Cherry blossom forecasts weather change in Japan

Visitors take a close look at blooming cherry blossoms at Shinjuku park in Tokyo on Thursday. This season, Japan's national obsession with the timing of the flowering of the delicate, pale pink blooms, called "sakura" in Japanese, will depend on private weather companies and their volunteer recruits, after the Meteorological Agency decided to end its official forecasts that began in 1955. Yuriko Nakao / REUTERS