Pupils unveil the shortlisted three mascot design sets which each contain one mascot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and one for the Paralympic Games at an elementary school in Tokyo Thursday, December 7, 2017. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





People walk under decorations for new year through the alley leading to Asakusa Sensoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Monday, December 25, 2017. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)





A lion dancer, known as Shishimai, walks prior to their ritual performance during First Konpira Festival at Kotohira-gu shrine in Tokyo Wednesday, January 10, 2018. People believe Shishimai lion dance, performed on New Year's Day season, brings good fortune and dispels evils. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Artists wearing Japanese traditional clown masks march during the First Konpira Festival at Kotohiragu shrine in Tokyo Wednesday, January 10, 2018. The shrine is dedicated to sailors and seafaring. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





An artist depicting Daikokuten, one of Seven Lucky Gods, prepares to attend the First Konpira Festival at Kotohiragu shrine in Tokyo Wednesday, January 10, 2018. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A recruitment poster for the Self-Defense Forces featuring Japanese actress and model Dan Mitsu was on display in various military and government buildings on November 9, 2017. (Photo by Michael Walsh/Yahoo News)





Autumn colours are seen at Rurikoin Temple on November 20, 2017 in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)





Members of a traditional firefighting preservation group prepare to perform ladder stunts during the annual New Year's Fire Brigade Review in Tokyo Saturday, January 6, 2018. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Members of a traditional firefighting preservation group perform ladder stunts during the annual New Year's Fire Brigade Review in Tokyo Saturday, January 6, 2018. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Robots weld at the Toyota Tsutsumi car assembly plant in Toyota, near Nagoya, central Japan, 08 December 2017. The fourth-generation of the Prius hybrid vehicle is assembled at the Tsutsumi plant. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)





In this Sunday, December 17, 2017, photo, a family takes a photo with a mailbox featuring a giant panda near Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Tokyo’s new idol, baby panda Xiang Xiang, formally debuted Tuesday, immediately melting the hearts of hundreds of fans decorating themselves with panda motifs who visited the zoo and the neighborhood filled with festivity. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)





People rush forward with flaming sticks as they try to set fire to a wooden shrine that is protected by men from Nozawaonsen village during the Nozawaonsen Dosojin Fire Festival on January 15, 2018 in Nozawaonsen, Japan. The festival is staged by village men of “yakudoshi¨ or “unlucky” ages of 42 and 25 to celebrate the birth of a family's first child, to chase away evil spirits, and to pray for a happy marriage. It takes the form of fire battle between the men who build the shrine, who try to protect it, and the other villagers who try to set it aflame by throwing torches at the shrine. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)





A girl eats an ice cream as she walks along Nakamise-dori, a shopping street near Senso-ji buddhist temple, on January 19, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. Senso-ji, is Tokyo's oldest temple, dating back to 628, and one of its largest. It is believed to be the most visited spiritual site in the world with over 30 million visitors each year. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)





Prospective buyers inspect the quality of frozen tuna fish before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo Friday, January 5, 2018. A 892 pound (405 kilogram) bluefin tuna has been sold for 36.5 million yen ($320,000) in what may really be Tsukiji market's last auction at its current site in downtown Tokyo. The winning bid Friday for the prized but threatened species was well below the record 155.4 million yen bid at 2013's annual New Year auction. This year's top per kilogram price was $1,419 per kilogram, compared with about $7,930 per kilogram for the 2013 record-setting auction price. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Workers of a wholesaler Yamayuki place a head and tail of the 405-kilogram (892-pound) bluefin tuna that they bought at the first auction of the year, near Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo Friday, January 5, 2018. The huge bluefin tuna has sold for 36.5 million yen ($320,000) in what may really be Tsukiji market's last auction at its current site in downtown Tokyo, local media reports said Friday. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





The 892 pound (405 kilogram) bluefin tuna is seen outside Tsukiji fish market, Friday, January 5, 2018. The huge bluefin tuna has sold for 36.5 million yen ($320,000) in what may really be Tsukiji market's last auction at its current site in downtown Tokyo, local media reports said Friday. The winning bid for the prized but threatened species at the predawn auction was well below the record 155.4 million yen bid at 2013's annual New Year auction. It amounts to about 90,000 yen ($798) per kilogram and was paid by a local wholesaler, the reports said. (Photo by Takuya Inaba/Kyodo News via AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo Friday, January 5, 2018. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A prospective buyer inspects the quality of a fresh tuna before the first auction of the year at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo Friday, January 5, 2018. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





Shoppers take a photo of illuminations in Tokyo's Omotesando shopping district, Monday, December 4, 2017. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)





Elementary schoolchildren check three sets of candidates of official mascots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics at their school in Tokyo Monday, December 11, 2017. Voting by schoolchildren to select the official mascots began Monday across Japan. The results will be announced on Feb. 28. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)





A Buddhist monk bows as he collects donations in front of a Christmas decorations in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, Japan, November 27, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)





A pet cat of an employee of Japan's IT firm Ferray Corp, is seen at the company's office in Tokyo, Japan December 5, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)





A pet cat of an employee of Japan's IT firm Ferray Corp, is seen at the company's office in Tokyo, Japan December 5, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)