A woman in Kimono poses for photos in front of mimosa and cherry blossom trees in Tokyo on March 8, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

A woman takes pictures with the Kawazu cherry blossom trees, one of the earliest blooming cherry blossoms in Japan, in Tokyo's Sumida district on March 11, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Hideki Tokoro, president of whaling company Kyodo Senpaku, boards Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, following the ship's launch ceremony at a port in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture on May 21, 2024. The nearly 9,300-tonne ship set sail on its maiden hunting voyage on May 21, heralding a new era for the controversial practice defended by the government as an integral part of national culture. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

Children dressed in festival costume sit on the huge paper doll of historical Japanese figure named Hashi-Benkeii on the carts during the Mikuini annual festival on May 20, 2014 in Sakai, Japan. The annual festival takes place from May 19-21 and is attended by thousands of visitors. During the festival people dressed in traditional Japanese costumes pull carts carrying 6 meter high dolls of Japanese historical figures through the narrow streets. The origins of the festival are unclear but its history can be traced back more than 250 years. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

An illustration showing scarecrows pulling a firewood cart beside a road is on display at Kakashi no Sato, or the Scarecrow's Hometown on September 10, 2014 in Himeji, Japan. In this district of Yasutomi in Himeji city, over 100 of scarecrows stand in farmlands and abandoned houses to illustrate the good old Japanese countryside and attract visitors. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

Women, dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, cross a street in Kyoto, western Japan November 19, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Wrestler Kairi Hojo jumps at her opponent Mieko satomura during their Stardom female professional wrestling show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, July 26, 2015. Professional women's wrestling in Japan means body slams, sweat, and garish costumes. But Japanese rules on hierarchy also come into play, with a culture of deference to veteran fighters. The brutal reality of the ring is masked by a strong fantasy element that feeds its popularity with fans, most of them men. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)