There wasn't any snow on the ground in mid-November, but the crowd of people walking around the Imperial Palace, the most famous jogging spot in Tokyo, were using ski poles all the same.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20061226f2a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='245'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Kenji Ogiwara –

, a former Olympic Nordic-combined skier who became a lawmaker, partakes in Nordic walking with other participants during an event at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park in mid-November. KYODO PHOTO

Passersby were perplexed, but what they were viewing was Nordic walking, possibly the next fitness craze in Japan, where many middle-aged people are worried about "metabolic syndrome" -- a buzzword this year to describe excess fat around the middle that can cause lifestyle-related diseases.

Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
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Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
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Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
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Our Planet

Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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