Slightly but are still topping 100 with 165 cases reported on wednesday. Experti expertings are oespecially concern concerned. Translator the numbers couod be many times from now. That would mean 1200 people. It would increase my 256 fold. The governor is calling on residents to refrain from nonessential travel to other prefecture prefecture. The number of infections continue to rise in other parts of japan. 61 cases were confirmed in the western prefecture of osaka on wednesday. Thats the highest since the nationwide state of emergency was lifted in may. Now, across japan, morore than 22,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. Nearly 1,000 people have died. Officials are also closely watching developments in the southern prefecture of okinawa home to several m military u. S. Bases. The okinawa governor met the defense minister in tokyo. He asked the minister to push the u. S. Militaryy to swiftly provide detailed information on the infected people. Translator i hope he w wi tell the u. S. Side what he has to say as japans defense minister. I also want him to think of the position of those that host the u. S. Bases. The Central Government plans to launch a Campaign Next week to boost domestic tourism. But local officials are worried it could spread infections from tokyo. Reporter the pandemic has seriously affected tourism in japan. The government wants to bring visitors back. Officials are set to kick off a project to help the industry recover. It includes discounts of up to 35 or as much as 130 per night. This hotel in the resort town of karuizawa is normally full of guests from tokyo. While the manager says he appreciates the intent of the campaign, right now hes hesitant about hosting anyone from the countrys largest city. Translator about 30 to 40 of our reservations have been canceled. Many people are asking whether theyre allowed to visit the area now that so many infections are being reported in tokyo. Reporter people in the capital are also hesitating. Translator i had planned to go on a trip next week, but i canceled it. Translator the campaign itself is a good idea, but whether im able to travel i is different matter. Reporter local government officials are raising concerns too. Translalator i wonder if th time is right to start this nationwidede. I cant t say im happppy about. Translator if this campaign reresults in an outbreak, itit be a manmade disaster caused by the Central Government. Reporter the tourism minister is playing down such concerns, saying that participating hotels and inns will have to take precautions. Translator efforts to prevent infectctions must be maintained at all costs. Healthth and safety should be t top priority. Reporter the government is considering detailed guidelines for travel agencies and hotels. They include temperature checks for all customers and petitions at all checkin counters. They also urge tourists to avoid crowds in restaurants and bathhouses. This Infectious Disease expert says a cautious approach is needed considering the current situation. Translator the fact that were seeing a lot of Community Transmission means we will need to review our actions once again. Reporter the economic revitalization minister says on thursday hell hear from experts on the matter. Translator i would like to know what they are thinking about this campaigign, which is promoting travel between prefectures. Reporter meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are demanding the scheme be postponed. They say the government should wait until it looks like infections are being contained before moving ahead. Researchers from European Countries have called on the japanese govovernment to ease restrictions to allow foreign students to reenter the country. Many of the researchers h have been s studying in japan for several years. S. They made the appeal in an online conference. I i think for the future of japapan, it is verery important let internatitional studedents. I think letetting students in is should be considered seriously. She told reporters her university has resumed classes, but 88 foreign students and 2 teacachers havave been unable t reenter japan. She says their s studies have bn disrupted and warn this may discouragege foreign students fm eventually wanting to work in japan. Foreign nationals from 129 countries and regions are currentlyy denied entry into th country due to the the pandemic. It also applies to foreign nationals living in japan who are only allowed to reenter with special permission. Now, over in the United States, the Trump Administration has reversed a plan to pull visas for foreign students whose classes will be exclusively taught online. I felt t like theres a hugu sense of relieief, and i felelts huge amomount of bden n just go or takenen away. The big win is a quick win, but i i would d say that theher lot t to be e done. And im going toakake this d da to celebrate it, a and then tomorrrrow i might wake up andne what else there is. The flipflop comes about a week after u. S. Immigration authorities announced the new policy for the September School year, the first since the pandemic began. It would have forced foreign students to leave the country or transfer to schools with inperson classes. The decision was announced after the launch of a legal challenge mounted by highprofile universities and more than a dozen states. The u. S. Issueued visas to abou 400,000 foreign students in the 2019 fiscal year. Weather officials in japan say the worst may be over for areas devastated by intense downpours. But as the rain moves south, authorities are warning of a continued threat of landslides. Water has begun to recede where in the western prefecture of shimane where a swollen river inundated homes, many filling up to the ceiling. Evacuation orders in gotsu city remain am place for more than 6,000 people. Translator im glad that the worst part of f the rain is ove. But im worried that the ground looks unstable in some places. Rescue efforts continue in the southwest. Ten people are still missing. 77 others have died. The government says s more than 15,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed across 24 prefectures. Affected areas are also dealing with new concerns about the coronavirus. Hundreds of people from across the country have been flown in to help with relief efforts. Including a nurse who later tested positive for the virus. Officials are now testing about 400 people who may have been in contact with him. Translator its essential to recruit manpower from outside kumamoto to promote reconstruction efforts. What we need are measures to make sure that everyone coming in is free of the virus. The Central Government estimates the current damage to the agriculture, forestry and Fishery Industries to be over 170 million. In other news, the u. S. President is stepping up pressure on china over its crackdown on hong kong. Donald trump signed an executive order ending preferential economic and trade treatment for the territory. Hong kong will now be treated the same as mainland china. No special privivileges. No special economic trtreatment. And no export of sensitive technologies. Trump also signed into law a bill aimed at Holding China accountable for what he called oppressive actions against hong kong. It allows the u. S. To impose sanctions on chinese authorities, and Financial Institutions that contribute to the removal of hong kongs autonomy. That could include freezing their assets. China reacted sharply to the news. Its Foreign Ministry said in a statement that they plan to take whatever actions it deems necessary including imposing sanctions on american officials and organizations. The United States is also weighing in on primaries held over the weekend to choose prodemocracy candidates in hong kongs upcoming Legislative Council election. The territorys government warned the unofficial vote may have violated chinas new National Security law. U. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo said the warning demonstrates the Chinese Communist partys fear of democracy and its own peoples free thinking. A chinese law professor known as a critic of xi jingping has been reportedly fired. He was detained on what his friends describe as false accusations. Xu zhangrun had already been suspended by the university for writing an article in 2018. In it, he denounced beijing for removing president ial term limits which enabled xi to stay in office indefinitely. Most recently xu a accused the government of mishandling the coronavirus outbreak. He was detained earlier this month and released on sunday. Police reportedly told his wife he was detained for allegedly soliciciting prorostitution. His friends say the move was meant to discredit xu. A a major attraction at festivals in hong kong are majestic paper floats known as flower cannons. But the pandemic has dealt a blow to the artisans who have been keeping the tradition alive. Reporter the floats can tower 10 meters high. They come in various designs of animals or guardian deities. And each one is infused with wishes for health, peace, and abundan abundance. Kenneth moe is a 20 year artisan. Noww he is one of only four who create these floats. Translator since the 1980s, weve had few apprentice tiss. Fa pau should be passed down as a characteristic of hong kong. Reporter as a master, moe creates many in a year. Translalator weve asked hi to create fa pau all these y yes because its so intricate and good thihings happen to the peoe who take them over after a festival. Reporter but regional festivals have been canceled due to the pandemic. So far this year moe has received almost zero commissions. Translator by this time of the year, i would normally have made 70 fa pau. But eveverything has stopped. Its very sad. I feel helpless. Reporter now he has embarked on something new. Workshops to teach people his art. Hes passionate about passing on this hong kong tradition to as many people as possible. Translator a all traraditio crafts should be preserved. I want to get a deeper knowledge through handson experience. Reporter recently mo had some bright news. A commission from an organization in San Francisco to create a fa pau for a festival in chinatown. Translator they found me on the internet. I was thrilled that hong kongs fa pau caught the eye of people abroad. Reporter the group asked for a work featuring a deity that protects against disaster. The powerfully raised arm and formidable expression are meant to drive the coronavirus away. As he works, he infuses the piece with a wish to eradicate the virus as well as peace and good health for all. And of course he wishes to see hong kong adorned with fa pau again next year. Switching gears now for a check on the weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. E downpours covering eastern asia have been making headlines this month. Any chance of a respite in the coming days . Hello. Looks like well be dealing with a mixed bag. Heavy rain some places, also reprieve in some areas weve been dealing with heavy rainfall over the past few weeks. As we look at the satellite perspective over the past 24 hours, were still talking about heavy rain taking place into central and southern areas of china. But across western portions of japan, the rain is starting to let up a bit. And we really need a break from the rain because it has been tremendously serious when it comes to the continued downpours from this rainy season front. Now, the front has moved south to the pacific side of japan, but still for those of you in kyushu, you may be dealing with rain once again coming up on thursday. Back towards southern areas of china, yes, you will still be dealing with some rain as we go through thursday because the front is still in the area. It may lighten up in terms of how heavy the intensity the rain may be, but still something you need to look out for. Let me give you a closer look across japan. If you look closely, well be talking about southern areas of kyushu through thursday. Also another low through the tohoku region. Heres a look at the forecast for the next four days. Sapporo, youre the dry spot mid to upper 20s. Weve been dealing with highs that felt more like may here in tokyo. Well still see temperatures are relatively cool with mid20s expected for the next several days. But then the rain comes back. Osaka, fukuoka also seeing showers as well. We broaden out the view and once again, looking at rains. Also looking at rain with a high of 29. Meanwhile, dry and hot weather towards the desert southwest. Its been incredibly dry even into portions of colorado. Were talking about wildfire concerns. Monday afternoon we had this fire taking place in jefferson county. By tuesday afternoon, still reports of only 25 containment with this blaze. No structures have been damaged. Thankfully no injuries at this point, but still the fire is in place. We are looking at the dry pattern to continue, but hopefully the heat will ease. Ahead of that we have a cold front through the central portion of the United States. Look out for flash flooding with thunderstorms throughout the day. Thats the forecast. Hope you have a good day wherever you are. That wraps up this edition of nhk newsline. Im raja pradhan in tokyo. Coming up next is newsline biz with ramin mellegard, so dont go away. Bank of japan policy makers have spent two days talking about ways to rev up the economy. They say theyll hold the negative shortterm Interest Rate in place and buy unlimited amounts of government bonds. Theyll also maintain a roughly 1 trillion support program for firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Boj governor said there are some positive signs emerging fofor t japanese economy. Translator Corporate Investment is solilid. I think the slump in private consumption and produduction ha bottomeded out. But the Central Bank Chiefs suggested the sector could take some time to recover. The boj also releases the quarter lookout. It is for a 4. 7 contraction due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. This is newsline biz. Im ramin mellegard. Nissan motor has unveiled their new Sport Utility vehicle. They plan to release it in japan around mid2021. Its the first ev to roll off the nissan production line in about ten years since the leaf. The new model can travel further than the companys previous evs. Up to 610 kilometers on one charge. Autonomous technology lets drivers relax on expresswsways. Theyre ablble to take their has off the wheel under c certain conditions. It comes with a redesigned logo as the firm tries to resescue i business. They plan to rerelease 12 model worldwidee by the end of next year. Translator we put all of nissans most advanced technology into this car. We want to excite customers and really hope they enjoy it. Toyota, honda, and mazazda ao aim to make full fledged inroads into the ev market this business year. Theres plenty of room for growth. Electric vehicles currently account for only half a percent of new car sales. Many saw the onset of the coronavirus as a good time to try out work from home practices. But it seems a big portion were less than impressed by the results. A survey Shows Nearly Half who set up remote Work Arrangements subsequently abandoned them. A private Research Firm surveyed about 14,000 firms nationwide between june and july. Just over 30 said they currently allow employees to work from home. 27 said they put a stop to the practice. 42 said t they never offered remote work as an option. Out of the companies that canceled their work from home arrangements, some said it was too hard to keep Sensitive Information secure. Others said their employees struggled to work remotely. Now, britain will remove huawei from its 5g mobile networks. The move reverses an earlier decision to give the company a limited role. The government decided that huawei products should be purged by 2027. Mobile Service Providers will be banned from purchasing from the company starting next year. Digital minister Oliver Dowden said sanctions against the Company Means that britain can no longer be confident it will be ableo guarantetee the fure equipment. Chinas ambassador said it was wrong. Whether the uk can provide a fair and nondiscriminatory Business Environment for companies. The British Government said in january it would allow Service Providers to use huawei for up to 30 of their networks. But that decision came under review following the u. S. Sanctions on the company. Criticism of china is growing within the ruling party after beijing introduced the National Security law for hong kong. Now, japanese style dining bars can usually be found on any high street and are also popular with foreign tourists. But t the coronavirus pandemic s dealt a big low to the Companies Operating them. They cannot conduct business as usual with their bars filled with customers. So they y are embarking on some radical reforms. Reporter this Company Operates about 180 Stores Across japan, but they temporarily clososed allll their outletets april. During that time, sales fell to virtuaually zero. From june 1st, the company reopened its bars aware that in this harsh environment, it cannot return too business as usuaual. Translator a second Emergency Declaration could be announced in december. When we are usually very busy. Translator if we cant get customers in december, it will be difficult to continue. Reporter they are looking at all steps to keep the company afloat. First it started too slim the company down and closed its head office in the center of tokyo. The company moved its headquarters to one of it