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Funny old world: the week's offbeat news

Promoters hope to turn organized snowball fights, yukigassen, into an Olympic sport, highlighting Hokkaido's top tournament promoted by Yuji Ano, organizer of yukigassen's main event.
At Hokkaido tournaments, matches feature seven-player teams and a special machine producing spherical snowballs, with a participant saying 'When you get hit, it hurts, but it's mostly your pride that takes the blow'.
At a Kyoto temple, Buddharoid, an AI robot monk, was unveiled and told reporters 'don't go overthinking this', illustrating diverse robot roles in religion.
Demand for the IKEA orangutan plushie tied to Punch surged and sold out in Japan and the US, prompting the zoo to create a restricted zone around his enclosure.
Observers flag safety concerns as videos showed people pelting officers during a major snowstorm, while researchers developing AI monks trained on esoteric Buddhist scriptures raise cultural questions.

Insights by Ground AI