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Photos of 20-year-olds at a Coming of Age Day ceremony in Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Young women in brightly colored long-sleeved kimonos and young men in formal and traditional wear celebrated Japan’s Coming of Age Day on Monday for people who have turned 20.

Coming of Age Day is a widely observed public rite of passage in Japan. Before and after the brief ceremonies, the young adults greeted friends on sidewalks and nearby train stations. Smartphones were raised repeatedly as they took selfies and photos of each other.

Among the many men wearing black and navy suits, a large number chose traditional hakama trousers and haori jackets.

Adulthood legally begins in Japan at 18 after the Civil Code was revised in 2022. Even so, most local governments continue to hold Coming of Age ceremonies for 20-year-olds.

Inside Yokohama Arena, participants stood for the national anthem, then sang Yokohama’s city song together. Many then switched on the lights of their mobile phones, illuminating the hall.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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