A selection of news photos taken across Japan and beyond by Kyodo News photographers this week, as businesses slowly begin to reopen in some communities and people try to adapt to the "new normal" amid the extended fight against COVID-19.

 
A man in his 70s pulls an empty rickshaw on a deserted street in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, partly in a bid to maintain his physical fitness on May 20, 2020. Kanagawa remains under a state of emergency over the outbreak of new coronavirus. (Kyodo)
 
 
A plastic shield sits on the cashier counter of a gift shop at the reopened Osaka Castle tower on May 20, 2020, to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections. The tower reopened to the public the same day after the western Japan prefecture eased business restriction requests over the weekend in response to dwindling infections. (Kyodo)
 
The Nagashima Spa Land amusement park reopens in Kuwana in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on May 17, 2020, amid signs of improvement in the coronavirus situation in Mie. (Kyodo)
 
Monks throw heart-shaped "uchiwa" fans from the balcony of a drum tower during the traditional "uchiwamaki" ceremony at Toshodai-ji temple in Nara, western Japan, on May 19, 2020. The ceremony to ward off evil spirits and harmful insects was held behind closed doors due to concerns over the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)
 
Hiroshima city officials carefully turn the pages to check the condition of books listing the names of victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japanese city at the Peace Memorial Park on May 20, 2020. A total of 117 books containing 319,186 names were aired out ahead of the rainy season. (Kyodo)
 
Junior high school students wash their hands at their school in Kuwana in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on May 18, 2020, as part of infection control procedures. The school reopened the same day after a coronavirus pandemic state of emergency was lifted in the prefecture amid signs of improvement in the situation. (Kyodo) 
 
People play table tennis at a park in Beijing on May 16, 2020, amid the improved coronavirus situation in China. (Kyodo) 
 
Giant panda Tan Tan munches on her bamboo at Kobe Oji Zoo in Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan on May 19, 2020. The zoo said the same day it will return Tan Tan to China as her 20-year loan term expires in July. (Kyodo)
 
Crew members of a sightseeing boat signal "thank you" with flag semaphore off Kobe Port in western Japan on May 15, 2020, to express their appreciation to medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
 
A light trail left by an H2B rocket glows over Mt. Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in this long exposure photo taken in the early hours of May 21, 2020, from the city of Kagoshima. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the rocket carrying a Kounotori unmanned cargo vessel on its final mission to transport supplies to the International Space Station. (Kyodo)
 
An employee of Japan Airlines Co. gives blood as part of the company's social contribution measures at Haneda airport in Tokyo on May 20, 2020. The airline is encouraging employees to join the program as the number of people donating blood has been on the decline following the stay-at-home request prompted by the coronavirus. (Kyodo) 
 
A baseball club member of Meiho high school, a competitive team, in Oita Prefecture, cleans up the school's baseball field on May 20, 2020. Organizers of the National High School Baseball Championship announced the same day the cancellation of this summer's tournament in light of the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
 
Passengers maintain distance from each other on a subway train in Wuhan, China, on May 21, 2020. (Kyodo)
 
Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka is lit up in green on May 21, 2020, the color code showing that the western Japan prefecture has cleared criteria to lift its coronavirus-necessitated request to shut businesses. A state of emergency over the virus was lifted in Osaka the same day. (Kyodo)
 

 
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