A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture on October 31, 2024. Japan's Mount Fuji remained snow-less on October 31 -- the latest date that its majestic slopes have been bare since records began 130 years ago. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)