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 confirmed casess in japapan is now over 12,0,000. More than 300 people have died. Among them is a man in his 50s. He initially exhibited mild symptoms, but his condition worsened while waiting to be hospitalized. Translalator healthh offici talked to the vicictim and prprepared f for his hospital v, but t the following day, his conditioion worsened, and he d. It iss verery regretettable. We will l look into the case an seseek ways too improve the admission procesess. Now, a hospital in tokyo says about 6 of a sample b batch of patients not being treated for the coronavirus there have tested positive for the virus. Officials believe this figure may offer an idea of the infection rate of the wider community. Officials at the University Hospital say 67 patients underwent presurgery or prehospitalization last week. None had coronavirus symptoms, but four tested positive. Officials believe they were infected outside the hospital. Many infections reported earlier at the hospital were found to be contracted from patients transferred from aju general hospital, also in tokyo. Officials near tokyo are asking people to stay away from beaches while a state of emergency is in place. Officials in kanagawa prefecture have been putting up signs calling on people to steer clear due to the coronavirus pandemic. The move c comes aftfter crowds visited the beaches lastst weekd enticed by warm weather. There were even traffic jams in some places. The officials have also called on the prefectures governor to officially close or limit access to the beaches. The region is popular with surfers. Over the weekend, more surfers visited some beaches than before the state of emergency began. A surfing association is urging members to stay home ahead of string of holidays starting next week. It says rural areas are worried about visitorsrs, as they hahave large numbers of elderly people and limited medical resources. The pandemic has unleashed economic shock waves across japan, and one group hit particularly hard is freelance performing artists. Many have seen their incomes vanish as shows are canceled to contain the virus. Theater, music, and dance organizations conducted a survey of about 3,000 performers. It found roughly 40 of them expect they will not be getting a paycheck this month. Over 70 said they havent been able to find new work. The government has announced stimulus for freelancers. The surveys Organizer Says support for performers must be given with the utmost speed and flexibility. A historic plunge in crude oil futures this week sent shock waves through the energy sector. Our next report looks at whats behind the crash and what it could mean for the global economy. Reporter a world lockdown. Flights grounded. Manufacturing offline. Cars sit idle in parking lots. The spreading coronavirus pandemic has brought transportationrelated businesses to their knees. With less demand, gas prices in japan have been on a 13week decline, but its not much of a fifinancial boost for people at the pumps. Translator it should help because i often drive, but i cant really appreciate the low prices because i cant go out. Reporter from the streets to the markets, the latest coronavirus casualty is oil. Futures crashed into negative territory on monday for the first time in history. With Economic Activity at a standstill, demand is down and stockpiles are building. Oil suppliers were eager to get things moving, even at a loss. Now some worry the rapid decline could spark upheaval for the governments at the center of the industry. Translatotor when it comes ththe futuree statability of th enenergy sector, we need to pay close attetention to how it affects the geopololitics of th middle east. Reporter the uncertainty could rock the foundation of the global economy, already reeling from the virus farreaching effects. Benchmark u. S. Oil prices have not fully rebounded, only reaching about a third of the price per barrel that u. S. Shale Companies Need for profitability. Ththe ensuing slide in Energy Shares is creating more market volatility. Koyama says if small and mediumsized Shale Oil Companies cant recover, it could lead to the kind of instability that caused the 2018 fifinancial crisis. Translator if the e compana cacant support their debt obligations, it will quickly become a problem for the banks funds. If this spreads throughout the u. S. Financial system, it will become a problem for the entire world. Reporter next week, major Central Banks will hold an annual meeting to decide monetary policy. Theyll no doubt be discussing how to address the widespread financial instability sparked by a Global Health crisis. U. S. President donald trump has signed an executive order to suspend some immigration. He says hes helping americans who have lost their job because of the pandemic. This will ensure that unemployed americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens. We have to take care o of our Great American workers, anand thats what were doing. Trump says the executive order will last 60 days. And the government can amend or extend it depending on the labor market. The restrictions affect people applying for permanent residency, but some are exempt. They include medical workers combating the coronavirus, spouses of american citizens, and people who already live in the United States. Observers suggest trumps executive order reflects his hope of winning reelection this autumn. They say he appears to be making a show of protecting American Workers and limiting immigration to appeal to his conservative support base. Trump has called the coronavirus an invisible enemy. He appears on Television Almost every day to talk about how his administration is fighting back. But as nhk world explains, many people say these briefefings do more to divide americans than unite them. Reporter the president s news conferences draw in millions of tv viewers. They often last two hours or more. Im a cheerleader for this country. Reporter his exchanges with reporters can get testy, especially when they question his response to the crisis. Youre so disgraceful. Its so disgraceful the way you say that. You know youre a fake. You know that. Your whole network, the way you cover it is fake. Reporter barry setlov liviv in thehe state of f florida. Hehe looks f forward t to watche briefings every day. Im a big supporter of President Trump to start witith anand i belilieve his s efforts been incredible. His stamina in this situation has been incredible to me. Reporter he says the way the reporters and others treat the president is unfair. I i think i in some w ways i patheticic to attack a sitittin presesident whwhen hes s dealih this monumental crisis. Reporter the president s Approval Rating at the start of the crisis rose to nearly 50 and then declined. Thats in stark contrast to the situation after the 9 11 attacks. Thenpresident george w. Bush saw his Approval Rating reach 90 . Resnick is a democrat. He says the briefings are nothing more than propaganda tools. S. I have watctched almost ever day y his daily upupdates, a an haveve to tell you im verery, didisappointed. Hes holding campaign rallies. That is disgusting. Reporter hes concerned that the president is ignoring the advice of scientific experts. I like to hear dr. Fauci. Id like to hear what some of the otheher people are doing. Andd the president stopppped hi from answering questions because he wasas going to give ann answ ththat was contrary toto one of trumps lies. Reporter many critics are taking aim at tv networks they say he refuses t to carry him live. He has gathered more than 300,000 signatures o on a petition. Theres a fundamentntal distrustst in the United States right now between t the mosost committed republicans and the most committed democrats. S. Obobviously, were all hoping f success, but id sayay that thi crisis has reaeally only exacerbateted the realally deep divisions withthin the united statates political environment over the last four yearsrs. Reporter some fear those divisions may prove too deep to heal, even after the crisis is over. Yamasaki takeshi, nhk world, wawashington. Turningng now to a check on World Weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. A cooler air mass is pushing from the north into parts of asia, creating some instability for the continent. So, jonathan, how will this System Impact people for the rest of the week . Well, raja, it looks like were going to be dealing with cold air thats going to cause some areas to see a little bit more clouds and a little bit more in terms of rain as we go through the next couple of days. Its an interesting pattern because of the way that the atmosphere is stacked. So, when you have warm air coming in from the south, but its hitting up against cooler air thats higher up in the atmosphere, that tends to build up in terms of clouds. Were looking at the satellite perspective here for the past few hours, and we are seeing some of these clouds still bubbling up over near japan. Theres a low pressure system thats nearby, and thats helping to feed in some of that warmer air from the south, but were going to be looking at some additional cloud cover and a little bit of the instability to really be a part of the story as we go through the end of this week. Back toward the west, High Pressure really the big part of the story here, keeping things relatively clear here, except for the southern areas of china. Thats going to also be dealing with some rain as we go into friday. Chongqing looking at some rain with a high of 19, 20 in hong kong and taipei. Now, as we see the high moving in, look at this temperature high of 30 in beijing for friday. Thats way above where theyre supposed to be for this time of year. 16 and 18 in tokyo. Meanwhile, were talking about much more serious instability in the southern United States, as we had a major low pressure system in place the past few hours. Notice the clouds really building up, that clear line back to the west, but ahead of that is where were seeing some of these strong to severe thunderstorms. At least 25 tornado reports over the past 24 hours, and thats just for wednesday. Were going through thursday. These cells are continuing to move their way into mississippi and into alabama. And in fact, the southeastern United States looking at a decent chance for some severe thunderstorms with tornadoes possible along with strong winds and large hail. Enhanced risk from florida into southern portions of alabama into the carolinas, so be on the lookout for that. Again, significant amounts of rain with these strong thunderstorms pushing through as we go through thursday, so be on the lookout for that for the day. Hope you have a safe d day wherever you are. And thats all for n now on this editionon of nhk newsline im raja pradhan in tokyo. Theres much more to come here on nhk world japan, so please, do stay with us. Welcome to newsline in depth. Im marie yanaka. They are r regarded as Popular Culture, not serious creation. Today we look at two choices that are a bit different with manga crossing over into fine arts and business, finding wider audiences and new ways of expression. We start with the legendary anime set during a futuristic war fought by young people in mobile suits. The show has become a social phenomenon for its realistic rendering of human emotion, especially the spiritual struggles of the teenage warriors. Gundam last year celebrated its 40th anniversary, and the company that holds the rights to it went all out to cash in, by signing up an unusual range of collaborators, the firm reached an even wider audience, both in japan and abroad. Reporter tourists stock up on gundam goods at a shop in oidaba, a district in tokyo. Maybe about 15 to 20 . Translator i love gundam. Reporter the anniversary of the iconic series last year gave rise to a sprawling industry of new merchandise, including eye drops and hair dye. Koji furiwara overseas this part of the gundam empire. He calls himself cgo, orr chihi gundam officer. Reporter promoting gundam to as many people as possible is what were all about here. We can do that by combining the strength of individual companies with the charms of gundam. This is an ironware teapot inspired by the zakur line of robots. Translator people will really buy that . Translator absolutely. Its really popular with foreigners. Reporter the company that makes plastic gundam models sells roughly half of them overseas. Its set up more Assembly Lines to meet growing demand, mainly coming from asia and north america. Translator 80 to 90 of our foreign clients are in asia. Earnings in north america are rising, but t there are more things we can doo in europe. Were working hard to promote gundam worldwide. Reporter gundam long ago cemented its reputation as a cultural icon. Now its become a business phenomenon, too. With sales for the anniversary year reaching almost 800 million, the diverse collaboration certainly paid off. For example, the popular teapot was made by craftsmen of ironware that attracted fans of japanese traditional art. In our next story now, we visit kyoto to take a look at new projects mixing Popular Culture with ancient tradition. Artists in manga, anime, and gaming are working with priests and kimono craftsmen. Together, theyre breaking down preconceptions, raising tourist revenue, and shining a light on venerated industries. Reporter shinjuwa is nestled within japans largest zen temple complex. The treasures here are the sliding doors painted hundreds of years ago. The problem is, theyre not just in need of some tlc, but a full restoratation. The h head priesest started thig about how to raise the funds. A set of new doors, the first in four centuries, would create quite a buzz. He could then charge an admissioion fee to help briring old oness bacack to their forme glory. For the priest, it was time for a radical turn toward the contemporary. He asked six of japans leading creative talents to take part. Among them, hiroyuka yamaga, the man behind the hit anime. And thanks to the work of veteran manga artist kitigami, the temples main hall was almost unrecognizable. Translator i was told that this is me praying for everyones happiness. Reporter its titled paradise. Across 16 sliding doors, the dead and the living occupy the same world, as if its all just one big party. Translator some people objected to the new art because its manga, but one of ththe charming things about kyoto is how people gathered from all over japan to innovate. We must remember, this is how things eventualllly become tradition. Reporter this man is most famous for designing the characters in final fantasy, one of the most successful video game series of all time. The priest asked him to depict the goddess kamano, residining buddhist heaven. Translator for creators, its gratifying if our work exists longer than we do. Temples make that possible, and im truly grgrateful. Translator we are able to raise funds to protect and restore our cultural assets. Im so grateful to everyone. We want more young people to visit our temple, to share our world. Reporter old meets new has really caught on here, too. At this shrine, every autumn it hosts the kyoto nippon festival, fusing japanese tradition with the latest pop culture wonders. Last year, a remarkable 13thcentury National Treasure took center stage. The scroll tells the story of the shrines deity. Things take a turn for the worst when hes reborn as a vengeful spirit. But it wasnt the only work bringing the wow factor. A number of upandcoming manga artists also showed pieces. All were inspired by the shrines deity. Translator looking at the modernday versions, i got a sense of how people in the past must have enjoyed art like we do. One of the best way, actually, to introduce the traditional art, japanese art, to the younger generation, not only in japan, but also around the world. Reporter manga and the divine, it might seem like an odd mix, but in fact, temples have long served as hubs for theieir communities. Translator manga can take something complex and make it easier to understand. Our shrine used to be the starting point for many trends. We want to return to our roots and attract people in a way befitting of these modern times. Reporter kyotos newfound taste for pop culture is gaining the attention of local artisans. Shinya yamada is a kimono painter. His family studio was founded more than a century ago. He works in style. Everything is done by hand. The aesthetic stems from the local school of paiainting know as limpa. Hes concerned about the shri shrinking kimono market, now less than a third of what it was just 30 years ago. Translator the slump in the industry means there are fewer artisans. This makes the prices rise, pushing them even further out of region. Its a vicious cycle. Reporter r he sees manga as the perfect way to promote his studios style of painting, ultimately helping to preserve its history and techniques. His search for collaborators draws in some of the biggest names in manga, including the legendary osama studio. He hopes to exhibit the works. Translator im working on astroboy. Reporter h he sayays the ki industry is faced with the same problem a as temples a and shrirines a glaring need to reach people on a deeper level. The most experienced painter in yamadas studio agrees. Hes also fallen in love with the concept of collaboration. Translator i never dreamed of getting involved with manga after working as a kimono painter for 50 years. At first, it was scary. I wondered if i could draw manga using my skills, but now im happy were doing it. Reporter yamada now wants to take his ideas even further and give kyotos monks and priests a boost at the same time. Today he visits shorayin, one of the oldest temples in the city. Hes keen to display his works to attract more people and attract people to his studios techniques, a true winwin situation. Translator our new work depicts a cherry tree planted in a garden right here at this temple, and we added astroboy on top. Translator its really beautiful, beyond words. I believe yamada and temples like us can be mutually inspiring. Reporter yamadas idea is really gaining traction. He can now count this temple, a unesco World Heritage site, among his collaborators. In december, a special exhibition was held at the temple. Star billing was given to the temples legendary goblins and ghosts, but also the iconic characters from hit manga. The event was quite an honor for yamamada, who became the first person in history to paint the temples resident masters. Translator in particular, i focused on fear. I think its form has evolved with the times, but the feeling will never change. Reporter the priest who organized the exhibition says its been a real step in the right direction. Translator im afraid traditional Japanese Culture is losing its place in everyday life. Ive been hoping to find a way forwrward that fitits with the times. For us, tradition is like passing a flame on to othersrs. Its fragile. I believe it t can only be prpreserved withh new oil every day. Reporter yamada, the faith he has in his hometown is only growing stronger. Translator i believe kyoto still has the soul to k keep on creating, to cause a buzz and get people excited. Many people say the world of comics and high culture shouldnt mix, but the fact is, manga has been influencing fine art for decades. And like the priest who brought pop art into his temple said, works being produced today could be hailed as classic if they stand the test of time. Its interesting to look at it the other way around, too. If we study ancient temple scrolls and screen paintings, we can see elements that may have influenced manga in the art that was made for the gods. And thats all for todays newsline in depth. Thanks for tuning in. Decisions continue on europe on how to make an economic recovery from the pandemic. E. U. Leaders are said to me to find common ground. Also, the pressure to find a vaccine to the virus that the u. K. And germany being among the countries to be giving the goahead to hold trials. In france, the death toll rises to more than 21,300, but the number of new patients being admitted to hospitals continues to drop. The French Academy of medicine calls on the government to make it m manda