Key words : United States debate
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_11/
In the United States, some states are moving to ease restrictions that were imposed to flatten the curve of coronavirus infections.
The easing was triggered by the guidelines for restarting the US economy announced by US President Donald Trump on April 16. Both Republican and Democratic governor are involved in the move.
Some businesses are opening in the southern states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Restaurants have reopened in Alaska, on condition that tables are arranged to maintain social distancing guidelines.
Stay-at-home orders will expire in 12 states this week. Vice President Mike Pence says he is drawing up reopening plans for 16 states.
But the state of New York, the epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak, and some other regions are still reporting new confirmed cases every day.
Data released by Johns Hopkins University on Saturday put US infections at 924,576 and the death toll at 52,782. Both figures are the highest in the world.
Cautious views persist among some governors, mostly opposition Democrats. They say reopening businesses prematurely would lead to more infections.
The White House guidelines that call on people to refrain from going out unless necessary and joining gatherings are due to expire at the end of this month.
Debate over easing the restrictions is expected to intensify as that date approaches.
Key words : world health Africa
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_09/
The World Health Organization has called for help from the international community as coronavirus infections in Africa approach 30,000.
Officials say the virus is straining already weak medical systems.
Africa's first confirmed case of coronavirus was in February in Egypt. The spread of infections has accelerated since around late March.
WHO puts the number of cases across the continent as of Saturday at 28,159.
South Africa has the most infections in Africa at 3,953, followed by Egypt at 3,891 and Morocco at 3,568.
Efforts to contain the outbreak are being obstructed by shortages of medical equipment and staff, as well as armed clashes in many countries between government forces and insurgents. Many people live in poverty in unhygienic and crowded conditions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Wednesday that some African nations have seen infections surge 2.5 times or nearly 3 times in a week.
He warned that most of Africa is still in the early stages of the epidemic and there is a long way to go.
Key words : world health no evidence
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_03/
The World Health Organization says there is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. It is warning against using the detection of antibodies as the basis for an "immunity passport."
Some governments have suggested that detection of antibodies to the coronavirus could serve as the basis for a "risk-free certificate" that would enable individuals to travel or return to work.
But the WHO says no study has evaluated whether the presence of antibodies to the coronavirus confers immunity to subsequent infection by the virus in humans.
It adds laboratory tests that detect antibodies to the virus in people, including rapid immunodiagnostic tests, need further validation to determine their accuracy and reliability.
The WHO says, at this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an "immunity passport." It says the use of such certificates may increase the risk of continued transmission.
Key words : officials Japan pleading
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200425_22/
In a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus, authorities around Japan are pleading for residents to refrain from going out ahead of one of the country's biggest holiday periods. In Tokyo, the metropolitan government has dubbed the 12-day period through May 6, "stay-at-home week."
Shinkansen bullet trains are usually crowded ahead of the spring holiday. But some trains that left Tokyo on Saturday had no passengers in the non-reserved cars. Officials from Japan Railway say the occupancy rate for non-reserved seats on the Tokaido Shinkansen line was below 10 percent as of Saturday afternoon.
The Togoshi Ginza shopping district in Tokyo was crowded with shoppers last weekend. But on Saturday, the streets were mostly deserted. The shopping district association has asked stores to shut down voluntarily on weekends and holidays in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. Shop owners will receive payouts from the Tokyo government for lost business.
Yamamura Toshio, the head of Togoshi Ginza Shopping District Cooperative Association says, "It is hard for us to ask customers not to visit, but we would like to cooperate with the measure to call on people to stay at home."
Key words : Japan major cities
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_10/
Mobile phone data in Japan suggests people in major cities are largely complying with the government's request that they stay home.
Telecoms company NTT Docomo has released anonymous tracking data. It shows that under the nationwide state of emergency, average outings in major cities on Saturday declined compared with the period between mid-January and mid-February.
The data as of 3 p.m. Saturday shows a varying rate of decrease depending on area.
Among the seven prefectures to first come under the government's state of emergency, the number of people who ventured out around Osaka's popular Umeda district fell by 84.9 percent.
In Tokyo, the decline in visitor numbers to the shopping and entertainment hub of Shinjuku was 78.9 percent. Crowds fell by 75.2 percent for the area around Yokohama station in Kanagawa Prefecture, and 73.2 percent in Tenjin in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Among the six prefectures later added to the government's list of prefectures on the highest alert, the area around Nagoya Station in Aichi Prefecture recorded a 74.2 percent fall in visitors.
The drop was 73.1 percent around Kyoto Station and 68.1 percent around Sapporo Station in Hokkaido in northern Japan. Elsewhere, the vicinity of Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture saw a 63.5 percent drop while the number fell by 41 percent around Hiroshima Station.
The decrease in people going out on weekends appears to be larger in general than on weekdays.
Key words : shopping street suburban
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200425_03/
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is calling on people to stay at home from Saturday through May 6 to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The authorities designated the 12-day period, which includes Japan's "Golden Week" spring holidays, as "stay-home week."
On Friday, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko said the period will be crucial in terms of reducing person-to-person contact by 80 percent -- a target set by the central government. She said people's actions will be reflected in the number of coronavirus cases two weeks after that.
Tokyo officials say crowds have decreased in central commercial districts, but have not decreased on shopping streets in more suburban areas.
The metropolitan government is offering cash grants of up to about 37,000 dollars to shopping streets whose stores close voluntarily on weekends and national holidays during the period.
Officials say many shops have already offered to close.
To prevent overcrowding, officials are also calling on people to do their daily shopping no more than about once every three days.
Key words : medical expert slowing expected
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_04/
Japanese government officials increasingly share the opinion that it will be difficult to fully lift the state of emergency in early May. Medical experts say infections are not slowing as they expected.
The government declared the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, and five other prefectures on April 7. It expanded the declaration nationwide on April 16.
Officials have been closely monitoring the situation across the country. They will decide whether to extend the state of emergency beyond May 6, after hearing experts' opinions about whether human interactions have been reduced by 80 percent, and what the situation is like at medical facilities.
Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said in an NHK program that the government needs to make a decision well in advance so schools and companies can prepare. He spearheads the government's response to the coronavirus.
Experts say the number of daily infections confirmed in Tokyo and Osaka remain higher than they expected, although the figures have started decreasing.
Key words : in Japan exceed 13300
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Key words : online nuclear
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_08/
A global online conference has been held to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, 75 years after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Non-governmental organizations from Japan, the US and elsewhere originally planned to hold the event in New York, on the sidelines of the review conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. But the conference was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the online conference on Saturday Wada Masako, representing Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, shared her experience.
Wada, who survived the bombing of Nagasaki when she was 22 months old, told a story about the plight of survivors that her late mother had told her many times.
She said bodies were piled up and burned in a field, filling the area with a stench, and survivors felt numb, losing the sense that they were human beings.
She noted that the average age of survivors is now 83 and their profound suffering continues.
It was reported at the conference that more than 10.5 million people have signed a petition calling on all countries to abolish nuclear weapons.
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi expressed gratitude, saying that the large number of signatures on the petition give power to disarmament efforts.
Key words : US research
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_07/
A US research group has released a report analyzing satellite imagery, saying that a train probably belonging to North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has been parked near his compound in the eastern part of the country. Speculation about Kim's health has been making international headlines.
The report released by 38 North says photos taken on April 21 and 23 show the approximately 250-meter-long train parked at a railway station near Kim's compound in Wonsan. It says the train was not there on April 15.
One of the researchers, Jenny Town, told NHK that the train is highly likely to be Kim's because the station is reserved for him and the general public cannot use it.
Town says the satellite imagery appears to support claims that Kim was in Wonsan.
North Korean media have not reported on Kim's activities for almost two weeks.
CNN reported last week that there was information suggesting Kim was very ill. But US President Donald Trump said he believes the report was incorrect.
There was speculation in South Korea that Kim was staying in Wonsan.
Key words : Hong Kong
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200426_01/
A Hong Kong bookseller who had been detained by Chinese authorities after selling books critical of the country's Communist Party has reopened his shop in Taiwan.
Lam Wing-kee, former manager of Causeway Bay Books, reopened his shop in Taipei on Saturday.
Lam spent months in Chinese custody from late 2015 and had to close his shop in Hong Kong.
He moved to Taiwan last year as Beijing's influence was growing in Hong Kong, and raised funds online to reopen his bookstore.
The head of Taiwan's legislative body visited the store to celebrate its opening day.
Flowers sent by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen were displayed at the entrance of the shop.
On Tuesday, someone threw red paint at Lam near his new shop. Lam said he believes Chinese authorities were behind the attack.
Lam says the reopening of his shop is proof that Taiwan is a place of freedom and democracy.
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