i'm yoshi ogasawara. we're starting in japan where officials are turning to artificial intelligence in the fight against the coronavirus. the minister in charge of the government response says he hohopes it will help them m get handle on the contagion. nishimura attended a meeting of the government's expert panel on wednesday. they plan to carry out simulations on the spread of the virus using ai andnd supercomputers to design better policies. he says the goal is to devise measures that will avoid having to ask businesses to halt their operations. >> translator: the coronavirus is reaching epepidemic proportis and could coincide w with a sur in influenza cases in n the fal or later. i lolook forward to seeing the results from the expert panel later this month. >> tokyo has the most cases across the country. the metropolitan government reported 263 new cases on wednesday. that's the ninth straight day above the 200 mark. the central prefecture of aichi confirmemed about 150 new cases prompting the governor

i'm yoshi ogasawara.e start here in japan, where the race to lead the main ruling liberal democratic party is taking shape. the eventual winner will take over from prime minister abe shinzo when he resigns to deal with health issues and is virtually assured to lead the country. a win in the diet is nearly a fo foregone conclusion, since it is controlled by an ldp-led coalition. chief cabinet secretaryry suga yoshihide is the first to gain support of large party factcti. he's known as the government's top spokesperson, supporting abe through that role for nearly eight years. suga is expected to announcee hs candidacy when the party officially decides when and how it'll elect a new leader. former foreign minister fumio also long supported abe in the cabinet and as an ldp executive. >> translator: i've made it clear that i am resolved to r r for the party leadership in the next election. i will firmly maintain my motivation and determination and prepare for the moment of truth with unwavering resolve. >> the

i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo.r watching, and do stay with us for more. ♪ >>> this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the aviation industry. japan airlines has joined a growing list of global carriers posting poor earnings results. the jal group suffered a net loss of 93.7 billion yen, or about $880 million, for the april to june quarter. the company posted a a net prof of nearly 13 billion yen for the same period last year. jal says the loss is due to travel restrictions put in place around the world, which have led to a sharp reduction in passengers. the company has suspended about 90% of its international flights and 20% of its domestic ones. >> translator: we cut the number of flights, as well as fixed and variable costs, but this wasn't able to cover the entire drop in our income. >> the company did not release its full earnings forecast for the business year through next march, saying the pandemic has made it difficult to make projections. jal isn't the only japanese ca

i'm yoshi ogasawara.eople in japan are taking a moment to pause and remember the victims of the atomic bombing in heiroshima 75 years ago. it was the world's first nuclear attack, and the city remains a powerful symbol of the devastation of nuclear weapons. hiroshima fell silent at 8:15 a.m., the exact moment when the u.s. bomb struck the city. 140,000 people were killed by year's end and many more exposed to harmful radiation. this year's peace memorial ceremony looked different this year due to the coronavirus. about 800 people, less than one-tenth of the usual, attended. social distancing was in effect, and some of the day's other traditions were scaled back. >> translator: i urge world leaders to continue constructive dialog toward a security system free from reliance on nuclear weapons. >> hiroshima mayor urgeded the japanese government to listen to atomic bomb survivors and sign a un treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons. nuclear powers like the u.s. and russia do not support the treaty, and japan, whi

i'm yoshi ogasawara.e begin in tokyo where the metropolitan government says 309 more people have contracted the coronavirus. infections nationwide are rising steadily. in the past month, the number of hospital patients has surged five-fold. most cases are in tokyo where more than 200 new infections have been reported for eight straight days. tthe nationwide total now excees 42,000, more than 1,000 people have died. health ministry officials say more than 4,000 people were being treated for the virus at hospitals as of last wednesday. the figure was just under 700 on july 1st. since then patients in tokyo have quadrupled, but in terms of increase, other pleeskts have feared mmuch worse. patients in oh sasaka jumped 20-fold. the health minister says jjapan currently has enough hospital beds to cope, but he also says the situation needs to be closely monitored with some hospitals increasingly under strain. >>> some local governments are asking residents and businesses to do their part to curb the spread of t

i'm yoshi ogasawara.t here in japan, where the race to lead the main ruling liberal democratic party is taking shape. the eventual winner will take over from prime minister abe shinzo when he resigns to deal with health issues and is virtually