(ATR) One of the areas heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami will be the start of the 2020 Olympic Torch Relay.
Organizers announced today that Fukushima prefecture will be the start of the Olympic Torch Relay. The torch will spend three days in Fukushima, and then will return to Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which were also affected, later in the relay.
Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori told reporters that an idea was proposed to have the relay start in all three prefectures affected by the relay. That idea was shot down, but Mori emphasized the relay to showcase the "willingness of people to recover from the devastation".
"Thorough the torch relay, we would like to express our appreciation to all those across the world who have contributed to the reconstruction of the Tohoku region," Mori said. "I believe these Olympic Games will help lift the spirits of all of the people in Japan, and provide a particular boost to the feelings of people in the affected areas."
Fukushima was chosen as the starting point as part of the relay’s theme "Hope Lights Our Way". Organizers have repeatedly cited using the Tokyo Olympics to help bring attention to recovery efforts in northeast Japan. Opening matches for baseball and softball at the 2020 Olympics will also take place in Fukushima.
All 47 prefectures in Japan will feature in the relay. After Fukushima the torch will head south through Japan all the way to Okinawa prefecture, 400 miles south of the nearest prefecture Kagoshima. The torch will then travel back up through Japan to the northern island of Hokkaido, before returning back to Tokyo.
In all the relay will take 121 days to complete, with seven of those days being reserved for travel. The relay will start on March 26 and finish on July 24 at the 2020 Opening Ceremony.
IOC rules dictate that the Torch Relay must be no longer than 100 days, and travel in a continuous route. Tokyo 2020 is said to have been granted an extension from the IOC to allow for more time in the earthquake-affected areas.
Fukushima, Iwate and Miyaki prefectures will all get three days with the Olympic torch. Only Tokyo prefecture will receive more time, a full two weeks.
Written by Aaron Bauer in Tokyo
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