Winter illuminations are pictured at the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex on Dec. 6, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken at the head office of doll maker Kyugetsu in Tokyo on Dec. 7, 2021, shows traditional Japanese "hagoita" battledores decorated with images of newsmakers of the year. Those featured include baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani (bottom, 2nd from R), who was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 2021 season, and new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (bottom, 4th from L). (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk in Seoul on Dec. 7, 2021, amid concern over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps conduct joint exercise at Ojojihara maneuver area in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 8, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The U.S. Navy commissions a new guided missile destroyer named Daniel Inouye in honor of the late U.S. Senator at a ceremony in Hawaii on Dec. 8, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The official mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is seen on a wall in Beijing on Dec. 8, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa is pictured on Dec. 8, 2021, before departing from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on course to become the first Japanese civilian to stay on the International Space Station. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako wave from inside a vehicle before entering the temporary housing of former Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo's Takanawa area on Dec. 9, 2021, the 58th birthday of Empress Masako. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The port of Onahama in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki, northeastern Japan, lands the season's first haul of saury on Dec. 9, 2021, about two months later than usual. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People wearing face masks walk in Seoul on Dec. 7, 2021, amid concern over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
