at 20:00 (JST), March 19

A panel of experts will present its latest views on the country's measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

エラー 2042

The head of the World Health Organization has stressed that isolation, tests and tracing infection routes are key to containing the spread of the new coronavirus.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20200319200000_english_1.mp3


Key words : panel of expert
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_12/

A Japanese government panel of experts will present its latest views on the country's measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

The outline of the panel's views has been revealed in advance of a briefing that will take place on Thursday evening.

Experts on the panel say that Japan has kept the outbreak under control to a certain extent. But they warn that the virus continues to spread in some areas, and this could lead to a nationwide epidemic involving an explosive surge called "overshooting."

The experts are urging the public to avoid poorly ventilated, crowded places where people talk in close proximity.

The panel says that from now on, measures to control the outbreak should be adapted considering the regional situation.

Areas where the virus is spreading should consider the need to declare a state of emergency, or call for an across-the-board ban or downsizing of events, after determining the timing and duration.

Areas where the outbreak appears to be subsiding should consider gradually lifting the ban starting with low-risk events. But activities should be halted again if there are any signs of a flare-up.

Areas that have had no confirmed cases could resume events with a low risk of infection, such as school activities, attending sporting events held outdoors and use of cultural facilities.

The panel urges continued discretion in organizing large-scale events.

Key words : Japanese government decided travel
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_32/

The Japanese government has decided that arriving travelers from most European countries, Iran and Egypt will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks, starting on Saturday.

The decision was made at a cabinet meeting on Thursday to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The government says people arriving from the 38 countries, including all 27 EU member nations, will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks at designated locations such as homes and hotels.

They will also be asked to refrain from using public transport.

The new measure will remain in effect through the end of April.

Key words : tourism organization
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_44/

New figures show that in February the number of visitors to Japan fell almost 60 percent.

The Japan National Tourism Organization estimates there were about 1.08 million arrivals for the month, down 58.3 percent from a year earlier. Inbound tourism has been down for 5 months in a row.

The number of visitors from mainland China fell 87.9 percent. For South Korea, it was down by 79.9 percent.

Numbers from the US, Canada, Britain and Italy were all down more than 20 percent.

Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Hiroshi Tabata said, "It looks like the situation is going to get even worse from here. The first thing we need to do in Japan is get the spread of the virus under control. That's the best way to support the tourism industry."

Japan welcomed nearly 32 million people to its shores in 2019. The government was hoping to hit 40 million this year.

But analysts say that target is looking increasingly unrealistic as countries around the world impose strict travel restrictions to tackle the pandemic.

Key words : Japan immigration
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_20/

Japan's Immigration Services Agency will allow foreign technical trainees to extend their stay if they cannot take skills tests because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Foreign technical trainees can stay in Japan for up to five years. They are required to take tests to renew their visas.

The agency has decided to allow trainees to continue working for the same employer for up to four months. The measure takes effect on Thursday.

The Japanese government is already giving trainees permission to remain in the country if their period of stay has expired and they are unable to return home because of the outbreak.

In addition, trainees who have completed their three-year course and were due to go home but decided to switch to special skills training will be allowed to extend their stay by four months.

Key words : Tokyo second
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Key words : international olympic athlete problem
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Key words : handed over
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_34/

The Olympic flame has been handed over to Tokyo at a ceremony in Athens. The flame will leave for Japan on a special flight on Thursday.

The event was held at the ancient Panathenaic Stadium in Athens around noon on Thursday.

The ceremony was scaled down due to coronavirus concerns, and there were no spectators in the stadium.

Two Japanese who won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Games -- judoist Tadahiro Nomura and wrestler Saori Yoshida -- sent video messages.

They had been scheduled to take part in the Greek leg of the torch relay but canceled their visits.

The chairman of the Tokyo Games Organizing Committee, Yoshiro Mori, stressed in a video message that the Tokyo Olympics will take place as scheduled. He pledged to ensure that the Olympic flame will be lit in the new national stadium in Tokyo on July 24.

Mori was originally scheduled to attend the ceremony and receive the flame from the Greek Olympic Committee.

Naoko Imoto, a Japanese resident of Athens and an Olympic swimmer in the 1996 Atlanta Games, received the flame on behalf of Mori and transferred it to a lantern for the journey to Japan on a special flight.

On Friday, the flame will arrive at the Air Self-Defense Force base in Miyagi Prefecture. Miyagi is one of the three prefectures that were severely affected by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake disaster in northeastern Japan.

The Olympic flame will be put on public display in Miyagi and the two other prefectures, Iwate and Fukushima. The torch relay across Japan will start on March 26.

Key words : world health tests and tracing
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_05/

The head of the World Health Organization has stressed that isolation, tests and tracing infection routes are key to containing the spread of the new coronavirus.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke at a news conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday.

He said more than 200,000 cases have been reported, and over 8,000 people have died.

Tedros said that to suppress and control epidemics, countries should isolate, test and treat every suspected case, as well as tracking people who came into contact with them. He added that those steps must be the "backbone of the response in every country."

The executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan, commented on US President Donald Trump having used the expression "Chinese virus."

He stressed it is inappropriate to link viruses to ethnicities or regions, saying the pandemic of influenza in 2009 originated in North America, and people did not call it the "North American flu."

Key words : UN agency
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_35/

A UN agency says the coronavirus pandemic could cause nearly 25 million people to lose their jobs, but that the number could be reduced through urgent measures.

The International Labour Organization on Wednesday released an assessment of how the pandemic could affect employment.

It says the number of jobs lost worldwide could reach 24.7 million, more than the 22 million lost due to the 2008 global financial crisis.

The report also estimates workers' income losses at up to 3.4 trillion dollars.

The ILO says, "This is no longer only health crisis, it is also a major labor market and economic crisis," and calls for an internationally coordinated policy response.

It estimates that the rise in global unemployment could be reduced to 5.3 million through tax relief and other measures, including those for small businesses.

The ILO adds that "Everything needs to be done to minimize the damage to people at this difficult time."

Key words : group of researchers HIV
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_24/

A group of researchers in China say their study found that a combination of HIV drugs is not a very effective treatment for the coronavirus.

The combination of antiviral drugs, lopinavir and ritonavir, has been administered to coronavirus patients in China, Thailand and Japan.

The results of the clinical study by the group of mainly Chinese doctors were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The study covered a total of 199 hospitalized patients with confirmed coronavirus infections -- 99 of them received treatment using the HIV drug combination and 100 were given standard care.

The mortality rate 28 days into the study was 19.2 percent for the group that was given the HIV drugs, compared to 25 percent for the standard-care group.

Patients who received the HIV therapy also had shorter stays in the intensive care unit than patients in the other group.

But the researchers concluded that the lopinavir-ritonavir treatment did not significantly accelerate clinical improvement or reduce mortality.

They say additional studies are required to determine the effectiveness of the HIV drugs at different stages of the COVID-19 illness.

Key words : A court in Japan
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200319_29/

A court in Japan has sentenced a man to 16 years in prison for the fatal abuse of his 10-year-old daughter.

The Chiba district court on Thursday handed down the prison term to Yuichiro Kurihara for inflicting injuries to his daughter Mia that resulted in her death.

A 16-year prison term is notably longer than the roughly 10-year sentences handed down by Japanese courts in most fatal child abuse cases in the past.

Mia was found dead in January last year in the bathroom at her family home in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture. Kurihara is accused of forcing Mia to stand under a cold shower before her death.

In the trial that opened last month, Kurihara said he does not deny the charge of bodily injury resulting in death.

But he rejected accusations by the prosecutors on many other points. He denied most parts of the alleged physical abuse and denied abusing his daughter daily.

Prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison term. They said Kurihara's crimes were monstrous and that the abuse was both psychological and physical and went on for an overwhelming duration.

Defense lawyers said Kurihara went too far with his disciplinary actions but he did not abuse Mia on a daily basis. They said Kurihara has already been punished socially.

In handing down the ruling on Thursday, presiding judge Iwao Maeda said Kurihara's argument was unnatural and lacked objective coherence. He said Kurihara is cherry-picking favorable facts and cannot be trusted.

The judge said what the defendant did was appalling and loathsome. He said Kurihara caused the death of his daughter through his intermittent abuse.