TOKYO – The Olympic torch relay has been scrapped on Tokyo’s public roads, officials announced today, as virus concerns continue to plague the Games just over two weeks before they begin.
The latest setback comes only a day before International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach is due to arrive in Japan for the postponed mega-event.
And with coronavirus infections on the rise again in Japan, the government is expected to this week extend restrictions that are likely to affect how many fans – if any – can attend the Games.
The Olympic flame arrives in Tokyo on Friday, but private torch-lighting ceremonies will replace the relay across the capital to prevent crowds gathering to watch, the city government said.
Right up to the opening ceremony on July 23, the torch ceremonies will be streamed online, with authorities urging spectators to watch them “in the comfort of your home’.
Only the relay leg in the Ogasawara islands – a remote archipelago some 1,000km south of Tokyo – will go ahead in public as scheduled.
The nationwide torch relay has been fraught with problems since it began in March, with almost half the legs disrupted in some way.
The relay was forced off public roads in famous tourist cities such as Kyoto and Hiroshima over fears that crowds of fans could spread the virus.
And it has also met with some public opposition, with a 53-year-old woman arrested on Sunday for squirting liquid from a water pistol towards a runner.
Tokyo 2020 was delayed by one year by the pandemic and will take place under strict anti-infection rules, with overseas fans banned and local spectators limited.
Participants have already begun arriving in Japan, with 11,000 Olympic athletes from around 200 countries set to take part.
Bach, who will self-isolate for three days on arrival, had initially been expected to visit Tokyo in May, but that trip was cancelled over virus restrictions. – AFP, July 7, 2021
