These metal covers (also known as maintenance covers) are up there as one of the least glamorous bits of infrastructure that cities need to function. But all you have to do is travel to Japan to ...

Japan’s median age has been rising since 1950, with the figure reaching to 49.1 in 2023, according to an estimate by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

This is only available in Japan. The puppets first appeared in the 2021 April Fool’s video series titled “Let’s play at the RE Village” (Bio-Mura De Asobo in Japanese).