This picture taken on September 16, 2022 shows a variety of knives displayed at a factory of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki, Gifu prefecture. In a Japanese city once famous for forging samurai swords, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives, but even at full tilt their small factory can't keep up with global demand. The export value of knives and other bladed tools like scissors hit a record high in Japan last year, partly thanks to a home-cooking boom sparked by the pandemic. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





This picture taken on November 18, 2022 shows French chef Olivier Oddos, whose Tokyo restaurant boasted a Michelin star between 2014 and 2021, cleaning a knife with whetstone at his restaurant's kitchen in Tokyo. In a Japanese city once famous for forging samurai swords, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives, but even at full tilt their small factory can't keep up with global demand. The export value of knives and other bladed tools like scissors hit a record high in Japan last year, partly thanks to a home-cooking boom sparked by the pandemic. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





This picture taken on November 18, 2022 shows knives used by French chef Olivier Oddos, whose Tokyo restaurant boasted a Michelin star between 2014 and 2021, at his restaurant's kitchen in Tokyo. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





This picture taken on September 2, 2022 shows a demonstration to test the sharpness of a knife with a tomato at a factory of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki, Gifu prefecture. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





This picture taken on September 2, 2022 shows a worker finishing a knife with a rotating whetstone in the final process at a factory of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki, Gifu prefecture. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





Kimono-clad Japanese young women wearing protective face masks cross a street near the venue holding the Coming of Age Day ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, 09 January 2023. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A young woman wears a kimono to mark “Coming of Age Day” to honour people who turn 20 this year to signify adulthood, in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Tokyoites celebrate Coming of Age Day at Sensō-ji, an ancient Tendai sect of Buddhism temple on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Tokyoites celebrate Coming of Age Day at Sensō-ji, an ancient Tendai sect of Buddhism temple on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Tokyoites celebrate Coming of Age Day at Sensō-ji, an ancient Tendai sect of Buddhism temple on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Kimono-clad Japanese young women wearing protective face masks stand before a wall near the venue holding the Coming of Age Day ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, 09 January 2023. Coming of Age Day celebrates all those who reached 20 years of age, which is considered adulthood in Japan. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Women wearing kimonos are seen outside of Yokohama Arena on January 09, 2023 in Yokohama, Japan. For about 140 years, the age of adulthood in Japan was 20 years-old, but in April 2022, it was lowered to 18. Some activities, such as smoking and drinking are still not permitted for people under the age of 20. Many cities continue to have ceremonies for citizens turning 20. However, they are changing the name of the ceremony to “20 years-old gathering”. (Photo by Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images)





Kimono-clad Japanese young women walk through a corridor near the venue holding the Coming of Age Day ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, 09 January 2023. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Tokyoites celebrate Coming of Age Day at Sensō-ji, an ancient Tendai sect of Buddhism temple on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Young women wear kimonos to mark “Coming of Age Day” to honour people who turn 20 this year to signify adulthood, in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Young women wear kimonos to mark “Coming of Age Day” to honour people who turn 20 this year to signify adulthood, in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Tokyoites celebrate Coming of Age Day at Sensō-ji, an ancient Tendai sect of Buddhism temple on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Young women dressed in traditional Japanese clothing celebrate Coming of Age Day at Buddhism temple in Tokyo on January 9, 2023. It is a day to recognize and congratulate individuals who have reached the age of majority (20 years old). On this day, young people who have turned 20 are officially recognized as adults and on the responsibilities and duties of adulthood. Many of those celebrating will dress in formal attire, such as traditional Japanese clothing like kimonos or suits and ties, to attend ceremonies and celebrations. The event is a rite of passage. (Photo by Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A man walks through a building corridor in Tokyo, Japan, 10 January 2023. The Japanese government announced that Tokyo's core consumer price index (CPI) rose by 4.0 percent in December 2022 from a year earlier, its highest increase since 1982. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)





Artists wearing Japanese traditional Otafuku or Okame masks prepare to participate the Konpira Festival at Kotohiragu shrine in Toranomon business district of Tokyo Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)