An otter reaches for a snack from a customer at an otter cafe in Tokyo. Asian small-clawed otters are increasingly popular as novelty pets, particularly in Japan. Now international trade in the species may be banned. (Photo by Noriko Hayashi/The New York Times)

US M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is launched as journalists film during a military exercise in Capas, Tarlac province, Philippines, 13 October 2022. The Philippines hosted simultaneous combat drills with the United States, South Korea, and Japan to improve interoperability in times of conflict. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA/EFE)

A woman stands in front of a mask-clad lion statue outside a department store in Tokyo's Ginza district on January 18, 2022, as Japan reported a record high of new Covid-19 infections fuelled by the Omicron variant. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

A visitor interacts with deer at Nara Park in Nara on January 27, 2025. As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Kaori Sakamoto, from Japan, on April 17, 2025 at the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating 2025, held in Tokyo. Teams from all over the world compete in a number of events with two men, two women, one pair and one ice dance entry. (Photo by Yohei Osada/AFLO SPORT via Alamy Live News)

Vincent Yu is a multiple award winner who won Honorable Mention in the 2013 Photographer of the Year category for Pictures of the Year International. Photo: A statue of Hotei Buddha sits in the debris in the tsunami-destroyed town of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan Friday, April 1, 2011. (Photo by Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

South Korean environmentalists participates in a rally held to commemorate the Fukushima nuclear disaster on the eve of the one year anniversary of Japan's earthquake and tsunami on March 10, 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. Currently four nuclear power plants are in operation in South Korea while the government plans to increase the number of reactors to 32 by the year 2021. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Models present creations of fashion brand motonari ono during Tokyo Fantashion at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, August 16, 2015. Tokyo Fantashion is a one-day showcase event of up-and-coming fashion trends, organised by Tokyo Creators, a group of 20 new brands. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)