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

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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.