Japan and beyond: Week in Photos

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

Photo taken Nov. 12, 2022, shows an artwork thought to be by renowned graffiti artist Banksy on a damaged building near Kyiv. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Photo taken Nov. 12, 2022, shows an artwork by Banksy on a damaged building near Kyiv. The renowned graffiti artist posted a photo of the mural on his Instagram the previous day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The Blue Pond, a tourist attraction in Biei on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, is lit up during an event on Nov. 14, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Olympics organizing committee, speaks during the unveiling of the official mascots of the Paris Games in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on Nov. 14, 2022. The mascots of the Olympics (L) and Paralympics are red Phrygian caps, which were a symbol of liberty in the French Revolution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

People wearing face masks walk in an underground street in Sapporo in Hokkaido on Nov. 15, 2022, amid a rise in Japan's daily coronavirus infections. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Leaders of Group of 20 major economies sit down for lunch on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 15, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Photo taken in Ukraine's Kherson region on Nov. 16, 2022, shows a land mines warning sign tied to a roadside barrier. Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mary Hakobyan said about 5,000 explosive devices have been removed in Kherson. (Kyodo)

A man takes a selfie with a watermelon -- a local specialty -- in downtown Kherson on Nov. 16, 2022, in celebration of Ukraine's retaking of the southern city annexed by Russia. (Kyodo)

Japan's biggest ginkgo tree, located in Fukaura in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, is lit up on Nov. 16, 2022. The tree, 22 meters in girth and 31 meters high, is believed to be over 1,000 years old. (Kyodo)

Photo taken on Nov. 16, 2022, a day before Japan's final World Cup tune-up against Canada at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, shows Samurai Blue's locker room decorated with messages from Japanese football fans. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu (C) leads a training session ahead of the national football team's final World Cup tune-up game against Canada at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on Nov. 16, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, surrounded by red maple leaves, is lit on Nov. 16, 2022, during a test light-up before the start of special night viewing during the autumn foliage season. (Kyodo)

Photo taken on Nov. 17, 2022, in Kobe in western Japan, shows a Santa Claus figure in a bulletproof vest and helmet atop the Uroko no Ie in the historical Kitano Ijinkan district. The annual "Sesou" Santa display sums up the year's events. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Women show glasses half filled with this year's Beaujolais Nouveau at a tasting event in Tokyo on Nov. 17, 2022, the day the red wine produced in France's Beaujolais region was released. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota (far R) is seen through a smartphone screen as he speaks to reporters at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Nov. 18, 2022, upon returning to Japan following his release from a Myanmar prison under an amnesty by the junta the previous day. (Kyodo)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walks to meet the press in Bangkok on Nov. 18, 2022. He said North Korea had launched an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile that likely fell within Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. (Pool photo)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo