Entertainers perform during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 24, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters)
Kayla DiCello of the U.S. in action during the Women's All-Around Final at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, October 21, 2021. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
Tam Nakano and Maika compete during the Women's Pro-Wrestling “Stardom” at Korakuen Hall on October 17, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Japanese monkeys look relaxed as they soak in a hot spring at the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hakodate in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on January 14, 2022. (Photo by Kyodo News/Action Press via Reuters)
Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan on October 29, 2022. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. compete in the ice dance rhythm dance program at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, November 8, 2024. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)
Tourists visit teamLab Planets Tokyo in Tokyo on January 10, 2025. Japan on January 15 will announce tourist figures for the year 2024, widely expected to break the record set in 2019. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)
For her series “Japanese Whispers”, Belgian photographer Zaza Bertrand headed inside the intimate world of rabuhos – Japanese love hotels. Love hotels became popular in Japan from the 1960s onwards, due to a lack of privacy in many family homes. There are now around 37,000 of these hotels in Japan, allowing short daytime “rests” or overnight stays. (Photo by Zaza Bertrand/The Guardian)