Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

An illuminated lantern is paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Illuminated lanterns are paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

An illuminated lantern is paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

An illuminated lantern is paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

An illuminated lantern is paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are lit up at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2025.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2025.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are lit up at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2025.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2025.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are lit up at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2025.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

HIROSAKI, Japan, April 18 Kyodo - Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024. (Kyodo)

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are lit up at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are lit up at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 18, 2024.

"Illustrated apples" in northeastern Japan

"Illustrated apples" in northeastern Japan

Photo taken Oct. 24, 2023, in the northeastern Japan city of Hirosaki shows specially cultivated apples that carry pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Arch of Triumph, Mona Lisa, French President Emmanuel Macron and other French iconography. Some apples will be sent as a gift to the presidential office in France.

"Illustrated apples" in northeastern Japan

"Illustrated apples" in northeastern Japan

Photo taken Oct. 24, 2023, in the northeastern Japan city of Hirosaki shows specially cultivated apples that carry pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Arch of Triumph, Mona Lisa, French President Emmanuel Macron and other French iconography. Some apples will be sent as a gift to the presidential office in France.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Illuminated lanterns are paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off without COVID-related restrictions for the first time in four years.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

An illuminated lantern is paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off without COVID-related restrictions for the first time in four years.

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Neputa festival in northeastern Japan

Illuminated lanterns are paraded in the Aomori Prefecture city of Hirosaki, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, as the weeklong Hirosaki Neputa Festival kicks off without COVID-related restrictions for the first time in four years.

Renovation of Hirosaki Castle

Renovation of Hirosaki Castle

AOMORI, Japan - Water removal begins Nov. 25, 2014, from the moat surrounding the central tower of Hirosaki Castle in the city of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, in northeastern Japan, ahead of a planned landfill of a moat area to repair the stone wall. The city government has decided to rebuild part of the wall, the first such work in about 100 years, after the discovery of a bulge, a sign of potential collapse, with the work expected to complete by the end of March 2024.

Japanese 'Neputa' sheep manufactured in Aomori Pref.

Japanese 'Neputa' sheep manufactured in Aomori Pref.

AOMORI, Japan - "Washi" traditional Japanese paper sheep are manufactured at the "Tsugaruhan Neputamura" tourism facility in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, on Nov. 14, 2014. Year 2015 falls on the Year of the Sheep.

"Pictorial apples" to be sent to French presidential office

"Pictorial apples" to be sent to French presidential office

HIROSAKI, Japan - Photo taken on Oct. 27, 2014, in the northeastern Japan city of Hirosaki shows "pictorial apples" carrying a portrait of French President Francois Hollande and other drawings. The apples will be sent to the French presidential office in an effort to promote international exchanges.

Hirosaki Neputa Festival begins

Hirosaki Neputa Festival begins

AOMORI, Japan - An illuminated Neputa lantern is drawn in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on Aug. 1, 2014, during Hirosaki Neputa Festival started the same day.

Cherry-blossom managing team in Hirosaki

Cherry-blossom managing team in Hirosaki

AOMORI, Japan - Licensed "tree doctors" Masaru Kobayashi (L) and Makiko Hashiba closely examine cherry trees at Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on May 3, 2014. Veteran cherry-blossom keeper Kobayashi teaches novice Hashiba how to maintain cherry trees as part of the city's new effort to hand down its unique tree-care method to the younger generation at the northeastern Japanese park, one of the most beautiful spots for cherry blossoms in Japan.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Hirosaki Park

Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Hirosaki Park

HIROSAKI, Japan - Visitors look at cherry blossoms in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on April 28, 2014, before the start of a 10-year project to repair Hirosaki Castle's stone walls from this fall.

JAL adds new lounge at Haneda airport

JAL adds new lounge at Haneda airport

TOKYO, Japan - Japan Airlines shows its newly added area of Sakura Lounges in the expanded section of Haneda airport's international terminal building in Tokyo to the press on March 25, 2014. Azusa Ogasawara (L), winner of the "Hirosaki-jo Miss Sakura Grand Prix" (Hirosaki Castle Miss Cherry Blossom Grand Prix) from Aomori Prefecture, attended the event.

Japanese adventurer Miura

Japanese adventurer Miura

HIROSAKI, Japan - Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura, who in May 2013 became the oldest person in the world to scale Mt. Everest at the age of 80, speaks in an interview with Kyodo News in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on July 28, 2013.

Japanese adventurer Miura

Japanese adventurer Miura

HIROSAKI, Japan - Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura, who in May 2013 became the oldest person in the world to scale Mt. Everest at the age of 80, speaks in an interview with Kyodo News in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on July 28, 2013.

Japanese adventurer Miura

Japanese adventurer Miura

HIROSAKI, Japan - Photo shows Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on July 28, 2013. Miura became the world's oldest person to scale Mt. Everest at the age of 80 on May 23, 2013.

Japanese adventurer Miura

Japanese adventurer Miura

HIROSAKI, Japan - Japanese adventurer Yuichiro Miura, who in May 2013 became the oldest person in the world to scale Mt. Everest at the age of 80, speaks in an interview with Kyodo News in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on July 28, 2013.

Apparent tornado hits Aomori Pref.

Apparent tornado hits Aomori Pref.

AOMORI, Japan - Men work to repair the roof of a house hit by an apparent tornado in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on July 5, 2012. One person was injured and more than 20 houses were damaged.

Chernobyl expert in symposium

Chernobyl expert in symposium

AOMORI, Japan - Mikhail Balanov, professor at Russia's St. Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene, speaks during a symposium in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on March 2, 2012. The expert on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster said it is imperative to cleanse food of radioactive substances released by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

ICRP official in Japan

ICRP official in Japan

AOMORI, Japan - Abel Gonzalez, vice chairman of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, speaks during a symposium in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on March 1, 2012.

Apples bearing images

Apples bearing images

AOMORI, Japan - Photo shows apples bearing images of (from L) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa after they were harvested in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 1, 2011. The images are made on the fruit by blocking sunlight in the shapes.

2 arrested over falsely labeling apple juice products

2 arrested over falsely labeling apple juice products

HIROSAKI, Japan - Takao Sasaki, former president of Aomoriken Kako, an apple processing company in Aomori Prefecture, leaves his house in Hirosaki in the prefecture on Feb. 24 for voluntary police questioning before being arrested with the other former president of the company on suspicion of falsely labeling and selling beverages made of concentrated apple juice from China as made in Aomori.

Confab on world natural heritage sites opens in Aomori Pref.

Confab on world natural heritage sites opens in Aomori Pref.

HIROSAKI, Japan - A three-day conference on preserving UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites began Oct. 15 in Aomori Prefecture. Delegates from 16 countries attend the conference, along with Japanese representatives.

Death toll from Typhoon Nabi rises to 11, 12 missing

Death toll from Typhoon Nabi rises to 11, 12 missing

HIROSAKI, Japan - Farmers in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, crop their apples earlier than schedule on Sept. 7 to avert possible damage that might be caused by Typhoon Nabi thatis approaching northern Honshu and Hokkaido after battering the southern main island of Kyushu and parts of western Honshu the previous day.

Abe speaks in Aomori

Abe speaks in Aomori

HIROSAKI, Japan - Shinzo Abe, new secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on Sept. 23.

Former farm minister Tazawa dies at 83

Former farm minister Tazawa dies at 83

AOMORI, Japan - Former farm minister Kichiro Tazawa (file photo) died Dec. 12 of esophagus cancer at a hospital in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. He was 83. A former Liberal Democratic Party politician, Tazawa also served in the cabinet as head of the Defense Agency and the National Land Agency.

5 die in Aomori arson attack on consumer credit firm

5 die in Aomori arson attack on consumer credit firm

AOMORI, Japan - Photo shows a building in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture where five people died May 8 in an arson attack by an unidentified man. The suspect walked into a branch office of consumer credit firm Takefuji Corp., located on the top floor of the building, and demanded money before setting the place on fire and fleeing.

Typhoon No. 18 damages apple growers in northeastern Japan

Typhoon No. 18 damages apple growers in northeastern Japan

HIROSAKI, Japan - A farmer picks up apples that have dropped ahead of harvest time due to Typhoon No. 18, which again hit land in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost land mass, on Sept. 25 after wreaking havoc on Kyushu and western Japan the previous day.

Year's first apple crop auctioned

Year's first apple crop auctioned

AOMORI, Japan - The year's first crop of apples in the northern Japan prefecture of Aomori is auctioned at the Hirosaki central fruit and vegetable market August 3.

Decorated apples in northeastern Japan

Decorated apples in northeastern Japan

Photo taken Oct. 25, 2022, in Hirosaki in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Aomori shows specially cultivated apples that bear depictions of French President Emmanuel Macron (top, C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (top, R). The apples are "bagged" and kept in the dark, before being exposed to daylight with specially crafted stickers attached to their skin, producing the desired images when the stickers are removed.

Decorated apples in northeastern Japan

Decorated apples in northeastern Japan

Photo taken Oct. 25, 2022, in Hirosaki in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Aomori shows specially cultivated apples that bear depictions of French President Emmanuel Macron (top, R) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (top, L). The apples are "bagged" and kept in the dark, before being exposed to daylight with specially crafted stickers attached to their skin, producing the desired images when the stickers are removed.

Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

Photo taken Aug. 10, 2022, shows the swollen Iwaki River in Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, following heavy rain.

Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

A collapsed road is seen in Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 10, 2022, following heavy rain.