The state of emergency for osaka, kyoto and hyogo. The number of newew infections steadily declining, and the strain on the medical system is easing. Therefore, we will ask experts to evaluate the situation early next week, likely on monday. Y. If thehe situation remains theh same, we may be able to liftt te declclaration for those prefectures. Osaka, kyoto and hyogo met et criteria for the declaration to be lifted. Officials say the prefectures also have sufcient medic supplies and Monitoring Systems in place. People in the area expressed mixed feelings about the move. Translator im a little worried. Theres no guarantee that the number of infected people wont substantially increase Going Forward. T translator the situation here is stabilizing, so i think its about time to revitalize the economy. Officials reported 11 new cases in the capital on thursday, and the daily increase has been on the downward trend. But both he tokyo and kanagawa did not meet the criteria for the say the tate of emergency t lifted. Saitama did. Hokkaido also did not meet the benchmark. Translator we need a little more effort so we can achieve this standard. People living in areas that remain under the state of emergency are urged to refrain from nonessential outings. 39 other prefectures had the state of emergency lifted last week but officials are urging residents to reduce contact. About 16,400 have tested positive in japan, over 760 have died. As nhk reports, people afflicted with other diseases are at risk. Reporter takayama reiko has stage four pan creatic cancer. She moved h home to live out he remaining days. Her family wanted her in the hospital, where she could get faster emergency trereatment. Then, the coronavavirus forcecee hohospital to stop allowining m than one visitor a dayay. Translator there was no problem as s long as we could visit her and hold herer hands, but with the coronavirus, we couldnt do that, which was frustrating. Reporter tanana is her home care doctor. Since the coronavirus outbreak began he says many families have made a similar decision. More seriously ill patients means more consultation. Usually he will see each patient for 30 minutes, but fearing that close contact with so many people could spread the virus, he shortened eachh sessision to five to ten minutes. In a single day, hell visit up to 17 places. Translator we have more terminal Cancer Patients where we need to check on them frequently, by two or three times a week because their conditions can change suddenly. Reporter and its not just his work thats changing. Many rehabilitation programs and Nursing Services have been canceled. Tanaka says if his patients go without this help for long, it will affect their Overall Health and lifestyles. Translator the longeger the stay in their beds, the more theyre likely to aspirate and get knew mpneumonia or fall and their limbs. Its like a domino effect. Reporter tanaka says there needs to be a balance between providing medical care and presenting patients from the virus. Home care doctors dont have access to the same presentative equipment they would receive in hospitals. So theyve had to improvise. If a patient gets a sudden fever, he pulls out gear he himself made out of a rain coat. The Group Representing home care professionals says doctotors shouldnt h have to comee up wi their ownwn solutions. Translator i think it is the role off the govovernmentt and administration to come up with standards f for how to deaeal w the v virus weve never ep coununtered before and present that to home care doctors. Reporter as the virus continues to pose new challenges, doctors like tanaka hope they have the tools they need to keep themselves and their patients safe. Gnocchi haruka, nhk world, tokyo. Japanese airline, all Nippon Airways says its making face masks mandatory. Passengers will have to wear them on planes and at the airport. They may deny boarding to anyone not wearing a mask or with a fever or any sort of illness. The policy will go into effect june 1st. Passengers will have to wear them at all times, including check points and boarding gates. They may make exceptions for small children. All Nippon Airways is going a step forward by making them mandatory. The company says it will ask passengers to disinfect their hands before boarding. It will provide disinfect tant wipes on request. Passengers are expected to pick up as the state of emergency is gradually lifted. Moving to europe where residents are gradually moving from isolation. The greek Prime Minister announced in a televised address wednesday, International Flights to popular Tourist Spots such as the island of crete will resume on july 1st. Accommodation facilities for tourists will be allowed to reopen june 15th. Translator our General Health protocol will be observed without overshadowing our bright sun or the Natural Beauty of greece. Italys ratransport minister said on twitter all italian airports can reopen as of june 3rd. European countries are keen to open their economies. Now Business Owners in the United States are desperate to reopen their doors, but they need to follow strict rules to avoid a surge of the anniveversary. So theyre getting creative about new ways of doing business. Andrew beal has the details. Reporter Mary Sue Milliken is a wellknown chef. She runs popular restaurants in Southern California and las vegas. Shes cooked for some of the most famous people in the world. The coronavirus outbreak forced all her resestaurantsts to o cl march. Now showes busyy planning t to reopen while following the rules to keep her customers safe. Like instead of eight this year were going to have only four. Reporter shes converting this unused room to a dining space thats big enough for guests to follow social distancing rawl distancing rules. And shes revamping menus to accommodate takeout orders. Im trying to imagine new ways to service our customers, making sure its very safe for the customer and very safe for the employee before we reopen. Reporter other entrepreneurs have respoponded to the pandemi by reinventing theheir business. This e event proroduction c com helps put on m major concerts. It worked with superstar acts like Ozzy Osbourne and ac dc. But Health Officials in many states h have banned people fro gathering in large crowds. And no one knows how long the restrictions will last. So the Company Changed its approach. Employees now produce face shields for essential w wkers. They make t them in a hang arhe space that was formerly used to create statement sets. They produce 10,000 shields each day. John huddleston is the companys director. Hes hoping to hold onto his skilled workers until the original business can resume. Were really not making much money at all, but were keeping everybody going, and thats importrtant to us, too keep th workforce moving and keep them ememployed and keep them e earn so that o once this is all donoe can get back to our core business. Reporter as living with the virus has become the norm, Business Owners are finding new ways to k keep their companies d their employees moving forward. Andrew beal, nhk world, los angeles. Switching gears now, residents of many regions across south asia have seen a deadly it is storm wreak havoc overnight. Hows the outlook into friday . We are expecting the system to continue weak ping. It has weakened from its really severe cyclonic status and is expected to continue weakening as we go into friday. Nevertheless it has really caused major issues as the system has moved to the north and east, and its not just area between india and bangladesh, take a look at this video coming out from there where we saw amphan causing the stormy weather. A 9yearold child was killed due to a landslide and a woman died having been hit by a falling tree many the Natural Disaster came as the country is battling the covid19 outbreak. Nine people have lost their leitc lives due to the situation. Now were talking about the impact to india and bangladesh. 236 millimeters fell. The system will continue to w k weaken were watchingg a very unstable pattern in the balkan peninsula. And this will continue to weaken. In the meantime, weve been watching that particular pattern taking place. High pressure is controlling the pattern, and thats driving some of the northerly winds. Cooler weather is expected for the eastern areas of the continent. 26 in paris, up to 32 in madrid. More flooding will continue as we go through thursday, and more thunderstorms expected for the central and Southern Plains for the day. Hope you have a safe day wherever you are. Thats all for now on this edition of nhk newsline. Im raja pradhan in tokyo. Theres much more to come on nhk world japan, so please stay with us. Welcome to newsline in depth, im aiko doden. Today we are getting to know a rather unusual musical instrument. The theremin. It was invented in russia by a physicist about 100 years ago. You may have heard it in movies by Alfred Hitchcock in dozens of tv shows. The therememin doesnt exactly look like it can make music. Performers move their hands to control the invisible electromagnetic waves that surround the masheep. Last year, there was a performance in russia to mark the 100th adversary of the inch treatment instrument. Among the performers was a group directed by a japanese man. How was the matryomin created . Reporter while the theremin has been around since the 19200, in japan it later merged with russian dolls. In september about 300 of them met to break a world record. Thee challengege was from a a et and professssional player who introduced the ips straumt to japan over 20 years ago. Pursuing the ethereal sound, takeucuchi set off for russia i 1993 to study under theremins relative. When takeuchi returned to japan in the 90s, he was determined to popularize it. To win fans, he incorporated the theremin in the shape of charming dolls and launched the it first generation in the year 2000. It was a hit, especially among women who are into techno music. He has trained some 300 people since. In 2016, takeuchi faced a major setback. Mid performance, he suffered a stroke, with his right side paralyzed. He considered his performing career over, but his students from across japan rallied around him. Now hes on a new mission as a producer, bringing together nearly 300 players in the hopes of creating a world record. Theremins family flies in from russia. Bay to beethovens symphony number 9, owewe ode to joy. Now there are hundreds of players in japan. And the defining moment. The ensemble sets a world record. He and his wife, who is also an accomplished theremin player, join us in the studio. Thank you for joining us today. So this is the instrument that mr. Takeuchi invented in japan. The concept of theremin is incorporated into the doll. Would you please put your hand close to it . So the distance matters. When the hand gets closer, the pitch gets higher. A mysterious sound, but the worldfamous bands like beach boys and led zeppelin also used this instrument, so we must have heard it somewhere. Besides, its like taking us to the world of science fiction. Theress no guidance, no ke or finger board positions. So pitch control is challenging. And it sounds like a ghost. I think thats why Alfred Hitchcock used it for his movies. Its not a major musical instrument, even in russia, so it must have been hard for you to popularize it in japan. About 30 years ago no one knew theremin in japan. So i started performing in concerts in lobbies. I wanted people to know its beautiful sounds rather than its ststrange sounds, and somehow ty came to love it and i gradually won more fans. Did the invention contribute a lot to boosting the popularity . Maybe. The theremin is big and hard to move. You control the pitch with the right hand and volume with the left hand. So its hard to play. But this is small and pretty. And the doll isade off linden tree, so it resonates very well. But right after inventing it, people told me they would only buy it if it is sold at 1,000 yen on the cash desk at diners. But now we play in a group at many places. Ms. Haum gucci, you have been playing the ips trumt for many years with mr. Talk eachy. What do you think is the most attractive thing about this instrument . The changing sounds. When you turn on the power, you hear the sound like a buzzer which then will turn into beautiful, rich founds. When i play it wholeheartedly, it will result in good performance, i feel very happy. Ms. Haum gucci will play it for us. The music is titled moscow nights. What is worth noting about this performance . Well, if you play it well, theremin sounds like a human voice. So i hope you will enjoy the voice of theremin during this performance. Lets hear a piece now that has a strong connection to russiaia. Heres moscow nights. Thank you very much. It really sounded laike a human voice. Mr. Takeuchi, even after suffering illness, you have been playing this instrument while continuing physical therapy. Youre also teaching students. What do you think is so fascinating . What do you think is so fascinating to you . Well, because it is very sensitive to a player. If you move one millimeter, the pitch changes accordingly. In the unstable space with no reference, you can only rely on your senses and pitch control. That is so fascinating. You cannot find these characters in other musical instruments. So how are you going to engage yourself in this instrument Going Forward . If you have a physical disability like me, that is reflected on the sound. Thats why i would like to try playing it. I have always been pursuing the beauty of music in theremin performances. In the modern world, music is often automated, and we cannot reduce this trend, but so long as there are such people who refuse to accept such trend i believe i have a role to play. Thats all for todays newsline in depth. We leave you with another piece played by ms. Haum gucci. Thank you for watching and see you again next time. Dozens are killed in india anand bangladesh, and millions e left without power. China prepareses for its biggest annual political amid the coronavirus pandemic. The National Peoples congress is discussing economic policy. Largest daily rise in coronavirus cases comes with a stark warning for the World Health Organization saying we still have a long way to go in the pandemic