Typhoon Mawar is forecast to approach the southwest of Okinawa later this week, with high tides and violent winds near the Sakishima Islands. With the hay-fever season almost upon us, the Japanese government says it will speed up its plan to cut down cedar trees known to exacerbate the allergy. Toyota’s global production in April rose by almost 14 percent. And, the world “yakko-negi” championships took place in Kochi Prefecture, seeing just how far the local vegetable could be thrown. We drop by Hamarikyu Gardens in Chuo ward and listen as the nearby Tokyo Expressway snakes past, deadened by a wall of trees and the surrounding waterways.

Films by Japan’s Studio Ghibli will be removed from the Russian streaming service Kinopoisk as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, that’s according to Tass, the Russian state news agency. The Japanese actor Koji Yakusho was named Best Actor at this year's Cannes International Film Festival on Saturday for his leading role in Wim Wenders’ latest film, “Perfect Days.” And finally, in currency news the yen slumped to 140 yen against the dollar, marking the lowest it's been in almost six months. And following on from recent festivals in Kanda and Asakusa, Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku holds its annual Grand Festival —or reitaisai. Be sure to check NOTEBOOK's SubStack for more detail.

During a speech in Tokyo this week, South Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said his country is eager to join the G7 after joining last weekend’s summit as a guest country. Haruki Murakami won this year's Princess of Asturias Award for Literature in Spain, while 11 year-old Kunzaburo Yuno from Oita won a special prize at the Children's Nonfiction Literature Awards in Kitakyushu. And finally, a painting of victims who suffered the Minamata poisonings more than 6 decades ago has now been restored. With Shunsuke Imai's painting exhibition titled “Skirt and Scene” taking place at the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery near Hatsudai, we skirt from Shinjuku to Hatsudai and then beyond, taking note of sight and sounds from the local neighbourhood as we ride the local bus towards Shibuya.

Japan's Fugaku supercomputer developed by the Riken research group and Fujitsu has been ranked the world's most powerful supercomputer for the seventh time in a row since 2020. Meanwhile, a group including several Japanese universities has said it will use Fugaku to develop tools using generative artificial intelligence. In other news, Japan is considering a revamp of its tax-free shopping system following the growing trend of reselling tax-free goods overseas. And finally, the lone yokozuna-level sumo wrestler ‘Terunofuji’ and the former ozeki-level ‘Asanoyama’ both lead the field yesterday at this year’s Summer Grand Sumo Tournament taking place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena from May 14th until the 28th. And with the current Netflix drama “Sanctuary” proving a hit, we head to Ryogoku. Tickets have completely sold out so we wait outside as a trickle of sumo wrestlers march in and then saunter out, one by one.

The G7 summit in Hiroshima concluded yesterday, after discussing Ukraine with its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who made a highly-publicized visit on Saturday. With all eyes on the summit in Hiroshima, two Chinese coast guard ships slipped into Japanese waters that same day entering waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. And with current affairs dominating every conversation, Japan’s Environment Ministry has quietly revealed the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 rose for the first time in eight years. Prosperity is being celebrated as part of Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa, one of the three big Shinto festivals in Tokyo and one of the wildest, passing through the streets surrounding Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa Shrine.

Japan's National Tourism Organization JNTO has confirmed the number of foreign visitors bounced back April to 67 percent of same month in 2019, with a little help from this year’s cherry blossom. Former volleyball player Tadayoshi Yokota who won gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics passed away earlier this month. In Hiroshima, security has ramped up in readiness of today’s G7 summit following several high profile attacks on current and former Japanese Prime Ministers. And from Electric Town in Akihabara we drop by Intermediatheque museum near Tokyo Station to see their current exhibition, Tokyo Ephemera, before heading towards Aoyama to see Terry Winters: IMAGESPACE an exhibition by the American painter at Fergus McCaffrey. We end our trip across town at the edge of Kabukicho, another Electric Town but one, a short walk from Shinjuku Station.

A small distillery in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, recently claimed its sixth whisky award at an international competition held in London. In Okinawa, a woman was arrested on Monday after approaching the U.S. consulate general brandishing what she claimed to be a pipe-bomb. Meanwhile, the American President Joe Biden is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Kishida tomorrow in Hiroshima, when Biden and other leaders including the newly appointed Brazilian President Lula da Silva descend on the city for this year's G7 summit taking place this weekend. Prior to that we head to the edge of Tokyo bay and wander through the outer market of Tsukiji, once the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. We arrive as it begins to wind down and talk with the owner of Mejicafe buried deep within the market along Yokocho-dori.

A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.2 hit Chiba last week, with another measuring 5.1 hitting the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Saturday. Tokyo reportedly has the second highest number of millionaires in the world. In Gifu prefecture, villagers in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa village came together for the first time in five years to re-thatch one its well-known houses. And as the Daizafu-Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka undergoes renovation, a temporary hall at the shrine was unveiled, designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The 1,300 year-ago Kanda Myoujin Shrine in Tokyo sits just above the Kanda River. We catch several gold mikoshi being carried on the shoulders of volunteers through the streets of Kanda and Akihabara as they make their way towards Kanda Myoujin for the bi-annual Kanda festival or matsuri.

Four young men, were taken into custody earlier in this week following the robbery of a watch shop in Tokyo's Ginza district. Naoki Prize-winning novelist and pianist Ryo Hara passed away last Thursday, May 4th, aged 76. And as COVID-19 is downgraded to the same level as seasonal flu, residents in Hyuga city, on the main island of Kyushu, have been attending a ceremony to pray for an upturn in business. “Borrowed Landscapes” is a group exhibition at Blum & Poe in Harajuku, a gallery facing Harajuku station and the Meiji Jingu forest established in 1915. We wander through Meiji Jingu catching sight of a wedding at the temple moments before the heavens open.

An 11-year-old mountaineer from Yamanashi prefecture is gearing up to conquer Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. In Adachi Ward, a small explosive device detonated near Nishi-arai Train Station late Monday injuring one passer-by. In Singapore, a Tokyo-based venture capital company, made up of Japanese bank SMBC and the Incubate Fund, has established a funding initiative, investing across Asia in promising finance-related technology or fintech. This coincides with NexTech Week Tokyo, a 2-day technology trade fair taking place at Tokyo Big Site from today until Friday, with a second session planned for later this autumn. And as the spring holiday season ends, a holiday invented in 1948 then christened 'Golden Week' in 1951 by the Japanese film industry, we walk to Tokyo Tower one warm and windy afternoon listening as people return to work.

The Tokyo-based startup company iSpace failed to land the world’s first private-sector lunar landing on the Moon. Washington officials said there were no plans to park U.S. nuclear-powered submarines carrying nuclear warheads in Japan, but U.S. submarines will dock in South Korea for the first time since the end of the Cold War. The organizer of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka has warned of ballooning costs, citing the need to strengthen security in South East Asia. Meanwhile, Japan will downgrade the legal status of COVID-19 from May 8th, bringing the coronavirus in line with seasonal flu. And with Fridays focused on art and culture, we spoke with three, young Tokyo gallerists and asked them to recommend things worth seeing and places worth a visit during the Spring national holiday of Golden Week, which starts tomorrow and ends next Friday.

As the weather in late Spring lurches from hot and humid to wet and cold, news comes in of plans by the Japanese government to expand its scheme allowing foreign workers with specific skills to live in the country for longer. The Yen temporarily hit an eight-year and four-month low, falling to ¥148 against the Euro on Tokyo’s foreign exchange market yesterday. At the same time as the Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Japan will deploy a PAC-3 'surface-to-air' missile defense system on two Okinawan islands in readiness for new missiles launched from North Korea. And as the political situation in Sudan worsens, Japanese nationals along with their spouses have been airlifted to neighbouring Djibouti aboard a Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft on Monday night.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a ritual 'masakaki' tree offering at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Friday, much to the irritation of China and South Korea which see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past. Tottori Prefectural Government is planning to prohibit the use of AI chatbot ChatGPT while Russian authorities have banned an former residents of the disputed Northern Territories campaigning for Japanese sovereignty. The animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has smashed box offices in mainland China, and as polling boxes close in nationwide local elections, we wander the streets of Tokyo and listen as politicians & neighbouring street singers compete for attention.

A local government focus group in Osaka eyeing the chance to open a casino in the city has announced that promotional material likely included artwork without the permission of its artists Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami. This week also marked one year since a fire tore through Kitakyushu’s Tanga Market, known to as “Kitakyushu's kitchen”, but it is bouncing back. As are tourists with ministers fearful that Japan is headed towards a 9th wave of the novel coronavirus. City officials in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, is thinking of novel ways to streamline administration, becoming the first local level government to utilize the AI chatbot ChatGPT across every office. We finish the week by staying in Kyoto, visiting the city’s Nakagyō district and Kyoto’s infamous Teramachi Shopping Arcade.

Yuko Kishida, wife of the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, met the U.S. First Lady Jill Biden on Monday in Washington. A young women died in the early hours of Sunday morning after a tree fell on her tent. Later that same day, 11 festival goers were injured after the four-wheeled, wooden ‘Danjiri’ festival float they were pulling overturned in Sakai, just south of Osaka. In mainland China, takings for the Japanese animation film "Suzume" have exceeded those in Japan less than a month after its release in March. And NOTEBOOK leaves Tokyo for the day to visit Kyōto, the Kyōto Gyoen National Garden and Kyōto's Imperial Palace.

A 24 year-old man hurled a homemade pipe bomb at the current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida over the weekend as he spoke in public at Wakayama's fishing port. In Tokyo, the 225-meter-tall Tokyu Kabukicho Tower opened in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district the very same day. Meanwhile, the theme music to Nintendo’s classic video game Super Mario Bros. is being archived by the American Library of Congress as part of its permanent collection. And amid the noise of campaigning politicians ahead of the upcoming nationwide local elections, we walk through Ikebukuro and Shinjuku to the sound of heavy rain and shopping tourists.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile at the Sea of Japan yesterday, the first since March 27th. The Japanese space startup ispace confirmed its lunar lander will attempt to touch down on the moon’s surface later this month. Tokyo Disneyland will celebrate its 40th anniversary tomorrow, and renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's first full-length novel in almost six years hits Japanese bookstores yesterday. There is a long list of exhibitions that have opened or are due to open, but before jumping on a train to see them, we walk through Nakameguro and along the Meguro River and eavesdrop on a concert recital while catching a breath of fresh air.

China deployed its Shandong aircraft carrier as Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen met with and the U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Japanese government confirmed that Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko will visit the UK for the coronation of King Charles III. The JOC said that it would recommend Sapporo's Winter Olympic bid be pushed back to 2034, and ChatGPT developer OpenAI said it plans to open an office in Japan amid concerns over personal data and AI's impact on learning. Meanwhile, Notebook walks through Hoppi-dori (Hoppy Street) and along Denboin-dori (Denboin Street) for something to eat and shelter from the weather.

Japanese boxer Takuma Inoue claimed the WBA bantamweight by defeating Venezuela's Liborio Solis, while China and Japan will hold high-level talks in Tokyo today. Miyajima Island will be closed to tourists during the G7 summit in Hiroshima this May. And researchers from Japan's Chiba University have observed a pair of supermassive black holes. And with the Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Maison Ikkoku," awarded the title of Knight in the French Order of Arts and Letters last Thursday, Notebook takes a short walk along the Sumidagawa river, catching sight of the Himiko river cruiser designed by another manga artist, Leiji Matsumoto, then heads towards Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa before heading home.

Japan and NATO are partnering to safeguard cyberspace, while regulators for Japanese nuclear power are once more halting safety checks on one of its reactors currently offline after a string of administrative errors. In Tokyo, COVID-19 cases grew by 1,200, while researchers off the coast of Japan uncovered the first ever fish seen swimming 8,336 meters below the surface along the Ogasawara trench, the deepest fish of its kind ever to be recorded. And in the final part of our 'Edoverse' conversation with Shinwa CEO Yoichiro Kurata, we discuss art and commerce, previous experiments like Pokémon GO, and how the Edoverse might also act as another way of visiting Japan for those who would otherwise find it impossible to visit in person.

ANA Check-in and booking services were temporarily disrupted Monday for every domestic flight as the country relaxes the entry requirements for all visitors from mainland China. A new stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's “My Neighbor Totoro” won six awards in London at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards, while the musician and film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, member of the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra, passed away last week from cancer aged 71. Notebook pays its respects by visiting the DUG jazz-kissa cafe in Shinjuku established in 1961, it too beloved by music and film lovers alike.

Japan, Australia and the other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have agreed to admit Britain as its 12th member. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has established a new research organization in Fukushima and unveiled a route along the Shin-Tomei Expressway between Tokyo with Nagoya for autonomous vehicles. The logistics industry is also being updated with Japan Post carrying out the first ever test delivery of a parcel by drone, west of Tokyo. And as the cherry blossom season reaches its peak we visit Ueno Park on April Fools Day, April 1st, as people drink, share stories of a previous night out — where to avoid and where to sing-a-long — and generally take part in this year’s 'hanami' for the first time in three years.

Renowned Japanese actress Tomoko Naraoka passes away. COVID-19 cases in Japan go up by almost 4,000 from the week before. Chinese authorities shut down one of the largest suppliers of pirated Japanese anime, while Japan's Finance Ministry investigate the possibility of a digital currency. And in Part 2 of our 'Edoverse' conversation with Shinwa CEO Yoichiro Kurata, we discuss the 'real' versus the 'digital', a 'decentralized' market steered by a 'central' historical figure, taking inspiration from peer-to-peer pioneers like Satoshi Nakamoto and the success of Pokémon GO.

Lithographs of Indian elephant during in 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake have been found in the vaults of Hanayashiki, Japan’s oldest amusement park in Asakusa. Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency moved from Tokyo to Kyoto as the country's first quantum computer began working at the Riken Research Institute in Saitama. And in Toyama, the Meteorological Agency announced that its Somei-yoshino cherry trees were in full bloom, the earliest since records began in 1953. Omicho Market has been a stable part of Kanazawa’s food culture for more than 300 years, with it referred to locally as “Kanazawa’s Kitchen." Notebook captures it winding down at the end of a busy day.

Nara's Prefectural Government has announced plans to allow its employees to study overseas. Japan struggles with the recent bird flu epidemic, as an alternative to the humble egg is proving increasingly popular. And JR Tokai, otherwise known as Central Japan Railway, has also announced plans to automate its Tokaido Shinkansen service from 2028. Two and a half hours west of Tokyo is Ishikawa prefecture and the city of Kanazawa where Notebook walks to the sound of Japanese bush warbler (uguisu) birdsong and the sound of running water.