Here is our selection of news photos taken in Japan and beyond by Kyodo News photographers this week, as the country slowly moved to reopen the economy under a phased road map after the government completely lifted the state of emergency that had been declared in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

 

A woman makes wind bells with a design of a Japanese goblin called Amabie on May 23, 2020. Amabie, often used as an amulet against diseases, has grown popular in Japan amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
 
A pair of melons produced in Yubari in Hokkaido fetches 120,000 yen ($1,114) in the season's first auction in Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japan prefecture, on May 25, 2020. The price was only 2.4 percent of that paid the previous year, believed attributable to the economic impact of the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (Kyodo)
 
This year's "ukai" traditional cormorant fishing starts on the Nagara River in the city of Gifu, Japan, on May 22, 2020. The opening of the fishing season, annually set for May 11, was postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
 
Police officers block a street in central Hong Kong on May 24, 2020, standing guard against demonstrators who gathered to protest plans by China to implement a controversial national security law in the former British territory. (Kyodo)
 
The blinking lights of fireflies are captured in this composite image of 15 photos taken every 20 seconds on the night of May 25, 2020, in a woodland area in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo) 
 
 
Flowers are placed at a shooting location for the Netflix reality show "Terrace House" in Tokyo on May 25, 2020. Hana Kimura, a 22-year-old female professional wrestler who was among the show's cast, died May 23 after having been victimized by cyber-bullying. (Kyodo)
 

Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge is illuminated in rainbow colors on May 25, 2020, to mark the end of the capital's state of emergency. (Kyodo)
 
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a scramble crossing in Tokyo's Shibuya on the morning of May 26, 2020, a day after a coronavirus state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo. (Kyodo)
 
Orix Buffaloes players applaud medical workers for their fight against the new coronavirus before an intrasquad game at Kyocera Dome Osaka on May 26, 2020. (Kyodo)
 
 
A worker disinfects passenger seats in an aircraft upon its arrival to Tokyo's Haneda airport on May 26, 2020. (Kyodo)
 
 
A mother and her child climb the stairs as Tokyo Tower reopens its observation deck on May 28, 2020, after being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Only up to four people are allowed to ride the elevator to the deck at one time. (Kyodo)
 
 
Staff members at acrylic product manufacturer Miyuki Inc. in Tokyo show off face shields decorated with illustrations on May 27, 2020. The company developed the face shields aimed at employees in the service industry as businesses work to get back on track after the country's state of emergency was lifted. (Kyodo)
 
 
Fireworks are set off in Gifu, central Japan, on May 28, 2020, without prior notice to the public to avoid crowds forming amid lingering risks of coronavirus infections. (Kyodo)
 
A teacher speaks to students from behind a plastic sheet put up in a classroom at an elementary school in Funabashi, near Tokyo, on May 28, 2020, to reduce the risk of new coronavirus infection. (Kyodo)
 
The Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatics team passes over the Self-Defense Forces' Central Hospital in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward during a flyover in the capital on May 29, 2020, to show appreciation to medical workers fighting the coronavirus outbreak. (Kyodo)
 
 
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