Rally to protest U.S. tariffs in Sao Paulo

Rally to protest U.S. tariffs in Sao Paulo

About 500 protesters gather in front of the U.S. consulate in Sao Paulo on Aug. 1, 2025, protesting tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Brazilian exports.

Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

Lake-jumping religious ritual

Lake-jumping religious ritual

A Buddhist monk jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about 7 meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, western Japan, on Aug. 1, 2025, as he completes 100 days of mountain training. The traditional ritual at Isaki-ji temple dates back about 1,300 years.

Wind chime festival at western Japan temple

Wind chime festival at western Japan temple

Wind chimes blow in the wind at Ofusa Kannon temple in Kashihara in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on July 1, 2025, as about 3,000 wind chimes are hung for the annual three-month wind chime festival that began the same day.

Wind chime festival at western Japan temple

Wind chime festival at western Japan temple

Wind chimes blow in the wind at Ofusa Kannon temple in Kashihara in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on July 1, 2025, as about 3,000 wind chimes are hung for the annual three-month wind chime festival that began the same day.

Dogo Onsen bathhouse to fully resume operations

Dogo Onsen bathhouse to fully resume operations

Photo taken on July 1, 2024, shows the main building of the Dogo Onsen bathhouse in Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan. The bathhouse, deemed a property of national cultural importance, is slated to fully resume operations on July 11 following repair work that lasted about five and a half years.

Scandal-ridden Bigmotor reborn as new firm

Scandal-ridden Bigmotor reborn as new firm

Shinjiro Tanaka (R), president of Wecars, a new firm that took over the troubled used car dealership Bigmotor Co.'s main businesses, attends a press conference in Tokyo on May 1, 2024. The president vowed to make Wecars' operations transparent following the high-profile insurance fraud scandal, as it runs about 250 outlets with a workforce of 4,200.

Scandal-ridden Bigmotor reborn as new firm

Scandal-ridden Bigmotor reborn as new firm

Shinjiro Tanaka (C), president of Wecars, a new firm that took over the troubled used car dealership Bigmotor Co.'s main businesses, poses at a press conference in Tokyo on May 1, 2024. The president vowed to make Wecars' operations transparent following the high-profile insurance fraud scandal, as it runs about 250 outlets with a workforce of 4,200.

Giant Xmas tree in northern Japan

Giant Xmas tree in northern Japan

A 20-meter-tall Christmas tree is illuminated with about 150,000 LED lights in Hakodate on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Dec. 1, 2023.

Giant Xmas tree in northern Japan

Giant Xmas tree in northern Japan

A 20-meter-tall Christmas tree is illuminated with about 150,000 LED lights in Hakodate on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Dec. 1, 2023.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

Jump into Lake Biwa in traditional ritual

A Buddhist monk at Isakiji Temple jumps into Lake Biwa from a height of about seven meters in the Shiga Prefecture city of Omihachiman, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2023, during a traditional ritual and part of training.

Overweight elephant in Japan zoo

Overweight elephant in Japan zoo

Photo taken on June 1, 2023, shows overweight female African elephant Mao getting ready to play with tree limbs at Morioka Zoo in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Mao, who has been put on a weight-loss plan, weighs about 3,800 kilograms.

Farewell service for Japan wrestling icon

Farewell service for Japan wrestling icon

About 7,000 people attend a farewell service at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on March 7, 2023, for Japanese professional wrestler-turned-lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who died on Oct. 1, 2022, aged 79. Inoki, who took on world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1976, was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2010.

Farewell service for Japan wrestling icon

Farewell service for Japan wrestling icon

About 7,000 people attend a farewell service at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on March 7, 2023, for Japanese professional wrestler-turned-lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who died on Oct. 1, 2022, aged 79. Inoki, who took on world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1976, was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2010. (Kyodo)

Face masks at school graduation ceremonies

About half of students attend a graduation ceremony without wearing face masks at Sendai Daiichi High School in the Miyagi prefectural capital of Sendai, northeastern Japan, on March 1, 2023. Students at Gifu prefectural high school in the Gifu prefectural capital of Gifu, central Japan, wear face masks at a graduation ceremony on March 1, 2023. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in February that the government will not urge students and teachers to wear face masks at school graduation ceremonies slated for March as part of its plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions.

Face masks at school graduation ceremonies

Face masks at school graduation ceremonies

About half of students attend a graduation ceremony without wearing face masks at Sendai Daiichi High School in the Miyagi prefectural capital of Sendai, northeastern Japan, on March 1, 2023. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in February that the government will not urge students and teachers to wear face masks at school graduation ceremonies slated for March as part of its plan to ease COVID-19 guidelines on protective face masks.

Face masks at school graduation ceremonies

Face masks at school graduation ceremonies

About half of students attend a graduation ceremony without wearing face masks at Sendai Daiichi High School in the Miyagi prefectural capital of Sendai, northeastern Japan, on March 1, 2023. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in February that the government will not urge students and teachers to wear face masks at school graduation ceremonies slated for March as part of its plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions.

Japan sees 1st foreign cruise ship arrival in 3 years

Japan sees 1st foreign cruise ship arrival in 3 years

Cruise ship Amadea of Germany-based operator Phoenix Reisen, sails into Shimizu port in the central Japan city of Shizuoka on March 1, 2023, with Mt. Fuji in the background, marking the first arrival of a cruise ship in the country in about three years following a suspension of arrivals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan sees 1st foreign cruise ship arrival in 3 years

Japan sees 1st foreign cruise ship arrival in 3 years

Cruise ship Amadea of Germany-based operator Phoenix Reisen, sails into Shimizu port in the central Japan city of Shizuoka on March 1, 2023, with Mt. Fuji in the background, marking the first arrival of a cruise ship in the country in about three years following a suspension of arrivals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

Autumn festival at Munakata Shrine begins

FUKUOKA, Japan, Oct. 1 Kyodo - About 200 fishing boats parade in the Genkai Sea, the southwestern portion of the Sea of Japan, off the city of Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, western Japan, on Oct. 1, 2017, during the Miare Festival, part of the autumn festival at Munakata Shrine, a World Cultural Heritage site. The event is held to pray for the safety of sea traffic and a good haul.

Sand Festa kicks off in Kagoshima

Sand Festa kicks off in Kagoshima

MINAMISATSUMA, Japan, May 1 Kyodo - Photo taken May 1, 2015, shows a sand sculpture themed on an advance in railway technology, with a steam locomotive (L) emerging from a tunnel and a shinkansen bullet train (R) climbing skyward, displayed at the annual Sand Festa that began the same day near a dune in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan. About 100 sculptures created by artists and local citizens will be shown during the festival lasting until May 31.

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

CHARIPARA, Bangladesh - A villager in Charipara, southern Bangladesh, points toward what used to be lowland that has turned into a river due to rising sea levels on Dec. 1, 2014. Experts estimate that about 17% of Bangladesh's lowland will be submerged by as early as 2070.

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

CHARIPARA, Bangladesh - Fishermen from the village of Charipara, southern Bangladesh, sort their catch on Dec. 1, 2014, with the remains of an eroded dike damaged by rising sea levels in the background. Experts estimate that about 17% of Bangladesh's lowland will be submerged by as early as 2070.

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

CHARIPARA, Bangladesh - Roots of coconut trees are seen exposed near the village of Charipara in southern Bangladesh on Dec. 1, 2014, due to erosion from floods caused by rising sea levels. Experts estimate that about 17% of Bangladesh's lowland will be submerged by as early as 2070.

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

Bangladeshi lowland submerged by rising sea level

CHARIPARA, Bangladesh - Villagers in Charipara village, southern Bangladesh, tell on Dec. 1, 2014, of how they have been forced to move home due to rising sea levels. Experts estimate that about 17% of Bangladesh's lowland will be submerged by as early as 2070.

Test run for new bullet train service in Hokkaido starts

Test run for new bullet train service in Hokkaido starts

HAKODATE, Japan - An "H5 series" bullet train runs in Nanae in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Dec. 1, 2014, for a test ahead of the spring 2016 launch of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which seeks to connect southern Hokkaido and Tokyo in about 4 hours and 10 minutes.

Test run for new bullet train service in Hokkaido starts

Test run for new bullet train service in Hokkaido starts

HAKODATE, Japan - An "H5 series" bullet train runs in Nanae in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Dec. 1, 2014, for a test ahead of the spring 2016 launch of the Hokkaido Shinkansen, which seeks to connect southern Hokkaido and Tokyo in about 4 hours and 10 minutes.

32 women file damages suit over Kanebo's skin-whitening cosmetics

32 women file damages suit over Kanebo's skin-whitening cosmetics

KYOTO, Japan - A woman (front) in her 50s holds a press conference in Kyoto on Dec. 1, 2014, after filing a damages suit against Kanebo Cosmetics Inc. with the Kyoto District Court. She is among 32 women in Japan who filed suits with district courts in Chiba, Nagoya and Kyoto the same day, seeking about 310 million yen in damages from Kanebo, saying their skin developed white blotches after using the company's skin-whitening products.

Afghan women to receive police training with Japan help

Afghan women to receive police training with Japan help

KABUL, Afghanistan - About 200 Afghan women gather at Kabul International Airport on Nov. 1, 2014, to board a flight for Turkey where they are scheduled to receive training to be police officers with financial assistance from the Japanese government.

Fukushima farmer hangs persimmons for drying

Fukushima farmer hangs persimmons for drying

KOORI, Japan - Kunio Hirai, a farmer in Koori, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, hangs persimmons for drying on Nov. 1, 2014. The region's specialty called "ampo-gaki" (semi-dried persimmons) is made by smoking the fruit and drying them for about a month.

34 games, incl. Dragon Quest, for PS4 to be released

34 games, incl. Dragon Quest, for PS4 to be released

TOKYO, Japan - Atsushi Morita (L), an executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., explains in Tokyo on Sept. 1, 2014, about the release of Square Enix Co.'s Dragon Quest Heroes, one of 34 new software games for the PlayStation4 scheduled to be launched by the end of 2015. The game will go on sale next spring as the first Dragon Quest game for the PS in about 10 years.

Hong Kong pro-democracy protests

Hong Kong pro-democracy protests

HONG KONG, China - About 510,000 people march in Hong Kong on July 1, 2014, as part of an annual pro-democracy demonstration marking the territory's 17th anniversary of its handover to China.

School kids draw real-size image of Great Buddha statue

School kids draw real-size image of Great Buddha statue

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Minamigaoka Elementary School in Kitakyushu, southwestern Japan, displays a real-size image of the 15-meter-high Great Buddha of Nara drawn by pupils on a canvas made of about 570 sheets of newspaper on July 1, 2014.

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

TOKYO, Japan - Some 2,000 protesters gather near the prime minister's office in Tokyo on July 1, 2014, to oppose the government's plan to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and remove certain limitations governing the role of Japan's armed forces. About 10,000 gathered in the area for the demonstration the previous night.

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

TOKYO, Japan - Some 2,000 protesters gather near the prime minister's office in Tokyo on July 1, 2014, to oppose the government's plan to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and remove certain limitations governing the role of Japan's armed forces. About 10,000 gathered in the area for the demonstration the previous night.

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

2,000 protest in Tokyo over security policy change

TOKYO, Japan - Some 2,000 protesters gather near the prime minister's office in Tokyo on July 1, 2014, to oppose the government's plan to reinterpret the pacifist Constitution and remove certain limitations governing the role of Japan's armed forces. About 10,000 gathered in the area for the demonstration the previous night.

Bikini Atoll radiation survivor continues antinuclear fight

Bikini Atoll radiation survivor continues antinuclear fight

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken Jan. 19, 2014 shows Matashichi Oishi (L), a former crew member of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, and his daughter, Yoshiko Tanaka, standing in front of the trawler preserved and displayed at the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall run by the Tokyo metropolitan government in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The tuna fishing boat was exposed to nuclear fallout from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954, while fishing about 160 kilometers east of the atoll.

S. Korea court orders Japan firm to redress

S. Korea court orders Japan firm to redress

GWANGJU, South Korea - Yang Gum Dok (L) reacts in Gwangju, South Korea, on Nov. 1, 2013, after the Gwangju District Court ruled in favor of four Korean women, including Yang, who were forcibly conscripted as laborers during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to pay them 150 million won (about $141,510) each in compensation.

S. Korea court orders Japan firm to redress

S. Korea court orders Japan firm to redress

GWANGJU, South Korea - Yang Gum Dok (R) reacts in Gwangju, South Korea, on Nov. 1, 2013, after the Gwangju District Court ruled in favor of four Korean women, including Yang, who were forcibly conscripted as laborers during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to pay them 150 million won (about $141,510) each in compensation.

2 and a half years after quake

2 and a half years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Combination photos from a Kyodo News helicopter show the Yoshida area of Watari town, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 12, 2011 (L), a day after the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake, and about two and a half years later on Sept. 1, 2013 (R), complete with a greenhouse complex to grow strawberries.

2 and a half years after quake

2 and a half years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Combination photos from a Kyodo News helicopter show the Arahama area of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 12, 2011 (top), the day of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and about two and a half years later on Sept. 1, 2013 (bottom).

2 and a half years after quake

2 and a half years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Combination photos from a Kyodo News helicopter show an area around Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 23, 2011 (L), shortly after the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake, and about two and a half years later on Sept. 1, 2013 (R). Many pupils and teachers at the school were killed or became unaccounted for in the disaster.

2 and a half years after quake

2 and a half years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Combination photos from a Kyodo News helicopter show Shizugawa High School in the town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 13, 2011 (L), shortly after the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake, and about two and a half years later on Sept. 1, 2013 (R). People still live in temporary housing units (R) on the school ground, where survivors wrote "SOS." (L).