i hope you have a safe day, wherever you are. >>> that is all for now on this edition of "nhk newsline". coming up next is "newsline biz" . stay right there. >>> this is "nhk newsline". china's economy grew at the second slowest pace in 30 years over the last quarter, compared to a year ago. they are blaming the stifling effects of the stiff coronavirus measures. the economy grew 0.4% year on year in the april-june period. that's the lowest quarterly expansion since officials lockdown the city of wuhan about 2 years ago, leading to negative gdp growth. for more insight, i spoke with our reporter in beijing. >>> what is the biggest factor dragging down china's economy? >>> district antivirus measures to get zero covid took a major toll. the effect of the lot imaging height was not just felt in that city, and its vicinity, but across the country. manufacturers connected to shanghai felt that supply chains were stopping reduction lines. the city of beijing imposed a ban on banning [ indiscernible ] until may. people's movement was restricted nationwide. this put a damper on consumption. t

>>> hello, welcome to this addition of "nhk newsline". japan plans to honor the former prime minister, shinzo abe, with a state funeral. he was killed in the shocking attack last friday. the prime minister announced the funeral, saying it is scheduled in the autumn. estimate former prime minister shinzo abe was in office for 8 years and eight months, the longest of anyone in our history of constitutional government. throughout that period, he showed great leadership, and great ability to get things done, as he bore the heavy responsibility of tackling the great international challenges our country faced. he achieved results in diverse areas, such as rebuilding the region hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. he revitalized the japanese economy. he promoted relations with the united states, and other countries. by holding a state funeral, we will mourn over prime minister, shinzo abe. we will show our unwavering commitment to upholding democracy, and giving into violence. >>> he was shot and killed during a campaign event just t

and welcome to "nhk newsline." >>> we begin in hong kong where the former british colony is marking 25 years since its return to chinese rule. anniversary events have kicked off and china's president is making his first visit since 2017. >> translator: by enacting the national security law and revising the electoral system, we have basically reached the achievement that hong kong is now being ruled by patriots. >> xi jinping spoke at an inauguration ceremony for hong kong's new chief executive. xi said the one country two system policy has been recognized as a success. >> translator: i want my compatriots in hong congress to emphasize mainstream values suitable for the principle centered on patriotism. >> he arrived in hong kong on thursday. it's his first visit there since beijing tightened its grip on the city. the anniversary used to be marked by massive protests for those calling for democracy. this time police are warning against acts of violence or public disorder. more than 30,000 officers will ensure security at the events. >>> nhk world senior ross mihara correspondent is in b

>>> welcome to nhk newsline. we begin in japan where officials are reporting more than 180,000 new covid-19 cases. the country's highest daily count ever, and it has forced authorities to issue a red alert for medical facilities in the capital. more than 30 prefectures top their daily records on the thursday, that includes tokyo, which logged over 30,000 new infections for the first time, that is 2000 more than the previous record set in february. japan's seventh wave has caused cases to skyrocket since the start of july and led health advisors to raise the medical alerts to the highest level. they said doctors, nurses, and hospital beds are extremely stretched. the head of the government advisory panel says the peak of the surge is not yet insight. necessary measures to keep coronavirus infections at a certain level. instead of taking emergency measures or declaring a state of emergency. >> he does not think new restrictions are necessary yet, partly because there are significantly fewer serious cases in hospita

stay safe. >>> and that's all for this hour on nhk newsline. thank you for watching, and please stay with us for more. >>> this is newsline biz. consumer prices rose in june by more than 2%. it was due to a higher energy cost and food prices. >>> the internal affairs ministry says that the consumer price index including fresh food climbed 2%. the figure stayed above 2% for a third consecutive month, and has been on an uptrend for a few months. soaring energy prices continued to pressure the index. electricity bills and gas jumped. gasoline was also up 12%. shoppers paid 3% more for food, excluding fresh items on the back of rising raw material prices. the bank of japan has previously set an inflation target of 2% in a bid to pull the country out of deflation. but boj officials have been saying all of along that price increases are not so-called good inflation. it is because they are not accompanied by wage hikes and growth in demand. >>> millions of households in and around tokyo will soon be feeling the effect of the inflation trend. tokyo gas

>>> hello and welcome to this edition of nhk newsline. we start here in japan with the world's coronavirus hotspot. cases are skyrocketing this month and the country has broken a record two days in a roe. on thursday authorities reported more than 230,000 new cases for the first time. the capitol also to a new high with more than 40,000 cases. the search is affecting daily life. japan says with a 150 post offices across the nation were closed on wednesday. workers are infected or designated as close contact. some people only learned this post office was closed when they got there. >> it's inconvenient but it can't be helped under such circumstances. >> the world health organization says japan needs to leads to the planet right now. >>> tensions between the u.s. and china for the focus now is on whether a summit between the countries will go ahead. beijing has expressed strong displeasure over recent u.s. post regarding taiwan. white house says president joe biden will deliver a clear message to chinese president. >> he will reaffirm. ther

>>> hello there, and welcome to nhk "newsline", i am catherine kobayashi in new york >>> astronauts froms. have looked beyond their writerly for decades to operate a laboratory in the skies. but they have been challenged to hold onto that spirit of cooperation. now, the russians say they will pull out of the international space

eiseit and tonya lewis lee, fantastic film, codirectors ofpgdki ♪ >>> hello there and welcome to nhk "newslinerine kobayashi in new york. ukrainian leaders saw russian forces attack a black sea port even after an agreement they hoped might ease a global food crisis. president volodymyr zelenskyy says the strike on odesa over the weekend shows the russians' attitudes towards its partners. but he says his side will press

encourage people to go to the hourÑcÑcÑcÑcoñéÑéÑéÑéÑéÑéÑéÑéÑéñ ♪ >>> hello and welcome back to nhk "newslinemmanders have claimed throughout their invasion of ukraine that they're only hitting targets of military value. but those under their charge have carried out more and more attacks on civilians. they hit an apartment block over the weekend, killing at least 31 people. russian forces hit the building

■é■í >>> hello, welcome to nhk newsline, i am catherin kobayashi in new york.to raise their key interest rate again by three quarters of a percentage point. fed chair jerome powell said

>>> hello, welcome back to nhk newsline, i'm takao minori in new york.rs have seen western nations bolster ukrainian defenses with shipment after shipment of weapons. they're targeting the places where those arms are stored. but as they do, they're raising some other risks that could extend far beyond the

was at the center of the supreme court case that led to the overturninñ hello, welcome back, to nhk "newsline york. soldiers on both sides of the conflict in ukraine have put their enemies in the crosshairs. that and more, they are using their weapons to target other source of weapons. russian commanders say their latest strikes have hit dozens of pieces of military equipment, and killed 180

laura hazard owens,ÑcÑcÑcÑc■x■x ♪ >>> hello and welcome back to nhk "newsline." new york. >>> russian forces regrouped and regained strength during what military analysts have described as an operational pause. but they appear set to press ahead in their offensive through eastern ukraine. they've been directed to intensify their attacks in all operational sectors. so t

>>> hello and welcome back to nhk newsline . >>> russian leaders have reset their ambitions for ukraineted out by attacking areas, including the capitol, kyiv, and reorder to reorient it their campaign to the east. russian's top diplomats say their goals have changed.