Japan begins charging for plastic bags

Families of refugee athletes who come from Kenya's Kakuma settlement have been sending them prayers and messages of hope, before they compete at the Olympic Games. They are among 29 athletes and refugees scheduled to compete in Tokyo in 12 sports, under the banner of the Olympic flag, according to the UNHCR. This is only the second appearance of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. The first was in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

 

Hundreds of people wait to have their picture taken with the famous Olympic rings outside the Olympic stadium as Japan extends a state of emergency, a week after the start of the Games.

A Belarusian athlete who refused to board a flight after she said she was taken to the airport by her team against her wishes was "safe and secure" in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

Middle-distance runner Abraham Guem was stranded in Japan for 21 months with four compatriots. Though his chances at the Tokyo Olympics look slim, he has more at stake than medals.

Baseball fan Masamitsu Takahashi opened his "izakaya" bar-restaurant in 2013, when Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Olympics. Never had he imagined that, eight years later, he would be watching Japan beating the USA in the quarter-final there all alone. Other bars have decided to stay open despite the state of emergency, but Takahashi says he prefers "to avoid the situation deteriorating to the point where there isn't even baseball".

When Tokyo last hosted the Olympics, in 1964, Itsuo Masuda was deeply depressed, struggling with his sexuality. This year he watched openly gay and transgender athletes compete with pride, in the most LGBTQ-friendly games yet.

Tokyo 2020 mascot's Miraitowa tours the main press centre, greeting and posing for photos with media from around the world.

Residents in Shanghai react as China takes home 38 gold medals, the second-highest number at the Tokyo Olympics and one less than the United States. Morning commuters say they are proud of Chinese athletes' "historic" achievements, and look forward to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which they hope will be "better" than Tokyo's Games.

The Japanese authorities install a giant symbol of the Paralympic Games off the coast of Tokyo, just days before the competition begins.

At this cafe in Tokyo, robots are intended to be more than a gimmick, offering job opportunities to people with disabilities unable to work outside their homes.

As the Paralympic Games begin, Japan's efforts to improve accessibility and inclusion are in the spotlight, with many arguing there is still plenty of work to do. Some 4,400 athletes with impairments will compete in Tokyo at the world's biggest parasports tournament.