Here is a selection of Kyodo News photos taken in Japan and beyond this week.

People wearing face masks walk in Tokyo's Asakusa area on Nov. 28, 2020. Japan reported the same day record daily coronavirus cases of over 2,600, with the number of seriously ill patients reaching 440, also a record. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Ice dancing duo Misato Komatsubara (upper) and Tim Koleto perform their free dance on their way to victory at the NHK trophy figure skating competition in Osaka on Nov. 28, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the launch of an H2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan on Nov. 29, 2020. The rocket carries two satellites to relay data collected by reconnaissance satellites already in orbit, enabling faster and more information-rich communication when responding to natural disasters. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
A shadow picture of a character from the Japanese ghost manga series "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro" featuring Christmas designs is projected on Mizuki Shigeru Road named after the late manga author in his hometown of Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, on Nov. 30, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

 
A 20-meter-tall Christmas tree is lit up at sea off Hakodate's red brick warehouses, a popular sightseeing spot, in northern Japan, on Dec. 1, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Passengers warm up by a coal stove on Tsugaru Railway's "stove train" in Goshogawara, Aomori Prefecture, on Dec. 1, 2020. A winter tradition in the Tsugaru region, the train started running in the northeastern Japan prefecture the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
A capybara soaks in a hot pool at Kobe Animal Kingdom zoo in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 1, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
 
 
 
The Olympic rings glow in the dark after being reinstalled in Tokyo Bay off Odaiba Marine Park on Dec. 1, 2020, after they underwent a safety inspection and maintenance. The rings were temporarily removed in August following the Tokyo Summer Games' postponement until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Giant panda twins Ouhin (L) and Touhin celebrate their sixth birthday on Dec. 2, 2020, at the Adventure World amusement park in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Shirahama, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Traditional Japanese "hagoita" battledores decorated with images of newsmakers of the year are pictured in Tokyo on Dec. 3, 2020. Those featured include shogi sensation Sota Fujii, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Olympic swimmer Rikako Ikee, who has made her competitive comeback after a leukemia diagnosis. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
The Tower of the Sun in Osaka is lit up in red on Dec. 3, 2020, after the Osaka prefectural government raised its coronavirus alert to an emergency level with hospital beds for seriously ill patients expected to be in short supply amid surging virus cases. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Copies of the final and 23rd volume of the "Demon Slayer" manga series are lined up on bookshelves at a store in Tokyo on its release date on Dec. 4, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

 
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Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - November 21~27

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - November 14~20

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - November 7 ~ 13

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - October 31 ~ November 6