Cast members perform Giacomo Puccini's Turandot with a backdrop of immersive digital artistic scenography created by “teamLab” during a dress rehearsal at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Japan on February 21, 2023. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)





This picture taken on March 2, 2023 shows the acting chief Masakado Kunisawa checking copies of “Cyberpunk: Peach John”, Japan's first fully AI-drawn manga, at the office of comic book publisher Shinchosha in Tokyo. The author of a sci-fi manga about to hit shelves in Japan admits he has “absolutely zero” drawing talent, so turned to artificial intelligence to create the dystopian saga All the futuristic contraptions and creatures in “Cyberpunk: Peach John” were intricately rendered by Midjourney, a viral AI tool that has sent the art world into a spin, along with others such as Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 2. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Fisherman Haruo Ono, 71, poses for a photo at a park built where his village was before it was damaged by the March 2011 tsunami, in Shinchimachi, about 55 km away from the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 2, 2023. The tsunami moved Haruo into high inland, surrounded by other new houses on straight roads laid out after the disaster. “In the tsunami I lost my house, I lost all my possessions, I lost my younger brother. Then we had the nuclear accident”, he said. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)





Runners fill the street in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at the start of the Tokyo Marathon 2023 in Tokyo, Japan on 05 March 2023. (Photo by Franck Robichon/Pool via Reuters)





Nina Oiki, a gender and politics researcher at Tokyo's Waseda University, poses for a photo with some of her favorite “One Piece” anime character goods in Tokyo, Sunday, March 5, 2023. Oiki has been a “One Piece” fan since she was in elementary school. Hit Japanese manga “One Piece” is coming to Netflix as a live-action series, a development that's both exciting and worrisome for fans who have seen mixed success in a growing list of Hollywood adaptations. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)





An H3 rocket lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Japan’s space agency intentionally destroyed the H3 rocket moments into its launch Tuesday after the ignition for the second stage of the country's first new rocket series in more than two decades failed. (Photo by Kyodo News via AP Photo)





Shohei Ohtani of Japan hits a double in the fourth inning of the Pool B game against China, at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, March 9, 2023. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A fan of Japan's Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar cheer prior to the Pool B game between Japan and China at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Tokyo. The paper fans read in Japanese “Mr. Ohtani Great !!” and “Tacchan (Japanese nickname for Nootbaar)”. Japanese baseball player Shohei Ohtani is arguably the game's best player. But he's more than just a baseball player. He's an antidote for many in his native country. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Fans of Japan's Shohei Ohtani walk toward the Tokyo Dome prior to the Pool B game between Japan and China at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Tokyo. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Fans of Japan's Shohei Ohtani cheer prior to the Pool B game between Japan and China at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Tokyo. The paper fans read in Japanese “Ohtani”," right, and “Shohei”. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A man and a woman pray after laying flowers in front of a memorial set up to mark the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, at Hibiya Park in Tokyo, Saturday, March 11, 2023. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)





Spectators are packed at the stand waiting for the start of the Pool B game between Japan and Australia at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Tokyo Dome Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Tokyo. The Japanese government relaxed its mask-wearing guidelines on Monday, but the vast majority of fans at the Tokyo Dome for the WBC game still wore them. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A Buddhist monk walks barefoot over hot coal and through flames during the annual fire walking festival of Takao-san Yakuo-in temple in Hachioji, Tokyo suburbs, Japan, 12 March 2023. Monks and 1,000 worshipers participated in the fire walking festival, or Hiwatari matsuri, praying for protection against sickness, for safety within the family and peace in the world. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A woman walks on the fire during the Hiwatari or fire-walking ceremony at Takao-san Yakuo-in Yuki-ji Temple in Hachioji on March 12, 2023. Buddhist devotees walked over the fire with bare feet to pray for world peace and receive protection from misfortune and good health. Visitors can participate at the end of the ceremony to receive the benefits. The annual event is held on the second Sunday of March at the down skirt of Mt. Takao. (Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A Buddhist monk throws salt on a large bonfire of wood and Japanese cypress leaves, at the fire-walking festival, called Hiwatari matsuri in Japanese, at Mt.Takao in Tokyo, Japan on March 12, 2023. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)





A model presents a creation from the 2023 Autumn/Winter collection by Japanese designer Rio Onui for the label “D.Nart.Ampta” during the Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo, Japan on March 13, 2023. The presentation of the 2023 Autumn/Winter collections runs from 13 to 18 March. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)





A pilot demonstrates an aircraft manufactured by US-based LIFT Aircraft in front of Osaka Castle in Osaka on March 14, 2023. (Photo by JIJI Press/AFP Phoot)





Models present creations from the 2023 Autumn/Winter collection by French designer Jude Ferrari for the label 'Maison J.Simone' during Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo, Japan, 15 March 2023. The presentation of the 2023 Autumn/Winter collections runs from 13 to 18 March. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)





Pedestrians walk across a concourse at Shinagawa station in Tokyo, Japan on March 15, 2023. The government began leaving the decision of wearing masks up to individuals on 13 March. (Photo by AFLO/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





People form a line as they try to have lunch at Rengatei, a popular and long-established restaurant specialising in Japanese-style Western dishes, at Ginza district in Tokyo, Japan on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)