. hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." ukrainian officials are closely watching russian movements, following promises to scale back attacks on the capital kyiv. they say that pledge is a smoke screen, empty words which allow moscow to prepare a new strategy. >> translator: there is also word of an alleged with draufl russian forces from kyiv.

and decreased activity of the occupiers in these directions. we know that it's not a withdrawal but an expulsion. the consequences of our defenders' work. >> ukraine says russian troops have not top there had assault on cities. the pullout was offered during tuesday's peace talks where i set to resume on friday. and ukrainian treasure says they will n not be taken in. >> translator: high-precision air launched missiles destroyed large fuel depots. they were supplying ukrainiane armored vehicles. >> u.s. officials are tracking the movements from washington.

they say less than 20% of the tactical group near kyiv have headed out. >> if the russians are serious about deescalating, which is their claim here, then they should send them home, but they're not. >> they say their nation's sovereignty is not on the table. civilian casualties are growing by the day. ukrainian authorities say 145 children have been killed and 222 wounded. the u.n. human rights chief says credible reports show russian forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times. >> translator: the attacks are h prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes.

>> they say russian forces have used mines in kharkiv. a treaty to ban such weapons took effect in 1999. more than 160 countries including ukraine are signatories, russia is not. amid the skepticism over russia's promises to scale back operations, there's still concern that chemical weapons could be used in ukraine. nhk world's reporter spoke to a japanese expert about the risk and a warning some of the images may be disturbing. >> reporter: ukrainian forces are putting up a strong resistance. but that led to fears that russia could use keptical weapons to gain an upper hand. this expert says the more ukraine endures, the more likely the attack can become. >> translator: it would be more efficient to reduce resistance

with a soft target like so-called soldiers and civilians with them were youred injured od by poisonous gas. i think there are past instances of that in the middle east. >> reporter: he helped establish the opcw, the chemical weapons watchdog. he says russia has supported regimes that have attacked civilians with chemical weapons in places like syria. he says it's highly unlikely that russia will uimately use the weapons in ukraine. but he thinks a group backed by the military could be used as cover. >> translator: i think it could be used by an independent group in the eastern part of the country. backed by the russian military.

i think there is a possibility from a military point of view that materials like industrial toxic gases could be used to attack firmly-protected underground facilities or similar places. >> reporter: russian leaders are promised to scale back their offensive around the capital. but many say the risks have not changed. earlier this month, the u.s. and united nations warned russia against using chemical weapons. he says this kind of exposure could prevent an attack. >> translator: leaking information can provide a deterrent and can be a warning that they are being watched carefully. i think it's important for the media, western countries and people around the world to pay attention. >> reporter: he says the ukrainian government is likely

to ask the opcw to prepareo deploy in cas ofhemical atta. he says when russia is involved nh world always a rk. the world food proam is warning that the fighting in ukraine could create the worst global food crisis since world war ii. the bread basket of europe is nearly empty. millions of people displaced by the conflict are now desperately in need. for more insight, nhk spoke with a world food program spokesperson. >> reporter: you've been helping to get food to the people who need it. how bad is it now after a month of fightinin >> humanitarian nee are multiplying and spreading by the

hour. since the outset of this isis, almost 7 million people have been fled and 4 million have left the country. what we more is that more and more people are struggling to find food, particularly in the hard-to-reach areas, which have witnessed intense fighting in areas like kharkiv and m mariupol. our team has reached elderly women and people with disabilities. and the longer the war drags on the situation might worsen. >> reporter: it's really heartbreaking to the see the images and hearing the story about the situation there. and we've been hearing a lot about the difficulties of getting humanitarian assistance to the cities hardest hit like mariupol. have you been able to reach those people in nee >> it is a huge chaenge here.

despite this security situation, i think the program has landed on its feet. we did not have an operational presence in ukraine five weeks ago. in four weeks, they have provided life-saving assistance including ready-to-eat food and bread to 1 million people affected by the crisis. they have provided food to vulnerable places, in cities, in kharkiv, in sumi, but, however, we are struggling to reach mariupol. and we are extremely concerned that people are struggling to find food to eat. >> reporter: what other challenges are you and your team there in ukraine facing right now in. >> there is a serious lack of access, a lack of humanitarian

partners on the ground as well. it is very difficult for ngos. it is very difficult for the united nations to work safely, particularly in besieged cities. we discussing with a number of ngos, civil society and churches to find ways to fill the gap. >> reporter: it's beyond imagination how hard it is to work there and live there in ukraine. so what kind of support do you need from the international community now? >> well, not clearhen this conflict will end, but what is clear is that one month of fighting has resulted in massive destruction, devastation and damage to ukraine. the next season, the farmers are supposed to be planting now. all we ask for now is a humanitarian pause. or even a complete cessation of

hostility. all the international community will kindly appeal to them to dig deeper, we will need resources in order to sustain these activities as they scale up in the week and months to reach more people in need. >> reporter: well, thank you very much for talking with us today. and ease, stay se. thank you. a little over a week after coronavirus quasi emergency measures were lifted for 18 prefectures in japan, there are already sounds of a rebound in cases. a panel of experts has voiced concern about a seventh wave of infections and stressed caution is needed.

the nationwide number of new infections in the seven days through march 29th increased for the first time in almost a month and a half. >> translator: it is necessary to keep a close watch on the situation to see if this upward trend leads to a rebound. >> one expert said one of the reasons for the rebound is the increase in infections among younger people, due to gatherings during spring holidays and graduation ceremoes. >> translator: the reason for the increase is that the omicron variant is easily transmissible. an its subvariant, ba is more likely to spread. if infections continue to rise, it will be necessary to take measures on the assumption tha the sixth wave won't be the last. >> he tressed that vaccination can curb the rate of infections

and urged people to get booster shots as soon as possible. several nuclear power plant operators in japan will keep reactors offline longer so they can finish making them safer. this affects four reactors at three different plants. the tohoku electric power company had hoped to finish upgrading safety measures at its onagawa plant by next march but says it needs more time to build sea walls and better protect against earthquakes. the new timeline is february 2024. the operator of the again kai power plant in western japan says two reactors will be offline longer than scheduled. it is building a new facility to make sure workers can maintain security after a terrorist attack. but accidents including fires, slowed construction. the operator of the takahama plant in central japan is not

sure it can restart a reactor this may. it has an issue with steampipes that power the turbines. a senior official has indicated that the biden administration will not limit the use of nuclear weapons to retaliation against nuclear attacks, but it is adhering to policies laid out previously. the defense department released a summary of its 2022 nuclear posture review on tuesday. it says maintaining a nuclear deterrent remains a top priority for the united states. it also states that washington would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend its vital interests or those of its allies and partners. assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, celeste wollander was asked

whether the terms of use are stricter than before. >> the nuclear posture language does not apply exclusively to nuclear attacks. in there had been speculation about whether conditions for the use of nuclear weapons would be tightened in the review. president joe biden had noted before taking office that the sole purpose of such arms should be deterrence and retaliation against a nuclear attack. some u.s. media say the biden administration may have taken note of concern by washington's allies about growing nuclear threats interest russia and china. it's time for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. severe storms ripped through the central and southern united states during the past couple of days. sayaka has more on what to expect for thursday. >> hello there.

severe weather is flaring up in parts of the united states. the radar over the past 24 hours, a lot of rain is pounding the united states. on top of that, there have been numerous reports of severe weather, there were 29 reports of tornados on tuesday as well as wednesday. main any mississippi and alabama. 207 reports of damaging winds and nine reports of hail. to show you the severe weather, take a look at this video coming out of two places nchlts this video, you can see stormy conditions near kansas city with hail and lightning. severe weather rode through the central and southern unit. the same system also injured at least seven people in northwestern arkansas. strong winds caused damage to buildings and brought down power lines. tornados also struck mississippi and alabama. it is still capable of

unleashing more severe weather, including more tornados, large hail and damaging wind along the eastern seaboard. and back behind it, it's much cooler. you might see snow in chicago on your thursday with a high of 12 degrees and it's much warmer than normal thanks to strong southerly winds in the u.s. capital and only 1 in winnipeg, 9 degrees in vancouver. still rainy weather continues across new south wales. sydney could see 17 degrees for the first dave april. sydney experienced exceptionally wet march so far. and the capital city of new caledonia could see 29 for a high and a chance of thunderstorms. it's getting cooler across western europe. so paris could see only 2 on friday with rainy weather. kyiv will stay above average and moscow will continue to see snowfall into the weekend. that's it for me, stay safe.

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for watching, and do stay

with us for more. this is "newsline" biz, i'm gene otani. the bank of japan has bought a large amount of government bond this is week and has successfully kept the long-term interest rates from rising. the boj wrapped uppity first consecutive unlimited bond buying yield of a quarter of a percent on thursday to buy

2.3 trillion yen or nearly $19 billion of jgbs on wednesday. when bonds are bought on the market, the yields come down. it lowered the ten-year yield briefly. the yield hit the bank's cap of 0.25 earlier this week as traders had been selling jgbs on the assumption the u.s. federal reserve would accelerate its credit tightening. the boj said it would take the necessary steps to keep the long-term rate below its target level. japan's industrial output in february rose for the first time in three months. the industry ministry says the output index rose by 0.1%. growth in the vehicles and transportation industry contributed to the rise. they surveyed manufacturers.

the responses indicate a 3.6% increase in output for march and a 9.6% gain in april. a key measure of manufacturing in china fell in march due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases and the war in ukraine. it was below the 50 point mark, separating growth from contraction for the first time in five months. the national bureau of statistics says the purchasing managers index stood at 49.5, down .7 of a percent from february. based on a survey of 3,000 manufacturers. the bureau says the spike in coronavirus infections forced some factories to suspend output. some saw a drop in orders for exports on the back of the crane situation. higher material prices worldwide were another reason.

the non-manufacturing sector was 48.4. some restaurants and hotels saw business reduced by the judgment in coronavirus cases. a survey lass fouhas found that than 40% of japanese firms in russia have shut down operations since the invasion of ukraine. the japan external trade organization conducted the survey from march 24th. 97 companies responded. all but one firm said international sanctions are having a negative impact on their business. 43% said they have suspended all or part of their operations in russia. 44% expected a business reduction or withdrawal from the market over the next six to 12 months. >> translator: it will take some time before japan's businesses

have a positive view of the russian market. >> he says personal purchasing power lass declined as the russian ruble has weakened. the japanese government plans to submit a bill that would raise tariffs on some russian imports and strip moscow of most-favored nation status. it's part of the results of the invasion of ukraine. most favored nation status is one of the principles set down by the world trade organization. they are to apply it equally to all in the organization. the tariff on salmon and salmon roe will rise to 5%. the levee on most lumber

products will rise from 4.8% to 8. they are expected to be in place until march next year. it won't affect liquefied natural gas, coal, crude oil and palaid yum, because they tariff free. it may be the end of an era. japanese auto maker nissan, set to end production of the cima. production is expected to end by august. the cima debuted in 1988. it led a boom in upscale cars and became a symbol of japan's economic bubble. currently the most affordable model is priced at more than $65,000 but sales fell as consumers increasingly turned to

sports utility vehicles. sales were fewer than 100 units last year. they will also stop making the fuga. it care ease the same engine as the sima. it is following in the foot accepts of toyota and honda, who are retiring of certain models. live treatment shoppistream combining e-commerce with social media. recently a young ceramics dealer in japan has been applying the techniques developed in his homeland to help rerife business in one of the oldest industries, pottery production. >> reporter: streaming live from a ceramics workshop, the man behind the smartphone is a

chinese ceramics dealer. most of the customers are watching from china. many chinese used to visit japan in person, but that was before the pandemic closed borders. he, a 15-year resident of japan, started live streaming last year. one regular stop is in okayama prefecture. the city is renowned for bisan ware, one of japan's oldest types of pottery. today he is visiting the workshop of a man who is carrying on a family tradition. his grandfather was a living national treasure. the live stream lasts two hours. at any one time, he is interaing with between 30 and 40 customers. camera operator, producer, sales rep. he does it all.

this teacup sells for about $240, including shipping to china. customers can ask questions and request an encloser locloser lo. they can't touch the merchandise but he does it on their behalf. he highlights the skills and personality of each crafts person. here he is explaining the process of making clay. a particularly important step for him. the hard work pays off. by the time they log off, they've sold 19 works for a total of $2,000. >> translator: this is a win-win situation for all of us. for the customers, they can see my works without visiting my exhibition or workshop many f.

for me, i don't have to go through the trouble of holding an exhibition. >> reporter: but his work is not quite done. he is also responsible for wrapping, shipping and looking after returned items. >> translator: i have several regular customers. they love the texture and look of bisan-ware. i think it will become more popular in china. >> reporter: business is picking up, and he is not alone. other chinese dealers are visiting local workshops, firing up their smartphones and customers. all right, let's have a look at the markets.

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

have been discovered in the ukrainian city of -- >> more bodies have been found in the city of bucha. ukraine's president has told the u.n. security council it should expel russia or disband. zelenskyy says the world has yet to learn the full truth of russia's alleged war crimes in his country.