People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk on a crossing in Tokyo Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency will continue through Sept. 12 rather than finishing at the end of this month as initially planned, the government decided Monday. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)

Miss Japan, Juri Watanabe, appears on stage during the national costume presentation of the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel's southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 10, 2021. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

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)

Gohei Hayashi of Kyoto University is seen in side his movable eco and healing house, “Kujira (Whale) House” July 21, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The house is made from Japanese paper, bamboo and tatami mat. Hayashi has travelled 500 km from Japan's ancient city, Kyoto to Tokyo with his eco house to promote his house which can be placed both out inside and outside to provide a private space. The Kujira house is available at the price of 800,000 yen (roughly US$6600). (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

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)

Airmen and their Japanese dates “do” the town together, visiting the local points of interest. Almost every community in Japan has it's famous shrines and parks. Tachikawa boasts beautiful environment. Girls are wearing western dress, May 1952. (Photo by National Archives and Records Administration)

In this aerial image, debris of the Japanese Imperial Navy fighter A6M “Zero” is seen in the field on August 29, 2016 in Babeldaob Island, Palau. The war was opened up 75 years ago by Imperial Japan against the allied forces, including the United States, by the Pearl Harbour attack on December 7, 1941, claimed more than 2 million lives until Japan's surrender in 1945. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)