i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.coming up next is "newsline" biz with ramin mellegard, so please, stay right there. >>> officials at japanese travel agency h.i.s. says it's giving its employees a month leave. they plan t to pay staff t thro public employment subsidies. the firm will retain several dozenn workers. two other travel agencies have essentially closed all outlets in regions affected by the emergency. >>> this is "newsline" biz, i'm ramin mellegard. japan saw a plunge in the number of overseas tourists in february due to the coronavirus. the decline led to the first drop in the country's net earnings for tourism in a year compared with the same month in 2019. finance ministry officials says japan's travel account surplus means people spent more in japan on accommodation and shopping than japanese travelers did abroad. meanwhile, japan's current account surplus in february grew to more than 3 trillion yen or $29 billion. that was due to a larger trade surplus because of a decline in imports from china where

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. there's more to come on nhk world japan so please, stay with us. >>> welcome to news line in-depth. it's fair to say life without didifferent witithout informati technology. the race to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge industry is heating up. small countries have looked to secure the best human resources. today we shall use some of the latest development in asia and beyond. the high capacity network means a two hour movie means it can downloaded in 3 seconds. this makes the smartphones faster and expected to revolutionize entire industries. >> reporter: at this construction site on the outskirts of tokyo, a 5g test run is underway. the heavy machinery is controlled remotely from 200 meters away. the operator uses a video game hand set. he keeps an eye on the machinery through monitors. digging up the earth and h haulg it away is all donee reremotely. that's possible thankss to the high d definition images. the 4 4g networks n now widely use can be a bit s shaky.. remote usese

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.here's much more to come here on nhk world japan, so please, do stay with us. ♪ >>> welcome to "newsline in depth." i'm aiko doden. today we'll be looking at how communities can learn from disaster and pass on the most valuable lessons to future generations. by their very nature, catastrophes like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and typhoons are, of course, unpredictable. just as each is different, so, too, is the response of the people and communities affected and how they come together to get back on their feet. here in japan, the recovery process is still continuing after two major earthquakes, one in 1995, the other just nine years ago. we begin with the great east japan earthquake and tsunami of march 11th, 2011. the disaster left nearly 16,000 people dead and more than 2,500 others missing. among the many stories of personal tragedy was an elementary school in miyagi prefecture where 74 children died when their teachers chose to wait out the tsunami, rather than evacuate to higher

i'm raja pradhan. 14 million, the record number of new coronavirus cases the third day in a row. officials reported 189 new infections on friday, and the governor has outlined a list of businesses that will be asked to close from saturday under the central government's state of emergency. >> translator: to protect people in tokyo and the health care system which is under pressure, for the nextxt montth, we must whatever we can to reduce social contact by 800%. so in adddition to the rereques to r refrain from m nonessennti outings, we have decided to issue temporary facacility andd business closure requests. >> the list includes educational facilities, karaaoke bars,s, parlors, sports clubs, theaters, internet caves and game a arcad. rerestaurantss and b bars willl askedd to close byby 8:00 p.p.m. koioike says businesses that ae by the request will be eligible for financial aid. essentially services like supermarkets, public transit and even hotels will remain open. the announcement comes three days after the central government declared a state of emergency for tokyo and six othe

i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. >>> officials in southwestern japan are dealing with a coronavirusutbreak on a cruise ship that was undergoing repairs in nagasaki. so far, 12127 of thee 6233 c cr memberss on thehe "costa atlant" have been tested. 48 of them have tested positive, including a man in his 40s who's being treated with a ventilator. officials hope to test the remaining crew w within the nen few dadays. those w who are confifirmed to infected will bebe quarantinine ththe shipp a and monitorored. crews members who test negative will be asked to return to their home country, if possible. doctors in the region have raised concerns hospitals could be overwhelmed if the number of cases rises. in february, the "diamond princess" cruise ship was the center of another outbreak. it docked at a port just outside tokyo. more than 700 people tested positive and 13 people died. at the time, it was the largest clusterr infecection outside ch. officials say more than 260 additional cases were reported across the country on thursday. half of them came from totokyo. the total number of co

i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. we start with latest on the coronavirus pandemic.apanese officials say an additional 234 cases were reported across the country on monday. more than 100 of the new cases are in tokyo. the capital has more than a quarter of all japan's confirmed infections with more than 3,100. the total number of confirmed cases now stands at over 11,000. this does not include more than 700 cases linked t to the "diamd princess" cruise ship, which is ququarantinedd in y yokohamama februauary. meanwhile, health officials say more than 1,800 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital. the number of people heading out in japan's major cities dropped on the first sunday since the state of emergency was extended nationwide, but the decrease differed from area to area. cell phone carrier ntt docomo released data based on the movement of its users without identifying them. the dadata shows that as of suny afternoon, the number of people out in major areas of tokyo and six other prefectures was down at least 70% from before the pandemic. the sta

i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.oming up next is "newsline" business with ramin mellegard, so don't go away. ♪ >>> many video game players in japan will have to go without. one of the latest and most popular consoles. officials at nintendo say domestic shipments of switch have been halted. only customers who reserved in advance can get them. the coronavirus pandemic is mainly responsible for the suspense. demand has skyrocketed as more and more people are staying home all day in line with the government's stay of emergency dedeclaration. that's giving customers plenty of time to play video games. new titles have also added to the surge in the device he's popularity. production in china at one manufacturer has not been able to keep up with demand, leading to a switch shortage. nintendo officials say they have yet to decide when they will resume shipments in japan. >>> this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. >>> officials have downgraded their economic assessments for all nine of the country's regions. it's the fi

i'm raja pradhan with the latest at this hour. >>> we start here in japan, where the prime minister isaking final arrangements to declare a state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. abe shihinzo will make the announcement tuesday and apply it to seven prefectures, including tokyo. >> translator: the measure will last about a month. we will ask all the citizens for further cooperation to minimize person-to-person contact, and we will reinforce the medical system during that period. >> abe says the measure will cover kanagawa, sitate ma, chib, fukushima yoko, osaka and the capital, but they will not impose a lockdown as some governments have. abe says he will try to maintain economic and social activities as much as possible. public transportation and supermarkets will remain open. he says the plan will be finalilized after consulting wi the government's panel of experts on tuesday. the preparations come as the number of infections surges in major cities. in a growing number of those cases, health officials are unable to trace the root of transmission. the government says th