August 12, Thursday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a warning of extremely heavy rains for Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures in southwestern Japan. Officials are calling on residents to be on the alert and stay safe. They say a linear band of rain clouds has been bringing torrential rains for hours, raising the risk of life-threatening landslides and floods. 2. NHK has learned that the Japanese government’s coronavirus advisory panel has drafted a proposal calling for a 50-percent reduction in the flow of people in Tokyo to stem the current explosion of cases. It calls for halving foot traffic in Tokyo, both during the day and at night, over the next two weeks from the levels in early July, just before the current coronavirus state of emergency began on July 12.
3. A surge in coronavirus cases in Tokyo is forcing some patients to be hospitalized in neighboring prefectures. Toyo now has a record 3,500-plus coronavirus patients in hospital, while more than 17,000 are recuperating at home.