Key words : Tokyo 2,268 new
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_14/
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says 2,268 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in the capital as of 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The number is the third highest so far. This is the third day in a row the daily number of confirmed infections has exceeded 2,000.
Saturday's count brings total confirmed infections in Tokyo to 73,450.
Key words : official hospital bed
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_02/
Some of Japan's 47 prefectures have reached the most critical stages on a series of indexes used to assess the coronavirus situation, including hospital bed availability.
The health ministry released the data on Friday.
Regarding bed availability, Tokyo, Hyogo, Osaka and Saitama are among the prefectures that have reached Stage 4, which is the most critical, and means the occupancy rate is 50 percent or more.
As of Tuesday, the rate was 78.1 percent in Tokyo, 70.1 percent in Hyogo, 64.4 percent in Osaka, and 59 percent in Saitama.
Officials point out that Hyogo tends to log a higher rate because it hospitalizes everybody who tests positive, in principle.
Regarding bed availability for seriously ill patients, Tokyo and Osaka have also reached Stage 4. Tokyo's rate was 87.4 percent, and Osaka's was 64.7 percent.
In the week through Sunday, the rate for positive PCR tests was 21.3 percent in Hyogo, 20.5 percent in Chiba, 16 percent in Kanagawa, 14.1 percent in Tokyo, 13.9 percent in Saitama, 11.2 percent in Kyoto, and 10 percent in Osaka.
Officials say the rates may have been pushed up because fewer tests were conducted during the New Year period.
A state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba on Thursday.
The governors of Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures in western Japan are considering asking the central government to add them to the state of emergency.
Key words : online meeting
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_10/
The governors of Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto prefectures are set to ask the central government to expand its coronavirus state-of-emergency declaration to cover their region in western Japan.
The three leaders provided an outline of the situations in their areas in an online meeting of the National Governors' Association on Saturday.
Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi said the prefectural governments had decided to make the request to the central government.
He said that on Wednesday daily infections in Osaka started to roughly double from levels seen in preceding days.
Yoshimura stressed the need for a revision to a special law that would enable a better response to the coronavirus outbreak. He called on lawmakers to start deliberating the revision right after the next Diet session opens later this month.
Hyogo Governor Ido Toshizo said his prefecture had seen record numbers of cases for three days in a row.
He said a state-of-emergency declaration needs to allow authorities to take focused and flexible measures in certain areas and industries.
Kyoto Governor Nishiwaki Takatoshi said daily infection tallies in his prefecture remain extremely high.
He urged the central government to implement steps that reflect the current infection situation, saying measures under a state-of-emergency declaration need to be explained in a detailed and clear manner.
The current state-of-emergency declaration applies to Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
Saitama Governor Ono Motohiro said an explosive rise in infections must be prevented. He said Tokyo and the three prefectures will work together to implement effective measures.
Other governors have also voiced concern about the growing strain on medical resources.
The National Governors' Association is to compile a set of proposals to the central government later in the day. It will likely include quickly expanding the state-of-emergency declaration to other prefectures, if those areas see a surge in infections.
Key words : Japan entry
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_08/
The Japanese government will request that all arrivals submit negative coronavirus test results that were certified in the 72 hours leading up to their departure.
The measure will take effect on Wednesday next week, Japan time. It will likely remain in place until the government lifts the state of emergency that is currently in effect for Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures.
Additionally, entrants will be asked to undergo tests upon arrival at airports in Japan.
Authorities will ask people who can't submit certifications to self-quarantine at designated accommodation facilities and take tests on their third day in Japan.
Even if the tests confirm arrivals are not infected, authorities will ask them to pledge to download a contact-tracing app and keep records of their location information. The entrants will also be asked to self-quarantine at home or elsewhere for 14 days after arriving in Japan.
In a related development, NHK has learned that the Japanese government is considering revising the quarantine law.
A possible revision would grant legal authority to officials to ask arrivals in Japan to self-quarantine at home or elsewhere for 14 days after entry, and to isolate those who refuse at designated facilities. People who decline to be isolated would face criminal punishments, such as imprisonment and fines.
Currently, some arrivals are not complying with self-quarantine requests, which lack the force of law.
Key words : Britain highest
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_06/
Britain has recorded both its highest daily increase in new cases of COVID-19 and its highest death toll.
The British government reported 68,053 cases and 1,325 fatalities on Friday, both record single-day tallies since the pandemic began.
New cases have been on the rise in the country even since the daily infection count surpassed 50,000 on December 29.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased by 20 percent to about 28,200 in England over a one-week period this month. The figure far exceeded the 18,900 recorded at a peak of infections last spring.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said hospital beds in the capital would run out within the next few weeks because the spread of the virus was out of control.
The new surge comes as a variant of the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in the country. The mutated virus is believed to be highly contagious.
The British government announced on Friday it had approved the use of a coronavirus vaccine made by US pharmaceutical firm Moderna.
The government said it has ordered 17 million doses of the vaccine and they are expected to be available from the spring.
So far Britain has inoculated around 1.5 million people with two coronavirus vaccines -- one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and the other by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
Key words : US media reported launch
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_13/
US media have reported that the opposition Democrats will launch a process to impeach President Donald Trump as early as Monday, in the wake of a violent siege of the US Capitol by his supporters.
On Wednesday, Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol and disrupted a joint session of Congress where Joe Biden's election victory was being certified. The incident left five people dead.
Citing sources that are familiar with the situation, multiple US media outlets reported that the Democrats will submit a draft article to the House of Congress to seek Trump's removal from office.
Trump was impeached in December 2019 over allegations of applying improper pressure on Ukraine although he was eventually acquitted.
If impeached again, he would be the first president in US history to be impeached twice.
However, chances of his removal from office are small given that his term in office ends on January 20 and his own Republican Party is in control of the Senate, where the impeachment trial would take place.
Meanwhile, US judicial authorities are trying to identify and take action against those who stormed the Capitol.
A federal prosecutor announced on Friday that a man who was photographed sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the siege is in custody. The man is reportedly from the southern state of Arkansas and was appealing for support for Trump.
Following a harsh public outcry against the mayhem, more people are being dismissed or suspended from their jobs after being identified as members of the mob that stormed the Capitol.
Key words : Trump custom
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_03/
US President Donald Trump says he will break with custom and skip the inauguration of his successor.
Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States at a ceremony in Washington DC.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump said, "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th."
Former President Barack Obama attended Trump's inauguration four years ago.
On Wednesday, Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol and disrupted a joint session of Congress in which Biden's election victory was being certified. Five people died.
Criticism that Trump incited the siege is growing. On Thursday, he released a video condemning the violence and pledged to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Key words : twitter permanently
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_09/
Social media platform Twitter has permanently suspended US President Donald Trump's account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence.
Twitter said on Friday it made the decision after close review of recent tweets from Trump's account and the context around them.
The firm had earlier put a temporary lock on Trump's account, following Wednesday's storming of the US Capitol in Washington by Trump supporters. Five people died in the turmoil.
Twitter also warned on Wednesday it may permanently suspend Trump if he further violated its civic integrity policy.
Key words : kim enemy
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_11/
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called the United States his country's "biggest enemy." He also vowed to advance Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, on Saturday reported a speech by Kim at the party's congress, which opened on Tuesday.
Kim said his country's external political activities should focus on suppressing and subduing the US, which he called "the basic obstacle and the biggest enemy".
His remarks come days before the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden later this month.
Kim said there will be no change in Washington's policy against Pyongyang, regardless of who occupies the White House. He said the US must end its hostile stance as a key to future relations between the countries.
This was the first time Kim has referred to his policy toward the US since the presidential election in November that was won by Joe Biden.
Kim affirmed that North Korea will further miniaturize and reduce the weight of its nuclear weapons, develop tactical nuclear arms, and proceed with the production of supersized nuclear warheads on a sustainable basis.
He said his country is progressing toward mounting multiple warheads on ballistic missiles, and the development of a solid-fuelled ICBM. He also referred to the design of a nuclear-powered submarine.
Key words : new car sales
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_04/
New car sales in Europe plunged in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In data released through Friday, Germany sold about 2.91 million units, marking a year-on-year slump of 19.1 percent. The country is the region's largest market.
Sales fell by 25.5 percent to 1.65 million units in France, and by 29.4 percent to 1.63 million units in Britain.
Germany's auto industry association expects a recovery this year, adding that it will take time to return to pre-pandemic levels.
On the other hand, electric vehicle sales rose in the three countries. Competition is expected to intensify amid a global push to achieve carbon neutrality.
Key words : meteorological agency one meter
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210109_05/
Snowfall in the city of Toyama, central Japan, has surpassed one meter for the first time in 35 years.
The Meteorological Agency says a strong winter pressure pattern and cold air mass are bringing heavy snow to areas along the Sea of Japan coast, especially the Hokuriku region.
More snow is expected through Sunday.
Agency officials warn of possible traffic disruptions. They also urge people to be alert for avalanches, power outages and other accidents.
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