Bobblehead dolls of two-way player Shohei Ohtani and teammate Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels are handed out to spectators ahead of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Kyodo)
A gigantic Akita puppy frolics on a three-dimensional advertisement billboard in Osaka's Dotombori, surprising visitors in the bustling shopping district known for its abundance of eye-catching ad icons. (Kyodo)
Bobblehead dolls of two-way player Shohei Ohtani and teammate Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels are handed out to spectators ahead of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Kyodo)
A gigantic Akita puppy frolics on a three-dimensional advertisement billboard in Osaka's Dotombori, surprising visitors in the bustling shopping district known for its abundance of eye-catching ad icons. (Kyodo)
Wishes written on strips of paper called "tanzaku" are attached to bamboo for the "tanabata" Star Festival in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, ahead of the 3rd anniversary of torrential rain that caused deadly floods. Local residents wished for the speedy reconstruction of affected areas and that they be spared from further rain and disasters. (Kyodo)
More than 200 colorful kayaks dotted the seas between Kagoshima Prefecture's Amami Oshima and Kakeroma, as the Amami Sea Kayak Marathon Race returns for the first time in four years after having been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and typhoon. (Kyodo)
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka holds a media preview of the "Super Mario Power-Up Summer" water festival ahead of its July 5 official opening. The annual summer event makes its return after being suspended since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will feature Mario and fellow characters from USJ's Super Nintendo World. (Kyodo)
Temperatures rise across the country, especially in central and western Japan, with the mercury climbing above 35 C in places such as Nagoya and Kyoto. A town in Gifu Prefecture recorded 36.5 C, the highest so far this year across the archipelago. (Kyodo)
Lotus flowers are in full bloom at Seisho-ji temple in Kawachinagano in Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo)
Israeli forces launch a massive two-day military operation on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. (Kyodo)
Armed police officers stand guard near the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. July 5 marked the 14th anniversary of deadly riots in Urumqi. (Kyodo)
Memorial ceremonies are held in Hiroshima and Okayama to mark the fifth anniversary of devastating flooding and landslides that claimed more than 200 lives in the two prefectures. (Kyodo)
Elementary school pupils tie "tanzaku" paper strips with their wishes written on them onto bamboo, leftover from the pandas at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, as Japan celebrates the "tanabata" Star Festival. (Kyodo)
People gather near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to protest against Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. The South Korean government said the same day its own analysis showed the plan meets international safety standards but it will maintain an import ban on Japanese seafood from Fukushima and some other prefectures amid safety concerns.(Kyodo)
Osaka's Okawa River is lit up with some 40,000 floating blue LED light balls, creating a magical illumination resembling the Milky Way, on the evening of the annual Tanabata star festival. (Kyodo)
About 40,000 blue LED balls light up the river running through central Osaka on July 7, 2023, following a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
A worker prepares for the season's first shipments of cube-shaped watermelons in Zentsuji in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, on July 3, 2023. The ornamental watermelons, grown in square plastic containers, carry a wholesale price of around 10,000 yen ($69) each. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
People gather near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on July 7, 2023, to protest against Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
