Myanmar Ambassador Thurain Thant Zin (center) is joined by, from left, Chairman of the Japan-Myanmar Parliamentary Friendship League Ichiro Aisawa; Foreign Minister of Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin and his wife Lynn Lynn Tin; Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoji Muto; House of Representatives member Kozo Yamamoto; and the ambassador's wife, Khin Soe Naung, for a toast at a celebration for the 68th Anniversary of the Independence Day of Myanmar, as well as the opening of a new embassy building, at the embassy in Tokyo on Jan. 25. | YOSHIAKI MIURA
Myanmar Ambassador Thurain Thant Zin (center) is joined by, from left, Chairman of the Japan-Myanmar Parliamentary Friendship League Ichiro Aisawa; Foreign Minister of Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin and his wife Lynn Lynn Tin; Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoji Muto; House of Representatives member Kozo Yamamoto; and the ambassador's wife, Khin Soe Naung, for a toast at a celebration for the 68th Anniversary of the Independence Day of Myanmar, as well as the opening of a new embassy building, at the embassy in Tokyo on Jan. 25. | YOSHIAKI MIURA

Models walk the runway in a chocolate-inspired fashion show in the Shinjuku NS Building on Jan. 26, the press day for the Salon du Chocolat 2016 Isetan, which boasts creations from about 100 chocolatiers from 19 countries. | YOSHIAKI MIURA
Models walk the runway in a chocolate-inspired fashion show in the Shinjuku NS Building on Jan. 26, the press day for the Salon du Chocolat 2016 Isetan, which boasts creations from about 100 chocolatiers from 19 countries. | YOSHIAKI MIURA

The Japan Times Deputy Sales Officer Yusuke Numata (right) holds a donation to The Japan Times Readers' Fund received from President of Ikebana International Tokyo Founding Chapter Noriko Kira at the Palace Hotel Tokyo on Jan. 26. | YOSHIAKI MIURA
The Japan Times Deputy Sales Officer Yusuke Numata (right) holds a donation to The Japan Times Readers' Fund received from President of Ikebana International Tokyo Founding Chapter Noriko Kira at the Palace Hotel Tokyo on Jan. 26. | YOSHIAKI MIURA

33 priests representing Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga, Nara, Hyogo, Wakayama and Gifu prefectures celebrate
33 priests representing Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga, Nara, Hyogo, Wakayama and Gifu prefectures celebrate "1,300 years since the inception of the pilgrimage to Saikoku Sanjusansho" during a press conference covering the three unique pilgrimages, "Monthly Pilgrimage," "Walking Pilgrimage: Lamplight Relay" and the "Sweets Pilgrimage," which allows visitors to sample the exquisite confectionery offered by each temple. The Saikoku Sanjusansho temples and the pilgrimages have been passed down for 1,300 years from the Nara Period until today, at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on Jan. 26. | YOSHIAKI MIURA