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

 
People walk in the rain at an intersection in Tokyo's Shibuya area on Jan. 23, 2021, as the death toll from the novel coronavirus in the country surpasses 5,000 the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Taipei's landmark tower, Taipei 101, is lit up on Jan. 23, 2021, with a sign on the building's wall reading "friendship between Japan and Taiwan." A ceremony aimed at promoting Japan-Taiwan friendship was held at the tower the same day ahead of the 10th anniversary of the March 2011 northeastern Japan disaster after which Taiwan donated a massive amount of money, and the Tokyo Olympics in the summer. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Face masks are put on statues on a street in Wuhan on Jan. 23, 2021, a year after a drastic lockdown was imposed on the Chinese city known as the original epicenter of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Shodai and fellow ozeki Asanoyama fight in the last match on the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Jan. 24, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows an ice breaking ship sailing through drift ice off Hokkaido's Abashiri, northern Japan, on Jan. 24, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Priests pray at World Heritage-listed Horyu-ji temple in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2021, ahead of a fire drill. Jan. 26 was designated in 1955 as a day to raise awareness of protecting cultural assets from fire after one of the buildings constituting the temple burned down on Jan. 26, 1949. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
People attend a coronavirus vaccination simulation at a university gymnasium in Kawasaki near Tokyo on Jan. 27, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Photo taken in Tokyo on Jan. 27, 2021, shows "hina" traditional Japanese dolls unveiled by doll maker Kyugetsu Co., featuring U.S. President Joe Biden (upper L), Vice President Kamala Harris (upper R), Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (bottom R) and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
 
Photo taken on Jan. 27, 2021, in Hiroshima, western Japan, shows the top of the World Heritage-listed Atomic Bomb Dome, which is undergoing preservation work. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

Beijing station is deserted on Jan. 28, 2021, as the so-called world's largest human migration period begins in China ahead of the Feb. 11 start of the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays amid mounting concern over another wave of novel coronavirus infections at home. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

 

 
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Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - January 16~22

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - January 9~15

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

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