News agency says explosion was heard and smoke was seen rising from the joint Industrial Complex in kaesong. Iit was oopened in 2018 after t two countries agreed to work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Its the first facility where officials from each side could contact each other 24 h hours a day. The blast comes days aftter norh Korean Leader kim jonguns younger sister threatened to demolish the office. She also criticized seeoul for allowing north korean defectors to send leaflets across the border on may 31st. Japans chief cabinet secretary says officials are closely watching events on the peninsula. Translator japan is working closely with the United States and south korea to gather, to monitor and to analyze the current security situation. South koreas president ial office convened a National Security meeting to discuss how to respond. Chinese authorities have confirmed more than 100 coronavirus cases in beijing over the past five days. The development is raising coconcerns of a new ooutbreak, prompting offfficials to reintroduce measures tto preven the virus from spreading. 27 new cases were reported in beijing on monday, bringing the total to 106 since thursdsday. Before that, the capital had not reported any new infections in roughly two months. The resurgence has been linked to a wholesale food market. Authorities have closed the market and are testing about 200,000 people who visited dating back t to may 30th. Four cases in Hubei Province and one in Sichuan Province are also said to be linked to the beijing market. The government has since tightened travel out of the city and Restricted Movement in some neighborhoods. A senior official at the World Health Organization is offering support as authorities deal with the situation. Beijing is a large city and a very dynamic and connected city, so theres always a concern. And i think you can see that level of concern in the response of the chinese authorities. So we are tracking that very closely. A tally from Johns Hopkins University Shows the numbber o confirmeded infectitions worldw surpassed 8 million on tuesday. The global death toll is now more than 436,000. Health authororities in jap are seekingng to get a better grasp on the spread of the coronavirus. The recent tests suggests 00. 1 herere in tokyo have developed antibodies for the virus. The Health Ministry tested nearly 8,000 people in three prefectures earlier this month to find out if their blood samples contain certain proteins that indicate a past infection. The Ministry Announced on tuesday antibodies were indicated in 0. 1 of people tested in tokyo, 0. 17 percent in osaka and 0. 03 in miyagi. Those figures are higher than the rates of confirmed infections. As of the end of may, tthe perercentage e of people whoho positive ffor the virus in toky was 0. 038. Ministry officials says the data shows most of the population in japan does not have coronavirus antibo antibodies. One expert says it means p peo need to continue taking preventive measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks. Translator in a sense, the measures to contain the spread of the virus have been effective. On the other hand, it means many pepeople have yet to contract t virus. We must realize, if there are further surges of infections, the virus may spread in the same way it did in the first wave. Tokyo officials reported 27 confirmed infections on tuesday. The daiily tally had topped 40 for two days in a row. The bank of Japan Corporate financing from 75 to 110 trillion yen. The money will back a program under which banks offer interest free loans to small and medium sized firms. The central bank wiill stick wih its policy of buying unlimited amounts of government bonds to stimulate the economy. Translator we will not hesitate to drop additional easing measures if necesessary, althouugh its not known how log or to what extent the impact of the coronavirus will continue. The Financing Support Program could be beefed up again. Investors welcome the move, driving tokyo share prices sharply higher on tuesday. The benchmark nikkei average ended the day 4. 9 up from mondays close, the Third Largest daily gain this year. One market analyst says investors rushed to buy back shares after the index shed more than 1,500 points over the previous three trading days. Still soft prices are expected to remain volatile due to fierce over a possible surge in Coronavirus Infections in japan and abroad. Also in japan, a former Justice Minister is set to quit the main ruling liberalal democratic partrty oveer a brib scandal. Prorocutors sususpect kawwai katsuyuki and his wife kawai anri handed out over 190,000 in cash to buy support for the election campaign. Nhk has learned that both politicians will resign from the party as early as wednesday, saying that they want to avoid causing further trouble. Kawai katsuyuki is a sitting member of the japanese diets lower house. His wife andi was elected to the upper house last year. Its understood more than ten people admitted to receiving money from either katsuyuki or his wife during her campaign. Prosecutors are expected to pursue have a criminal case against the couple. The kawais have expressed their intention to retain their positions in the diet claiming they have not done anything illegal. This comes as the Hiroshima District Court handed down a suspended prison sentence of 18 months to kawais undersecretary on tuesday, charged with paying her Campaign Workers more than legally allowed. Prosecutors could file a lawsuit seeking to nullify kawai on the election win based on the guilt by association provision. Street vendors in china have faced restrictions as authorities push to modernize, but now theyre catching a break with local governments trying to give the economy a badlyneeded boost while minimizing the risk of coronavirus infection. Nhk has moore. Reporter this is becoming n increasingly common sight as outdoor restaurants pop up across the city. By lunchtime these tables will be full. Air circulation isnt a problem. The customers are kept ap past. It feels great. Reporter city officials have drastically eased restrictions on these kinds of open air businesses. The move is being encouraged during a visit to one chinese city in early june. He celebrated Street Vendors as a vital source of jobs. The shifting policy is attracting many young entrepreneur like 29yearold su chin who specializes in Childrens Clothing. He says he can make up to 400 in a few hours if he sets up in an area with enough foot traffic like the entrance to the housing complexex. Sevven pieces fofor 15, tha cheaper than shopping. Reporter su has become a social media star by sharing what hes learned about the business. So far hes grand more than 300,000 followers, another sign of how much interest there is in his line of work. Reporter people have been known to travel long distances to learn from sus success. Many will young and have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. They are drawn to becoming Street Vendors partly because it doesnt take a lot of initial investment. Su also runs a wholesale business that supplies Childrens Clothing to around 100 Street Vendors every day. He says that business has been booming since restrictions were eased, driving up his companys revenue more than tenfold. Translator market stalls attract a lot of people because of their low investment and high profitability. They allow Unemployed People to find jobs, support themselves and increase their income. Reporter more than 100,000 people in chin due have found jobs since the pandemic hit. Authorities are hoping that will help keep unemployment down, but some worry that city officials will eventually go back to their old ways and crack down on them once the economy recovers. Nhk world. Noww to a check on World Weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. Residents in north earn and Central Europe have been dealing with stormy conditions. Will the system create more instability going into wednesday . It does look like well be dealing with more Stormy Weather from the scanndinavian peninsul and down to Central Europe as we go through tuesday and also i understand wednesday. Here is a look at the satellite perspective over the past 24 hours. You can tell the clouds that are remaining in place. But the reason why were seeing the instability are the low pressure systems that are tapping into the colder air. And when you have colder air higher up in the air and warming down toward the ground, that tends to create this process where we see storms developing from there. So that will be the case as we go into wednesday. Then we also have a couple areas of low pressure into the balkan peninsula. That will also bring some additional rain as we go throughout the middle of this week. Here is a look at the forecast. Thunderstorms from vienna into paris, kai evidence looking at thunderstorms as well. Look at the highs into the upper 20s in berlin. Its going to remain relatively warm for you as we go through the day. Meanwhile, across japan, we did see a warm day across most of the country. Down toward the south there is that rainy season front. We did see some rain down through the southwestern islands of japan. We will see this front eventually moving its way up toward the north and thats going to bring some additional rain as we head towards thursday and friday. So one more day of warm weather in places like tokyo and places toward the west, and then well see the rain coming in. This is the 72hour forecast. We go into wednesday, thursday and friday, and thats when the rain really starts to pick up. Hot on wednesday for tokyo with high around 30. Well see the rain picking up thursday and friday with cooler temperatures. Thats a look at your forecast. Hope you have a good day wherever you are. That concludes this edition of nhk newsline. Im raja pradhan in tokyo. Theres much more to come on nhk japan. Please stay with us. Welcome to newline in depth. Im yeah naka marie. The coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world is changing the way we live. As countries resume Economic Activity and people venture out again, were adapting to a way of life that prevents infection. For many this means navigating life in uncharted territory. Today we bring you three stories about how Asian Countries are living the new normal. Donning masks and maintaining social distancing, all the while working and even celebrating life events. We begin in thailand. Though the government extended the state of emergency through the end of june, restrictions have partially been eased. Its economy is in the early stages of reopening with many restaurants, shops and barbers resuming operatations. Our report lolooks at how innnovative ideas aree bringing unprecedented changes to everyday life. Daily prayer is a common ritual for most thais, but chanting it from behind protective barriers is something new to get used to. Bangkok is slowly coming back to life after several months at a standstill, but with several changes. Commercial venues have been reopening but shopping isnt the same. Customers are required to keep safe distance from each other and do what this robot says. Please wear a mask. Reporter customers have to check in by scanning a qr code. The system allows the venues to count heads, if they find an infection on site, authorities can alert. Coonsumerers are sseeing new it for sale as well. This Wedding Dress designer created something to reflect the time. Shes reeleased elegant face masks to match brightal wear. Translator Wearing Masks on a wedding day can be memorial. So as a designer, i need to create something that complem t complements the overall look. Reporter these newlyweds know all about incorporating such adjustments to their big day. They planned a grand wedding in a hall, but wound up getting married at a family home as their venue was ordered to shut. First, they had to get permission from local authorities to hold a wedding. They were told everyone had to undergo Health Checkups before the ceremony and the guest list had to be reduced from 500 to just 30. Translator this is not exactly what we planned, but we just have to embrace it. Live goes on. Reporter hospitals are also aiming to reduce the number of people gathering at their facilities. This one has come up with a telemedicine app to help limit persontoperson contact. From the safety of their homes, patients can see doctors and pharmacists via online viideo calllls. Medidines are lateter maileled their doorsteps. The app is particularly popular among the elderly. Translator itts good to s doctors like this so i dont have to worry too much about getting infected. Translator in the future, telemedicine could assist doctors from other hospitals in rural areas. If its widely successful, i think telemedicine will become the new norm for seeing doctors. Reporter the pandemic has radically transformed the lives of thai people, and its legacy, in part, could be the creative way society is adapting to the new normal. Nhk world, bangkok. Interesting. The traditional arts, too, are adapting to the post pandemic world. The iconic dancers of bangkok are now performing in face shields. One troupe member says shes able to be able to resume work since this is her main source of income. But the road ahead to recovery may not be smooth. A thailand think tank estimates it will take the country three years to recover from the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Speaking of economic damage, our next story turns to china which fell into recession due to the epidemic. The country is used to seeing 6 gdp growth, but the figure shrank to minus 6. 8 in the latest quarter. That es the First Time Ever in negative territory since such data began being released. Many experts dont expect businesses to get back on track any time soon. Our report looks at how retailers which were hit especially hard are pivoting to stay afloat. Its been a grim few months for this long established beijing shoe store. After being forced to shut down in january, its only recently been able to restart operations. Instead of waiting for customers to come to them, the company took a proactiive approach anan began Live Streamingng to genere sal sales. They say online sales in march helped bring sales to about half ofof what they were last year. Translator the number of people who come to our shop is limited, but theres a lot of potential in attracting customers online. Reporter Online Platforms are a also allowing tthe traditionall retailer to attrt a newew generatioion of shopper. 75 of people who shop via live stream are 35 and younger. Live streaming has fast become a lifeline for many retailers. A recent report by alibaba sasa theres anan eight dr fold increase in february from the month earlier. A number of businesses capitalizing on the trend is this clothing manufacturer which built a specialized studdio i i february. Shshin used to manage one o of shops but has since become thth driving force behind the initiative. Part of her strategy is not just showcasing the clothes, but also acting as a stylist for potential customers. Translator if you want to be more stylish, you can wear the clothes like this. If you wear it over a tshirt, it will look totally different. Reporter shin says she once sold more than 170,000 worth of merchandise in a single broadcast. Translator some fans are waiting for me every day. Its hard work, but this is what keeps me going. Reporter the Company Plans to increase the number of casteters too 20 and provide additional training to sales and office staff. Translator our comppny wouldnt have been able to survive if we didnt start Live Streaming. It will also help us expand our business. Reporter in a matter of months, the coronavirus pandemic has upe ended the Retail Industry as more people shop online. While some stores are falling victim to the crisis, others are finding success by adapting to what has quickly become the new norm normal. Live streaming is gaining so much traction in china that not only businesses, but local governments are also jumping on the bandwagon. As lockdown was lifted in the hardest hit province of queue bay, officials participated in sessions to promote local products. The government of kwan sew city plans to train 10,000 Live Streaming casters over the next three years, even going as far as establishing a think tank for various online services. For our last report we look at japan where new Business Practices are being explored. Accordingg to a survey, 98 ofo the countrys major businesses have introduced teleworking in light of the coronavirus. However, one tradition is makig working from home a challenge. Official japanese documents typically require seals of authentication h hauled hanko, custom thats proving difficult to stamp out. Reporter a new role comes into effect with a stamp and signature from the emperor. The useofforce hanko is a longstanding custom in japan dating back more than 1,200 years and its still very much a part of everyday life used for everything, from receiving parcels to opening bank accounts. Hanko are also an essential business tool to authenticate contracts and other documents, but some people say these stamps are making it harder for them to work from home. Translator im going to the office to do paperwork including procedures that require stamps. In such cases i always have to be there in person. Reporter a recent survey suggested nearly twothirds of Business People in japan still have to go t to theeir office we telecommuting to apply stamps or review physical documents. Companies that are already using stamps also face challenges. This firm says physical contact is needed for some clients. Translator customers say they want the original stamped copies off docucuments. I have that kind of business today, too. Reporter changing that mindset is proving to be a major hurdle as the Business World adapts to the pandemic, and not just in japan. Small companies were surveyed in the u. S. Last may and found threequarters of respondents continue using handwritten signatures for contracts. The japanese government recently conducted its own survey to find out what administrative procedures in the business sector are getting in the way. Its hoping more companies will embrace computer stamps to reduce p persontoperson conta. Industry leaders also say Business Practices need to move into the digital world. Translator we have no time to deal with stamps for paper documents anymore. Reporter japan and many other countries a are pushing t resume Economic Activity while still fighting to contain the virus. Changing traditional ways of doing business is proving to be no small feat. Shinozaki, nhk world. Though challenges remaining, covid19 is forcing Many Companies in japan to seriously contemplate introducing digital stamps. Several developers of such tools are even offering free trials during this time. As we saw, the pandemic has already led to many socioeconomic changes. Keeping an open mind will be the key to living in this age of fluctuation, the age of the coronavirus. And thats all for this addition of newliline the first serious incident in decades, clashes with chinese troops on the chinaindian border. Beijing g claims casualtlties on their siside as well. Tensions firing up once again on the Korean Peninsula with pyongyang blowing up an office just hours after military action against the south. French Health Care Workers take to the streets as pandemic conditions ease, calling for better pay and cti
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