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

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits out of a bunker at the 14th hole during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Jan. 9, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

 

People wearing face masks attend a coming-of-age ceremony at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, western Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows vehicles stranded in the snow on the Hokuriku Expressway in Awara in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021, as heavy snowfall continued to hit the region. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
North Korean citizens look at a large screen in Pyongyang on Jan. 11, 2021, showing the news of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea holding the first congress in nearly five years. The official Korean Central News Agency said the same day that the congress endorsed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's election as general secretary of the Workers' Party, taking over the top post from his late father. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 
A 7-meter tall gorilla statue made of straw is pictured at a park in Chikuzen in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Jan. 11, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Japanese macaques soak in a hot spring on Jan. 12, 2021, at the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hokkaido, northern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

A statue of 16th-century warlord Oda Nobunaga with a face mask is pictured in front of JR Gifu Station in Gifu, central Japan, on Jan. 13, 2021. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a coronavirus state of emergency the same day for seven additional prefectures, including Aichi and Gifu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 

Kyoto's Pontocho district is deserted on Jan. 13, 2021, after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in seven additional prefectures, including Kyoto, amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections across the country. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 
 
TV screens at an electronics store in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, show Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaking at a press conference on Jan. 13, 2021, to declare a coronavirus state of emergency in seven additional prefectures, including Aichi, Fukuoka and Osaka. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Men throw cold water at each other to purify themselves in nearly 2 centuries-old ritual at Samegawa shrine in Kikonai, Hokkaido, northern Japan, on the night of Jan. 14, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Photo taken Jan. 15, 2021, shows cherry trees, or cerasus campanulata, that began blossoming at the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden in Kochi, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

 
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Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - January 2~8

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - December 26~January 1

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - December 19~25

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - December 12~18