Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay Begins... Uneasy Start Amid COVID-19 Resurgence

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Tokyo Olympic torch relay will begin on the 25th at the soccer facility J-Village located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

According to NHK, around 9 a.m. that day, a torch departure ceremony will be held at J-Village attended by Seiko Hashimoto, Chairperson of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, and Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will not attend as part of event simplification measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The first torchbearers will be 16 members of the Japanese national team "Nadeshiko Japan," who won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, the same year the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred.

The torch relay, starting around 9:40 a.m. that day, will continue for 121 days until July 23, when the Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony takes place.

Approximately 10,000 torchbearers will run throughout all 47 prefectures (metropolitan governments) across Japan.

However, concerns are growing as signs of a resurgence of COVID-19 are appearing within Japan.

The previous day, 1,918 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed nationwide. The number of confirmed cases in Japan has risen above 1,000 again after maintaining below 1,000 since the lifting of the state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area on the 22nd.

The Japanese government and the organizing committee have prepared quarantine measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the torch relay, including urging people to refrain from crowded street cheering and away-from-home cheering.

The organizing committee recommends watching the torch relay live online to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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