Japan Photo Journal: Santa and stars of 2022 appear with hope for world peace at Kobe house

A Santa Claus model wearing a bulletproof vest that uses its whole body to symbolize the kanji character for "life" is displayed in hope for world peace at a Western-style house in Kobe's Chuo Ward, as seen in this photo taken on Nov. 17, 2022. Every year since 2009, plastic foam Santa dolls related with topics or people that have made the headlines have appeared at the Uroko House (House of the Scales) in the Kitano Ijinkan area. This year's 3-meter-tall Santa model is wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest over camouflage clothing. Statuettes of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other leaders were huddled together in a friendly manner, while a model of newsmaker Yutaro Sugimoto of Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes, who was named MVP of the Japan Series championship, was also featured. The display will continue through Dec. 25.

(Japanese original by Maiko Umeda, Osaka Photo Department)