earlier friday, prime minister yoshihide suga said new cases are surging in other major cities as well. >> translator: out of an abundance of caution, i instructed ministers to work closely wit local governments and take thorough measures in line with the level of infection in individual municipalities. >> but the prime minister says experts agree there's no need currently to declare another state of emergency or review the national tourism promotion campaign. suga urged people to take basic anti-infection measures, especially in risky situations. that includes group meals and having conversations without a face mask. over 116,000 total infections have been confirmed so far, and nearly 1900 people have died. >>> japan's prime minister is also aiming to help boost the regional response to the pandemic. suga addressed the association of southeast asian nations thursday at the start of four days of virtual meetings. he promised funds for a new center the group is launching to prepare and respond to emerging health threats. >> translator: japan will offer all assistance possible to develop

>> well, rosemary, thomas bach earlier spoke with yoshihide suga and said he's becoming very confident spectators at the olympics next year. ocording to organizers they're going to make a decision on the upper limit of spectators by next spring depending on the covid situation in skpout of japan. here in japan the country is dealing with a third wave of covid cases with infections surpassing 1,000 cases for more than -- for seven consecutive days. now, despite that, the country is moving ahead with preparations. in fact, earlier this month, japan held an international gymnastics event, which is a very critical test for just how ready the country is to hold the olympics next summer. take a listen here. >> japan wants to show the world that it can host the olympics in the middle of a pandemic. 32 gymnasts from japan, the u.s., russia and china plus 2,000 socially distanced fans gathered at the national gymnasium earlier this month in tokyo for one of the first international sporting competitions since the covid-19 pandemic began. it's a glimpse of what tokyo may do for the olympic games

east asian allies, including south korean president moon jae-in, and japan's new prime minister, yoshihide suga. >> ( translated ): he said that he looks forward to strengthening the u.s.-japan alliance and working together on achieving peace and stability in the indo-pacific region. >> schifrin: that phrase, the indo-pacific, was coined by japan but expanded by the trump administration to counter china. the administration, with bipartisan support, increased operations in the pacific, and accelerated regional cooperation, including with australia,hose prime minister scott morrison also talked with biden. >> we agreed that there was no more critical time for both this alliance, between ourselves and the united states, but, more broadly, the working together especially of like-minded countries. >> schifrin: less like-minded, middle east leaders. the trump administration facilitated accords between israel and three sunni arab countries. it pulled out of the iran nuclear deal to press confrontation with iran. on saturday after the u.s. media declared biden president elect, saudi leaders tweeted con

japan's new prime minister yoshihide suga said japan has set a goal to become carbon -neutral by 2050. japan is the world's fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases. the pledge follows a similar one from china's xi jinping last month, who vowed to go carbon -neutral by 2060. greenpeace japan welcomed the announcement but said that doing away with nuclear energy needs to be part of any comprehensive climate plan. back in the united states, in new york city, five climate activists were arrested monday after they shut down work on the north brooklyn pipeline, chaining themselves to the construction site. construction site. national grid-owned pipeline carries fracked gas through mostly black and brown neighborhoods in brooklyn, construction site. national grid-owned pipeline carries fracked gas through mostly black and brown neighborhoods in brooklyn, despite bans on fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure in new york, as well as significant community opposition. this is one of the activists who was arrested at monday's action. >> we won't stand for new fossil fuel infrastructure be

the australia prime minister scott morrison met with japanese prime minister suga yoshihide on tuesday's the first foreign leader to visit tokyo since suga took office. they stressed the need for peace and stability in the indo-pacific region. they say it is becoming more portant to cooperate on defense. >> translator: tonight, japan and australia have reached an agreement on a reciprocal access pact that both countries have been negotiating to bring security and defense cooperation to the next level. >> so today our special strategic partnership became even stronger. in particular, because today we have taken a significant step forward in japan and australia reaching in principle agreement. >> morrison said it's proof of their mutual trust. itomes on the heels of the signing of a massive trade deal, the regional comprehensive economic partnership. both say their countries will play key roles in making the influential economic alliance a success. >>> former u.s. president barack obama released his memoir on tuesday, in which he gave a harsh assessment of japan's political situation whe

of south korea's agency has raised the issue with -- in a meeting with japanese prime minister yoshihide sugalude north korea's nuclear program and wartime forced labor. entered a legal battle against the extradition of two u.s. men to japan. a former green beret and his son are trying to avoid being sent to japan. court filings say the pair could face what he calls human rights abuses in japan. the declaration is carlos ghosn's first intervention, though he has hinted he might help the tailors -- the taylors. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and at quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. >> here is how markets across asia are trading right now. we are seeing another rally for asian stocks with the nikkei continuing to gain ground. we are now at the highest level since october of 1991, a sudden succession of gains despite the fact we have a slightly stronger japanese yen. 1 -- 2018at a 20 and hi and we are seeing the one gaining ground against the u.s. dollar. the asx 200 led higher by real estate. kiwi stock

we start here in japan where prime minister suga yoshihide has just spoken with joe biden for the firstime since his victory was declared. the two discussed security in the region, with biden assuring suga the u.s. is committed to a bilateral trading, which covers the senkaku islands in the east china sea. the talks cover the pact under which both countries are obligated to respond to an armed attack against their territories. >> translator: president-elect biden has told me that he's committed to the application of article v of the japan/u.s. security treaty to the senkaku islands. mr. biden also told me he looks forward to working together to strengthen the japan/u.s. alliance and also move towards peace and stability in the indo-pacific region. >> japan controls the islands. china and taiwan claim them. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory in terms of history and international law. it says there's no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them. the pair also discussed plans to combat the coronavirus and the importance of tackling c

suga yoshihide is calling for efforts to maintain an economic recovery while preventing the spread ofonavirus. suga told a cabinet meeting on tuesday that the budget should cover additional economic measures based on three major pillars. the first is to prevent a further spread of coronavirus infections. the second is to achieve a virtuous cycle, by shifting the economic structure toward digital reforms and a greener society. and the third is to make japan stronger against disasters. japan's finance minister was more specific about details. >> translator: looking at the current situation, demand is picking up, n only for automobiles but in many other industries, as well. i think the government needs to take this into account and ensure a recovery is led by private demand. >> meanwhile, aso did not mention the expected scale of the budget. >>> a city in brazil is trying to keep economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic to a minimum. it's expanding government subsidies that work with a currency, which can only be used locally. nhk world's rafael nogara has more. >> reporter: this ci

. >>> japan's prime minister suga yoshihide has ruled out new nuclear plans or reactors for its countrys it aims to become carb carbon-neutral by 2050. suga responded to questions sunday on the outlook for nuclear power in japan from constitutional democratic party leader edano yukio in the lower committee. >> translator: many of the people who were forced to evacuate after the accident at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plan are still inable to go home. it is inconceivable to build a new nuclear plant. >> translator: i've declared that japan would become carbon-neutral by 2050. despite differing views within my liberal democratic party, at this point, the government has no plan to build or expand any nuclear plants. >> in the same committee, economy, trade, and industrial minister katayama hiroshi, said they would upgrade the safety plan so nuclear power would remain an option in 2050. he said efforts include development of new technologies, such as advanced innovative reactors. >>> egypt has lifted import restrictions on fishery products from seven japanese prefectures. it imposed them

he and yoshihide suga signed a new defense will following the so-called talks in tokyo last month.s it is the legal framework for each country to collaborate on military exercises and humanitarian work. the nomination of judy shelton to the fed's board has been blocked in the senate, and mitch mcconnell -- after covid-19 exposure for -- force two into quarantine. short the votes needed. mcconnell switched his vote to know when that became apparent. -- no when that became apparent. the u.s. is seeking to drop charges against former mexican defense minister, salvador. should insteadhe be investigated and if appropriate, be charged in his own country. he was arrested in los angeles last month and on thursday, he pleaded not guilty to charges that he helped you notorious mexican drug cartel while he was head of the military. thestrongest storm of atlantic hurricane season continues to batter central america, hurting a region reeling from a deadly system two weeks ago. it is the most powerful storm in a record year and came ashore in nicaragua with winds of 250 kilometers per hour. it c

mr bach was speaking after meeting with japanese prime minister yoshihide suga in tokyo.oned earlier this year because of the covid i9 pandemic. despite his optimism the mood of the japanese public remains sceptical, especially about the prospect ofjapan opening its borders to hundreds of thousands of olympic tourists. we are living in a dark tunnel and the olympic games, nextjuly, and the paralympic games, next august, they can be the light at the end of this tunnel and we have good reasons to say this. but we have to understand that people who are feeling uncertain about their lives tomorrow, about their lives in one month from now, when they do not know which restrictions they may have to accept and what it will mean for them, that they also may feel some uncertainty about an event taking place in nine months from now. four astronauts are heading towards the international space station this morning, after a successful rocket launch from cape canaveral in florida. it's nasa's first fully—fledged mission using a privately—owned craft. the spacex capsule will act as a tax

. >>> tning back to japan, where prime minister suga yoshihide's refusal to appoint six nominees to theountry's top academic body, the science council, is still causing controversy. more than 200 academic societies are now demanding a better explanation for the decision. they released a joint statement on friday. it was signed by the heads of several societies in the humanities and social sciences. >> translator: the government's refusal is suppressing critical discussions that ahe lifeline of the humanities and social sciences. it increases pressure to side with thegovernment's wishes. we cannot overlook the situation. >> another professor said the issue has implications for japanese society as a whole and may cause a chilling effect on freedom of thought, speech, and expression. suga made the decision on the appointments weeks ago, drawing criticism from opposition parties as well as academics. the six nominated scholars are from the humanities and social centses. all have been critical of government policy on matters including national security. >>> the japanese government is set to

australia's prime minister, scott morrison, will have talks in tokyo with his japanese counterpart suga yoshihiden tuesday on the first day of a two-day visit. the australian government says morrison plans to discuss their nations' responses to the coronavirus pandemic. they're also expected to conifer on easing travel restrictions between the two countries. the leaders are also likely to discuss how japan's self-defense forces and the australian military can cooperate in joint exercises. australia wants to strengthen economic and security ties with japan amid increasingly strained relations with china, its biggest trading partner. in april morrison suggested that an independent inquiry was needed to identify the origin of the coronavirus. beijing reacted sharply and imposed restrictions on imports of australian meat products. an expert on international relations says the security partnership between australia and japan is becoming very close due to heightening security concerns about china. >> i think they'll be wanting to talk a lot about the current security environment in the indo-pacific reg

we start here in japan where prime minister suga yoshihide has just spoken with joe biden for the firste his victory was declared. the two discussed security in the region, with biden assuring suga the u.s. is committed to a bilateral trading, which covers the seu