Japan's cherry blossom season begins as first blooms appear in Tokyo

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Japan's cherry blossom season begins as first blooms appear in Tokyo

2025-03-24 22:14 Last Updated At：22:20

TOKYO (AP) — Japan 's official cherry blossom spotters on Monday confirmed the first blooming of the country's favorite flower, declaring the official start of the festive season in the Japanese capital.

An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency carefully examined the specimen tree of Somei Yoshino variety at Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine and announced that more than five blossoms — the minimum required for the announcement — were flowering on it.

The opening matched the average year and was five days earlier than last year, according to the JMA.

Cherry blossoms, or “sakura,” are Japan’s favorite flower and usually reach their peak in late March to early April, just as the country celebrates the start of a new school and business year. Many Japanese enjoy walking or picnicking under the trees.

Sakura have deeply influenced Japanese culture for centuries and have regularly been used in poetry and literature, with their fragility seen as a symbol of life, death and rebirth.

The announcement in Tokyo, which is enjoying warmer-than-usual temperatures of around 19 Celsius (66 Fahrenheit), comes just one day after the blooming of the nation's first cherry blossom was confirmed Sunday in the southwestern city of Kochi on the island of Shikoku.

The JMA tracks more than 50 “benchmark” cherry trees across the country. The trees normally bloom for about two weeks each year from first bud to all the blossoms falling off. They are expected to reach their peak in about 10 days.

Cherry trees are sensitive to temperature changes and the timing of their blooming can provide valuable data for climate change studies.

In recent years, Japan's cherry blossom season has tended to come earlier than the average, prompting concerns of a possible impact of climate change.

American figure skater Alysa Liu takes the lead on the opening night of the world championships

2025-03-27 10:40 Last Updated At：10:51

BOSTON (AP) — Alysa Liu rarely wavers when it comes to anything, whether it be her abrupt decision to retire after the 2022 Winter Olympics, or the American figure skater's similarly stunning decision to announce her comeback early last year.

So when the 19-year-old was pondering what to do for her entrance Wednesday night, when Liu's name was announced for the warm-up to her short program at the world championships, she found herself in a rare situation: She was indecisive.

“Then I saw there was a lot of space," Liu said, "and I thought, ‘What a great place to do a cartwheel!’”

So she cartwheeled, right there on the carpet leading to the ice. And Liu landed it perfectly, just like everything in her program. The result was her international-best of 74.58 points, putting Liu ahead of Mone Chiba of Japan and American teammate Isabeau Levito — in the midst of her own comeback from an injury — going into Friday night's free skate.

Liu and Levito will be trying to become the first U.S. women's world champion since Kimmie Meissner in 2006.

“Moments like these made me realize 16-year-old me was so right. I wouldn't be here if I didn't decide to retire a little bit,” said Liu, who was simply burnt out when she stepped away, the sport feeling less like a joy and more like a job back then.

“People would tell me not to make the decisions I made,” she added, "but I'm really glad. I have good intuition, I think.”

Chiba scored 73.44 points and Levito scored 73.33. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was fifth with 71.03 points as she tries to become the first to win four consecutive titles since Carol Heiss in the 1950s and '60s. Two-time defending U.S. champion Amber Glenn, who was among the favorites in Boston, fell on her opening triple axel and was ninth with 67.65.

“Just going to have to rely on my training," Glenn said, when asked about bouncing back Friday night.

In the pairs short program Wednesday night, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took a big step toward regaining the title they lost a year ago with their energetic program to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. The Japanese skaters earned 76.57 points to land in first place ahead of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macci, the surprising Italians, who scored 74.61.

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany were third, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia fourth, and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the U.S. were within range of the podium in fifth place.

The biggest surprise was defending champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada. They earned negative grades of execution for their twist, throw triple loop and side-by-side spin, leaving them in seventh with 67.32 points.

The men’s competition and ice dance begin Thursday. All of the medals will be decided by Saturday night.

The worlds are being hosted by the renowned Skating Club of Boston, which had six members killed nearly two months ago, when an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C. Skaters from the world over said this week that they hoped their performances could be a cathartic experience for a tight-knit community still grieving.

“The kids we lost — across the country — were the future of the sport,” said Doug Zeghibe, the CEO of the club, which produced such champions as Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan. “So it’s really nice to see this being acknowledged.”

The final worlds before the Milano-Cortina Olympics are also important for establishing the quotas for the Winter Games. The number of entries for each nation will be decided by how its best skaters finish in each discipline this week.

In that respect, the American women are in good shape after Wednesday night.

Not only do they have Liu in first place, they have Levito — the reigning silver medalist — holding down a podium spot in her first competition since Skate America in October. The 18-year-old has been dealing ever since with a lingering foot injury.

While Liu scored big points for her triple flip-triple toe and her triple lutz, Levito piled up the points not only by landing all of her jumps but getting her typical high marks for composition, presentation and skating skills.

“I think that was the best score I could have had today,” Levito said. “Everything I went through and everything that I missed this year, I was very happy to have kept it all together.”

If the Americans want to hold down their podium spots, they will have to outscore the Japanese in the free skate.

Chiba, a former Four Continents champion, pumped her fist after a short program that earned her a standing ovation. Wakaba Higuchi was behind Levito in fourth, while Sakamoto was fifth, despite doubling a planned triple flip in her combination.

“We'll just have to see Friday if any of us win or not,” Liu said.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports