Tokyo Olympics torch relay starts in Fukushima's shadow (updated)
25/03/2021 24:04
(Adds details, quotes from Hashimoto)
By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Mari Saito
FUKUSHIMA/TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) - The Olympic torch
relay is set to start in Fukushima on Thursday, kicking off a
four-month countdown to the summer Games in Tokyo, delayed from
2020 and the first ever organised during a global pandemic.
About 10,000 runners will carry the torch across Japan's 47
prefectures, including far-flung islands, starting from the site
of the 2011 quake and tsunami that killed about 20,000 people,
highlighting the government's "Reconstruction Olympics" theme.
The first section will not have spectators, to prevent large
crowds, and roadside onlookers elsewhere must wear masks and
socially distance as Japan battles the deadly virus and
scrambles to vaccinate its people.
"For the past year, as the entire world underwent a
difficult period, the Olympic flame was kept alive quietly but
powerfully," said Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto at the
opening ceremony.
"The small flame did not lose hope, and just like the cherry
blossom buds that are ready to bloom, it was waiting for this
day," Hashimoto said.
Casting a pall over the celebrations, North Korea on
Thursday launched at least two projectiles suspected to be
ballistic missiles, the first such test reported since U.S.
President Joe Biden took office in January.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga assured reporters in
Tokyo the government was cooperating with the Tokyo metropolitan
government and the International Olympic Committee to host a
secure Games.
"We will do our utmost in terms of coronavirus measures and
continue to work with related areas to contain the spread of
infections and hope to work towards a safe and secure Games,"
Suga said.
The starting ceremony started at J-Village in Fukushima, a
sports complex converted into a staging ground for workers
decommissioning the crippled nuclear power plant that caused
tens of thousands to flee.
Members of the Japanese national women's soccer team will
use the Olympic flame, flown in from Greece last year, to light
the torch.
HIGH-PROFILE CANCELLATIONS
The relay, which will culminate with the Olympic opening
ceremony on July 23, has been hit by several high-profile runner
cancellations as celebrities and top-level athletes have pulled
out, citing late notice and worries over the pandemic.
The opening ceremony - originally planned for thousands of
fans as a celebration of Japan's recovery - is closed to the
public. It featured a drum concert and dance performances by a
group of residents from Fukushima, followed by a children's
choir.
Japan has fared better than most countries during the
pandemic, with fewer than 9,000 coronavirus deaths. But a third
wave of infections has pushed the numbers to record highs,
triggering a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas that
was lifted this week.
The majority of the public are against the Olympics being
held as scheduled, polls show, and Japan is the slowest among
advanced economies with its vaccination roll out.
At Fukushima, J-Village is decorated with local flowers
arranged using Japan's traditional ikebana techniques. Japan has
spent nearly $300 billion to revive the disaster-hit region.
But many locals are apprehensive about the Games, as areas
around the plant remain off-limits, worries about radiation
linger and many who left have settled elsewhere. Decommissioning
will take up to a century and cost billions of dollars.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Fukushima and Mari Saito,
Ju-min Park, Antoni Slodkowski and Elaine Lies in Tokyo; Editing
by Richard Pullin and Gerry Doyle)
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