WATCH: Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay gets under way in Fukushima

Ten thousand torch bearers will pass through Japan’s 47 prefectures before arriving at Tokyo’s National Stadium for the opening ceremony on July 23.

CAPE TOWN, March 25 (ANA) – The official countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games got under way as the first group of torch relay runners made their way through the streets of Fukushima on Thursday.

It has been one year since the Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ten thousand torch bearers will pass through Japan’s 47 prefectures before arriving at Tokyo’s National Stadium for the opening ceremony on July 23.

According to the Olympic Games official website, the route is unchanged from a year ago. The flame’s journey began on a football pitch inside the J-Village national football training complex and will travel through 859 municipalities, passing the majority of the Japanese population.

“For the past year, as the entire world went through a difficult period, the Olympic flame was kept alive quietly but powerfully,” said Seiko Hashimoto, head of the Olympic Games organising committee.

“The small flame did not lose hope, and just like the cherry blossom buds that are ready to bloom, it was waiting for this day,” she said.

The brief opening ceremony, which was closed to the public and attended by a small number of dignitaries, witnessed Japan’s women’s football team get the torch relay started.

“The torch design, with its pink gold colour, was inspired by cherry blossom, a flower synonymous with Japanese spring,” read a statement on the Games’ website.

“It also embodies Tokyo 2020’s commitment to sustainability… approximately 30% of the torch is made from recycled aluminium that was used for temporary housing after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

“Hydrogen, which emits no carbon dioxide when burned, will be used to fuel the torch for selected legs of the relay,” it said.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher