Here is a selection of Kyodo News photos taken this week in Japan and beyond.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese pose for a photo holding koalas in Perth, Australia, on Oct. 22, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visit the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Itoman on Oct. 22, 2022, during their first visit to the southern island prefecture since his enthronement in 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Japan's Nao Kodaira, the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic 500-meter speed skating champion, competes en route to winning the women's 500 meters at the national single distance championships on Oct. 22, 2022, at the M-Wave arena in Nagano, central Japan. It was the final race of her competitive career. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Nao Kodaira waves to spectators during her retirement ceremony after winning the women's 500 meters at the national single distance championships, her 13th career national 500 title, on Oct. 22, 2022, at the M-Wave ice arena in her native Nagano Prefecture. (Kyodo)
A security official wearing a face mask amid COVID-19 concerns stands guard on Oct. 22, 2022, near Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party concluded the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Former Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) is escorted out of the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on Oct. 22, 2022, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Young men swing huge torches during a fire festival on Mt. Kurama in Kyoto on Oct. 22, 2022, following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (R) reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Rhys Hoskins (L) of the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 23, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates after beating the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 23, 2022, to advance to the World Series. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken in Beijing shows portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping dominating the front pages of newspapers in China on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kyodo)
Photo taken Oct. 25, 2022, in Hirosaki in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Aomori shows specially cultivated apples that bear depictions of French President Emmanuel Macron (top, R) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (top, L). The apples are "bagged" and kept in the dark, before being exposed to daylight with specially crafted stickers attached to their skin, producing the desired images when the stickers are removed. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows colorful seaweed nets in offshore waters in Saga, southwestern Japan, on Oct. 26, 2022. Seed planting in the Ariake Sea started across three Japanese prefectures the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Visitors take photos of an anime figure on display at the Saudi Anime Expo 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 27, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken in Nagoya, central Japan, on Oct. 27, 2022, shows a subway route map made using Lego blocks. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Twin giant pandas -- male Xiao Xiao (R) and his sister Lei Lei -- are pictured at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo on Oct. 28, 2022, the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first giant pandas from China. The first pandas arrived in Japan from China the same year the two countries normalized diplomatic ties. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Back number:
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 15~21
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 8~14
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 1~7
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Sept. 24~30
