Takeoka Chisaka, Hiroshima, Japan. “One morning in August 1945, I was walking home from the night shift at a factory in Hiroshima. As I reached my door, there was a huge explosion. When I came to, my head was bleeding and I had been blasted 30m away. The atomic bomb had detonated. When I found my mother, her eyes were badly burned. A doctor said they had to come out, but he didn’t have the proper tools so used a knife instead. It was hellish. I became a peace-worker after the war. In the 1960s, at a meeting at the UN, I met one of the people who created the atomic bomb. He apologised”. (Photo and caption by Sasha Maslov)

This picture taken on September 14, 2024 shows Filipina wrestler “Crystal” fighting her opponent Yuki Kamifuku of Japan (not pictured) during a Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW) championship event in Shanghai. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

People sit next to an art installation during the “Plastic Dinoland” exhibition by Japanese artist Hiroshi Fuji, in Hanoi, Vietnam, 17 March 2025. The exhibition, which features colorful installations of dinosaurs made from discarded toys, runs from 15 March to 01 June 2025 at The Japan Foundation in Hanoi. (Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA/EFE)

An Asian elephant swims in a pool with transparent sides at Fuji Safari Park in Susono city of Shizuoka Prefecture on August 8, 2024. Paddling with chunky legs and using their trunks as a snorkel, the elephants at Fuji Safari Park in Japan are taking a dip in their summer swimming pool – with each graceful movement visible thanks to a special see-through tank. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

“Can't wait”. Location: Inao Station (JR Oito-Line), Nagano Prefecture, Japan. (Photo by AZURE)

Men watch model trains running along the bar at Bar Ginza Panorama Shibuya Branch on June 3, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The bar caters to model train enthusists and customers are able to bring their own model trains to run on the tracks. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

A man irrigating a rice paddy field using a traditional method. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). Japan, circa 1938

A monk prays during the annual Fire Festival held at the Konjoin Temple on June 28, 2006 in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Every year around 1000 visitors come to participate and to wish for good luck at the 1200 year old Temple. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)