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TOKYO – The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Games will begin in just over three months, and it faces the same questions as the Olympics about security during the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers said Tuesday that the relay will begin on March 25 from the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima. This was also to have been the starting point for the relay before the Olympics were postponed nine months ago.
This coastal area of Japan was devastated almost 10 years ago by an earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent meltdown of three nuclear reactors.
The relay will travel through Japan and involve 10,000 runners and tens of thousands of officials. This does not include local residents who will want to see the torch pass.
“The Covid-19 countermeasures will be continuously worked on for the torch relay; the audience, the torchbearers and the officials associated with the program, ”Yukihiko Nunomura, deputy director general of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, said during an online press conference.
The relay is sponsored by Toyota and Coca-Cola, two Olympic heavyweight sponsors. At first, the possibility of eliminating the event was discussed for cost and safety reasons, but that idea seemed to be quickly scrapped.
The relay will last 121 days and will go through 859 municipalities, more or less as planned before the postponement.
“We wanted to simplify the program as much as possible, trying to also minimize the number of vehicles and audience,” said Nunomura. “As you know, the torch relay will spread throughout Japan and we will have many participants.”
The Tokyo Skytree, Japan’s tallest tower, was lit up in gold on Tuesday to mark 100 days until the relay begins.
The postponed Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23, 2021 and are scheduled to include the full complement of 11,000 athletes. The Paralympics will add 4,400 more.
Organizers of the Olympics and the torch relay are waiting until early next year to provide specific details on countermeasures for the coronavirus. They have been encouraged by the recent launch of vaccines.
“Now some vaccines are being distributed and are actually being used,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “It is a ray of hope.”
Japan has seen a surge in new infections across the country in recent weeks. On Saturday, new cases totaled 3,041, the first time above 3,000.
Japan, with a population of 125 million, has handled the pandemic relatively well, with just over 2,500 deaths attributed to Covid-19. AP
