Japanese cypripediums blooming in northeastern Japan

Japanese cypripediums blooming in northeastern Japan

Japanese cypripediums are in full bloom in Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on May 10, 2023. Local elderly people take care of the around 50,000 plants, classified as endangered.

Japanese cypripediums blooming in northeastern Japan

Japanese cypripediums blooming in northeastern Japan

Japanese cypripediums are in full bloom in Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on May 10, 2023. Local elderly people take care of the around 50,000 plants, classified as endangered.

Museum for Doraemon cartoonist in Kawasaki

Museum for Doraemon cartoonist in Kawasaki

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows the inside of Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, dedicated to the legacy of the creator of the ''Doraemon'' cartoon series, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Aug. 22, 2011. The three-story museum, featuring around 50,000 of Fujiko F. Fujio's original drawings, is scheduled to open to the general public on Sept. 3.

JAL to discontinue popular calendar due to economic slump

JAL to discontinue popular calendar due to economic slump

NARITA, Japan - Photo shows Japan Airlines' popular calendars featuring photographs of cabin attendants. JAL plans to discontinue its 20-year-long production of the calendars, company sources said Jan. 31. Around 100,000 copies were printed in 1993, when they were in peak demand, but demand has since fallen gradually to around 50,000 for the 2009 version.

Afghan NATO chief says no guarantee of non-combat regions

Afghan NATO chief says no guarantee of non-combat regions

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. Gen. David McKiernan, who took command of around 50,000 troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in June, speaks at a press conference in Kabul July 16. KcKiernan said he could not guarantee a region in the country free of combat, a key condition for Japan sending troops there.