Key words : roughly 80 percent
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200514_13/
Japan has been under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus for about a month. That is expected to change ... with the government set to decide to lift that status for roughly 80 percent of Japan's prefectures.
An expert panel is presenting its proposed conditions to the government on Thursday morning. Later, participants, including cabinet ministers, will discuss whether it is appropriate to lift the emergency state for the regions.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo will make an announcement in the evening.
Thirty-nine prefectures are expected to have restrictions lifted, including five of the 13 prefectures under special alert. Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures were among the first to introduce stay-at-home measures and will almost certainly see those continue.
An early draft of the government's plan suggests criteria for reopening.
It says prefectures will need to have reported fewer than 0.5 infections per 100,000 people, within the most recent week.
That means Tokyo, for example, would need to see a drop to fewer than 70 new cases a week.
The minister in charge of Japan's coronavirus response says even prefectures with lower infection rates must keep at least some antivirus measures in place.
Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said, "There could be further outbreaks if people begin to let down their guard - even slightly."
Nishimura says people should continue to avoid travel to and from prefectures on special alert.
Residents should also continue social distancing... and stay away from places where the virus can easily spread, including large-scale events and fitness centers.
Japan now has over 16,000 confirmed cases. About 700 people have died.
Key words : Abe various treatment
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200514_31/
Japan is lifting its state of emergency for about 80 percent of the prefectures ahead of schedule. But Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says people in those areas must continue to stay on the alert to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Abe stated that if these 39 prefectures take enough preventative measures, the spread can be contained.
Abe said experts and government officials made the decision after assessing the number of recent infections and the state of local medical and testing systems.
He said the government will consider lifting the declaration for the rest of the country, including Tokyo and Osaka, as early as next week. The state of emergency is currently scheduled to be in effect until the end of the month.
Abe said the recent decline in the number of new infections in the country is the result of people's efforts to stay home and reduce human-to-human contact. He said many of those efforts need to remain in place.
Abe said that there is always a possibility of a second wave of infections. If the infection cases increase, the government may have to declare a state of emergency again. He said it is a challenge to prevent further infections, and at the same time to restore social and economic activities.
The prime minister thanked medical workers and pledged to boost testing capabilities.
He said the government is also looking to ensure coronavirus patients have access to various treatment options.
The decision is set to be finalized, when the government's coronavirus task force meets shortly. The latest move comes as more than 16,000 people across Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus. Over 700 people have died.
Nearly a third of the cases in the country have been confirmed in Tokyo. 30 new infections were reported in the capital on Thursday. That marks the 12th day in a row that the figure has fallen below 100.
Key words : health ministry launch
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_05/
Japan's health ministry will launch large-scale antibody testing to see how widely the coronavirus has spread in the country.
The ministry will begin the program in Tokyo, the western prefecture of Osaka, and the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi next month.
The ministry will randomly choose roughly 3,000 people in each of the areas and ask them for their blood samples. Individuals found to have antibodies against the coronavirus can be determined to have contracted the virus.
The ministry intends to use the test results to estimate how widely the virus has spread in those locations.
It will also study the possibility of achieving herd immunity, in which a sufficiently high proportion of people are immune to the virus to prevent its spread.
University researchers have already started carrying out antibody testing. But it will be the first time for the ministry to spearhead it.
Since last month, the ministry has been conducting similar testing on a trial basis while examining the efficacy of testing kits.
Key words : foreign student losing
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Key words : south nightclub second wave
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200514_26/
The South Korean government says the number of coronavirus infections linked to Seoul nightclubs has risen further to 133.
Concerns are growing over a possible second wave of infections as a separate cluster has been reported elsewhere in the capital.
The nightclub-linked cluster was initially reported in the Itaewon district in early May.
Government officials say one of the club visitors is a cram school teacher in Incheon, near Seoul, and some of his students apparently contracted the virus from him. The officials say a tutor of one student was also diagnosed with the virus.
They also say three foreign nationals went on to a restaurant after visiting one of the clubs. The foreigners were later found to have contracted the virus, and another man, who dined at the restaurant around the same time as the trio, was also diagnosed with the virus.
The officials say about 2,000 visitors to the nightclubs have yet to be contacted. They are urging them to come forward promptly to take PCR tests.
The officials say they are worried that secondary and tertiary infections may spread across the nation.
Separately in Seoul, five people who visited a restaurant as a group in a district near Hongik University have been confirmed to be infected.
They reportedly say they did not visit the area near the nightclubs where the cluster infection was initially reported.
Key words : golf tour
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_03/
South Korea has opened this year's professional golf tour after a delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association Championship began in Yangju, near the capital Seoul, on Thursday, with 150 players taking part. Spectators are barred from the four-day competition.
After the first round, three players were tied at the top.
The golf association prepared an anti-infection manual and asked players and caddies to take their temperatures and submit medical questionnaires. It also had the tournament venue disinfected.
Major golf tours in other parts of the world remain suspended due to the pandemic.
Tournaments in the United States have been postponed or canceled. But organizers are aiming to resume men's competitions in mid-June and women's tourneys in mid-July.
Japan has seen the opener of the women's tour pushed back from March, with 18 tournaments already scrubbed. Organizers are unsure when they can host tournaments.
Key words : United States household
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_10/
The economic impact of the pandemic is particularly severe on low-income households in the United States. A Federal Reserve survey shows 39 percent of households with an income below 40,000 dollars reported a job loss in March.
The average income of US households is about 60,000 dollars.
The Fed survey also found workers with a higher level of education were more likely to telework. 63 percent of those with a bachelor's degree worked entirely from home. The proportion dropped to 20 percent for workers with a high school degree or less.
All in all, 19 percent of the adult population either lost their job or experienced a reduction in work hours in March.
The survey of more than 1,000 adults took place from April 3 to 6.
Key words : join the line kobayashi
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_18/
The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in more than 36 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits over the last two months.
As NHK World's Catherine Kobayashi reports from New York, many are struggling to feed their families.
Parents join the line to get their kids something to eat. Some vegetables, rice, maybe some beans ... anything to put a meal on the table. Some heard about this food bank while waiting at another.
Even before the pandemic, millions of Americans didn't know where they would get their next meal. But now, the number struggling to eat has reached levels unseen in modern times. More than one in five US households do not have the means to get enough food.
Children in many families used to get a meal or two at school. But most schools have been closed and young children are going hungry.
What's worse: there is food, just not where it's needed. Farmers who used to sell produce and meat to restaurants and other big clients have lost those customers.
Some have plowed their crops under or dumped milk in their fields. Many meat packers have shut down.
New York State is providing food banks with 25 million dollars and will help them buy directly from farmers.
But right now, they're overrun. Not enough food, not enough volunteers and still the lines keep growing.
Richard Slizeski at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens said people who would never have resorted to a food bank before ''now are doing so because they need it. They're young, old and families."
Visitors to the food banks hope to get through the week.
They'll be back again ... their cupboards are bare.
Key words : tokyo olympic unveil
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_07/
The head of the International Olympic Committee says it expects to bear costs of up to 800 million dollars for the postponed Tokyo Games and other reasons to address the impact of the coronavirus.
IOC President Thomas Bach unveiled the estimate after the committee's Executive Board met online on Thursday.
Bach said the IOC will spend up to 650 million dollars for the Tokyo Olympics and up to 150 million dollars to support international federations, national Olympic committees, and other IOC-recognized organizations.
Regarding additional expenses for the postponed Tokyo Games, Bach said, "We are leaving no stone unturned...to reduce the cost while maintaining the spirit of the Games and the quality of the sports competition."
It is unclear how much the additional expenses will total. But some estimates show they could amount to several billion dollars.
The head of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee, Mori Yoshiro, indicated he would ask the IOC to shoulder its share of the financial burden.
The IOC board meeting was the first of its kind since the new date for the Tokyo Games was announced in late March.
The Tokyo Olympics will run for 17 days from July 23, 2021. The Paralympics will continue for 13 days from August 24 of the same year.
Key words : olympic nhk
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200515_12/
NHK has learned that the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has begun considering spending cuts in more than 100 areas.
Some estimates suggest that the one-year postponement of the Games to the summer of 2021 could cost an additional several billion dollars.
The items to be examined include the planned around-the-clock catering services for the athletes' village.
The scale of the opening and closing ceremonies, expenses for officials of the International Olympic Committee and sports organizations, the number of spectator seats, and events to be held around the venues are also expected to be considered.
Sources say the period of the Olympic torch relay may also be shortened, but officials will try to ensure the participation of runners who have already been selected.
There are views within the organizing committee that cost-cutting will only be possible for a limited number of areas.
Sources say all these elements will need to be reviewed to gain the understanding of the public and sponsors for any additional expenses.
Key words : philippine
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Key words : weather yoko komagata
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いつもお世話になっております。
返信削除久しぶりに聞いているのですが、アナウンサーの英語がtypical Englishからかけ離れているように感じますがいかがお考えですか？特に天気コーナーがひどいです。北川景子アナの英語が恋しいです。