Yellow sand blankets the area in Osaka around Abeno Harukas, Japan's second-tallest building, as seen from a Kyodo News helicopter. (Kyodo)
Traditional Japanese female entertainers "geiko" and their apprentice "maiko" take part in a final practice session in Kyoto ahead of Miyako Odori dance performances to be held April 1-30. (Kyodo)
Rubble from collapsed and burnt houses remains at the site of a famous marketplace in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, as Japan marks three months since a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day devastated vast areas of central Japan. (Kyodo)
New employees of Japan Airlines Co. attend an entrance ceremony in a hangar at Haneda airport in Tokyo on the first day of the new business year. (Kyodo)
About 43,500 people are affected as bullet train services are temporarily suspended in some areas in eastern Japan following the breakdown of a maintenance vehicle early in the morning. Shinkansen operations fully resumed at around 12:30 p.m. (Kyodo)
A building in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, is left tilting precariously following a powerful earthquake. (Kyodo)
Shohei Ohtani hits his first home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers, scoring a crucial insurance run in the seventh inning of his new team's 5-4 win over the San Franscisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Kyodo)
Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force member Rina Gonoi (R) poses with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in Tokyo on April 3, 2024, during a reception celebrating her winning the International Women of Courage Award for her action in coming forward in 2022 as a victim of long-term sexual harassment and abuse by colleagues in her GSDF unit. (Kyodo)
An annual cherry blossom viewing event begins at the Japan Mint in Osaka, with elderly and disabled invitees enjoying the sight a day before the famous springtime fixture opens to the general public. A total of 340 cherry trees of 141 varieties line a 560-meter long path on the grounds of the head office, according to the organization. (Kyodo)
Production of imitation chrysanthemum flowers peaks at Kumano Hongu Taisha in the Wakayama Prefecture city of Tanabe, western Japan, ahead of an annual festival at the World Heritage-listed shrine, set to be held for three days from April 13. (Kyodo)
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng shakes hands with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Guangzhou, China. Yellen told He that the two countries should closely communicate on industrial overcapacity and economic actions related to national security as among issues of concern. (Kyodo)
Work to dismantle a tilting condominium building begins in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, following a powerful earthquake on April 3. (Kyodo)
Elementary and junior high schools in earthquake-struck areas in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast hold their entrance ceremonies. At Iida Elementary School in Suzu, five first graders began school life, compared with 18 the previous year, as some who were planning to attend the school relocated following the Jan. 1 quake. (Kyodo)
