Japan and beyond: Week in Photos

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

People stage a protest in Los Angeles on March 13, 2021, against anti-Asian hate crimes. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Giant panda Saihin holds a handmade feeder given as a "White Day" gift at the Adventure World amusement park in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Shirahama, western Japan, on March 14, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A hot-air balloon bearing the face of Kumamon, the popular black bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, goes up in the prefecture's city of Aso, southwestern Japan, on March 14, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train beams light into the night sky after stopping in front of a square in Chikugo in Fukuoka Prefecture on March 14, 2021, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the shinkansen line that links Fukuoka and Kagoshima prefectures, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Photo taken March 15, 2021, from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a mountain sightseeing road connecting Toyama and Nagano prefectures in central Japan. Snow removal work is under way for the April 15 reopening of the road after wintertime closure. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Beijing is blanketed in the most severe yellow sand and dust in a decade on March 15, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (2nd from L) and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin bump elbows after a press conference in Tokyo on March 16, 2021, following security talks between Japanese and U.S. officials in charge of defense and foreign affairs. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A pilot touches the nose of an F-4 fighter at the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's Gifu base in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, on March 17, 2021 following the plane's final flight. F-4 fighters have been in service for approximately 50 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A plaintiff touches her partner's hand after the Sapporo District Court in northern Japan decided in favor of them on March 17, 2021, on a suit filed by three same-sex couples. The court ruled for the first time that the government's failure to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional as it violates the right to equality. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The opening ceremony of "Super Nintendo World," the new attraction based on Nintendo Co.'s "Super Mario Bros." game series, is held at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka on March 18, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

People wearing face masks walk in Tokyo's Shibuya area on March 18, 2021. The government formally decided the same day to end the COVID-19 state of emergency in the Tokyo area on March 21. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The opening ceremony of the spring invitational high school baseball tournament is held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on March 19, 2021. The tournament was canceled the previous year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and this year, it will allow up to 10,000 spectators per game. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo