'Hanami' cherry blossom comes early this year thanks to warmer weather. Astronaut Koichi Wakata returns from the ISS for the first time in five months. Japan's national baseball team are competing in the WBC World Baseball Classics at the Tokyo Dome on the 12th anniversary of the March 2011 disaster as ministers pledge to restart idled nuclear reactors in efforts to decarbonize power production. And later this month, 10 films by the director Ishii Gakuryu play at Eurospace in Shibuya to celebrate the cyberpunk of Japanese cinema, featuring German Industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten and early appearances by the actor Tadanobu Asano. — Get in touch: notebook.podcast@gmail.com Leave a message: speakpipe.com/notebook Instagram: @notebook_pod Twitter: @notebook_pod —