A female tourist wears a protective face mask on the street, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tokyo, Japan on March 10, 2020. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

Sumo wrestlers perform a show fight during an annual sumo tournament dedicated to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan on April 16, 2018. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

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)

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

People dressed in Samurai costume and helmet march during the annual Himeji Castle Festival on August 3, 2013 in Himeji, Japan. The parade of Castle Queens is part of the traditional matsuri festival around the UNESCO world heritage Himeji Castle. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Sara Takanashi of Japan, Maja Vtic from Slovenia and Germany's Carina Vogt (R-L) prepare for a training session of the women's Individual normal hill HS100 ski jumping at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun February 18, 2015. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)