Japanese Emperor Naruhito (L) and Empress Masako (2nd from L) attend a scaled-down New Year's ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 1, 2022, wearing masks for protection against the coronavirus. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People look at 2022's first sunrise in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, northeastern Japan, near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, on Jan. 1, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Swordsmiths hammer steel in a New Year ceremony to pray for safety and success on Jan. 2, 2022, in the Gifu Prefecture city of Seki, central Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Aoyama Gakuin University manager Susumu Hara is tossed into the air by his team members in Tokyo's Otemachi business district on Jan. 3, 2022, after the team claimed victory in the two-day Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People cheer at a ceremony at the Nagoya Stock Exchange on Jan. 4, 2022, to mark the first trading day of the year. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People visit Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo to offer New Year prayers on the first work day of the year for most companies on Jan. 4, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken Jan. 4, 2022, shows a humpback whale in the sea off Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Officials wearing protective gear work at Beijing Capital International Airport on Jan. 4, 2022, amid concerns over the novel coronavirus ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics starting next month. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People clad in traditional attire play "kemari," a football game played by nobles in Japan's Heian period, at Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto on Jan. 4, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
A New Year calligraphy event is held at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on Jan. 5, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
General Motors Co. Chair and CEO Mary Barra introduces an electric pickup truck at an online press conference during the CES technology show in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The Hachiko statue in Tokyo's Shibuya area is covered in snow on Jan. 6, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
A pedestrian passes by a PR board promoting PCR testing in the Okinawa Prefecture capital of Naha, southern Japan, on Jan. 6, 2022, a day before a quasi-state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic is declared in the prefecture following record-breaking daily infections of nearly 1,000. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Princess Kako, the niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, visits the Musashino Imperial Graveyard in Hachioji, Tokyo, on Jan. 7, 2022. (Pool photo)(Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People clad in traditional attire play "kemari," a football game played by nobles in Japan's Heian period, at Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto on Jan. 4, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken Jan. 4, 2022, shows a humpback whale in the sea off Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
