Japan launched the first comprehensive national survey of animal cafes, following concerns related to animal care, hygiene and public health, according to what Reuters quoted a government official, in a move aimed at intensifying oversight of this popular sector, which lacks adequate regulatory rules.
The survey, which was launched this month, includes a study of a number of these facilities, the types of animals they contain, their housing conditions, and the ways visitors interact with them.
Exotic animal cafés, where visitors interact with species ranging from otters to owls and marmots, have become popular tourist destinations for Japanese and foreign tourists alike. Researchers report that some of them hold endangered species, raising serious concerns about animal welfare and wildlife trafficking.
An official in the Ministry of the Environment, Takuya Ishikawa, explained that Japan lacks specific standards governing the operation of these cafes and the dealing with many exotic species.
He said: “There is widespread public interest, including from animal welfare groups, which have been sharing the results of their own research with the ministry. Experts on a government advisory committee have also repeatedly expressed concern about potential problems in these cafes.
The survey will also include cafes that house pets, such as cats and dogs.
The government also intends to launch a public awareness campaign, acknowledging that it has not done enough to inform the public about the dangers of interacting with exotic animals.
Some workers in the sector welcomed the prospect of tightening oversight. “It is clear that Japan is lagging behind in terms of regulating animal welfare,” said Siena Nozaki, manager of the All Outer Café in Kamakura near Tokyo, which houses rescued animals.
She expressed her hope that the new regulations would contribute to distinguishing between compliant establishments and less responsible operators, who are motivated solely by profit motives.
A report by the World Wide Fund for Nature revealed that Japan, which has a huge domestic market for pets, ranked second in the world in importing live reptiles and mammals in terms of value in 2024, highlighting risks including invasive species that spread as a result of releasing pets into the wild, and the spread of diseases shared between humans and animals.
According to a joint report prepared by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Hokkaido University, three-quarters of the cafés that display wild animals, amounting to about 80 cafés registered in Tokyo and Osaka, were also registered to sell animals.
During field visits to 25 cafes, researchers observed more than 1,700 animals on display, 27 percent of which belong to endangered species. More than 90 percent of these cafes displayed animals that were classified as being in categories at high risk of harm when handled, while samples taken from 4 cafes showed positive results for the presence of “enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli bacteria,” which may cause bloody diarrhea.
“A legendary collection,” is what an Impressionist art expert considered the collection that Sotheby’s announced for sale, estimating it at nearly half a billion dollars. The collection includes twelve works of art from the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist schools that remained out of sight for decades within a famous private collection in South America, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Sotheby's Auction House announced that works by Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne are expected to set records for these artists during the auction scheduled to be held in New York on November 18. If this happens, it will be a new indication that collectors are seeking - in times of uncertainty - to find a safe haven for their investments in masterpieces of art.
These paintings come from the collection of the late Argentine Nelly Arrieta de Blaquer and her husband, Carlos Pedro Blaquer, a sugar magnate, and their children are currently selling them. The collection includes “Châtaigniers en fleurs” by Van Gogh, valued at $180 million, and “Arlequin” by Cézanne, estimated at $120 million; Note that neither of these paintings has been shown to the public for half a century.
Helena Newman, head of the Impressionist and Modern Art Department at Sotheby's, described the collection as being like a "miniature Orsi museum." In reference to the Parisian museum that houses one of the greatest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world.
“During my career, which spanned more than 30 years at Sotheby’s, I have never had the honor of dealing with a collection of this level of quality and artistic value,” Newman said.
Newman pointed out that Van Gogh's painting, which depicts flowering chestnut trees, embodies the "explosion of energy and vitality" that the artist felt after leaving the psychiatric hospital in May 1890, before he ended his life two months later. As for Cézanne’s painting (Harlequin), it is one of four paintings that the artist painted for his son dressed as the character “Harlequin” (the clown), while the other three paintings are located in major museums.
The collection also includes paintings of Paris cityscapes by Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, a painting of a horse race by Edgar Degas, and a boating scene by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. All of these businesses are worth tens of millions of dollars.
Art expert Philip Hook, a former auctioneer at Sotheby's, said that this collection is "truly legendary", given that its collectors did not loan these works to participate in any exhibitions. Hook added: “No one really knew what was in the collection; “So to reveal it now is very exciting.”
He continued, saying: “They have succeeded in creating a group that very intelligently focuses on acquiring one artwork representing each of the prominent names (in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art), which is extremely difficult; They achieved this in great style and with great success.”
Newman noted that the sale would likely attract global interest. The list of potential buyers ranges from wealthy Americans in the technology sector and prestigious institutions in the Middle East, as well as wealthy art collectors from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“With the prevailing global geopolitical and economic uncertainty, it feels like there is a return to established, reliable, time-tested works of art,” which are “indisputably great,” she said. He added: “This Impressionist collection - which is comparable in quality to museum collections - is extremely rare.”
A shirt worn by American basketball star Michael Jordan during one of the most famous seasons of his career was sold at a public auction, Tuesday, for $12.26 million, making it the most expensive shirt for a basketball player ever sold at auction, according to what the American network “CNN” reported.
Jordan wore this white shirt, made of mesh fabric and decorated with his famous number “23”, during the third game of the “NBA” Finals series in 1998.
This period represented the end of Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls, an era known as "The Last Dance" and documented in a documentary series of the same name produced by ESPN and Netflix in 2020.
During that decisive match against the Utah Jazz team, Jordan gave an amazing performance in front of his team’s fans. Which contributed to turning the Chicago Bulls around during the tournament, winning their 6th title in 8 seasons.
This shirt is the only piece of the white shirts that Jordan wore in decisive matches during the 1998 finals that is offered for sale. This makes it an extremely rare piece of memorabilia, according to the online auction house Jupiter, which organized the sale.
With this sale, the shirt became the most expensive in the history of basketball jersey auctions, breaking the previous record held by another Jordan jersey that he had worn in the first game of the same final series.
CNN had previously reported that the red jersey that Jordan wore in the match that the Chicago Bulls lost was sold in 2022 for $10.1 million.
The shirt of American baseball legend Babe Ruth holds the current record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold, as it was sold for $24.12 million in 2024. Ruth wore this shirt during the 1932 World Baseball Series.
