Tokyo: The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics began its 121-day journey across Japan on Thursday.
The relay began in northeastern Fukushima prefecture, the area that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. About 18,000 died in the tragedy.
The first runner with the torch was Azusa Iwashimizu, a key player in the Japan team that won the Women’s World Cup in 2011.
The relay is a big test for the upcoming Olympics with fear among the public that the event could spread the virus to rural and more isolated parts of the country. Vaccinations have not been rolled out yet in Japan to the general public.
About 9,000 deaths in the country have been attributed to COVID-19.
About 10,000 runners are expected to take part, with the relay touching Japan’s 47 prefectures.
After the postponement a year ago, there was early talk of eliminating the relay to save money. However, that idea was quickly dropped with the relay heavily sponsored by Coca-Cola and Toyota.
Comments are closed.