A life size model of a Gundam RX78 model, standing 18 metres tall and weighing 35 tons, on display in Shiokaze Park in Odaiba to commemorate 30 years of the popular animation series and toy. The 1/1 scale model was on display and open to the public free of charge from July 11th to August 31st 2009 and was also used to draw attention to Tokyo`s unsuccessful 2016 Olympic bid. Odaiba, Tokyo August 14th 2009

Japanese Office workers or salarymen and other shoppers enjoy a week long secondhand book market outside Shimbashi station in Tokyo. Japan The market runs from November 15th to November 21st and takes place every 5 months. Japan has a 99% literacy rate and boasts a large publishing market that has however been in steep decline since the 1990s when due to Japan`s lowering economic conditions companies like Book Off, that opened its first store in 1990 and now circulates over 200 million books a year through nearly 900 stores nationwide and internationally made the buying and selling of secondhand books popular and acceptable. Shimbashi, Tokyo, Japan Wednesday November 18th 2009

Blue LED lights installed at all 29 JR Yamanote Line stations in 2009 at a cost of 15 million Yen (165,000 USD) in an effort to decrease suicides by people jumping under trains. Over 2,000 people jumped under trains in 2008, accounting for 6% of all suicides in the country. The blue LED lights are meant to calm and soothe potential jumpers, though there is little scientific evidence for this. Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world which the recent economic crisis has exacerbated.

Hiroshi Yamada, the president of The Spirit of Japan Party (Nippon Soshinto), a right Wing/Nationalist political party campaigning in Tokyo for the 2010 Upper House elections.%0AHiroshi Yamada was the mayor of Tokyo's Suginami Ward before stepping down after eleven years to run in the House of Councillors election in the Tokyo district. His party has ties with the right-wing Shinzo Abe-led bipartisan group of lawmakers, "Sosei-Nippon," and the Sunrise Party of Japan, led by Takeo Hiranuma. Recently (2012) he has disbanded the Spirit of Japan Party to join the Japanese Restoration Party formed by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Shintaro Ishihara the ex-governor of Tokyo.

The Kintaro Duck Race is part of the Ashigara River festival that has been held in the town of Matsuda in rural Kanagawa each April since 2008. The festival was created to raise money for the clean-up of the Ashigara and Sakawa river basins and increase awareness of environmental issues. The highlight of the festival is the Kintaro Duck race. Borrowing this unusual and fun idea from the Great British Duck Race, 15,000 plastic bath ducks (each purchased for 500 Japanese Yen) are floated down the river at 2pm with the first hundred ducks across the finishing line about a kilometre down stream of the release point winning prizes for those spectators that had bought them.

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP), campaigning in support of candidates in a local election in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. Sunday, February 14th 2010. Fukushima San has been leader of the SDP since 2003 and held cabinet posts as the minister of consumer and social affairs, food safety and gender equality when the SDP was a junior partner in the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) led government under Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama September 2009 to May 2010) before being fired over the issue of U.S. bases in Okinawa and subsequently withdrawing her SDP party from the coalition, She is also a vocal anti-nuclear proponent.

Nico Jimenez of Extremadura in Spain cuts a record slice of Iberico ham at 13.35 metres, beating his own world record set in 2008 by three more centimetres. Sponsored by Iberselec, Nico Jimenez is the most famous of the 10 Maestro Cortadores in Spain and the current holder of of the Cuchillo de Oro (golden knife) award. He has cut Iberico ham from Iberselec for Spanish royalty, music artists like David Bisbal, the tennis champion, Rafael Nadal and, most recently, the victorious Spanish Soccer team after their arrival in Spain from the World Cup in Johannesburg. This Guinness record event took place at the Hattori Nutritional College in Tokyo, Japan. September 23rd 2010.

A youthful anti-Nuclear energy demo in Koenji, Tokyo. led by musicians and clowns the Hangenbatsu Choukyodai Demo (which literally translates as the Anti Nuclear Power Plant Super Huge Demo) attracted around 2,000 marchers who enjoyed punk music along the marching route. Smaller than a similar demo elsewhere in Tokyo, this youth inspired demonstration called upon the Japanese to give up nuclear energy. Since the earthquake and tsunami of March 11th with the problems they caused at Fukushima Daichi nuclear atomic power station, nuclear issues risen in public consciousness and a growing anti nuclear movement is developing. Koenji, Tokyo, Japan April 10th 2011

Over 800 people camped out on the streets of Tokyo's upmarket shopping district of Ginza for a chance to buy the new iphone 4S when it became available at 8am in Friday 14th October. Some had waited on the street for four days to the first in line for the new phone that for the first time was now available on bot the KDDI network as well as the usual Softbank network. First in line was Yosuke Ishinabe from Saitama who was escorted into the store when the doors opened at 8am to cheers and applause, emerging an hour or so later proudly clutching his new iphone. Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. Friday October 14th 2011

Soldiers from the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF or Jeitai) are operating along the tsunami hit coast of Tohoku in north-east Japan searching for bodies and recoverable items in the mud. These images were taken In Minami Soma in Fukushima, near the 20 Kilometre exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power station that was damaged in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami and also in the clean-up of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture.

A 2:46 on March 11th 2011 a magnitude 9 earthquake struck just off the north east Coast of Japan. A short while later a massive tsunami, reaching up to 40 metres high in places, obliterated the Tohoku coast, destroying towns and villages as far as 10 kilometres inland and killing over 16,000 people. The tsunami also knocked out the power at Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant causing explosions and a melt-down. In Tokyo large tremors were felt and there was some damage to buildings. That evening many people spent the night sleeping rough in any available floor or walking long distances home as the rail system stopped. Phone networks were overloaded with people calling to check on family and friends. In the days that followed, as the true scale of the disaster came apparent, especially the dangerous conditions in the damaged Fukushima reactors, some people fled west to nominally safer cities or left the country altogether. Other stayed, despite food and power shortages, and tried to carry on as normal. A few set out to help the people affected by this tragedy by collecting money, clothes and food and volunteering.

Beginning on October 27th 2011 with mothers from Fukushima camping outside the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to protest the ministries actions regarding the problems at Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, the protest attracted women from all over Japan. The national mother's protest against nuclear power officially began on October 30th and ran to November 5th. Around 300 women and men arrived to sit outside the METI government building to voice their protest against nuclear power, the Ministry's handling of the contamination issues resulting from the Fukushima disaster and recent plans by the Japanese government to off load potentially contaminated food products from Fukushima as food aid to developing countries. Some came everyday some just for the day which lasted from 9am to 6pm and other lending support even just for an hour or so. Representatives from the protest and Friends of the Earth presented petitions and outline their demands in meetings with officials from the Japanese Cabinet Office, The Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 4th 2011. Tokyo, Japan

Peace Boat volunteers working on the clean-up mission in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture in Japan on May 6th 2011. Peace Boat is a Japan-based non-profit and non-governmental organization that was founded in 1983 to promote peace, human rights and sustainable development around the world. Since the Tohoku earthquake on March 11th 2011 the organization has run relief efforts to the town of Ishinomaki, and others along the coast, aiming to provide food and other items useful to those affected and also actively removing the mud and damage left by the earthquake and tsunami. The Golden Week holidays at the beginning of May 2011 saw around 350 volunteers head north from Tokyo with the organization, Including 41 foreigners, all of whom mucked-in to assist in the town's recovery. Unfortunately as the tragedy of the earthquake and tsunami begin to disappear from the news media future missions are finding a lack of volunteers. The people of Ishinomaki are very thankful for the efforts of those that do come however. Ishinomaki, Japan May 6th 2011

On Friday March 11th 2011 a magnitude 9 earthquake struck off the north-east coast of Japan at 2:46pm. It was the most powerful earthquake to ever hit Japan. By far the most destructive event of the day was however huge tsunami that followed. Reaching a height of over 40 metres in places, it crashed ashore along the entire Tohoku coast obliterating towns and cities; travelling up to 10 kilometres inland and inundating a total area of approximately 561 sq km or 217 sq miles. The prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima were most severely affected. Though the tsunami caused problems as far south as Chiba near Tokyo. National police statistics reported that 45,700 buildings were destroyed and 144,300 were damaged by the events of that day and nearly 20,000 people were killed or reported missing. In Fukushima prefecture the earthquake and tsunami also triggered meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant that have contaminated large parts of the region and caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of people who were not unduly affected by the quake itself. The clean-up permanent closure of parts of the region due to radioactivity my well be the most visible legacy of the March 11th quake and tsunami as the towns and villages of the rest of Tohoku slowly repair and rebuild themselves.

An annular solar eclipse occurred over Tokyo on Monday May 21st 2012. This type of eclipse that creates a ring of fire around the silhouette of the moon reached its peak at 7:34am. The sky was cloudy with light rain at times but luckily for the children at schools and attractions along the path of the eclipse, the clouds thinned enough in some places for the event to be visible to them and viewed with special protective eye shades and glasses.

Since March 2012, there has been a protest against nuclear energy outside the Prime Minister's office in Nagatacho, Tokyo every Friday evening from 6pm to 8pm. After the March 11th 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daichi plant, all Japan's nuclear power generators were taken off-line for safety checks. The anti-nuclear campaigners aim to keep Japan nuclear free. The protests started small but have grown in size and routinely numbers several thousand. On June 29th (The day before Prime Minister Noda planned to restart the Oi nuclear power-plant in Fukui Prefecture) the protesters numbered over 100,000. There is a history of environmental protest in Japan leading to dramatic policy changes in the government. Some commentators are already calling this protest the Hydrangea Revolution.

The March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami cause explosions and meltdowns at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant that contaminated large areas of the prefecture. The farming community in the affected areas quickly understood that their bucolic existence had ended. Fears of radioactive contamination have kept many shoppers, all over Japan, from buying products from the area and prices have tumbled for any that do find a market. Yet Farming is an important part of the cultural identity in Fukushima and whilst the fears about dangerously affected foods might be justified in parts there are large partsof the countryside that remain just as safe and potentially productive as they were before the disaster. The Arigato Farm Project near Iwaki, which lies a little over 20 kilometres south of the nuclear plant, on the borders of the exclusion zone, was set up to address these fears and provide an attitude-changing means for locally grown crops to find a market again. Using fallow farmland donated by an Iwaki businessman, Satoshi Masaki, the farm is worked by a small group of volunteers, led by Seiji Kanari. Kanari san is determined to reinvigorate the local farming business again by providing organic, locally produced crops that can find a local market. The farm consists of seven fields but at the time these images were taken only 2 of them had been cleared for cultivation. Volunteers were attracted to the project via social media sites like Facebook and Mixi and many are young, bringing new and innovative ideas into farming. Kanari san is happy to see younger people volunteering when and as they can, a little or a lot and bringing energy to a business that, even before the disaster, was suffering from old-fashioned traditions and an acute pessimism for its future. He believes that the young will again feel pride in their countryside and perhaps take better care of it than the older farmers did.

Around a hundred Kurdish immigrants in Japan take part in a 12 hour “Hunger Strike” outside the United Nations University in Omotesando in Tokyo. The strike was held to show solidarity with nearly 800 Kurdish political prisoners in 38 jails in Turkey who have been on hunger strike for over 2 months. The strike started at 8am and lasted until 8pm and was part of an international day of action by Kurdish people to draw attention to the struggle of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, Syria and Iraq and to call for the UN and international community generally to help in the protection of Kurdish cultural identity and secure the release of Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

On the first anniversary of the March 11th Tohoku earthquake and tsunami a commemorative rally was held in Hibiya Park. After the speeches and prayers had finished around 3,000 people took part in an anti-nuclear demonstration march to call on the Japanese government to stop the use of nuclear power. At the time of the demo 49 of Japan's 54 reactors were off-line and although there have been some electricity shortages and power-saving measures are still in place across the country, there is a strong desire by the majority of the Japanese population to see nuclear energy phased out in this earthquake-prone nation. Public confidence in the safety of nuclear power and particularly in Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to operate these facilities has been severely damaged by the Fukushima nuclear disaster that was a result of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

There has been an ant-nuclear energy camp outside the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry since September 2011. On January 27th the camp, which had been declared a fire risk by Minister Yukio Edano earlier, was scheduled for forcible eviction by the police. The deadline for the protesters to leave was 5pm. Over 500 supporters and protesters turning up to resist the eviction however and the camp was still in place the night of the 27th.

The Occupy Tokyo anti-nuclear protest outside the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) buildings in Tokyo was invigorated on Friday June 29th as the many of the women who originally started the protest returned to campaign against Prime Minister Noda's plans to reactivate Japan's nuclear generation power-station in Oi, Fukui Prefecture. Japan's nuclear generation capabilities have been stalled since the March 11th 2001 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns and radiation leaks at Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant. The protest started at 1pm at the "Keisanshoumae Tent-Hiroba' (tent village) that has been growing outside the METI offices since September 2011. This was followed by a short march to a meeting with female politicians in the Member's Office Building of the House of Councillors. About 300 to 350 participants took part in this meeting. After this many of the women took apart in the large protest against the restarting of the nuclear programme that took place in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence from 6pm to 8pm.

The occupy Kasumigasaki anti-nuclear camp outside the offices of the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is facing a tough future. Just a few day after they returned to power in November 2012 the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), erected barriers around the camp and installed surveillance cameras to keep an eye on the activists. On March 29th they served Taichi Shosei and Taro Fuchigami with a court order that effectivley bankrupts the protest. As tent ‘owners’ these two protester have been charged with the illegal occupation of government land and have to pay rent for its use. The rent has been calculated at around 20,000 Yen a day and has also been backdated to the beginning of the protest in September 2011. Currently this intimidating charge stands at over 11 million Yen. The first court hearing in this case, which is being fought in a civil court, will take place on May 23rd. Meanwhile the protester continue to fight for the existence of the camp understanding it significance as a focus for the wider, and now widely ignored, anti-nuclear power movement.

At an estimated cost of over a trillion Yen the Japanese government are attempting to de-contaminate the areas of Fukushima affected by the explosions and meltdowns at Fukushima Daichi nuclear power station caused by the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Around 13% of Fukushima Prefecture is scheduled to have the top 3 or 4 centimetres of its soil removed. Farmland and residential area will be cleaned first followed by forested mountain slopes that will have leaf litter and undergrowth removed 20 metres either side of roads. The plan hopes to reduce radioactivity to the government-set target of 0.23 microsieverts an hour at ground level or less. The supposed technological advances that were promised to speed-up and improve the decontamination process do not seem to have arrived and a lot of the work is being done by hand with very simple tools. Soil and undergrowth, which easily absorbed the various nuclear particles released in the accident, and are often much more highly radioactive than the surrounding environment, are being cut and shovelled by labourers who seldom wear suitable protective clothing and equipment. The cleared waste is put into large vinyl bags for which a long-term storage solution as yet to be found.

June 2nd 2013 was "No Nuke Day" in Tokyo. Officials said 60,000 people gathered in Shiba Park, near Tokyo Tower, to signal their displeasure at the Japanese government's plans regarding nuclear energy. The protest was attended by famous writers and activists who later lead a protest march to Hibiya Park and then onto the National Diet Building in the evening where people called strongly on the politicians not to restart and expand on the nuclear facilities that have been stalled since the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami created a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant. The Prime Minister at the time of the accident, Naoto Kan, attended the rally outside the Diet building.

Fujimizaka (Mount Fuji viewing slope) in Nishi-Nippori is Tokyo is the last place in central Tokyo that a street level view of the iconic Mount Fuji can be enjoyed. There are 16 Fujimizaka Hills in Tokyo but over the years all of them have lost their views of this quintessential Japanese icon, after which they were named, to high-rise developments. The last one in Nishi-Nippori is facing a similar fate with a large development planned a few kilometres away that will completely obscure the summit slopes of Mount Fuji. A similar development that hid the left hand side of the mountain was fought in 2000 but proved ultimately unsuccessful. The hope is this time to have the view declared a heritage site and protected with the support of the UNESCO heritage foundation. THIS IS AN ONGOING STORY AND MORE IMAGES WILL BE ADDED AS IT DEVELOPS

Halloween is celebrated in Japan. The festival is not enjoyed by children so much but more often by young adults who dress up in costumes and enjoy night life. These images were taken in Shibuya fashionable Center Gai street on halloween night in 2103

Tomioka Town in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan was badly affected by the events of March 11th 2011. First the earthquake, that struck at 2:46pm, damaged many of the houses and roads in the town; then the coastal parts of the town were flattened in the tsunami that followed. The tsunami also-wiped out the cooling systems at the nearby Fukushima Daichi nuclear power station causing explosions and meltdowns in the reactors there. Due to high radiation levels the town's population of nearly 16,000 was evacuated on March 12th and almost no-one has been there since. Sealed inside the 20 kilometre exclusion zone that was set up around the stricken nuclear plant in the summer of 2011 the town has remained pretty much as it stood just after the tsunami, though nature is slowly reclaiming the ruined houses and brackish fields. On March 25th 2013 the Japanese Government revised the exclusion zone restrictions opening up certain areas that had lower radiation readings within the twenty kilometres for residents who wanted to return to check on houses and other property. Tomioka was one of the places that became accessible from this date though restrictions still apply, for example visits are only permissible during the daylight hours and areas of the town are still off limits. Radiation levels are still too high for permanent habitation and many of the houses and shops are shuttered and sad even as the streetlight flicker on at night and the traffic signals mark time for roads that now, and possibly forever more, are empty of cars.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe has a long stated desire to amend the constitution of Japan, which was written by the Americans after Japan's defeat in World war 2. Specifically he wished to remove Article 9 from law. Article 9 forever removes the right to wage war from the nation, except in self-defence. Many Japanese people are very proud their "pacifist constitution" and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have found efforts to remove article 9 difficult to get through the government processes. The latest effort to change the law is a reinterpretation of Article 9 that allows for Collective Self-Defence. Basically this will allow Japanese soldiers to take part in wars with allied countries. Many Japanese people are very angry that this will effectively mean article 9 no longer exists, as originally written, and japan soldiers may be ordered in battle again at some point in the future. On Monday June 30th over 10,000 people protested outside the Prime Minister's residence in central Tokyo. This was the last chance to voice their displeasure at a revision over half the country do not agree with and most feel has not be debated nearly enough. The revision is expected to be made formally on July 1st. Passions about this subject run high with both the left and right in Japan. The day before a man had set fire to himself in protest at this revision after having haranguing passers-by in Shinjuku for an hour. And during the protest many demonstrators attempted to break through police barricades.

Demonstration by left wing student groups: Zengakuren (the All-Japan Federation of Students’ Self-Government Associations) and Bunka Renmei (Culture League) which is an unofficial Hosei student group, outside Hosei University campus. Friday April 25th 2014. About 60 people took part in the demo and following protest march calling on the university to apologise and reinstate students that had been excluded for taking part in political activism on campus. Four Hosei students, who are members of the above groups along with another student activist from outside, were recently cleared in court of vandalism and acts of violence. These charges were brought by the university when the students took part in political activities on campus, The five students were detained for 8 months while a case was built against them, They refused to speak to the police for all this time and the lack of a confession or any solid, conclusive evidence of their crimes meant the court could not convict them. This has renewed the students' efforts to fight for their right to attend classes again.

Japanese Prime Minster, Shinzo Abe, seen here electioneering in Urawa, Saitama two days before the Lower House general election in Japan. Abe is the right-wing leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and called a snap election for December 14th, predominantly as a referendum on his economic policies, dubbed Abernomics, which are designed to get Japan out of it two decode long slump. Only half-way through his term as premier the reason for the election are seen by many as unclear, though it is commonly thought that four more years of leadership will allow him not only to extend the influence of Abenomics, and hopefully improve the Japanese economy, but also that linking another mandate from the population to these broadly supported policies will permit the implementation of more hawkish security and diplomatic policies that are his personal aims. The results of the election gave Abe and his junior coalition partners, Komeito, a two-thirds majority in the Lower House. But voter turn-out was the lowest on record and many right-wing parties and candidates who would have supported Abe's more controversial constitutional changes did badly in the election.

Remembrance Sunday is marked in Europe to honour the lives of soldiers that died in the First World War. Remembrance day takes place on November 11th, when hostilities ended in 1918, but ceremonies at war cemeteries usually take place on the closest Sunday. In Japan the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintain several cemeteries and graves throughout the country. One of the largest and most important is the Yokohama War Cemetery in Hodogaya. Created in 1945 and set in nearly 20 acres of beautiful woodland it is the final resting place of nearly 2,000 servicemen and women from across the British Commonwealth and members of their families who died in Japan during the Second World war or in the following occupation. The cremated remains of 335 Commonwealth, American and Dutch casualties who died as POWs are also laid to rest there. On Remembrance Sunday each year servicemen and military representatives along with dignitaries from Commonwealth embassies and organisations such as the Scouts, the British School in Tokyo and the British Chamber of Commerce gather to lay wreaths of poppies and observe a 2 minute silence at 11am.

Halloween is celebrated in Japan's capital city with many events such as parades costume balls and competitions. For most young people though October 31st is just a good excuse to dress-up in a costume and have fun with friends. Areas like Shibuya in Tokyo are a Mecca for youth and on Halloween night the streets around the station are packed with young people wearing inventive and often very strange clothes and fancy dress.

The 2014 Tokyo Rainbow Pride event is a week-long celebration of gay culture and acceptance in Japan's capital. 2014 was the third year it was held and culminated on April 27th in Yoyogi Park Event Square with festival stalls and musical performances on the Event Square's Stage, followed by a parade thorough the streets of the busy Shibuya District of Tokyo.

Alexandra Chan of Hong Kong based labour-right NGO, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), gave a talk about working conditions in Chinese factories that supply the iconic Japanese fashion brand, Uniqlo on Friday January 16th and demonstrated in front of Uniqlo's flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo on Sunday January 18th. The talk was facilitated by local activist group, Tokyo Spring and detailed the undercover investigation in 2014 that exposed excess overtime and dangerous working conditions at two clothing factories in mainland China. SACOM, along with other workers' rights NGOs in China and Japan, have been pressuring Fast Retailing, who own the Uniqlo brand, to ensure working conditions improve in their suppliers' factories and increase transparency in their supply structures.. Uniqlo and Fast Retailing quickly acknowledged the report when it was published and have stated they intend to investigate and correct the problems outlined.

The long awaited smart watch by Apple went on sale worldwide on April 24th 2015. Only nine countries will sell the high-tech watches and due to its location in the far east Japan was one of the first places on the planet where people could purchase them. The watch are not being sold only as tech devices and Apple are trying to compete head to head with other luxury brand timepieces. A special Apple watch store was opened in the upmarket Isetan Department store in Shinjuku. There were not the long lines of people waiting for the products that greet the launches of new iphones or ipads. most browsers had to book a fifteen minute trail with the device and many others, who had pre-ordered the watches will have them delivered. In the Softbank store in Omotesando watches were available for walk in customers and there was something of the "special event" feeling a new product launch by Apple usually generates.

On Thursday July 16th Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe forced through the ratification of a new interpretation of Article 9 in the Japanese constitution. Article 9 it the peace clause that removes the right of Japan to use its military in any other form than self-defense. Abe's reinterpretation allows for collective self-defence which many in Japan fear will mean Japanese soldiers going to war to support America or other allies. Around 10,000 to 15,000 people attended the demos that have been on going since the reinterpretation was first discussed and policy made, last year. Several politicians from the opposition DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) and the SEALD student group also attended the rally.

Plans to move the large contingent of US military personnel in Okinawa to a new base in Henoko are proving unpopular with local Okinawans, peace activists and environmentalists all over Japan. On the afternoon of Sunday January 25th over 7,000 people gathered to protest the base-relocation by forming a human chain around the national Diet building in Nagatacho, Tokyo.

Over a hundred people gathered in Tokyo's famous Hachiko Square in Shibuya on Sunday night to hold a silent prayer vigil for Japanese hostages, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, who were murdered by ISIS terrorists in Syria in January. The vigil took place at 5pm in many city across the country and attendees were requested to not bring political banners that many people have brought to these type of event as they question the role and motives of Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe in the hostage drama. The vigil lasted until 7:30 when a candle lit shrine was constructed. Friends of the murdered hostages in the crowd promised that the flowers and messages of support would be delivered to the relatives.

Freelance journalist Kenji Goto and security consultant, Haruna Yukawa were kidnapped my ISIS (Islamic State) militants in Syria in 2014. In a video released by the group on Tuesday, January 20th, they threaten to murder the hostages unless a $200 million ransom was paid in 72 hours. This amount matched the pledge of non-military assistance Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe had made, on a Middle East tour, for countries fighting ISIS. The deadline for the ransom to be paid was Friday afternoon at 2:50 pm. Japanese people are reportedly lacking sympathy for the hostages who travelled to the war zone independently and against government advise. Reports on Saturday January 24th suggested that Yukawa had been beheaded and the demands for Goto's release had been changed to a prisoner swap.

The May Day Rally is a global event that celebrates the introduction of workers' rights and is also known in some places as Labour day, The date of May First was chosen for International Workers' Day to commemorate it origins in the labour union movement in Chicago at the end of the 19th century, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. The socialist and union movement in Japan is quite large though often unreported in mainstream media. Organisers of the may Day Rally in Tokyo said 28,000 people took part in noisy but good natured marches through central Tokyo. As well as workers' rights the marchers vented their frustrations at Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe's hawkish policies regarding the revision of the peace constitution and expanding the Japanese military's international role and his aims to restart and expand on Japan's nuclear generation policies that have been stalled since the meltdowns at Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant in March 2011

Minero Farm near Koriyama in Fukushima is run by the NPO, Fukushima Agricultural Revitalization Network (FAR-Net) Following the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami which damaged the Fukushima Daich nuclear power plant large areas of the prefecture were contaminated with radioactivity and the local farming industry was seriously affected. FAR-Net are trying to keep alive the dairy farming traditions in the area which was one of the most damaged industries. Through the opening up of this Minero farm, and others, the NPO has given new jobs to farmers that lost their lively hoods in the disaster and aims to revitalise the industry by updating it, making it more ecological and by educating non-farmers and those that might be interested in it as a career. Milk and cattle, along with feeds, is monitored and sold to companies like Rakuou Milk Products in Koriyama where it is processed into products that despite the stated low risk of radioactive contamination can still find it hard to find customers.

The war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth are honoured each year on Armistice Day on November 11th. A ceremony marking Remembrance Sunday also takes place in Japan at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Hodogaya in Yokohama. In 2015 due to the needs of visiting former Prisoners of war from Australia the ceremony actually took place on Wednesday November 11th.

Around 5,000 young activists with the Student Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) took part in a protest rally outside the Japanese Diet building on Friday July 10th to protest Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe's hawkish policies regarding re-interpreting the peace constitution and his determination to have Japan play a more forthright and unapologetic global diplomatic role. The SEALDs group is a new and vocal addition to the left-wing in Japan. They appear to have grown-out of the anti-nuclear protests that have taken place regularly since the nuclear accident at Fukushima Diachi power plant on March 11th 2011. These protests energised young and old to take a more active role in the countries political process.

The Tokyo Rainbow Pride Event marked its forth year in 2015 continues to be a popular and colourful even in the global LGBT calendar. About 5 percent of the Japanese population identify as homosexual and though they are mostly accepted and accommodated in Japanese society issues such as same-sex marriage and an increasing HIV and AIDS infection rate, born of ignorance about homosexual relationships. The Pride event lasts a week and hopes to create a Japanese society that will be open to full equality of the LGBT community and freedom form prejudice.

Tokyo Skytree is illuminated blue as part of the "Turn the World UN Blue" campaign that marks the 70th anniversary of the formation of the United Nations. Over 200 iconic monuments , buildings, statues, bridges and other landmarks, in nearly 60 countries, were lit-up blue on United Nations Day (October 24th) as part of an international campaign to unite global citizens and promote a message of peace, development and human rights.

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Pacific war. On August 15th every year many people gather at Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine to pay respect to the Japanese war dead. Right wing paramilitary groups, called Uyoku dantai congregate along with veterans and relatives of the fallen servicemen and women. Right wing politicians often make pilgrimages there too to nominally pay therir respects to the spirits of the deceased but also to make political capital with their nationalist support base.

March 11th 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of the Great east Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. On this day in 2011, at 2:46pm, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck just off the north east coast of Japan. The tsunami that followed flattened large areas of the Tohoku coast killing around 18,000 people and making many thousands more homeless. The earthquake and tsunami also lead to meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power station which contaminated large parts of that prefecture. Ceremonies to remember the victims of the tragedy took place all along the coast on March 11th. some remembered privately on the beach near where their homes once stood. Often surrounded by camera crews. Others took part in Buddhist or Shinto services. or later lit candles as acts of remembrance.

Over the Golden Week national holiday, the International terminal at Haneda Airport in Tokyo held an Edo festival. Edo refers to the old name for Tokyo in the Samurai era For three days (May 3rd to Thursday 5th) the Edo-themed terminal building put on shows with actors dressed as samurai and geisha, music performances and other festival fun attractions for kids and other visitors.

The Summer Edo festival at Tokyo Haneda International Terminal compliments the Edo themed terminal with actors dressed as Samurai, Geisha and ninja greeting passengers and visitors. The festival runs from friday August 26th to Sunday August 28th.

TheiPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus were released for sale at 8am on Friday September 16th 2016 in Apple's flagship Omotesando Store in Tokyo. Apple product launches are global events often attracting large crowds of eager customers, some of whom wait for several days on the street outside the stores to be first in line to buy the new technology. The launch on Friday of the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus was unusually quiet and low-key with only around 200 people waiting outside, though it is reportedthat some models such as the iPhone 7 plus jet lack phone have sold out.

Although the modern Kanamara Penis Festival only started in 1977 if celebrates a much older legend about a penis eating demon that hid inside a young woman's vagina. The woman had a steel phallus made atKana yama Shrine in Kawasaki Daishi and tricked the demon into biting down on it, breaking all its teeth and freeing her of it. Kanayama Shrine was a well known shrine for sword making and metal work and a foundry still exists there which is lit with sacred fire on the day of the festival. It was also famous a place where the local prostitutes used to come to prey for good business and protection from disease. Today the festival of the steel phallus is a major draw for tourists from all over Japan and is many foreigners who come to enjoy the site of large phallus-topped mikoshi or portable shrines being carried around the street.

Namie Town in the Futaba district of Fukushima prefecture was severely affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that resulted from the March 11th 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The town was not only seriously damaged by the earthquake itself, and following tsunami, but due to it proximity to the Fukushima Daichii nuclear power plant where tsunami damage caused meltdowns and explosions, had to be evacuated en masse on the morning of March 12th. On April 1st, 2013, the nuclear evacuation zone in Namie was revised. Japanese authorities decided to set three different zones according to different levels of radiation. The centre of the town near the trains station and towards the coast remains a restricted and is effectively a ghost town.

When the March 11th 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck the north east coast of Japan the students and teachers at Okawa Elementary School must have thought they would be safe from the worst of its effects. The distinctive school buildings were reinforced with steel and stood several kilometres inland from the ocean in a wide rural valley north of Ishinomaki. Perhaps it was that false sense of security that led to the delayed evacuation of the children and ultimately the deaths of 84 staff and students who were engulfed my the tsunami later that afternoon . Today there remains a lot of anger about the indecision of the teachers and for some parents and relatives the school buildings are a painful reminder of their tragedy. Many want the remaining ruins to be demolished. The Mayor of Ishinomaki, Hiroshi Kameyama, along with around 70 percent of the residents of the area have decided it would be better to keep the school to remember the victims of the disaster. A memorial park will be built around the site that commemorates those that lost their lives there and educates visitors on earthquake and tsunami preparedness.

The Pokemon Company hosted Pikachu Outbreak in Yokohama celebrated its third year in 2016 with a week long event filled festival about everyone's favourite pocket monster. Over 1,000 Pikuchu appeared during the event. The success of the Pokemon Go smartphone game makes 2016 Pikachu Outbreak even more popular than previously.

Every year on Remembrance Sunday representatives of the Commonwealth along with The United States and Japanese military hold a ceremony of remembrance for the men and women that died in war. The multi-faith service is held at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Hodogaya near Yokohama. This is the only war graves cemetery managed by the War Grave Commission in Japan.

The Sanja Matsuri is one of the biggest festivals in Japan. It takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the 2nd weekend in May. Over 40 mikoshi, or portable shrines, from different neighbourhoods around the famous Senso-ji temple in Asakusa are carried around the streets to bring blessing and good fortune to those areas, The festival attracts large crowds.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe continues to push ahead with reinterpreting the constitution of Japan to allow the Japanese military to take part in wars outside of Japan's national defence, These action may be in support of allies who are attacked or part of a preemptive strike against terrorism. This has led to a fear in many Japanese people that their soldiers, sailors and airmen will, for the first time since WW2, again fight, in combat and could kill and be killed. This idea is anathemato most Japanese and there have been large demonstrations in support of the almost sacred Article 9 of the constitution. in 2015 the normally politically apathetic Japanese youth could get behind the student activist group SEALDs. This stood for the Student Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy and their energetic and modern media-savvy approach to protest resonated with young and old alike. T-nsSOWL (Teens Stand Up to Oppose War Law) a new group of similar activists made up of younger students, teens who appose the militarisation of Japan's foreign diplomacy. The voting age was lowered in 2015 from 20 to 18 and the summer 2016 elections for the Upper House of the Japanese parliament will be the first time teenagers have had a say in Japanese politics. This group though quite small aims to motivate similar teens, often seen as being not interested in politics, to not waste their vote and hopefully rein-in the hawkish policies of Shinzo Abe.

The Halloween celebrations in Japan have grown bigger and more popular in the last few years. Children still enjoy costume parades but at night the streets of areas popular with young adults, like Shibuya are packed with people, in often very sexy costumes, out showing off. In 2016 the police even closed roads and diverted traffic around one of the city's busiest and most icon intersections to allow the revellers more space and increase their safety.

The 10th Tokyo Marathon took place in Tokyo, Japan. Sunday February 28th 2016. Thirty-six thousand runners took part in this IAAF Gold Label Road Race, the first World Marathon Majors event to be held in 2016. .Ethiopian, Feyisa Lilesa won the men's competition and Kenyan, Helah Kiprop was victorious in the women's race.

A small protest against the TPP trade agreement (Trans- Pacific Partnership) took place outside the Ministry Of the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, Japan. on Friday February 5th 2016. The Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the biggest multinational trade deals ever made was signed by ministers from the 12 member nations, including Japan, in New Zealand on Thursday February 4th. Though this protest was small, many people on both the left and the right of politics in Japan are against the TPP agreement which they fear will affect Japanese agriculture and health industries, among others, by forcing American competition onto them.

A small protest against Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympic Games in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan June 30th 2017. A significant minority of people in the capital and in Japan feel that the Olympics games, that are due to radically alter the look of large parts of the city, are a waste of money and resources, especially when the economy is stagnating and poverty and inequality are growing. Also many feel the money being spent on getting ready for these games could better be spent on the large areas in the north east that were affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami are still not fully repaired and viable again. The Japanese government and Tokyo assembly feel that the games will bring in investment and infrastructure improvements to Tokyo that the whole country will benefit from.

In response to the events in Charlottesville in America around 20 Americans and Japanese took part in a global protest rally demanding acceptance of diversity, inclusion and other liberal democratic ideals. Despite very bad weather in Tokyo the protestors held a 30 minute silent vigil to symbolise the fact that the voices of ordinary people are seldom heard before raising their voices again to sing and chant for a better America and world.

Tokyo enjoyed Halloween again over the last weekend of October. Despite a typhoon hitting the capital on Saturday night some revellers still took to the streets of Shibuya and other areas to dress up and have fun with this increasingly popular cultural import.

The Hamaorisai Matsuri celebrates Marine Day in Japan by having over 40 mikoshi or portable shrines parade through the night from shrines around Chigasaki in Kanagawa. At sunrise they meet on Southern beach and are taken into the surf to bless and purify them

Tthe Japanese Self Defence Force (JSDF) Mascot for Tokyo, Touchi recruiting in Ikebukero in Tokyo. Every Autumn there is a campaign to recruit people to the Japanese military which is suffering a personnel shortage even as hawkish politicians like the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, try to redefine the Jeitai forces as a proper military (Army, Airforce and Navy) and extend their role internationally and domestically. With growing tensions in the region there are sensible reason for doing this but many of Japan's neighbours also have bad memories of the last time the Japanese army had strength and power and the Japanese themselves appear averse to increasing the role and profile of their military.

The Kanamara festival of the steel phallus is a famous festival that takes place the first Sunday of April i Kawasaki Daishi, Kanagawa, Japan. The festival celebrates the legendary defeat of a penis eating demon who was tricked into biting down on a steel phallus. A wildly popular festival with tourists and Japanese alike who come to enjoy the parade of 3 mikoshi (portable shrines) eaching carrying a phallus. The most famous perhaps is the large pink polystyrene phallus carried by transvestites from the Elizabeth Club. Candy shaped to resemble both male and female genitalia are also a famous sight from this strange Japanese matsuri.

Saturday October 28th marks 1,000 days before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The mainichi Newspaper Company office in Chiyoda ward in Tokyo is displaying all 206 flags from the countries and territories taking part in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Each flag is 210 centimeters wide and 140 centimeters high and is being draped over windows on the south side of the building, facing the Imperial Palace.

A march for an Inclusive America demo was organised by the Alliance for an Inclusive America, a multi-faith and and non-partisan group that is against the immigration policies of President Donald Trump. About 250 Americans, other ex-pats and Japanese people took part in the march to show people around the world they reject the Executive Order President Trump enacted at the end of January, indefinitely suspending the resettlement of Syrian refugees and temporarily banning people from seven majority Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The 88th International Workers` Day Rally took place on Monday May First in Tokyo. The Rally started at 9am with speeches on a stage in Yoyogi park near Shibuya. At 12:30 the leader of the Japanese Communist party, Shii Kazuo led the march out into Tokyo. Organisers said 35,000 people took part in the rally calling for an end to long working hours in Japan (caused by some high profile cases of Karoshi, or death from overwork) and other labour issues such as a better minimum wage and job security. Protesters also voiced their displeasure with the government of Shinzo Abe on many of the usual left wing demands like an end to nuclear power and weapons, the continued integrity of the "Peace Constitution" by keeping Article 9 as it is and the demand that US forces be removed from Japanese territory.

The Mitama Matsuri is one of Japan's largest Obon festivals with over 300,000 visiting the shrine to pay respect to ancestors during the 4 days it lasts. Obon is festival of remembrance for ancestors who are believed to come back from the other world and visit the living at this time. Yasukuni Shrine, which houses the spirits of the Japanese war dead, celebrates these spirits with 30,00 yellow lanterns and mikoshi parades and traditional dancing. The festivals runs from July 13th to 16th.

Remembrance Sunday, when people honour and remember soldiers that have lost their lives is observed in Hodagaya Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery near Yokohama in Japan

The Sanja matsuri (Three shrine festival) is one of the three biggest Shinto festivals in Japan. It takes place for 3 days around the third weekend of May and features over 100 large and small mikoshi, or portable shrines, which are paraded around the streets of the historic Asakusa. to bring blessing and luck on the inhabitants. The events attracted between 1.5 to 2 million visitors each year.

The first Shibuya Bon Odori took place on Saturday August 5th 2017. The roads around the iconic Shibuya 109 department tore were closed to traffic and locals and tourist, many wearing light summer kimono called yukata, took to the streets to dance the traditional summer dance of Bon Odori, circling a raised stage called a yagura. The dancing started at 6pm and lasted until 9:30pm Like all summer festivals, food stalls, vendors and live music performances added to the special mood which also hoped to show the city's preparedness for the 2020 Olympic Games.

The 44th annual Tokyo Motorcycle show was held in Tokyo's International Exhibition Hall (Tokyo Big Sight) from Friday March 24th to Sunday march 26th. All the main domestic and international motorbike manufacturers exhibited models to showcase technological innovation. many other companies that cater to the professional rider and motorcycling enthusiast also displayed products that ranged from helmets and other protective items to colourful body wraps to decorate the motorbike.

Around 400 people took part in a vigil and march to celebrate the presidency of Barack Obama and protest the predicted illiberal policies of incoming President, Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration. The march was organised by Democrats Abroad. A candlelit vigil outside the American Embassy in Japan was not allowed by the Japanese police but a march from Hibiya Park to Roppongi took place without incident.

A large billboard was displayed on the side of the Sony Building in Ginza, Tokyo to mark the sixth anniversary of the March 11th 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Tohoku. The billboard has one line marked in red at the height of 16.7 metres. this was the highest tsunami reading in Ofunato in Miyagi. The billboard was put up by Yahoo Japan and was taken down on March 12th. The incredible height of the tsunami that followed the quake in 2011 is powerfully brought home by seeing it above the shopping streets of Ginza.

The Vote Out the Scandal Demo was timed to coincide with President Trumps visit to Japan, Organised by Democrats Abroad Japan, about 120 Americans living in Japan and some local Japanese protested together from 2pm to 4pm to encourage US citizens to register to vote in future elections with the aim of removing Donald Trump from office and also called on the US government to honour it responsibilities to the American people,

The 72nd Anniversary of the end of the Pacific was marked at Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th.Nominally a event to honour Japan's war dead and call for continued peace, this annual gathering at Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shine also allows many Japanese nationalists to display their nostalgia for their Imperial past.Rightwing paramilitary groups, Imperial cos-players, politicians and many ordinary citizens come together at the shrine to march and wave flags. The day goes almost unreported in the mainstream Japanese media.

Celebration to mark the 85th birthday of Emperor Akihito of Japan. The Emperor, who is the son of Japan's wartime leader, Emperor Hirohito, gave a speech to mark his last birthday before his upcoming abdication,

About thirty people from Democrats Abroad, Japan and Japanese locals and other foreigners took part in a small protest against the policies of the Trump Administration in the US that separates migrant families as they cross the southern border. The policy has now been stopped after pressure though many asylum seekers and migrants from South and Central America are still being incarcerated and deported upon their entry to the United States. This was part of a larger day of action that saw over 625 protests against this cruel policy take place worldwide.

Images of the Halloween celebration in Shibuya in Tokyo over the weekend of October 27th and 28th. Halloween festivities have grown in popularity in the last few years and thousands of young people take to the streets of Tokyo to dress-up in costumes and have fun. Growing popularity has brought with it some push-back from the society and authorities who dislike the drunken debauchery and mess the party-goers create. many do not like this foreign addition to the Japanese festival calendar The celebrations are mostly seen as a event for young adults who take to the street in sexy costumes and drink and party until the morning. Vandalism and sexual assault carried out during the festivities are on the increase however and whilst the event grows year on year so too dos the police presence.

Japanese soccer fans celebrate in Shibuya, in Tokyo, after the Japanese national team advanced to the next round of the 2018 football World Cup in Russia. Japan actually lost to Poland 0-1 but managed to move to the next stage on points. Thousands of younger fans gathered at Tokyo's iconic Shibuya crossing to enjoy the moment, partying into the earlier hours of the morning while police struggled to control the crowds.

The Mangekyo performance includes koto and shamisen music, traditional and contemporary taiko drumming and acrobatics. It is organised by the Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) and the Japanese Govt to entertain foreign visitors. In readiness for the the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. These performances also utilize state of the art projection mapping from TeamLab; costumes designed by Junko Koshino and set design by Rumi Matsui. The performances are also used to test new technology allowing deaf and otherwise handicapped people to enjoy this event and the Olympics and beyond.

Hundreds of people, students and left wing activists take part in protests outside the Japanese Prime Minister's office in Tokyo, demanding the resignations of PM Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister, Taro Aso over a land deal scandal and suspected cover up in official documents. The Prime Minister and his wife, Akie Abe allegedly helped secure a heavily discounted land deal for the ultra-nationalistic school, Moritomo Gakuen in Osaka. Documents related to this sale of state-owned land to a private firm supportive of Abe's revisionist policy line caused an investigation in the Diet but opposition investigators were unhappy that documents provided by the Finance Ministry appeared to have been copies made of altered original documents that are said to be unavailable.

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918. Celebrated as Armistice day or Veterans Day in many nations who fought in WW1 The Remembrance Sunday event at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Hodogaya, Yokohama. happens every year on the Sunday closest to November 11th. Hosted by the New Zealand Embassy this year with dignitaries from many countries attending. The beautiful Hodagaya Cemetery holds the remains of more than 1500 servicemen and women, from Commonwealth countries, but also from Holland and the United States, who died as prisoners of war or during the Allied occupation of Japan.

The 2018 Sanja matsuri takes place in the streets around Senso Ji temple in Asakusa from May 18th to 20th. The Sanja matsuri (Three Shrines Festival) is one of the largest festivals in Japan and one of the three great Shinto festivals in Tokyo. Starting with a parade called the Daigyoretsu or Grand Parade on Friday. The evening and following weekend see over 100 mikoshi or portable shrines carried around the streets among crowds of supporters and visitors.

A small group of left-wing activists and monarchists take part in a protest march against the visit of US President, Donald Trump and the Japanese Imperial system in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Donald Trump took apart in a 4 day State Visit to Japan from May 25th to May 28th being the first foreign leader to meet Emperor Naruhito who ascended to the throne of Japan on may 1st, after the abdication of his father, Emperor Akihitio. The protest was met by right-wingers, who tried to attack the march along its route to show their support for the Emperor, and hd to kept from the protestors by riot police.

A display of 333 Koinobori or carp-shaped flags at Tokyo Tower in celebration of the Children's Festival that takes place on May 5th. Koinobori flags are usually flown from houses at this time of year to celebrate the health and growth of children in a family. The display of 333 represents flags the height of Tokyo Tower (the second tallest structure in Japan) and runs from March 29th to May 6th.

Around 30, mostly younger adults from environmental activist groups and a few university students , attended the first "Fridays for Future" demo outside the National Diet building in Tokyo from 3pm to 4pm The Global Strike for Future was started by Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg who began striking from her school lesson to demand adults did something to ensure she had the future for which she was studying. Since then thousands have taken part in school strikes around the world. This strike was organised to raise the profile pf the movement in readiness for a Global day of action when thousands of school children around the globe are expected to protest on March 15th 2019. The organisers hoped that Japanese school children, despite difficulties in leaving school and taking part in any protest action will join in with the Global Strike.

Part of a global day of action in 98 countries and nearly 2,000 cities; this was Japan's second Fridays for Future event, known as "School strikes", and took place from 2pm to 4pm with activists and students holding signs demanding leaders, internationally and nationally, take measures to reduce ecologically damaging activities. The movement was started in 2018 by Swedish schoolgirl, Greta Thunberg, who began striking from her lessons when she realised that adult leaders were doing nothing to ensure there would be the future she was studying for.

A small demo rally in Shibuya by students, Hong Kong expats and anti-Chinese right-wingers in support of the the protests in Hong Kong.

The Third annual Shibuya Bon Odori took place in front of Tokyo's iconic 109 Department store on Sunday August 4th. The summer festival (matsuri) of Obon is a time to honour ancestors. Shibuya held the first Bon Odori dance in 2017, closing off busy streets to traffic so that hundreds of locals and tourist could wear summer-weight-kimonos, called yukata, and dance this traditional summer dance that accompanies the festival. The festival has grown bigger each year.

To celebrate and advertise the release Jump Force video game for Play Station, X-box and Window PC on February 15th 2019, three large craters were put on display in a basement concourse in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo. The Jump Force game brings together all the most popular characters from the Shonan Jump manga comics. The punch wall represents the effect of a power punch from characters Son Goku of Dragonball, Naruto and Luffy from One Piece and ran for one week until February 24th

2019 marked the 27th year of the Tokyo Saint Patrick's day parade. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and March 17th, lovingly known as "Paddy's Day", is celebrated globally due to the Irish diaspora. This is the largest Irish event in Asia.

The second annual Tokyo Great Santa Run took place in Komazawa Olympic park on Sunday December 22nd 2019. Over 3,000 people of all ages took apart running and walking a 4.3 kilometre course dressed at Santa Claus to raise money for medical charities in Japan and fund water projects to help the Maasai people of Kenya.

To mark the 9th anniversary of the March 11th 2011, magnitune 9, earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku (North east Japan) that killed over 16,000 people, Yahoo Japan hung a banner over Tokyo's iconic Shibuya crossing showing the height of the tsunami wave. The red line marked the highest recorded wave at 16.7 metres, which hit Ofunato, Iwate on that day.

Despite mask wearing being a common occurrence in Japan, even before the Coronavirus hit a few protestors can be found most weekends at stations in Tokyo and elsewhere protesting wearing masks for what they believe a a Pandemic lie. Many protestors support controversial YouTuber and leader of the Popular Sovereignty Party, Masayuki Hiratsuka, who unsuccessfully ran for election in the July Tokyo Gubernatorial Election. with the slogan “Coronavirus is just a cold”. The group began holding "cluster festivals" on trains putting other passengers at risk of infection, and around Tokyo stations opposing any government action to combat the Pandemic.

The new Ginza Line station opened on January 3rd 2020. Daily about 220,000 people use the Ginza Line at Shibuya Station but no major renovation work on the station had been carried out since it opened in 1938. Work for the station move began from 2009as part of major redevelopment projects in the surrounding area.

Taro Yamamoto campaigns in the 2020 Tokyo Gubernatorial elections in Futaka Tamagawa, Tokyo.. The former actor and politician is the .leader of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party and is running against the incumbant Yuriko Koike who is widely expected to win re-election. Yamamoto announced his candidacy on Monday June 15th and has been campaigning around the capital with policies that include cancelling the forthcoming tokyo Olympics and providing relief to families hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.

This will be an ongoing gallery cataloguing the capital city of Japan's reaction to and preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Aokigahara is Japan's famous Suicide Forest. Covering 35-square-kilometres at the base of Mount Fuji. It is very easy to get lost in the trees and there are many grottos and caves which combined with a long mythology of angry ghosts has made this forest reportedly the most popular site for suicides in Japan. Local officials have tried to reduce the notorious reputation of the forest by refusing to declare suicide numbers and have placed signs at the forest's entry points asking suicidal visitors to seek help and think of their families. Searches for bodies have been carried out periodically, especially after the winter season, by local police and volunteers since 1970

Sometimes called a Bitcoin paradise, Japan elevated crypto-currencies to the same status as other forms of money in March 2016 then in April 2017 allowed businesses to use Bitcoin as a legitimate form of payment. This led to large value hikes on this digital currency. Investing and using Bitcoins continues to gain popularity in Japan despite recent drops in their trading value and the unpredictability of this new, crypto-economy.

The Shinkansen or Bullet train is the most successful and busiest high-speed express train system in the world. the first bullet trains ran in 1964, in time for the Tokyo Olympics, connecting Tokyo with the Osaka. The network is currently nearly 2,400 kms long (1,483.6 miles) with trains reaching maximum speeds of 240-300 kms/h (149-186 mph). Plans to extend the network to the Northern Island of Hokkaido and introduce recording breaking Mag-Lev trains are also underway.

Coronavirus and COVID-19 has so far not affected Japan to the degree it has stuck in the United States or Europe with only around 500 deaths from around 10,000 infections. The first confirmed cases of the disease were seen on January 16th 2020 and some have criticised the government for a slow reaction to halt the spread. A State of Emergency was not declared until April 7th with people encouraged to stay home and practice social distancing. Schools and businesses closed though many people appear to have carried on life as normal. There has been no hard lockdown, enforced by police or changes in the law, and though many areas are much quieter than usual some shops and parks are very busy still. The State of Emergency was meant to end after the Golden Week holidays on May 7th but was extended to May 31st.

The Ruriden mausoleum at the Koukoko-ji Temple in Ichgaya in Tokyo, Japan houses over 2,000 Buddha statues carved from crystal that are illuminated by LED lights. Family members of those whose remains are interned here can enter the a PIN code to turn on the light display and pinpoint there Buddha statue that is attached to the deceased. It is a very modern very spectacular way of dealing with death in the rapidly ageing Japanese society.

The NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building in Tokyo, is the capital's forth tallest building and the second tallest clock tower in the world. It is a major landmark of the city, resembling the Empire State tower in New York despite being built and opened only in the year 2000. It is not the headquarters of the NTT Docomo company and is mainly used to house technical equipment for the cellular telephone service it provides.

Akiko Hoshino is the wife of jailed left-wing activist, Fumiaki Hoshino,who was convicted in 1979 for the killing of a police officer in a demonstration in Shibuya in 1971. His original sentence of 20 years was extended in 1983 to life imprisonment even though the evidence was primarily confessions that were later retracted when the defendant and witnesses claimed they had been given under duress from the police. There was little or no other physical evidence linking Hoshino to the crime. Japanese police have an unbelievably high conviction rate (over 99% of arrests are followed with a conviction) and many believe this is the result of forced confessions which are in many cases, as in the Hoshino case, the only evidence available. Because a confession carries a lot of weight legally if a defendant appears in court having previously confessed to the crime the judge is more or less there to rubber-stamp sentencing regardless of what might be the true facts of the case. Hoshino especially, as a leader of a left wing group that opposed the terms of the American deal on the repatriation of the island of Okinawa, seems to have been made a particular example of. His detention has been extended indefinitely, he is not allowed conjugal visits from his wife, indeed in they have never touched each other for their whole married life and she was even refused permission to have his child via IVF treatment. Recently their letters to each other have been completely censored. After almost 40 years in prison for a crime that he is probably innocent of his case has attracted the attention of both the United Nations and Amnesty International.

The March 11th 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused hydrogen explosions, meltdowns and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power station. A twenty kilometre exclusion zone was put in place shortly after that encompassed the most heavily contaminated areas. But large parts of the Fukushima countryside were affected and high radioactive readings can be found outside the exclusion zone in certain hot-spots like the villages of Iitate (Iidate) and Tsushima which were quickly evacuated after the disaster. Fukushima is largely a rural prefecture with a large farming community many of whom have found their livelihoods ruined since the accidents at the powerstation. Though radioactive contamination of foods grown here may be low enough in most areas to be deemed safe by Japanese government standards the Japanese consumer is not convinced and many farmers are finding it difficult to sell their produce. Farmers markets that were once popular tourist destinations now find their only customers are stubborn locals or refugees from inside the zone that have no choice. Some even test their own products independently before putting them on sale. Large scale decontamination efforts are underway in some of the areas inside the exclusion zone. indeed some of the zone was opened up to locals in the spring of 2013 and the Japanese government plans to rebuild and resettle most of the areas that were evacuated after the disaster. Certain areas like the village of Tsushima remain too radioactive for residents to return and have been permanently sealed. How attractive a return might be for residents whose towns and villages have been declared "safe" remains to be seen. The agricultural community in Fukushima is ageing and had problems before the events of March 11th however. The young were drawn from the area to Tokyo and other big cities in Japan. A strong pride in the resilience of Fukushima people has seen some young people begin to make a difference, rather than escape the difficult situation that now exists in towns like Iwaki. Near this town a volunteer farm called 'Arigato Farm' has been set up to produce food for local consumption and to educate the people on the continued viability of farming in the areas. Other young entrepreneurs are redeveloping rundown areas of the town to allow farmers to invest and take part in new businesses that importantly show the rest of the Japan the area is still vibrant and able to enjoy itself despite the current difficulties.

Gotoikuji Temple in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward is famous as the supposed birthplace of the "maneki neko" or "beckoning cat", which is a small white cat with one paw raised that is considered a lucky charm bringing customers and money into a business.

The Hamaorisai matsuri (festival) takes place at sunrise on Southern Beach in Chigasaki, Kanagawa each July. The event marks the public holiday called Marine Day when japan's connection to the sea is celebrated. This particular festival also marks the rescuing of a divine image that was washed ashore in the area. Over thirty Mikoshi or portable shrines are carried through the night from surrounding shrines to arrive on the beach for sunrise. There they are blessed and then carried into the surf to purify them.

The Happiness Realization Party is the political wing of the conservative and anti-communist Happy Science religious movement. Founded in 2009 by Ryuho Okawa "in order to offer the Japanese people a third option" for the elections that year. The group's manifesto pledges to double Japan's population to 300 million, make Japan stronger and more active internationally by amending the pacifist Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and building a nuclear deterrent capability whilst also encouraging a nuclear-free world which grounded in a spirit of religious tolerance and compassion, The group identifies itself as conservative however and members,, including the musician Tokma, have visited the disputed Senkaku Islands claimed by China. many people feel the organisation more closely resembles a cult and to date has no seats in either house of the Japanese Diet.

The Hi Watari, fire-walking festival takes place on the second Sunday in March on the hillsides above Takao-san-guchi town in western Tokyo. Yamabushi (mountain priests) build a huge bonfire of cedar branches which is set alight after ceremonies to ensure its purity. Votive wooden tablets called Goma-gi are burnt in the flames bring good luck to those that wrote on them. Later, after the burning embers have been raked flat, the priests walk across the coals. Once the yamabushi have crossed the lay-priests and crowds of supporters are invited to cross also.

Homelessness has been a growing albeit all but invisible problem in Japan since the economic bubble burst at the end of the 1980s. Many Japanese people refuse to accept the reality of homeless people sleeping on the streets and in the parks of Tokyo and other major cities but recently, as further economic woes affect more and more people, there has been a gradual acceptance of the problem and a growing sympathy towards those that find themselves in this situation. This has led to louder calls, from all sections of Japanese society, for government action and more official efforts to take on some of the tasks of helping the homeless and under-employed that have been carried out by charities and volunteers to date.

Japan is nominally a secular country. The native religion is Shinto but the people tend to take a rather passive interest in the spiritual world, celebrating both Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies along with Christian holidays like Christmas. Islam currently has around 130,000 followers in the country from the small immigrant population and home-grown converts.

Only two occasions a year allow the Japanese Imperial Household Agency to open the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to the public. The first is for the Emperor's birthday on December 23rd, the other is at his New Years address. Both these occasions allow the Japanese people to get a peak inside the cloistered palace walls and also gives Emperor Akihito a chance to speak to the crowds of well wishers, tourists and nationalists which come to listen to him and watch the Royal family as it makes a rare appearance. Though respected and liked by most Japanese people the Royal family stand behind bullet proof glass on a balcony of the Chowaden reception hall for these occasions and many police shepherd the visitors through the palace grounds. December 23rd, Tokyo. Japan Images from 2008, 2009, 2010

Collection of Miscellaneous Japanese matsuri or festival images. From annual madness of the Kishiwada Danjiri matsuri in Osaka to the once every seven year, though equally crazy Onbashira festival on Nagano. There are many smaller festivals that take place through-out Japan all year and this gallery will be added to as and when I visit and photograph these colourful, cultural events.

A collection of images of Traditional Japanese Theatre

Collection of images related to Japanese trains and those that use them. In most parts of Japan the train is still the main mode of transportation. Affordable, clean, punctual and often using cutting edge technology the train figures large in many people's lives; whether commuting to work or heading off to other regions of Japan for a vacation.

The Kanamara, iron Phallus matsuri has it roots in an Edo era legend about a penis eating demon that was tricked by a local monk into biting down on a steel phallus, The shrine has a long history of metal working: swords used to be made there and there is still a foundry in the grounds which is lit with sacred fire on the morning of the festival. It was also popular with the local prostitutes in the past and it is, more believably, supposed the festival grew from the hanami or cherry blossom viewing parties they had when they came to the shrine to pray for good business and protection from syphillis. Today the shrine caters more to the spiritual needs of those that need help with fertility, childbirth and sexual potency though the festival stalls, that sell everything from kamasutra tea-towels to genital shaped candy, do raise money for HIV and Aids research. About 11am the original steel phallus is attached to a mikoshi or portable shrine and blessed by priests and priestesses from the shrine. After the ceremony the mikoshi is carried through the crowds to make a grand tour of the town. It is joined by two other mikoshi, one carrying a large, black steel phallus and the other, perhaps the festival`s most famous sight, a large pink polystyrene penis that is carried by a group of exuberant transvestites.

Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa prefecture and lies around 350 kilometres north-west of Tokyo. Relatively unknown to foreign tourists it is a genuinely historical city with traditional houses, geisha teashops and a huge castle that is slowly being renovated and rebuilt. Its biggest draw however is probably the Kenrokuen Gardens right in the heart of the city. Originally built as the outer garden of Kanazawa castle, it opened to the public in 1875 and is considered one of the "three most beautiful gardens in Japan"

The iconic kimono is the traditional dress of Japan fir women. Though difficult to ear and often very expensive it remains popular especially for special events and festivals.

Kyoto is a large city in Central Honshu with a population around 1.5 million people. It was once the Imperial Capital of Japan and has a large collection of old temples and shrines that were spared the bombing of World War 2. Many are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage sites and are major draws for tourists visiting Japan.

Abstract images of high rise building and apartments in Japan.

There are over 30,000 love hotels in Japan offering couples a private place they can rent for an hour or three to enjoy physical relationships without the prying ears and ears of neighbours and family. With routes in Edo era brothels this multibillion-dollar business also makes up a quarter of the sex industry and the often interestingly and garishly decorated hotels are used as the offices of Japan large sex-industry. Pressure to give Japan a less sleazy image have not only caused name changes to the establishments, they are now often called Fashion Hotels, but has also cut down on some of the more salacious decor inside. Indeed as Japan ages and the young people increasingly find romantic relationship tedious and unnecessary many fear for the survival of this unusual and often iconic buildings.

Yasakuni shrine is Tokyo's most controversial shrine. It was built to honour the dead of Japan's wars and this has since 1989 included fourteen class-A war criminals. This plus the subsequent visits to the shrine by the recent Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi have caused many problems with China and Korea who suffered badly at the hands of the Japanese imperial army before and during WW2. Every July the Mitama matsuri is held to honour the 2. 5 million soldiers, sailors and airman who have died in Japan's wars. Surviving family members pay for a lantern containing the name of the fallen serviceman and mikoshi are carried into the shrine under large and impressive Torii gates to be blessed. Definitely one of Tokyo's most beautiful festivals it is a surprisingly low key, almost local event that attracts national and international coverage due to the difficult reputation of the shrine and its sometimes myopic recounting of Japan's recent history.

Mount Fuji is a Japanese icon whose name and instantly recognizable image grace many business identities, works of art and personal mementoes of a visit. An almost perfect volcanic cone it rises to 3,776 metres and is the highest mountain in Japan. It last erupted in 1707 and is still classed as an active volcano, albeit with a low risk of further eruptions. The Mount Fuji National Park (Full name Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park) surrounding the mountain is the most visited national park in the world with over 100 million people arriving each year; around 300,000 of whom climb to the peak for stunning views over the Kanto region of Japan and the nearby cities of Tokyo and Yokohama. The mountain was declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 2013

The Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) was founded in 1976 and is a project run by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and the National Institute of Natural Sciences (NINS). The site is high in the Japanese Southern Alps region in Nagano, about 120 kilometres from Tokyo, and operates powerful, advanced radio telescopes, including a 45-m Radio Telescope (one of the world's largest),The Nobeyama Radio Polarimeter, and the 6 antenna Nobeyama millimetre array.

Obon is the thrree-day Japanese summer festival of remembrance, when it is a Buddhist custom to honour the spirits of the ancestors. For most Japanese it is a chance for a family reunion as people return to their hometowns to visit and clean their ancestors' graves,. Traditions around this festival also include a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

It is often reported that the presence of the US military in Japan is unwelcome. Crimes committed by US military personnel and the inconvenienced caused by bases with the noise and accidents of the aircraft and other vehicles are things that do annoy many Japanese people. But some in Japan love the chance to observe US military and JSDF (Japan Self-Defence Force weaponry up close. Open days at military bases are well attended and plane spotters, sporting large lenses and radios that listen-in on pilot communications, can often be found around military bases in japan. This is a new project that is unfinished (indeed barely started) that i hope to be adding too as time and opportunity allow.

Collection of images of window cleaners and structural engineers using suspended cradles, external lifts and abseil ropes to carry-out cleaning and repair work on the outside of tall buildings in Tokyo.

Japan once famous for a throw-away culture and obsession for the new and shiny now, as the second decade of it post-Bubble stagflation draws to an end, seems equally addicted to secondhand goods. Companies like Book Off that started selling secondhand books and now sell everything form collectable toys to refrigerators are catering for the young and old of Japan who find economising on living their lives not only necessary but enjoyable.

The Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage is an historic Buddhist pilgrimage that visits 88 temples, over a 1,200 kilometre course on the island of Shikoku in Southern Japan The Buddhist monk Kūkai (Kobo Daishi) was born on the island and visited many of the temples in the 9th century. Pilgrims, known as Henro, have nominally followed in his footsteps ever since with large numbers still undertaking the journey for reasons that vary from the ascetic and pious, to pure tourism.Though the pilgrimage is traditionally carried-out on foot, modern pilgrims, many of whom cannot perhaps take the required 30 to 60 days needed to complete it, use a variety of transports to move between the temples. There are even guided bus-tours that will take modern-day pilgrims around the route in less than a week.

Once considered a smoker's paradise, restriction on tobacco have been getting increasingly harsh in Japan over the last few years. In many Tokyo wards smoking in the street is not allowed and certain smoking areas are set aside for the activity. Most of the transport network is not accommodating to smokers and all JR (Japan Railways) stations went smoke-free nationwide in 2009. Rules against the effects of passive smoking still lag someway behind other developed nations and a recent government proposal to completely ban smoking in bars and restaurants was called "excessive" and "unreasonable" by JT (Japan Tobacco) and appears to have been shelved. Many owners in that field also said that it would be impossible to run their businesses under rules that banned customers from lighting up over a drink or a meal. As Japan readies itself for the 20220 Olympics further restrictions on public smoking are being considered however.

A developing series of abstracts of the soundproofing walls along the sides of Japanese roads and expressways.

Sugamo in Toshima,Tokyo is more commonly known as the Harajuku of Old Ladies. Harajuku is one of the youth fashion Meccas of japan capital city and caters for all the needs a dedicated follower of alternative fashions could need. Sugamo does the same for Tokyo's increasing population of older people. The latest fashions in walking sticks or comfortable shoes are sold in shops along its famed Jizo Dori shopping street along with fashions for the discerning older woman including icon red underwear that is meant to bring the wearer health and vitality. the aches and pains of aging can also be lessened at the Togan-ji temple where rubbing the Arai Kannon statue is said to cure sickness and medical problems in the corresponding area of the body. Despite Japanese women already having one of the longest life expectancies in the world there are numerous such aids to healthy aging (both spiritual and medicinal) available in the areas especially on the festival days that mark the 4th, 14th and 24th of each month when crowds of Tokyo's older people gather in Sugamo.

A developing documentary essay about living next to one of the largest US military bases in Japan, NAF Atsugi, (Naval Air Facility, Atsugi) This large base near Yamato City in Kanagawa, though now primarily used by the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, is an important centre of military efforts to surveil and combat North Korean and Chinese operations in the region and thus would be a target for any pre-emptive strike in the event of hostilities breaking out. PLEASE NOTE:THIS PROJECT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN AND WILL DEVELOP

The Japanese government (DIET) building in Tokyo. Situated at 1-chome, Nagatacho, Chidoya ward in Tokyo the Japanese Diet building is where both houses of government meet. It is constructed of purely Japanese building materials and was completed in 1936. Tokyo, Japan

Despite its image of political apathy, Japan has a small but active left wing political force and union activist core. These groups are the radical left, marxists and anarchists that protest against the increasing level of capitalist influence in education, with Zenkaguren student union groups protesting the privatization of universities like Hosei in Tokyo, or campaign on issues as diverse as Narita airport expansion and the problems with nuclear power, especially since the march 11th earthquake in Tohoku damaged the Fukushima Daichi nuclear powerplant causing radiation leaks across much of east Japan. Though the movement is smaller these days than its heyday in the late sixties and earlier seventies the police are still wary of the power and message the activist bring to their regular meetings and protests and there is always a heavy police presence .

The Toden Arakawa Line is the last remaining tram-line or street-car service in Tokyo. Nick-named the chin-chin densha, for the sound its bell used to make, the tram rattles its way from Wasada to Minowabashi through areas of Tokyo that are diverse and interesting and many of which also maintain an anachronistic character that harks back to a simpler, earlier time when such transportation was more common.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is also called "Tokyo City Hall" or Tochi is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo and was completed in 1991 as the home to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government It is 243 meters (799 feet) high and incorporates two observation floors, on the 45th floor of each tower. Entry to the observation floors is free of charge and offers fantastic views of Tokyo along with souvenir shops and cafes. The city hall complex consists of three buildings. The tallest and most prominent is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, Designed by architect Kenzo Tange and associates. The details of the building are meant to resemble a computer chip (reflecting the high-tech boom driving the Japanese economy at the time of its design). It also has many symbolic touches, most notably the split of the tower at its 33rd floor which re-creates the look of Gothic cathedrals like Notra Dame in Paris. The other two buildings in the complex are the eight-story Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building and Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building No.2, which is 37 stories high.

Tokyo is famous for its cutting edge and sometimes outrageous fashions. There are many distinctive fashion tribes that are associated with different areas of the city: from the Harajuku cos-play or costume play culture to the youth centre of Shibuya with its Ganguro and Manba styles. THIS GALLERY WILL GROW AS MORE STYLES ARE ADDED.

Tokyo is one of the largest and most interesting cities on the planet. It is the capital of Japan the central and outlying wards cover an areas 2,188 square kilometres and are home to over 13 million people. Each area of Tokyo is like a separate city within the greater metropolitan whole and has a sometimes unique character. These images are general stock images of the people and places in various Tokyo wards.

The Expressway overpasses are one of the unique architectural features of Tokyo. Often built over old water courses, where land is cheaper, these large road systems snake through the metropolis carrying cars, buses and trucks through the city above the heads of many of its inhabitants. The fly-overs can be double decked and hoisted as high as the tower blocks that surround them with their giant legs providing convenient, empty spaces for businesses and even houses to exist. How safe such structure would prove in a big earthquake is a source of worry for many who live their lives under these dark, rubbling roofs.

Tokyo Sky Tree is a television transmission tower in Sumida Ward built to improve television and radio transmissions in the digital age. The old Tokyo Tower in the centre of the city could no longer perform this task adequately due to the large number of high building surrounding it. Construction began in 2008 and finished on February 29th 2012. The tower officially opened to the public on May 22nd 2012 with long queues waiting to visit the 450 metre high observation decks. Guinness World Records certified the tower as the tallest free standing tower in the world halfway through construction in March 2011. The finished tower stands at 634 metres from top to bottom making it the second tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange near Nihonbashi in Tokyo was established on May 15th 1878 and was one of the first stock exchanges in the world to fully computerize trading. Although recently overtaken by China as the World's second largest economy the trading floor, which sits behind glass for tourists and journalists to observe, stills deals with over 700 trillion Yens worth of stock transaction annually, representing over 90 percent of all share dealings in the country.

The 333 metre high Tokyo Tower is a radio mast and observation tower built in 1958. Modelled on the Eiffel Tower in Paris it was constructed to allow Television broadcasts to be relayed throughout the Kanto region. Due to the rise in tall building surrounding the Tower, the digital TV signals for the region will be handled by the new Sky Tree tower when it opens in 2012. Tokyo people still hold the Tower in their hearts however and cherish it as a landmark. To date over 150 million people have visited the tower at the present around 3 million visit each year) and it is still a source of tourism income. How this will continue when the more modern and significantly higher Sky Tree is open for tourism is unclear.

Tourism to Japan has ballooned recently. The country was visited by 19.73 million international tourists in 2015 (an increase of 30% on the previous year) and 2016 is promising to be a record breaking year also. The majority of tourists are from other Asian countries; predominantly China, Taiwan and South Korea though the is also increasing in popularity with American, Australians and Europeans. Nearly 5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan in 2015 and are known for their voracious shopping tours, During the 2015 spring Golden Week holiday alone around 400,000 Chinese tourists spent an estimated $830 million US Dollars in just seven days. A weaker Yen and eased restrictions on visa entry helped facilitate this and led to the phrase "bakugai" or "explosive buying" entering the Japan vocabulary. Japan is home to 19 World Heritage Sites and fantastic culture in both urban and rural areas. The Japanese government aims to increase tourism to 40 million a year by the time of the Tokyo Olympic in 2020 and is trying to improve infrastructure and amenities for visitors . This target is constantly being revised upwards.

Tsukiji market is the largest wholesale fish market in the world.It began operation, in its present location, in 1935 and is where a majority of the seafood consumed by Japan is traded. The day starts early with tuna auctions that have in recent years become a draw for tourists. Tourist numbers and their effects on the day to day running of the market have necessitated closing the market to all tourism on occasion and the introduction of a quota system for visitors who want to watch the auctions. Plans are being made to move the market's operations to Toyosu Koto in 2014 but the new area is considered unsafe due to contamination. New premises, with specially constructed viewing galleries, would solve some of the problem the massive influx of tourism has had on the market however.

Tsushima is a rural hamlet in Fukushima. Japan that stands right under the North West plume of radioactivity that has been emanating from the Fukushima Daichi powerplant since it was damaged in the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Many people from the coast were initially evacuated to the village until it was discovered that radiation levels were actually higher here than many of the towns and villages, closer to the damaged plant. The whole place was evacuated and abandoned on or around March 15th. Now the area under the plume has been sealed and shut even though it is outside the original 20 kilometre exclusion zone set up around Fukushima Daichi in the summer of 2011. People will not be allowed to live or even visit the area again. On the other-hand some of the areas in the original 20 kms exclusion zone have been opened up for residents to return and check on houses and belongings. It is unlikely that the barriers across all the roads that lead to the once lovely Tsushima Village will be be removed anytime soon however

Ultraman is an iconic figure in the lives of Young Japanese boys. The first Ultraman television show was made by Tsuburaya Productions in 1966. The company was sold to TYO Inc advertising company in 2007 with merchandizing being undertaken by the giant Bandai company. Originally a company for special effects in movies, Tsuburaya Productions headquarters were in Soshigaya-Okura near Shinjuku in Tokyo. Today, though the Production company's offices have been moved and an apartment building now occupies the site, the town still celebrates its Ultraman connection with statues inside and outside the station and Ultraman themed street lighting in the main shopping street.

As tourism grows in Japan and the country readies itself for the 2020 Olympic Games many people are volunteering as tourists guides at popular locations in Tokyo. Using language skills learnt in business and travel and local knowledge the colourfully clothed aids to international tourism are becoming a familiar sight in Tokyo.

The World's shortest escalator can be found in he basement of More's department store in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. Just 5 steps high and having a vertical rise of just 32.8 inches (83 cm) it was certified as the shortest escalator on the planet by the Guinness Book of Records in 1989.

The Pacific war with Japan finished on August 15th 1945. This event is celebrated on that day every year in Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda ward this shrine is a private entity and not state funded. This allows it to honour the dead of Japan's wars, including 14 Class A war criminals whose spirits were enshrined there in 1978. There enshrinement has caused strained relations with Jaopan's Asian neighbours, many of whom suffered badly at the hands of the Japanese military occupying their countries in the 1930s and 1940s. Though nominally a celebration of peace August the 15th is also a day when right-wing supporters and nationalist groups like the para-military uyoku dantai converge on the shrine to show their love of Japan and its imperial past. Peace groups are also attracted to the shrine and thousands of police in riot gear are needed to keep the angry groups apart. Tokyo, Japan August 15th

Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture and combined with nearby Tokyo creates the largest urban area on the planet. The population of Yokohama is around 3.7 million people and has a strong international flavour with a large China Town and many other foreign residents. Yokohama harbour was where Commodore Perry's "black ships" forced the opening of Japan and the water front city especially in the Minato Mirai 21 area with its modern skyscrapers and amusements, is one of the most energetic cities in the country.