Here is a selection of Kyodo News photos taken this week in Japan and beyond.
March 30
Yellow sand blankets the area in Osaka around Abeno Harukas, Japan's second-tallest building, as seen from a Kyodo News helicopter. (Kyodo)
March 31
Traditional Japanese female entertainers "geiko" and their apprentice "maiko" take part in a final practice session in Kyoto ahead of Miyako Odori dance performances to be held April 1-30. (Kyodo)
April 1
Rubble from collapsed and burnt houses remains at the site of a famous marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, as Japan marks three months since a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day devastated vast areas of central Japan. (Kyodo)
New employees of Japan Airlines Co. attend an entrance ceremony in a hangar at Haneda airport in Tokyo on the first day of the new business year. (Kyodo)
April 2
April 3
Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force member Rina Gonoi (R) poses with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in Tokyo on April 3, 2024, during a reception celebrating her
winning the International Women of Courage Award for her action in coming forward in 2022 as a victim of long-term sexual harassment and abuse by colleagues in her GSDF unit. (Kyodo)
April 4
An annual cherry blossom viewing event begins at the Japan Mint in Osaka, with elderly and disabled invitees enjoying the sight a day before the famous springtime fixture opens to the general public. A total of 340 cherry trees of 141 varieties line a 560-meter long path on the grounds of the head office, according to the organization. (Kyodo)
Production of imitation chrysanthemum flowers peaks at Kumano Hongu Taisha in the Wakayama Prefecture city of Tanabe, western Japan, ahead of an annual festival at the World Heritage-listed shrine, set to be held for three days from April 13. (Kyodo)
April 5
Elementary and junior high schools in earthquake-struck areas in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast hold their entrance ceremonies. At Iida Elementary School in Suzu, five first graders began school life, compared with 18 the previous year, as some who were planning to attend the school relocated following the Jan. 1 quake. (Kyodo)
Back number:
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - March 23-29
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - March 16-22
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - March 9-15
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - March 2-8