Tokyo Olympic Torch Arrives in Japan... Internal Debate on Postponement within Japanese Olympic Committee

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Olympic flame for the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to be held in July, arrived on the 20th at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Matsushima Base in Miyagi Prefecture aboard the special transport plane "TOKYO 2020." Amid concerns over the postponement or cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the torch relay will begin in Fukushima from the 26th.

According to NHK and others, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the organizing committee held a torch handover ceremony attended by Chairman Moriyoshiro and Yasuhiro Yamashita, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC). Tadahiro Nomura (Men's Judo), who achieved three consecutive Olympic gold medals, and Saori Yoshida (Women's Wrestling) boarded the special transport plane and received the flame from organizing committee officials.

The Tokyo Olympic flame, lit on the 12th in Olympia, Greece, had its relay event suspended within Greece after two days due to COVID-19, then was moved to Athens, and was handed over to Tokyo, the host city, the day before. About 200 children who were originally scheduled to support the event attended the torch handover ceremony, but their participation was canceled considering the COVID-19 situation.

The Tokyo Olympic flame will be displayed in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, then starting from Fukushima J-Village on the 26th of this month, it will be carried for 121 days, touring all 47 prefectures across Japan until the opening ceremony on July 24. The torch departure ceremony will be held without spectators due to COVID-19. The organizing committee plans to guide the crowd to prevent congestion along the roads where torchbearers run. Afterwards, they will prepare measures based on the COVID-19 spread situation in each region.

As the spread of COVID-19 continues unabated, various opinions are emerging regarding the holding of the Tokyo Olympics. On this day, even within the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), calls for postponement surfaced. Kaori Yamaguchi, a JOC director, said in an interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 20th, "Right now, (due to COVID-19) athletes cannot prepare satisfactorily," and expressed her intention to propose postponement at the JOC board meeting scheduled for the 27th of this month.

Yamaguchi, a bronze medalist in women's judo (52kg category) at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for maintaining its stance to open as scheduled in July amid the global spread of COVID-19, saying, "It is putting athletes at risk." She added, "Looking at the situation in Europe and the United States, athletes are not in a position to continue training," and criticized, "The IOC, which asks athletes to keep preparing, seems to be looking elsewhere than at the athletes."

Furthermore, she said, "The Olympics, which uphold the ideal of realizing world peace through sports, should not be held if the world cannot enjoy it," expressing concern that forcibly pushing ahead with the event could cast doubt on the Olympics itself.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.