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

Aug. 26

A ceremony commemorating the start of a light rail transit service is held at JR Utsunomiya Station in Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. Japan's first new tram system in 75 years covers the 14.6-kilometer route between the station and the nearby town of Haga in 48 minutes. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
A rocket carrying SpaceX's Dragon craft takes off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral in Florida on the Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Aug. 27

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team flies during an aviation festival at the ASDF base in Higashimatsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 

Aug. 28

Petunia flowers are in bloom at Mother Farm theme park in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels singles off Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker during the first inning of a baseball game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 

Aug. 29

Photo taken at a sushi corner at a Beijing supermarket shows a sign stating that the seafood used in the products was not imported from Japan. China imposed a ban on all Japanese seafood products following the release from Aug. 24 of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Co-host Japan's bid to reach the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup ended with a 109-89 loss to heavyweight Australia. (Kyodo)
 

Aug. 30

Nearly a week into the release of treated radioactive water into the ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, no anomalies have been detected in tritium levels in nearby waters. The Japanese government and the plant's operator will continue to monitor the operation. (Kyodo)

 

A labor union at Japanese department store operator Sogo & Seibu says union members would go on a rare strike at its flagship store in Tokyo, as its parent company remains committed to selling the chain to a U.S.-based investment fund despite their opposition to the buyout. (Kyodo)

 

Aug. 31

Photo shows the Seibu Ikebukuro department store in Tokyo, where workers represented by a labor union went on strike. (Kyodo)
 
Striking workers represented by a labor union at Sogo & Seibu Co. march in the streets of Tokyo's Toshima Ward. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
A launch ceremony for the whaling mother ship Kangei Maru is held in the Yamaguchi Prefecture city of Shimonoseki, western Japan. The 112.6-meter, 9,100-ton electrically powered ship will begin operating in 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
A supermoon lights up the sky in Tokyo. (Kyodo)

Sept. 1

A woman prays at the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Tokyo on the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, which devastated the capital and surrounding areas, leaving an estimated 105,000 people dead or missing. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
 
Fishing boats leave a port in Taiji in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama for the season's first drive hunt of dolphins and small whales. Animal rights activists protested against the traditional hunt at the port. (Kyodo)

Back number:

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Aug. 19~25

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Aug. 12~18

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Aug. 5~11