TOKYO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on Wednesday that cherry blossoms in Tokyo are in full bloom, which came nine days earlier than average and five days earlier than in 2022.
A cherry tree monitored in Tokyo has reached full bloom when about 80 percent or more of its buds are open, becoming this year's first sample cherry tree to do so in Japan, the weather agency said.
The Somei-Yoshino cherry tree, used by the agency as a yardstick to measure the annual event, started blooming on March 14, also the earliest in the country this year.
The full bloom matched 2013, 2020, and 2021 to become the second-earliest day in the year for the seasonal phenomena to occur since records began, according to the agency. ■