American rapper Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion dresses as Sailor Moon in Japan in the second decade of August 2022. (Photo by theestallion/Instagram)

Japan's Naomi Osaka visits Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary ahead of the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on December 29, 2023. (Photo by Patrick Hamilton/AFP Photo)

Water is seen discharged over the traditional farm houses at Shirakawa-go, the UNESCO World Heritage site on November 9, 2014 in Shirakawa, Japan. This annual drill is held to prevent fire. (Photo by Kaz Photography/Getty Images)

Fast food got a whole new meaning in Hokkaido, Japan, where a vole was captured fleeing from a fox in the first decade of January 2025. (Photo by Hiroki Inoue/Solent News)

“The Ainu (アイヌ?), also called Aynu, Aino (アイノ), and in historical texts Ezo (蝦夷), are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities and confusion over mixed heritages. In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a 'pure Ainu' ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upwards of 200,000 people”. – Wkipedia

Photo: A captive bear drinking from a large bottle held by an Ainu tribeswoman. (Photo by Evans/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Japanese sеx doll exhibition attracts hundreds of mannequin-fetishists to celebrate 40 years of the X-rated love bots in Tokyo, Japan on May 19, 2017. These silicon seductresses were the star of an extraordinary exhibition in Japan showcasing sеx dolls that cost as little as a second hand car. Japanese sеx doll maker Orient Industry (originally Orient made dolls for disabled people) were laying bare their dazzling bevvy of beauties in an extravaganza to mark its 40th anniversary this week. Here: Orient industry prides itself on its detail with two looking extremely real as they sit flirtatiously on a couch. (Photo by Masatoshi Okauchi/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kamo Mphela, a South African dancer and singer performs Amapiano, a South African musical export that has crossed borders and cultural barriers, reaching as far as Japan, during a music concert in Pretoria, South Africa, July 22, 2022. (Photo by Shafiek Tassiem/Reuters)

Nina Betschart of Team Switzerland dives against Germany during the Women's Preliminary - Pool F on day one of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Shiokaze Park on July 24, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)