Key words : 239 new
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_19/
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials reported 239 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday.
It's the sixth straight day that the figure has topped 200, and the 18th consecutive day with more than 100 cases.
The cumulative tally in Tokyo now stands at 11,214.
Key words : across the country
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_03/
The total number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan now exceeds 30,000 cases.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 295 new cases on Saturday. It's the fifth straight day that the figure has topped 200.
Amid a four-day holiday, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko called on residents to refrain from going out as much as possible, especially the elderly and people with chronic illnesses.
The number of infections is also rising outside Tokyo. In the southern prefecture of Okinawa, 14 new cases were reported. The US military also reported 64 confirmed infections at its bases in the prefecture.
Both figures are the highest in a single day.
Nishimura Yasutoshi, the minister in charge of coronavirus response, asked people to avoid the Three Cs, speaking loudly, and poorly ventilated spaces.
Nishimura said, "the major causes are the so-called Three Cs...closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings like restaurants, bars, and nightclubs."
Across the country, over 800 new cases were reported on Saturday. The total figure of 30,000 cases includes more than 700 people who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked near Tokyo in the early stages of the crisis.
The death toll has reached more than 1,000, including 13 from the cruise ship.
Key words : johns hopkins
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_13/
The number of people confirmed infected with the coronavirus worldwide is nearing 16 million.
The tally, compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, was 15,811,700 cases and 641,243 deaths as of 18:00 UTC on Saturday.
The United States has the most infections at 4.14 million, followed by Brazil and India.
The death toll in the US is also the highest, at over 146,000, followed by Brazil and the UK.
Japan has confirmed more than 30,000 cases. That includes more than 700 people who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked near Tokyo in the early stages of the crisis.
The death toll has passed 1,000, including 13 from the cruise ship.
Key words : north possibly
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_08/
North Korea's state-run media says a person possibly infected with the coronavirus illegally returned to the country a week ago.
The North's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun wrote on Sunday that the country's leader Kim Jong Un ordered the city of Kaesong near the border with South Korea to be sealed off.
The newspaper reported that the person had defected to South Korea three years ago. It says the "runaway" entered Kaesong on July 19.
The newspaper reported that Kim presided over the emergency meeting of Political Bureau of the party's Central Committee on Saturday.
The paper adds that Kim warned of a critical situation in which the "vicious virus" could have entered the country.
It says that upon his instruction, the meeting adopted the decision to implement the maximum emergency system in the country.
Members of the meeting, reportedly, took up the issue of lax performance of the border guard and discussed severe punishment on the military unit that allowed the illegal crossing.
Pyongyang has so far insisted that there were no confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection in the country.
North Korea's economy has been hit severely, as it has banned flights and trains to and from China and Russia for about six months as a preventative measure against the virus.
Key words : uematsu
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_16/
Mourners have offered prayers for the victims of the stabbing rampage four years ago at a care facility for people with intellectual disabilities near Tokyo.
On July 26, 2016, 19 residents between the ages of 19 and 70 were killed and 26 others were injured at the home in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Uematsu Satoshi, a former care worker at the facility, was indicted on murder charges and sentenced to death. His sentence was finalized in March.
The annual memorial service was canceled this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, but many people visited the site on Sunday to leave flowers.
Ono Takashi, whose son Kazuya was seriously injured, said the trial is over but he feels that time stopped that morning.
Ono said memories will fade if people do not talk about what happened. He added that he wants to make sure the victims are never forgotten and he would also like the welfare system for people with disabilities to be improved.
A couple in their 40s who visited the site for the first time with their autistic son said they don't feel that attitudes have changed, and they hope that society will be kinder to people with disabilities.
Key words : Niigata
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_07/
A group in Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan Coast has resumed collecting signatures for a petition to gain the return of Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea.
The group suspended the activity in February of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Group members wearing face masks or face shields asked people to sign the petition on Saturday in the city of Niigata.
One of the abductees, Yokota Megumi, vanished in 1977 on her way home from a junior high school in the city.
Her father, Yokota Shigeru, was a leader of a group of families of Japanese abductees.
He died in June before he could see his daughter again.
His photo was put up at the site where the group collected signatures.
A man from Gunma Prefecture who signed his name said that as a parent he feels for Yokota. He added that he wants to have Megumi return to Japan.
The leader of the group, Takahashi Tadashi, said they decided to resume the activity with due precautions in light of the pandemic.
He said that they do not want Yokota Shigeru's legacy to be forgotten and that they are carrying on his work.
The group said more than 850 people signed the petition on Saturday.
They said they will continue collecting signatures around the prefecture with proper precautions to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
Key words : atomic energy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_14/
Japanese atomic energy experts have proposed two ways to decommission the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Atomic Energy Society of Japan floated the two methods in a report.
One proposal is to dismantle and remove all parts of the reactor buildings and leave the site vacant. The other is to dismantle and remove parts of the reactor buildings that are above ground and leave behind the underground structures.
The experts say each method has been studied in the United States and European countries.
They say amounts of radioactive waste to be generated during decommissioning work will vary significantly, depending on when the dismantling of reactor buildings begins -- namely, starting to dismantle contaminated buildings soon or waiting a certain period for their radiation levels to drop.
A decommissioning timeline released by the Japanese government and the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, shows the scrapping process will be completed by 2051. But the plan is unclear on how the reactor buildings will be decommissioned.
Miyano Hiroshi, a member of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, says it will be difficult to draw a conclusion from various arguments on how to decommission the plant. But he adds discussions are important and that he hopes the society's report will contribute to the debate.
Key words : US non-governmental
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_01/
A US non-governmental organization predicts that the amount of plastic waste flowing into the world's oceans would nearly triple by 2040 unless proper action is taken.
The Pew Charitable Trusts made the estimate in cooperation with a research institute. In their calculation, the amount of plastic waste ending up in seas would reach 29 million tons by 2040 unless appropriate measures are taken. That's about 2.6 times the present level.
Assuming that all ocean plastic waste washes ashore somewhere in the world, 50 kilograms of it would pile up along every single meter of coastline by 2040.
The NGO attributes the forecast surge in the figure to population growth and an increase in per-capita plastic consumption driven by production of cheap plastic.
Ocean plastics are a serious global problem. Used face masks and disposable gloves are recent additions to the waste, apparently due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The group says, however, bold measures could reduce the amount of ocean plastic by more than 50 percent from the current level by 2040. It cites a significant reduction in the use of plastic products and design modifications to make plastic easier to recycle as examples of effective measures.
Winnie Lau, a scientist at the Pew Charitable Trusts, calls on all of society to act. She says this is everyone's problem as ocean plastics affect tourist destinations, fisheries, and many other aspects of society.
Key words : mitsubishi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_15/
Japanese companies have developed shopping bags that degrade in seawater to help reduce plastic waste in the oceans.
Mitsubishi Chemical and a wrapping material maker created the product, drawing on the same mechanism by which microorganisms dissolve garbage in soil.
Company officials say the material is made from plant-based ingredients, such as sugar cane, and is easily dissolved in seawater, which usually contains fewer microorganisms than soil. They say it takes about a year for the bag to be completely broken down in seawater.
The officials say manufacturing the bag requires an advanced technique, which led them to estimate that the price will be more than six times that of conventional plastic bags.
A Mitsubishi Chemical official says the firm wants to help resolve the issue of marine plastic waste by promoting the use of the bag.
A similar biodegradable bag has been developed by Japan's largest shopping bag maker, Fukusuke Kogyo, in conjunction with Gunma University. They are preparing to sell the product.
Earlier this month, the Japanese government began requiring all retailers to charge customers for plastic shopping bags as part of its efforts to discourage their use.
Key words : farmer
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200726_12/
Farmers in the city of Minami-Alps in Yamanashi Prefecture west of Tokyo are busy harvesting Japanese plums.
Yamanashi Prefecture is the largest producer of the fruit in the country, and Minami-Alps is known for a variety called "Kiyo".
Kiyo, which was developed by a farmer from the area, is large and sweet.
Guinness World Records has recognized the fruit produced in the city as the heaviest Japanese plum.
It is not easy to produce, as growing Kiyo requires a lot of attention so a single one can fetch 700 yen, or about 6.50 dollars.
A long rainy season this year delayed the harvest.
An official of a local farmers' cooperative said the total shipping volume will be about 70 percent of the usual. But he added that what was harvested is very good and tasty.
Kiyo will be shipped through early August.
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