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.

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