Passengers wait on the platform as a Kodama bullet train, or "shinkansen" service to the city of Nagoya arrives to pick up passengers at Tokyo station in central Tokyo on April 17, 2024. A passenger on the evening of April 16 alerted security to a 40-centimetre (nearly 16-inch) snake lurking on a train between Nagoya and Tokyo, resulting in a 17-minute hold-up. (Photo by AFP)