Chairman of Russia's Audit Chamber Alexei Kudrin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 4, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Chairman of Russia's Audit Chamber Alexei Kudrin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Chairman of Russia's Audit Chamber Alexei Kudrin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 3, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Pompoms rustle and silver shoes flash as "Japan Pom Pom" practices, moving to a lively cheer dance beat. With members ages 60 to 89, they're no ordinary squad. But don't you dare call them grannies. Originally started with five people 26 years ago after Takino saw an overseas senior cheer squad in the news, the group now has 17 active members. Members, all older than 55, must pass auditions. Now the group is featured in government pamphlets about active seniors, appears periodically in TV reports, and performs in popular charity shows. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON CHEER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Pompoms rustle and silver shoes flash as "Japan Pom Pom" practices, moving to a lively cheer dance beat. With members ages 60 to 89, they're no ordinary squad. But don't you dare call them grannies. Originally started with five people 26 years ago after Takino saw an overseas senior cheer squad in the news, the group now has 17 active members. Members, all older than 55, must pass auditions. Now the group is featured in government pamphlets about active seniors, appears periodically in TV reports, and performs in popular charity shows. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON CHEER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Election workers carry Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines after collecting them from a distribution centre ahead of the first phase of West Bengal state assembly election, in Purulia district, India, March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

A view of a sign outside the Electoral National Council (CNE) with a handwritten message referring to a call for an audit of computers used in the presidential elections to check for evidence of fraud, in Quito, Ecuador February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

Yarden Grosser, 36, a member of "The Pink Front," a group of protesters demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down over corruption allegations, stands in front of a ring light and her phone as she records herself for an audition, at her apartment in Tel Aviv, Israel November 5, 2020. Picture taken November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

Dancers in masks perform in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Dancers in masks perform in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Dancers in masks perform in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Dancers in masks perform in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A solo dancer performs as the Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A solo dancer performs as the Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A masked dancer waits off stage before performing as the Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A masked dancer performs in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Dancers in masks perform in the ensemble competition as Youth America Grand Prix holds socially distanced auditions for hundreds of California's aspiring ballet dancers, ages 9 to 19 during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Diego, California, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

People audit ballots at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department during the 2020 presidential election in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello

People audit ballots while observers from parties look on at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department during the 2020 presidential election in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello

People audit ballots while observers from parties look on at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department during the 2020 presidential election in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen as workers perform tests during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Comedian Carl Hutchinson is seen during the audition and set-up for the "Live at the Tyne: An Evening of Comedy" show, which will be streamed online from the Tyne Theatre & Opera House, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Britain, July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Head of Russia's Audit Chamber Alexei Kudrin is seen before President Vladimir Putin's annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, Russia January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Chairman Urs Rohner of Swiss bank Credit Suisse sits between John Tiner (L), Chairman of the Audit Committee and Flavio Romerio, Managing Partner of Homburger and the head of Homburger's White Collar & Investigations team during a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Chairman Urs Rohner of Swiss bank Credit Suisse and Chairman of the Audit Committee John Tiner (L) listen to questions of journalists during a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Chairman Urs Rohner of Swiss bank Credit Suisse sits beside as Chairman of the Audit Committee John Tiner (L) addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland October 1, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Actor Nina Hoss holds her Concha de Plata (Silver Shell) for best actress for the feature film "The Audition" after the awards ceremony at the San Sebastian Film Festival in San Sebastian, Spain, September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent West

Actor Nina Hoss holds her Concha de Plata (Silver Shell) for best actress for the feature film "The Audition" after the awards ceremony at the San Sebastian Film Festival in San Sebastian, Spain, September 28, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent West

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer speaks during a news conference outside the USTA National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York, U.S., August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer speaks during a news conference outside the USTA National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York, U.S., August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer speaks during a news conference outside the USTA National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York, U.S., August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

People shout slogans as they display placards during a protest to demand Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) numbers be tallied with Voter-Verified Paper Audit trail (VVPAT) machines numbers, outside the office of the Election Commission of India in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

A woman shouts slogans as she holds up a placard during a protest to demand Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) numbers be tallied with Voter-Verified Paper Audit trail (VVPAT) machines numbers, outside the office of the Election Commission of India in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Polling officials seal an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a polling station after the end of the last phase of the general election in Kolkata, India, May 19, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Members of election staff carry Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines after collecting them from a distribution centre at an indoor stadium ahead of the seventh and last phase of general election, in Kolkata, India, May 18, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

A K-pop applicant performs at an audition in Tokyo, Japan, February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-hoon SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Nao Niitsu, 19, a college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, chooses her profile picture before an audition in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2019. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road," said Niitsu. During a visit to Seoul paid for by her mother, herself a die-hard BTS fan, Niitsu auditioned for 10 agencies and was accepted by five. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Nao Niitsu, 19, college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, sings during an audition in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2019. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road," said Niitsu. During a visit to Seoul paid for by her mother, herself a die-hard BTS fan, Niitsu auditioned for 10 agencies and was accepted by five. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Nao Niitsu, 19, college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, and other Japanese children sit on a bus heading for an audition in Seoul, South Korea, March 15, 2019. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road," said Niitsu. During a visit to Seoul paid for by her mother, herself a die-hard BTS fan, Niitsu auditioned for 10 agencies and was accepted by five. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Nao Niitsu, 19, college freshman from Tokyo, who wants to be a K-pop star, and other Japanese children warm up for an audition at a park in Seoul, South Korea, March 15, 2019. "I've heard stories about no free time or not being able to do what I want. But, I think all of K-pop stars who are now performing have gone down the same road," said Niitsu. During a visit to Seoul paid for by her mother, herself a die-hard BTS fan, Niitsu auditioned for 10 agencies and was accepted by five. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Japanese Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, spend time before taking part in an audition in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2019. Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea in February to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone. "It is tough," Hasumi said. "Going through a strict training and taking my skill to a higher level to a perfect stage, I think that's when it is good to make a debut." REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Yuuka Hasumi put high school in Japan on hold and flew to South Korea to try her chances at becoming a K-pop star, even if that means long hours of vocal and dance training, no privacy, no boyfriend, and even no phone. Hasumi, 17, joined Acopia School in Seoul, a prep school offering young Japanese a shot at K-pop stardom, teaching them the dance moves, the songs and also the language. She is one of an estimated one million other K-pop star wannabes, from South Korea and abroad, hoping to get a shot at super competitive auditions by major talent agencies that will take on just a select few as "trainees". Hasumi is one of 500 or so young Japanese who join Acopia each year, paying up to $3,000 a month for training and board. The school also fixes auditions for its candidates with talent management companies that have been the driving force behind the "Korean-wave" pop culture that exploded onto the world stage in the past decade with acts such as global chart topping boy band BTS. The influx of Japanese talent that is reshaping the K-pop industry comes at a time of increasingly bitter political acrimony between the two countries that has damaged diplomatic ties. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEARCH "SOUTHKOREA KPOP" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: SOUTHKOREA-JAPAN/KPOP

Polling officials seal a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a polling station after the end of the third phase of the general election in Kochi, India, April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V

An election official carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a distribution centre ahead of third phase of general elections in Kochi, India April 22, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

An election official carries Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a distribution centre ahead of third phase of general elections in Kochi, India April 22, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram V

Polling officers stand next to Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) after collecting them from a distribution centre ahead of third phase of general elections in Ahmedabad, India April 22, 2019. REUTERS/Amit Dave

Polling officials sit inside a strong room with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines at a distribution centre ahead of the second phase of general election in Srinagar April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

Women watch the demonstration of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines and Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) given by election duty officials in the old quarters of Delhi, India, April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Polling officials seal an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine at a polling station after the end of the first phase of the general election in Alipurduar district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri