Blooming marvellous: Tokyo’s cherry blossom season officially begins

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Agence France-PresseMarch 19, 2026 at 10:46 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Tokyo's cherry blossom season officially began on Thursday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The announcement was made after the designated Somei Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine displayed the required number of open blossoms. This signals the start of the "hanami" season, where residents traditionally gather for outdoor picnics to appreciate the floral displays. The JMA officials confirmed the blooming by visually inspecting and counting the open flowers on the sample tree. The cherry blossom season is a highly anticipated event in Tokyo, with local media closely following the progress of the blossoms.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Japan 40% Somei Yoshino ×350% Tokyo Regional Headquarters ×260% Yasukuni Shrine ×270% Japan Meteorological Agency ×280% Tokyo ×390%

Keywords

cherry blossom season 100% tokyo 90% cherry blossoms 80% japan meteorological agency 70% somei yoshino 60% yasukuni shrine 60% floral displays 50% meteorologists 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Positive

Score: 0.70

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Tokyo

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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cherry blossom season tokyo cherry blossoms japan meteorological agency somei yoshino yasukuni shrine floral displays meteorologists

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