thank you for joining us. from our studio in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline." we begin with the search for answers. experts from the world health organization have arrived in wuhan to start an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. the international 13-member team arrived on thursday in the

providence of hubei province. the team plans to look into where the virus came from and how it was transmitted to humans. chinese government experts first said it came from bats. but they later said it could have come from abroad. that's because it was detected in imported food. last month, the w.h.o. expert leading the team told nhk it was logical to think the virus originated in china. dr. peter ben embarek says the team wants to investigate the early cases in wuhan and study samples stored by the chin authorities. >> we'll be looking in more detail at the itial cases, human cases that were detected in december '19, looking at the markets, the famous wuhan market, and see what happened there, trying to find out everything that went in and out of that market in the weeks ahead of the event.

>> it's unclear whether china will fully comply with the team's requests. the w.h.o. first started asking china last year to allow a full on site investigation, but such a probe did not go ahead raising questions about whether beijing would cooperate. turning to an update on the coronavirus situation here in japan. experts are warning the current wave of infections is putting intense strain on the medical system in the capital. the daily tally of new cases in tokyo has been well over the 1,000 level for much of the past week. 135 people in the capital are now in serious condition. public health experts report the average number of daily cases is up 65% this week compared to a week earlier. >> translator: the current situation may reflect an explosive spread of infections. >> with hospital beds filling

up, more than 8,000 people who tested positive are quarantined at home. three have died. hospitaleds for covid-19 patients are also running low in other parts of the greater tokyo region. japan has among the most hospital beds per capita in the world. but there are relatively few doctors, and many hospitals are small and privately run, making it harder to accept covid patients. the prime minister is urging medical asciations to help secure more hospital beds and to prepare for a vaccination drive. in an effort to curve the contagion, the central government added seven prefectures to its state of emergency on wednesday. the measure will remain in place until february 7th. the minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government plans to provide financial assistance to the city of hiroshima where the situation is getting worse.

some of those funds would be used to subsidize businesses that shorten their operating hours, as is happening in prefectures under the state of emergency. health authorities reported more than 6,600 new cases across japan on thursday. over 310,000 people have tested positive since the pandemic began. meanwhile, workers at a support project for the entertainment industry conducted a survey on the impact of the coronavirus. it shows just how severe the situation is. the project consists of more than 30 industry groups. it received responses from over 5,000 people, including musicians and actors. over 5% said they had earned no income since calls started last spring for people to stay away from live events. more than 30% said they had no job offers at the time of the survey. over 30% said they had thoughts of dying.

playwright and director said arts and culture have been categorized as non-essential. that means financial assistance is a low priority for workers in these fields. north korean state run media have reported that the country staged a military parade on thursday evening in pyongyang. the report said the parade was attended by leader kim jong-un. this event was to commemorate the 8th congress of the worker's party, which wrapped up on tuesday. defense minister kim zhang juan made a request. submarine launched ballistic missiles were brought into the square one after another. north korea also hosted a military parade in october last year. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations has expressed support for taiwan during talks

with the island's president. the online meeting between ambassador kel kraft and president tsai ing-wen came after the trip was cancelled. it was said to be the first visit by a u.s. envoy since taiwan left the un body in 1971. kraft said on twitter she made it clear the u.s. stands with taiwan and always will. she said the two are friends and partners who stand shoulder to shoulder as pillars of democracy. kraft added that she and tsai discussed man ways that taiwan is a model for the world, as demonstrated by i success in fighting covid-19. she also criticized china. she said it was unfortunate that taiwan cannot share its successes at un venues such as the world health assembly because of beijing's struction. sigh tsai's office said she

thanked the bam or do and the united states for staunch support. taiwan is a force for good and taiwan's people will continue to show that taiwan is a vital partner to the world. china's foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters on thursday that beijing opposes official exchanges between the u.s. and taiwan in any form. he urged the u.s. to adhere to the one china principle and stop interfering in china's internal affairs. u.s. president donald trump faces the prospects of another trial in the senate. senators are considering the matter after the house of representatives impeached him for a second time. jonathan adler teaches law at case western reserve university school of law. catherine kobayashi spoke with him earlier. >> professor adler, the democrats were intent on impeaching the president again. but this time ten republicans joined him. what do you make of that?

>> i think it shows an increasing number of rublicans have concluded that the president has engaged in the sort of conduct that warrants impeachment, which includes things like abuse of officend betrayal of the oath that a president takes to uphold the constitution. >> and the president has less than a week left in office. what was wisdom in impeaching him? >> well, i think it serves two purposes. one purpose is to make clear that this sort of conduct is not acceptable so that future presidents know that they should not engage in this sort of conduct. also one possible consequence of impeachment if the president is convicted in the senate is disqualification from holding future office. and so that's certainly something that would matter even if the president is out of office. >> and what can we expect in the senate? >> when the senate convenes and the impeachment articles are ven to the senate, the senate will first have to adopt rules. and then once the rules are in place, we will see a trial that

probably looks a little bit like the one we saw before where attorneys, members of th house will me the case for why they thought it was necessary to impeach the president. and then the president's attorneys will have the opportunity to respond, to answer those accusations and make the case in the president's defense. then the real question will be whether or not there are 67 votes or two-thirds of the senate to convict the president. so, that would require at least 17 republicans to join with democrats in voting to convict. >> and how likely will that be in your opinion? >> i think most people think it's unlikely, but it may also depend on what the president's conduct is for this last week. one other reason, perhaps, to impeach is to discourage the president from engaging in any additional conduct that is potentially impeachable this week. so, i think a lot will depend on what occurs in the next seven days on how republican senators feel about convicting the presidenfor these actions. >> briefly, professor adler,

we've seen those pictures of the national guard defending the capitol. what do those images say to you? >> they're really quite sad. we have essentially armed presence in the capitol. we have fences around historic and important buildings around washington, d.c. through most of my life, those buildings have not been guarded like that. you've been able to walk up to those buildings and walk around them without those sorts of obstructions. to me it's just really sad that these sorts of measures have to be taken. but obvious given the events of last week, these sort of measures are required. >> powerful images coming out of washington. thank you, professor adler for being with us. we'll bring you the latest on this and other stories in the presidential transition and beyond. for now, let's hand it back to our studio in tokyo. the un climate agency says world temperatures in 2020 were on par with those of 2016, which marked record highs. a report released on thursday by

the world meteorological associion says the average global temperature last year was about 14. degrees celsius, 1.2 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels. the report notes that last year's exceptional heat came despite a la nina event, which usually has a temporary cooling event. it says the decade from 2011 to 2020 was the warmest on record and part of a persistent long-term climate change trend. the paris agreement on climate change seeks to lower the temperature. in the wmo report, un secretary general antonio guterres said we're heading for an increase of 3o 5 degrees this century. he added makin peace with nature is a top priority. and now switching to the world weather forecast with our

meteorologist yoko komagata. yoko, people in the midwest upper midwest are dealing with blowing snow. where are we seeing the biggest risk? >> winter storm over the central u.s. will be targeting the regions, snow and winds with the possibility of blizzard like conditions. winter storm warnings are affecting the upper midwest and central canada. people in saskatchewan have been dealing with heavy snow causing many car crashes and power outages. cars and homes were covered in snow. authorities say 90 kilometers per hour winds are expected. snowfall will increase as much as 30 centimeters along with the storm system. the conditions will shift east

into the great east region and portions of canada into friday. the stormy weather could cause severe travel impacts across these areas. rain will turn to snow as cold air spreads behind the storm system once the winter storm moves through, dry and strong winds will create fire weather conditions. the risk of fires are also expected in southern california. the high will be 31 degrees in l.a. on friday, about 10 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year. meanwhile after this cold weather, we had spring-like temperatures here in tokyo on thursday. the high rose to 14.5 degrees. this is the average for late march. we are going to get temperatures over the weekend. a low pressure system will move east into the sea of japan on friday and saturday ahead of the storm system will form winds across the country bringing

unseasonably warm conditions. the high will jump up to 19 degrees in tokyo on saturday and going back to 11 degrees on sunday. the same weather pattern is also expected in beijing, seoul and shanghai. that's all for now. have a nice weekend. ♪

that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you for watching and please stay with us for more. ♪ welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm shibuya aki. so, here we are. some things haven't changed since last year. people are still navigating a lifestyle that values togetherness by finding ways to stay apart physically. social distancing, it affects private and work lives. now businesses are stepping in

to help by adapting new technologies that can minimize overcrowding in places we long to be or need to be. supermarkets. the pandemic has put a strain on them as well as on shoppers. with more people eating at home and not dining out, they're heading to the store. even when care is taken to avoid peak hours and leave shopping to one family member, all too often crowds are inevitable. but what if wait time in checkout lines could be reduced? and what about the same time work flow could also be reduced? a supermarket chain introduced a checkout system by rolling out smart carts. >> reporter: this large supermarket is located about 40 kilometers outside of tokyo. in july of 2020, it set out to

increase efficiency and improve customer service by introducing an ai-based self-checkout system. the star of the show is the company's own tablet-equipped smart cart. after scanning a pre-paid smart card, shoppers are ready to hit the aisles. then they simply ring up items as they shop. a built-in bar code reader is used to scan items before they're put in the cart. when they're finished, they simply press a checkout button and head for a quick gate, which finalizing their purchase and quickly prints out a receipt. leaving this simple task to the shoppers has allowed the store to cut back on the number of registers it needs, resulting in better efficiency and lower labor costs. and what do shoppers think of

the new system? >> translator: checkout is much smoother and i can avoid close contact with others, so i really appreciate it. >> reporter: the tablet not only shows the tax-included price of each item scanned, it also displays the total price of all items purchased. >> translator: i really like being automobile ble to see wha is while shopping because it can help me not to overspend. >> translator: i'm 85 years old. once you use it a bit, it's not that hard. >> reporter: the system not only aims to make the shopping experience better, it was also designed to increase sales. the smart cart connects to an ai system and shares the shopper's past and present shopping data. after analyzing the customer's purchase history, it sends personalized product

recommendations to the smart cart. the 4,800 square meter supermarket's ai system also makes use of 700 ceiling-mounted cameras. these eyes in the sky help reduce the number of staff needed to keep the store running smoothly. the system analyzes customer purchasing behavior as well as monitors shelves and displays to ensure that products never run out of stock. in addition, it even makes recommendations on product placement to improve the shopping experience for customers and to increase sales. >> translator: running out of product is one of the worst things that can happen. by having digital eyes everywhere, we can increase productivity and offer better service. >> according to the supermarket chain, some customers are bringing in their own shopping baskets. after scanning and paying for their groceries, they can walk

out as is without having to repack their purchases. this all takes a mere quarter of the normal checkout time, and of course that's good news for everyone. with advancing technology are shop employees at risk of losing their jobs? well, not necessarily because people tend to prefer services that have an element of the human touch. let's look at how a drugstore chain is working with specialized sales staff in their cosmetics sections to give customers personalized care. though not physically in house, the employee works remotely, advising shoppers in multiple stores. >> reporter: this is now being tested out as a way to offer customers advice at cosmetic displays set up in small stores and shops that normally don't offer such consultation seices. we asked a staff member to give the system a try.

>> translator: hello. what can i help you with? >> translator: i want a warmer and softer look. >> translator: sure. first of all, let's start off with eye shadow. why don't you try this shade of brown? you can test it by rubbing some on your hand. what do you think? >> translator: yeah, i like it. >> translator: okay. great. >> reporter: the atar is being controlled by an employee working in an office about 30 kilometers away. the service representates can respond to a customer's reactions by selecting from a menu that offers a variety of facial expressio and other actions. for example, thevatar can even nod, shake its head, give a look of concern, show that it is thinking about something and laugh. these little touches can help the customer feel more at ease. since the customer can only see

the avatar, service representatives can easily consult a manual or look up information to provide the best solution possible. >> translator: i feel i'm actually able to get along better with customers when using an avatar and provide them with even better support. >> reporter: the current avatar trial is using one customer service representative to cover three different shops located throughout tokyo. avatars can be customized in a variety of ways. company uniforms can be created. and skin, hair and eye color can be changed with the click of a button. >> translator: as we've learned from t pandemic, people are willing to work remotely. as the employee's age, gender or location doesn't matter. >> companies are continuing to turn to new systems to ease

crowding and not just in retail. take food manufacturing plants with their assembly lines requiring some complex and delicate tasks by hand. intelligent robots will be ideal to help out in such environment, but their development has required large capital investment. now more research is being done to develop affordable multi-purpose machines, and they're taking on all kinds of sophisticated operations. >> reporter: in november, a major trade show for japan's food manufacturing industry was held just outside of tokyo. on display were the latest in tools and machines for producing and packaging food products like this rice ball maker that can make 3,500 rice balls per hour. approximately 30 times faster than a human. in total, 124 companies had machines or robots on display. in addition to the labor shortage, the food industry

suffered another blow from the pandemic. factories and kitchens that normally require staff to work in close proximity must find ways to increase distance between workers. one of the most talked about products on display at this year's event was foodly, a bento box packing robot. this humanoid robot wasn't designed to replace humans entirely but rather to work alongside them. in this instance, it's been placed into a work line and programmed to select and add one piece of fried chicken to each bento box. since the robot is both small and maneuverable, it can fit anywhere, allowing businesses to save on installation costs. by placing the robot between two workers, the standard work line can be kept while still allowing for proper social distancing. >> translator: i've never seen a machine that can pack bento like this before. >> reporter: foodly was created by a tokyo robotics company

based out of a district that's long been the hub for the city's electronics stores. this is the founder and president. she says when she first pitched the idea of creating a robot that could work alongside employees in the food service industry, she was met with extreme skepticism. >> translator: they said there was no way it could be done. it was like they were throwing down the gauntlet. >> reporter: being in close proximity to people could lead to accidents, so no one had even considered using robots alongside human workers. to deal with this concern, nakagawa implemented physical ai, a technology that up until then had not been used much in robotics. it allows the robot to operate in and interact with its environment flexibly. even if the robot is bumped or shoved, it's able to absorb the

blow and continue working. the robot uses ai to recognize outside force or pressure and can then respond and adapt to any outside disruptions in a safe and controlled manner. how is the robot able to respond so gently and flexibly? it spent three years in testing, where it was exposed to a large number of situations under a variety of conditions. >> translator: the hardest part was being in completely unchartered territory. we had to figure things out as we wentlong. >> reporter: the companies already received over 200 inquiries into their robot and said that more than 10 companies are currently in discussions for purchase. >> translator: our goal is to create technology that will give peopleorking in the industry confidence and peace of mind. >> start ups developing robots for the food industry are

increasingly getting in on the action. this is because the price of robots themselves have come down thanks to faster computer processing speeds and their recent dramatic decrease in the cost of various sensors. so, developers are anticipating orders from not only large food manufacturers but also from small and medium sized companies. these intelligent robots are attractive for their versatility and precision, as they can work independently, sensing and carrying out any task at hand almost like us. they're evolving rapidly and there is so much potential here. surely they'll become more of a force as we move forward. even before the pandemic there were concerns about worker shortages in japan's retail sector and food manufacturing industries. people inadvertently realized that the development of technologies initially designed to address labor shortages were also useful in addressing

covid-19 overcrowding concerns. now their integration into the workplace is accelerating. and as we've seen, innovations are one way to help us survive the time. and that's all for this edition of "newsline in depth." i'm shibuya aki. thank you for watching