Photo taken on Feb. 26, 2023, shows an entrance path to Miyajidake shrine in the Fukuoka Prefecture city of Fukutsu, southwestern Japan, just before sunset. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Runners set off at the Osaka Marathon on Feb. 26, 2023, in the western Japan city. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The annual "omizutori" water-drawing fire ceremony, which dates back to 752, begins at the Nigatsudo hall of Todai-ji temple in Nara, western Japan, on March 1, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The Metropolitan Police Department conducts drill in Tokyo on March 2, 2023, for protection of dignitaries with police officers across the country in charge of security attending. The MPD is set to increase the number of security police after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot in July 2022 during a stump speech in the western city of Nara. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Photo taken in Hiroshima, western Japan, on March 2, 2023, shows Venus (R) and Jupiter appearing as if they are almost touching each other in what is known as a conjunction seen above the Atomic Bomb Dome. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
About 1,500 "hina" traditional Japanese dolls are displayed on a 7-meter-high, 31-step pyramid stand on March 2, 2023, at a shopping mall in Konosu in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
