KYOTO--Priests at Chion-in temple here tolled a 70-ton bell, said to be one of Japan’s three largest temple bells, in a dry run to ring out a year overshadowed by wars overseas. The Dec.

KYOTO--Monks at Chion-in temple in Higashiyama Ward here did a test run of its famed hanging bell on Dec. 27 to prepare for the traditional bell-ringing ceremony on New Year’s Eve. In the test ...