> restaurants, tougher than most, small restaurants and retail jobs, they are not in the stock market index. and stock market index covers

major companies. actually, the real economy will catch up to the stock market once the vaccine's available. >> reporter: the two experts agree that stimulus measures from central banks and governments have been a key booster for scksnd that circumances.ryn the extre wever,hey warn the picies could cause problems down the road. monetary easing by central banks has driven down interest rates to historically low levels. something should happen to make rate settling rise, it could trigger a crisis. >> the interest rate is so low, which allows just overdebted, overblowing companies or governments to keep their positions, which i think is a problem. so any increase in interest

rates from the position this moment to high ever positions j causes very big disturbance to these areas. >> reporter: governments have been ramping up spending, and that's caused public debt to balloon. ito takegoshi says reducing this debt will be a serious challenge. >> people get used to receiving higher benefits. and the higher subsidies. and better safety nets. history shows that once the budget size bigger, it's difficult to shrink. >> reporter: we want stock markets to do well, but we also need to be aware of the risks in

policies that get tlus. yanaka marie, nhk world. all right, let's have a look at the marks.

from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for joining us.

host: the headlines on al jazeera, gulf leaders signed a declaration to restore full d-up o-matic ties with -- full diplomatic ties with qatar. it was agreed at a summit in saudi arabia attended by the amir of qatar. at least 23 pro-democracy politicians have been arrested in hong kong for violating the national security law. they are cues of subversion for taking part in unofficial election primaries in july. china declared the polls illegal and warned hundreds of thousands broke the law.