The Olympic torch relay for the Tokyo Games, delayed until this summer due to the pandemic, was launched Thursday in Fukushima (northeastern Japan) in the absence of an audience, as organizers try to allay concerns of a reluctant population.
The rose gold metallic torch, at the top in the shape of a cherry blossom, was ignited in the morning in the very symbolic J-Village sports complex, which had served as a base for relief operations after the nuclear disaster of March 11 2011, following an earthquake and a tsunami.
Speaking at the relay launch ceremony, Tokyo-2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said she hoped the Olympic flame would be "a ray of light at the end of the darkness."
Read also
Tokyo Olympics: Olympic flame will light up reconstruction efforts in Fukushima
