'Ama' female divers work to stem drop in ama population

'Ama' female divers work to stem drop in ama population

TSURUGA, Japan - Female fishing diver Nayomi Oi spreads out wakame seaweed she caught in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture in May 2013.

Divers help rebuild aquafarm in Ofunato

Divers help rebuild aquafarm in Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Scuba divers cut ''wakame'' brown seaweed in the water off Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, for fishermen to extract spores to use to restart the city's aquafarming operation, on June 14, 2011.

Kyushu shrine conducts 1,300-year-old seaweed-offering event

Kyushu shrine conducts 1,300-year-old seaweed-offering event

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Two priests (L) at Mekari Shrine in Kitakyushu reap wakame seaweed while one priest bears a torch in the early morning at ebb tide of Jan. 26, or Jan. 1 by the lunar calendar, before offering it at the shrine. About 100 people watched the 1,300-year-old annual event held in hopes of safe navigation and a good haul.

Fishermen promote seaweed in Tokyo to revive tsunami-hit economy

Fishermen promote seaweed in Tokyo to revive tsunami-hit economy

A boy enjoys a bowl of seaweed soup during a tasting event in Tokyo on Feb. 11, 2015, to promote "masaki wakame," a specialty produced by a fisheries cooperative association in the Taro district of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The co-op is hoping to popularize the seaweed across Japan as a symbol of the city's recovery from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastation. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tsunami-hit Iwate region tries to recover seaweed sales

Tsunami-hit Iwate region tries to recover seaweed sales

A shopper tastes a sample of "wakame" edible seaweed grown in Iwate Prefecture at a supermarket in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, on Sept. 1, 2015, during a promotional campaign for the seaweed. Wakame production and sales have not recovered to their levels before the 2011 tsunami disaster in the northeastern Japanese prefecture. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kyushu shrine conducts 1,300-year-old seaweed-offering event

Kyushu shrine conducts 1,300-year-old seaweed-offering event

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Two priests (L) at Mekari Shrine in Kitakyushu reap wakame seaweed while one priest bears a torch in the early morning at ebb tide of Jan. 26, or Jan. 1 by the lunar calendar, before offering it at the shrine. About 100 people watched the 1,300-year-old annual event held in hopes of safe navigation and a good haul. (Kyodo)

Divers help rebuild aquafarm in Ofunato

Divers help rebuild aquafarm in Ofunato

OFUNATO, Japan - Scuba divers cut ''wakame'' brown seaweed in the water off Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, for fishermen to extract spores to use to restart the city's aquafarming operation, on June 14, 2011. (Kyodo)

Statue of "Sazae-san"

Statue of "Sazae-san"

A statue of "Sazae-san" (C), the main character of the Japanese comic strip "Sazae-san," is unveiled to the public on April 24, 2021, in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka where its author Machiko Hasegawa (1920-1992) spent her childhood days. The 1.5-meter-high statue was built along with statues of other characters -- "Katsuo" (L) and "Wakame" -- to mark the 100th anniversary last year of the birth of the author, who depicted in the comic series an ordinary Japanese family led by a good-natured mother and wife called Sazae.

Statue of "Sazae-san"

Statue of "Sazae-san"

A statue of "Sazae-san" (C), the main character of the Japanese comic strip "Sazae-san," is unveiled to the public on April 24, 2021, in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka where its author Machiko Hasegawa (1920-1992) spent her childhood days. The 1.5-meter-high statue was built along with statues of other characters -- "Katsuo" (L) and "Wakame" -- to mark the 100th anniversary last year of the birth of the author, who depicted in the comic series an ordinary Japanese family led by a good-natured mother and wife called Sazae.