for the line to get back on track. . hello and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo with the latest at this hour. we begin in western japan where police have arrested a 19-year-old technical trainee from vietnam. she's accused of abandoning the body of her newborn son in a field. investigators say the buddy had no obvious external injuries. an autopsy found the baby had died between one and four months ago. police are still investigating the cause of death and other

details of the alleged abandonment. the arrest on thursday came after another vietnamese trainee was acquitted by the supreme court last month for abandoning her stillborn twins. that case shed light on foreign trainees who conceal pregnancies out of fear of being forced to leave japan. japan's immigration services agency says as of last june there were about 330,000 technical trainees in the country. more than half are from vietnam. the program was originally designed to give people in developing countries a chance to learn working skills here in japan. critics say the program is actually being used to find workers to do tough jobs the japanese tend to avoid. there have also been accusations of abuse, human rights violations, illegally low wages, and poor working conditions. a japanese government panel has proposed scrapping the foreign trainee program and replacing it with a new system. the panel is expected to release

its final report this fall. calls have been growing for governments to regulate generative artificial intelligence. it's now set to be on the agenda when g7 leaders meet in hiroshima next month. japanese prime minister kishida fumio was speaking in tokyo at a meeting with the heads of newspapers. he was kwoeltsed as saying the g7 will discuss international rules around ai. it comes after japan's government announced plans earlier this month to launch a tax force to study the pros and cons of ai software like chatgpt. there are new concerns from health experts here in japan about the coronavirus. they believe another wave could take an even bigger toll on human life than the one before especially among the elderly. authorities have lifted many restrictions after a fall in cases. and starting in may the government will classify covid-19 as an infectious

disease on par with the seasonal flu. but when cases decline so do peoples defenses. in a new report four experts with the health ministry say infections are now ticking up. they cite a survey showing just 32% of the population developed antibodies through infection between february and march. and they say that could trigger a ninth wave of infections bigger and more fatal than last winter. >> translator: elderly people and those with underlying diseases would be at risk of developing serious symptoms. anti-infection measures are still needed. >> the experts say a low percentage of vaccinated people in a large wave would likely result in a higher death toll compared to other countries. as a factor they point to japan's rapidly aging

people in some parts of the world got to see the rarest type of solar eclipse on thursday known as a hybrid eclipse. the unusual celestial phenomenon was only visible to people in parts of australia, indonesia and timor. it's called a hybrid eclipse because it transitions between two types of eclipses, and which one you see depends on where you are on earth. one small portion of western australia saw the sky go completely dark for about a minute. now, in other areas of the southern hemisphere the moon was unable to completely overshadow the sun creating what's known as anular eclipse, sometimes called a ring of fire. well, if you saw either version you're very lucky because of the 224 eclipses that will occur this century just seven will be hybrid. we turn now to yemen to the

scene of a tragedy. at least 78 people were reportedly killed and many others injured in a stampede in the capital. the reuters news agency says the incident took place wednesday inside a school while merchants were handing out charitable donations in the final days of the holy month of ramadan. eight years of civil war in yemen have stalled farm production, wrecked the economy and forced millions into many officials tell reuters two merchants who organized the donation event have been detained, and an investigation is under way. next, a new cease-fire between rival factions in japan fell apart wednesday night. they're getting ready to airlift 60 nationals from the country as deadly clashes continue.

>> translator: the defense min sfr ministry is making preparations to dispatch air self-defense aircraft which could include c-130 and c-2 transports. the planes will leave as soon as arrangements are made. >> japan's chief cabinet secretary says the aircraft will head to djibouti where the sdf has a temporary base. they're expected to arrive by the end of the week. meanwhile, in the capital city, fighting forced millions of people to hide in their homes. the clashes come amid disagreements between the army and the paramilitary group over how to transition sudan back to civilian rule. the factions had originally worked together to seize power in a coup two years ago. u.n. officials estimate hundreds have died since the fighting began saturday. >> the continued heavy fighting in sudan is having devastating

consequences for sudanese civilians as well as our staff and other members of the international community who are caught in the cross fire. we reiterate to the parties to the conflict that they must respect international law. >> u.n. secretary general antonio guterres is expected to discuss it with the arab league, african union and other organizations on thursday. india is projected to overtake china as the world's most populous nation by midyear. united nations official estimate by the end of june india's population will reach well over 1.4 billion. that will be nearly 3 million more than the population of china. more indians are surviving infancy. by 2050 they'll number about 1.67 billion. some have raised alarms about peel outstripping the food supply and other resources. but by mid-century a handful of countries including india,

nigeria, and the philippines will account for half the global growth. and trends everywhere point to slower growth and aging societies. >> the question isn't whether the human population is too large or too small. the question is can everyone exercise their fundamental human right to choose the number and spacing of their children? >> she says promoting gender equality is the best solution for managing the changes and building societies that are resilient. south korea's president says he'll seek what he calls tangible outcomes on dealing with north korea when he meet with his u.s. counterpart next week. he's also explaining what could trigger a major shift in the kind of support his country provides to ukraine. he spoke with the reuters these agency on tuesday. he says his government will upgrade deterrents against the north by strengthening surveillance, reconnaissance and

intelligence capabilities as well as developing new eweapons. it comes as pyeongyang has been ramping up nuclear and missile development. on ukraine he talked about possible situations the international community cannot condone. those include a large scale attack on civilians, massacre, or serious violation of the laws of war. yoon says that may make it difficult for seoul to insist only on humanitarian or financial support. that could signal a shift in his country's refusal to provide lethal weapons to ukraine. but south korea's public broadcaster kds quoted a source with the presidential office of saying the possibility of such a shift is low right now. russian presidential office spokesperson said on wednesday seoul has taken an unfriendly position. he says the start of arms deliveries to ukraine would imply indirect involvement in the war.

north korea has severely limited access to the country since the start of the pandemic. this has made it harder for outsiders to know what's happening there, but a south korean researcher is looking for clues in the country's trash. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this is the island in western south korea. it's near the demarcation line between the two koreas. this

>> translator: these are things north koreans have used. they tell a lot about the country's economic situation and the lives of its people. >> reporter: he has collected several thousand pieces of such litter. the wrapper on this candy big looks like the popular hello kitty. this instant noodle package has the same design and colors as the south korean product. he says the items indicate changes in north korea's economy. >> translator: many products in north korea now have slogans and designs that appeal to consumers just like in capitalist countries. >> much of the collection is packaging of dairy products.

this is the result of a directive issued by north korean leader kim jong-un in 2021. >> translator: kim jong-un ordered a steady supply of dairy products for children, so the country has made that a top priority. >> but he says it's unclear how kim's instructions have improved the lives of the country's people. the barrel of this toothpaste tube has been cut off so all of it could be used. this has been repaired. many people around the world try to avoid waste when using daily items, but he says his collection indicates a serious supply shortage in north korea where imports are strict

coronavirus measure. >> translator: the u.n. says many children in north korea don't get enough nutritious food. these things are not just trash. they're important research materials about the country's society. >> reporter: while much of the situation in north korea remains unclear -- switching now to the weather, a set of powerful storms have ravaged central parts of the united states. our meteorologist jonathan oh explains the situation in our world weather report. >> hello. we have been monitoring a low pressure system that was coming across the rockies. and as it pushed eastward it

developed into this pretty powerful system because of warm air coming in from the that's all severe thunderstorms blauszming along a front. let's start off in oklahoma. take a look at this video and you'll see what took place on wednesday as a destructive tornado hit the town of coal, oklahoma, damaging homes and taking down power lines. authorities said at least two people have been killed and several injured. do you see right here videos posted on social media also showing hailstones the size of golf balls falling in oklahoma all the way up to wisconsin more severe thunderstorms expected across parts of the midwest into the southern united states on thursday. and it's not just thursday. we're also looking at the storm to impact the southern united states again on friday. it is a slow mover so it's going to drag itself across and in the process we're going to see snow

back behind it into canada and thunderstorms that will be taking place. this is a 48-hour forecast. and if you look closely you'll notice slow developing into the dakotas with the lines of purple and blue showing up which means intense type of storms taking place. anywhere from toronto down through chicago into oklahoma city be on the lookout for some thunderstorms as we go through the day on thursday. meanwhile in japan in tokyo 26 degrees for the high. that's the high so far this year. and a really wet scenario down towards naja. this stationary front is stubborn. it's going to linger in the area and more rain coming up as we go into the day friday. elsewhere a warm day across japan and folk and temperatures start to drop as we head to the weekend. hope you have a good day

wherever you are. and before we go, we take you to kyiv where people are taking in some seasonal beauty amid the horrors of war. hundreds of cherry trees are in

full bloom. they're in a park named after the japanese city of kyoto. kyiv and kyoto have been sister cities for more than 50 years. people came to see the blossoms in warm spring weather. >> every season we enjoy the blooming, the sakura blooming. it's a tradition for us. >> during the we are looking for help something, support something for our good mood. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away.

this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. japan's trade deficit widened last year as a weaker yen and soaring energy prices pushed up the value of imports. the finance ministry said thursday the deficit for the year ended in march was about 22 trillion yen or about $161 billion. that is the largest annual gap between exports and imports since comparable data became

available in 1979. the value of imports rose to a record. the total climbed more than 30% to about 120 trillion yen. higher prices for crude oil, coal, and liquefied natural gas as well as a depreciating yen drove the increase. exports also reached a record high. they gained 15.5 merse to more than 99 trillion yen. increasing shipments of cars and electric parts such as semiconductors propelled the increase. the ministry also released trade figures for march. the deficit was more than 750 billion yen in the month. japan's trade balance has now been in the red for 20 straight months. now, one economist says japan will probably continue to have wide trade deficits. >> translator: there has been a lull in the impact of higher resource costs and the weaker yen. import prices are declining, and

those effects are diminishing. slow downs in overseas economies mainly in the united states and europe are widely expected, so i think exports will remain sluggish for a while. imports will also stay weak. it's difficult for japan to avoid trade deficits. >> she says companies need to diversify procurement sources and sales chams to reduce risk. >> translator: japanese firms must readjust the scale of their domestic versus overseas production and avoid concentration in one area or location. >> oshiba says what's important is whether companies are able to

produce internationally competitive products after decarbonization advance in the company. she says action by government and company responses are needed to turn the trade deficit into a surplus. and u.s. electric vehicle maker tesla has posted a 24% drop in net profit for the first quarter from the year earlier after it slashed prices of its cars repeatedly. the company reported its earnings results for the three months through march on wednesday. net profit came to $2.5 billion compared to $3.3 billion for the same period in 2022. tesla also cited higher raw material and logistics costs as reasons for the income decline. tesla's lower profit came despite higher sales as it made less money on each vehicle sold. the car maker said it delivered almost 423,000 units worldwide in the quarter.

that was 36% more than in the same period last year. and toyota motors says it'll spend about $340 million to expand hybrids in brazil that also run on bioethanol or gasoline. the japanese auto maker's local unit and the state government of sao paolo said wednesday the existing will create jobs it'll allow a compact that runs on electricity or biofuel. >> translator: the investment will generate jobs and income and contribute to the decarbonization of sao paolo and brazil. >> flex fuel cars are popular in brazil. they plan to debut the fex fuel hybrid next year and export it to 22 countries.

german giant volkswagen has opened a biofuel research and development center in the south american country. now, one of the operators of japan's shinkansen bullet train says it'll upgrade its seats for business travelers to give them more privacy. >> translator: we've improved the business environment at stations and inside trains so that passengers can spend their travel time according to their work style. >> central japan railway says it'll begin running services featuring the new seats on october 20th. the middle seat of the third three seater row will be fitted with a partition and a flat surface to put drinks. the company says that will give passengers some privacy. and he says business people can work without having to worry about prying eyes. the seats will be available in cars intended for business people featuring free wi-fi

which were introduced on the nozomi bullet trains in 2021. environment ministers from the group of seven nations met over the weekend to discuss ways to reduce carbon footprints. now, one phrase that showed up in their final statement was circular economy. nhk world's yuko fukushima has this report. >> reporter: the ministers tackled a wide ranging agenda. their message was that the business environment is changing, specifically companies are going to have to review how they procure and produce their goods. the final statements stressed importance of promoting a circular economy. it calls for making better use of resources and developing products that can be reused or recycled. the traditional business cycle is known as the linear economy.

companies convert raw materials into goods, and those goods are bought by consumers, and when they use them up the goods are thrown away. the circular economy proposes something very different. it starts off the same. the company uses raw materials, but things start to change from the product zedesign stage. the idea is to ensure goods are used for a longer period or easily recycled. that way materials can be reused. the idea gained traction after the european adopted its to realize a sustainable society by making the most efficient use of limited resources. the professor says that's not the only reason. he says it's no coincidence the idea has taken off in europe. >> translator: countries like china, south korea, and japan are very competitive in mass production.

one of europe's aims is strengthen the competitiveness of companies in their region by promoting sharing services as well as repairing and reuse of products. that way european countries can generate more profit from these services. >> reporter: the question is how can manufacturers in countries like japan be competitive in this new environment? professor umeda says they must rethink their approach. >> translator: japanese companies need to change their mind sets and shift their business models. in a circular economy they will need to think about not only production but also distribution, maintenance, sales, and collection of used goods. doing all that will be very difficult for one company alone. success will depend on collaboration between industries, and i believe this will be the basis of japan's competitiveness in the future. >> reporter: umeda says the

world is moving towards a sustainable society and sooner or later that will involve creating circular economy. he says the companies that adapt to this new reality earlier will be more competitive. okay, let's get a check on the markets.

and that's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching.

folly: church processions banned in nicaragua, the latest crackdown by president daniel ortega. opposed by the u.s. and accused of human right abuses, ortega has also moved closer to china and russia. so what's next for nicaragua? this is "inside story." ♪ folly: hello and welcome to the program. i'm folly bah thibault.