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

A giant puppet nicknamed MOCCO appears during a Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics cultural event in Rikuzentakata, an Iwate Prefecture city severely hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, on May 15, 2021. The 10-meter puppet will tour the two other disaster-affected northeastern Japan prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima later in the month to attend a similar cultural event, themed on the region's recovery from the disaster. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Photo taken in McLean, Virginia, on May 15, 2021, shows a newly emerged 17-year periodical cicada on a tree. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Daiki Hashimoto competes on the parallel bars en route to winning the NHK Trophy men's all-around title at the Big Hat arena in Nagano, central Japan, on May 16, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Hydrangea flowers are beaded with rain at a park in Nagoya, central Japan, on May 16, 2021, as the country's weather agency said the same day the rainy season has begun in western and central Japan regions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Photo taken May 17, 2021, shows a screen displaying a webpage to book COVID-19 vaccinations at a large state-run center in Tokyo. Online bookings for vaccinations at the center started the same day for residents of the capital's 23 wards aged 65 in the current fiscal year or older, ahead of the launch of the center on May 24. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Demonstrators protest in Ramallah in the West Bank on May 18, 2021, against Israel's bombardment of Gaza. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Restaurants in Tokyo's Shinjuku area are closed on May 18, 2021, with a coronavirus state of emergency in place. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (R, front row) apologizes to plaintiffs in Tokyo on May 18, 2021, a day after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them in four suits seeking damages from the state over diseases contracted by construction workers following exposure to asbestos. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Tokyo Olympic torch relay runners are pictured at a park in Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture, on May 18, 2021. The torch relay was taken off public roads and held without spectators in the western Japan prefecture with a coronavirus state of emergency in place. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
A monk throws 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) ==Kyodo
 
The Olympic flame is passed from torch to torch in the rain during an alternative event for the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, on May 20, 2021. The torch relay was canceled in the western Japan prefecture with a coronavirus state of emergency in place. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits a shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina on May 20, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels reacts to a fan ahead of the second game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on May 20, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
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Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 8~14

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 1~7

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 24~30

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 17~23