People wearing face masks walk in Osaka on Dec. 5, 2020, the first weekend after the Osaka prefectural government asked residents to refrain from nonessential outings through Dec. 15, raising its coronavirus alert level from "yellow" to "red," meaning "emergency." (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk in Tokyo's Asakusa tourist area on Dec. 5, 2020. Tokyo reported a record 584 new cases of the novel coronavirus the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Kanako Watanabe swims en route to winning the women's 200-meter breaststroke final at the national swimming championships at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Dec. 6, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The sun sets over the sea as seen from a beach in Sukumo in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 6, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Yuichi Tsuda, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 project manager, poses on Dec. 6, 2020, after a press conference in Sagamihara near Tokyo, following the landing in an Australian desert of a capsule from the Hayabusa2 space probe earlier in the day. Seen above is a model of the space probe. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Making of "hamaya" decorative arrows for New Year is under way at Atsuta Jingu shrine in Nagoya, central Japan, on Dec. 7, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Dec. 7, 2020, shows a cargo vessel on fire off the Hiroshima Prefecture town of Osakikamijima in western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Flowers are left at John Lennon's memorial, Strawberry Fields, in New York's Central Park on Dec. 8, 2020, the 40th anniversary of the legendary musician's death. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk in Osaka's Umeda area on Dec. 9, 2020, amid the continued spread of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki talks about anti-coronavirus measures during a press conference in Sapporo, northern Japan, on Dec. 10, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk in Tokyo's Shinjuku district on Dec. 10, 2020. Tokyo reported a record 602 new coronavirus cases the same day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Making of "hamaya" decorative arrows for New Year is under way at Atsuta Jingu shrine in Nagoya, central Japan, on Dec. 7, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Yuichi Tsuda, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 project manager, poses on Dec. 6, 2020, after a press conference in Sagamihara near Tokyo, following the landing in an Australian desert of a capsule from the Hayabusa2 space probe earlier in the day. Seen above is a model of the space probe. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki talks about anti-coronavirus measures during a press conference in Sapporo, northern Japan, on Dec. 10, 2020. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
