For over five years now, The Japan Times has run a weekly photo box featuring a cat or dog in need of a home, as well as success stories of animals that have been adopted.
Many of the pets have been rescued from horrific situations in which they had suffered abandonment, starvation, abuse, neglect or outright cruelty. Some have health issues, others a deep distrust of humans. All need loving, caring homes.
Many times, the photos are instrumental in finding those homes. Many of the portraits of the animals, indeed most of the best, have been taken by Kyoko Harada, a professional commercial photographer.