Officials in beijing say the plan would allow intelligence agencies from the mainland to set up in the territory if needed. But many of the specifics remain unclear. The proposal has brought thousands of protesters into the streets of hong kong again after months of relative calm due to the coronavirus. Concerns are spreading that the proposed legislation would undermine the territorys autonomy. On thursday, one of the leaders of the prodemocracy movement is called on residents to stand up and fight back. I think now is the time we will continue our International Advocacy and seek for bipartisan support. The plan has also provoked international critism, esespeciallyly from the u. S. President donaldld trump has sa he plans to o take action in th coming days. Americican officiaials have als called for the u. N. Security council to meet over the issue. Tensions between the u. S. And china were further inflamed wednesday over the issue of uighurs. The u. S. House of representatives passed a bill calling for sanctions on chinese officials involved in human rights abuses against the ethnic minority. We are here in support of the uighur human rights policy act, strong Bipartisan Legislation to address and defend the rights and dignity of the uighur people from chinas oppression. The measure accuses beijing of unjustly detaining members of the mostly Muslim Minority group in an autonomous region in northwest china. The bipartisan bill passed the Senate Earlier this month and now needs a signature from u. S. President trump. But china has warned that it will take countermeasures if he does. Turning to japan where restrictions put in place to contain the coronavirus are slowly easing. But one mayor in the southwest of the country says the number of infections is on the rise again in the city and the situation could get much worse. Translator kitakyushu city will be hit by a second big wave if this situation continues. We hope that everyone recognizes that we may be heading for a very difficult situation and respond firmly to get out of this crisis. No cases had been confirmed in the city for more than three weeks, but 22 new infections were confirmed between saturday and wednesday. Health officials have been unable to trace the root of infection in 17 of those cases. The mayor says 12 of the people are elderly. He promised to thoroughly track their recent activities to prevent infection clusters at senior facilities. Tourist spots and other facilities had reopened, but they were forced to close again on thursday. That includes kokura castle. Translator i feel a little bit sad. It had reopened for just two days. Translator its closed again, and im crushed. Were heading for the second wave, and all of our residents and facilities have to work together. The state of emergency was lifteded in tokyo and the last four prefectures on monday. To date, more than 1616,700 peoe have tested positive in japan. Over 880 have died. The antiviral drug remdesivir is being studied as a treatment for covid19. The company that makes it says the outcome appears to be similar whether its used for five days or ten. Remdesivir is made by the American Firm gilead sciences. The Company Published the results of the study in the new england journal of medicine. 200 patients were given remdesivir for five days. Within two weeks of the start, 60 of them had been discharged. Almost 200 other patients had received remdesiver for ten days. Within two weeks of the start, more than 50 of them had been discharged. The company also reported the median number of days patients were in the hospital. For those on the fiveday course of remdesivir, it was seven for those on the tenday course, it was eight. Gilead sciences concludes theres no big difference in outcomes. Still the company says the drugs actual effectiveness is hard to judge because the trial did not include a placebo. Remdesivir was originally developed to treat ebola. Earlier this month japan became the first country to approve it for covid19. The United States has approved it for emergency use. Clinical trials are underway in a number of countries to determine how safe and effective it is for people with covid19. Meanwhile, a global race is underway to develop a Coronavirus Vaccine and to produce enough of it to bring the pandemic to an end. Our next report looks at the progress being made in japan. Reporter a Biotech Company is developing a new Coronavirus Vaccine. Its candidate is stored at minus 150 degrees celsius. The firm launched its development in february. Researchers say they have now created a potential vaccine by using the g genetic code for th new coronavirus. And they hope to begin Clinical Trials as early as september or october. Translator what you see is a culture solution. The solution contains nutrients in ordrder to cultivate cells. The researchers are right now preparing for cultivation in large quantities. Reporter currently 120 vaccine projects against covid19 are in development around the world with 10 alrlrey being clinically tested on people. Most vaccines are approved for use only after animal testing and the subsequent three Clinical Trial phases. U. S. Pharmaceutical company modernas vaccine candidate has moved to second phase testing. And its shown promise with boosted levels of antibodies to fight the virus. Uk based astrazeneca says it has the capacity to start supplying its vaccine in september if Clinical Trials are successful. Over in japan, the earliest Clinical Trials are just set to begin in july. Concern is growing over attempts to monopolize the vaccine market. 1 billion has been put into astrazenecas research. If trials succeed, the u. S. Opts to obtain 30300 Million Units o the vaccine. Japanese experts are warning about the situation. Professor nakayama is warning about the development and manufacturing capacity. Translator japan is clearly lagging behind other countries. Vaccines are weapons to protect people. It cant rely on drug makers in other countries. Reporter according to the professor, a countrys awareness is reflected in the level of support it i invests in vaccine development. Translator nation production methods cant be developed without research over many years. I think that basic research has been somewhat neglected here. Japans textile imports surged in april fueled by growing demand for face masks. New finance e ministry tradede shows that imports of textile goods including face masks hit 116 billion yen or just over 1 billion. Thats ten times higher than the same month last year. As many as 95 of the imports come from china, followed by vietnam. The surge in textile goods took place despite an overall decline of 7 in japans total imports compared to last year. Turning to south america, brazils largest city and the center of its coronavirus outbreak sao paolo is allowing some businesses to begin reopening inin june. The governor said restaurants will also be able to resume Indoor Dining services. He said medical facilities are able to treat any potential virus patients. Brazil has reported more than 410,000 cases so far. The country has had a daily death toll of around 1,000 for the past few days. The numbers is the highest in the world. But there have been growing calls lately from workers and Small Business owners to restart economic activities. Translator the situation is very critical. Sales are practically zero. The need nor restrictions was stressed. But president bolsonaro pushed for the economy to reopen. Meanwhile, south korea is dealing with a mass infection that broke out at a distribututn cecenter in the suburbs of seou. 79 cases were confirmed wednesday, roughly double from the day before. The recent number of new infections per day had been around 20. Wednesdays figure is the highest since early april. People in tokyo were surprised by a sudden burst of showers thursday afternoon. We heard rumbles of thunder outside the studio. Our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us now with the latest. Sayaka . The sky suddenly turned gray and we saw lots of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms here in central tokyo. But after that within one hour the sky cleared up. We even also saw a couple of rainbows decorating the sky. And take a look at this radar. This afternoon clouds emerged across the west and quickly spread towards central tokyo. There was 28 millimeters of rain in only the space of one hour. The thunderstorms are caused by daytime heating plus a cold air mass aloft. We will continue to see unstable weather conditions in the east as we go into friday. Now, temperatures are going to be very high during the weekend in northern japan. Hokkaido, sapporo might see 26 on both days on saturday as well as sunday. Its going to be more like august. Tokyos high will be 27 with plenty of sunshine during the daytime hours. Then theres a possibility of rain once again and heavy rain is possible on monday. And fukuoka will see drier conditions into friday but clouds or rain could develop starting the weekend. We might see the onset of the rainy season during the weekend in kyushu. Meanwhile, extreme heat is gripping many places of pakistan and northern india. Once again, jacobabad with 50 as the high on wednesday. Thats the third day in a row. And parts of pakistan saw 50. 6 degrees. Now, dry conditions will continue, but looks like heat will likely ease for the next couple of days across these places. Rain is developing in the south and today the rainy season has set in across the south of sri lanka and green indicates the typical onsets of the southwest monsoon. Typically the rainy season starts late june or july in northern india as well as pakistan. So until then, generally dry and hot weather will continue. Thats it for me. Stay safe. And those were the top stories at this hour on nhk newsline. Thanks for joining us and well have more for you soon. Welcome to newsline indepth. Im marie yanaka. Today we explore how lifestyles are influencing Food Consumption trends. For one, that means more choice. We go to london to look at the booming vegan business. Then we see how japanese people on the go are drinking meals. And in thailand, we discover a nation going mad for milk. Now, the number of people identifying as vegan has been on the rise. In fact, veganism has entered the mainstream with many Large Companies offering plantbased foods and marketing animalfree products. Lets look at how the trend is transforming london. Across the uk, vegan markets are rising. These may look like regular cakes and tea, but theyre both vegan. Shoppers line up for samples and mushroom and barley burger topped with meatless bacon. This is fake bacon, yeah. We stick it in maple syrup and soy sauce. The meat is like i would say its really close to normal meat. And its with cheese which tastes like cheese. Like actually. The ukuks Vegan Population said to have quadrupled to 600,000 in the last five years. And markets like these offering everything from burgers to sweets to ethnic dishes are popping up across the uk. Stores are adapting to the change at incredible speed. A b bakeryhainntroduceced meatfe versionon of britains tradaditional ssasage ll. The sausage which us fun fungideririved protein quickly came a top seller. It helelpshe c company lt its profit forecast four times this year. Now even a hotel in london offers what they call the worlds first vegan room. So let me take you through some of the features of the hotel. The onebedroom suite has an allnatural feel. What looks like a leather cushion is actually made from pineapple. Even the glue used to stick the wallpaper is vegan. And of course the bathroom features toiletries that are all made without animal testing. The room starts from 640 per night, but the manager says there are guests willing to pay that price. The customer will be charged a price thats quite decent, but equally it goes to the fact of the passion and dedication put behind this concept. Many customers willing to come and stay here and experience the vegan lifestyle. However, veganism has some meat eaters up in n arms. Caroline hillum says she might choose to skip gatherings with friends. I say is there a v veg option on saturday. He said were only serving lambs blood. It hurts because you feel like people who know you beforehand at least have other things to judge you on. Suddenly when you say youre vegan, they switch and say thats all you are. A Behavioral Scientist who lectures at the London School of economics says opinions on veganism reflect existsting divisions in society. Some people might implicitly feel judged by vegan people. And no one likes to feel judged for the behavior and the food they are eating. Part of veganism and the rise of veganism shows a shift towards more healthy and more caring about the environment. But part of veganism also is about asserting who you are as an individual. It will take some time for the debates over veganism to weigh, but the vegan economy may be one factor that can help ease tension. Nhk world, london. Actually, i had dinner at a Vegan Restaurant yesterday with some friends. It had been a few years since i tried a completely plantbased meal which back then was kind of bland. This time i was blown away by the experience. The improved quality seemed to me like people both vegan and nonvegan could share a meal and enjoy it equally. The rising popularity of plantbased food means more companies are cashing in on it. And thats translating into an evolution. You can no longer assume a vegan meal might simply involve a dull salad. It could be experimental with rich and diverse flavors, colorful thanks to the use of superfoods, and aesthetically pleasing on the plate. Our next story is from japan. A country known for its love of convenience and busy way of life. So the latest trend in food . A rise in drinkable meals. As many go getters are eager to finish eating quickly to return to their desks, companies are developing nutritious and savory liquid foods. Lets take a look. At a theme park for food, one product is attracting a lot of attention. Drinkable rice bowls. They hit the market in japan in march. Sales have been beyond expectations with more than 2 million packets flying off the shelf so far. Translator its just like ordinary rice. Its so real. Translator its a rice bowl. Rice grains can be seen in the liquid. The maker says it tries to maintain the texture of rice while turning other ingredients such as seaweed and pickled plums into jelly form. The firm originally developed the drinkable rice bowls for busy business people. It wanted them to have a quick way to eat in their offices or while commuting. But people have gone beyond that and have been taking the meals into the outdoors and on hiking trips. Theres been a flood of positive comments online. Translator people say they enjoy the taste and texture. They say its just like real rice bowls. Another company has made a drink out of a dish that people usually sit down to eat as a full meal. Its drinkable curry made by a mail order company. Last year they put aboutut 4,4, cans on the market as a trial. They sold out immediately. A remark by an employee at a product Planning Session inspired the development. They said that when theyre busy, they drink and eat curry straight from the packet. Others said they did the same thing so the company thought there might be a demand for a drinkable curry. The liquid curry contains all the ingredients from meat to vegetables. Its easy to break down and still has currys rich taste. The can is designed for people to be able to drink the curry anywhere, any time. After the trials success, the firm is now working on other variations. One is a thai curry. Translator were working on many types of curries and changing them so theyre drinkable. There are many new challenges to take onn in this dietary field. Customers are saying that the curries are easy to drink and are full o of gooood spices. These drinkable meals could find many uses including becomining part of emergency supply kits. This new world of food may only be just starting to heat up. Look at what i packed along with me today. Yes, the drinkable curry and rice ball. I opened a pouch earlier. Though its not the real thing, i found all the familiar aromas of japans favorite snack and the grains of rice had a pleasant firmness. So it may be a viable choice for a person on the run. And finally, we head to thailand where an expanding economy is making consumers thirsty for new things. And right now it happens to be milk. We look at this craze as well as how a milking system maker based in nagano japan is helping thailand meet the rising demand for dairy. Forget about cocktail bars or coffee shops. The hottest hangouts in thailand right now are milk cafes. Young thais are sipping glasses of hot milk or rich chocolate smoothies. Translator its delicious. I want to drink a lot more. To help drive interest in all things dairy, the owner of one milk cafe chain takes people to visit a farm. People can try their hands at milking the cows and feeding the calves. Translator theres a lot of interest among young people in our dairy products. The trend has caught the eye of a naganobased company that makes milking machines. The companys equipment can clean itself at the push of a button. It means theres less bacteria in the raw milk raising the quality level significantly. And less time is spent cleaning equipment. This dairy farm has introduced a japanese milking system. They say that it has resulted in an improvement in the quality of their products and a shorter milking time. Three dairy farms have already flushed out on the machines. Translator its enabled our employees to spend time on other tasks. One of the firms Officials Say thailand like japan has a dairy industry built on small farms. And that makes it a promising market. T translator is thatat mean can utilize dairy farming technologies developed in japan. The next challenge is to find the right price points for the machines. Translator we need to cut costs more to make our products more affordable to customers in thailand. So the company is negotiating with a local parts maker to brining the price down and solidify the footing in a promising new market. Nhk world. Thanks so much corporate efforts, the machines in thailand cost half of what they do in japan. The nagano based maker is confident in its machinery for small and medium sized farms and sees Southeast Asia which has many similar scale operations as a promising market. Its now eyeing myanmar as a good place to take its products next. You know, many other industries in japan are facing a shrinking domestic market too. So they might want to take a page from the machinery makers book and look at other countries. Leading to appetites for new things especially in the developing world. And thats it foror our look in how changnging lifestyles are shaping Food Consumption trends and creating new business opportunities. Thank you for watching todays newsline indepth and ill see you next time. The United States reaches 100,000 covid19 casualties as the country continues to struggle to get the pandemic under troll. The under control. The u. S. Remains the worst affected nation worldwide. The french Prime Minister is set to unveil frances plan to enter phase two of decoconfinement. This is the countrys unemployment figures skyrocket at 4. 5 million. We have the latest from our business editor. And Chinas Parliament backs the controversial Hong Kong Security an