To mark World Environment Day on June 5, Nomura launched an annual nature photo contest in 2022 for employees, encouraging them to experience nature and think about our Earth and the environment.
World Environment Day was established on June 5, 1972, at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) decides a slogan for World Environment Day each year. The slogan for 2025, “Beat Plastic Pollution,” calls for a future without plastic waste, where everyone reuses or recycles all plastics as part of a circular economy.
Now in its fourth year, Nomura’s Nature Photo Contest for 2025 saw entries from our colleagues across the globe. Below are the top 20 entries, selected by employees through a vote.
As you browse through the photos, consider how you can reduce plastic waste in your own life.
- Please browse through the entries with titles and comments from the photographers.
- Entries are sorted alphabetically by photographers' names.
*Do not repost or reuse images without permission.
"Morning glow at Uluru"
Australia
Photographer: Chisa
A snapshot from Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima. I was struck by the beautiful silhouette of this deer near the Otorii gate, as it took in the view at low tide.
Photographer: Chizuko Kurisu
Achi Village, Nagano, which is also known as Hanamomo no Sato (or Peach Blossom Village)
Photographer: Eri Aoyama
Sunset at Alishan, Taiwan
Photographer: Hi
Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Canada
Photographer: Joel Fontana
"On a Journey Over the Sea"
This is the Yurakawa Railway Bridge of the Kyoto Tango Railway. After flying through the midsummer sky across the river, you arrive into Tango. It's a special place for me.
Photographer: Junichiro Shibahara
"Thank You For Telling Me"
A colleague told me about this place. This is a snapshot taken on the way to Minamiyamashiro Village, the only village in Kyoto Prefecture.
Photographer: Masahumi Nishimura
"Mudflat"
The Shinmaikohama Beach is near the Fukushima Branch. On early mornings in December, you can see a massive mudflat that sparkles in the morning sunlight.
Photographer: Masatsugu Sakamoto
Looking upwards in the Navajo Upper Antelope Canyon, a sandstone slot canyon in Arizona, USA.
Photographer: Maynard Case
"View From the Mountain Hut on Mt. Kita-Hotaka"
I took this photo just after I arrived at the Daikiretto in the Japanese Alps, one of the highlights of my summer. As I looked back over the rocky ridgeline I had crossed, from Mt. Yari to just below the mountain hut on Mt. Kita-Hotaka, I got a sense of the distance I had walked. I had to deal with heavy rain and strong winds, and I got nervous on some of the most difficult terrain, but when I think back to how I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, I get very emotional. When it was over, I was rewarded with this amazing view. It's as though the mountain itself was giving me a pat on the back for a job well done.
Photographer: Mio Ikeda
"Birdbath at the Tatsusawa Fudo Waterfall"
Photographer: Naozumi Kawamura
"Radiant after the Rain"
Photographer: Natsumi Onoue
"Miyajima Island in Aki, Hiroshima"
Photographer: Rina Hanzawa
"Mystical Northern Lights Above a First Nations Teepee: Under Yellowknife's Night Sky"
Photographer: Seiji Ota
Monkeys in the hot spring. No plastic!
Photographer: Toshiyasu Iiyama
Mishaka Pond in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, similar to the style of Japanese artist Kaii Higashiyama's "Midori Hibiku" (Green Echoes)
Photographer: Yoshihito Horiuchi
"Spiral up!"
Photographer: Yoshiyuki Nishinaka
"Sacred Spring"
Photographer: Yuya Hibino
Baby owl at a park in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Photographer: Asahikawa-no Fukuro
"Mystic World"
Summer in Kamikochi, Nagano, with sunlight shining through the branches
Photographer: Mameshiba
