Coronavirus pandemic | Olympic flame passed to Fukushima during low-key ceremony

The flame will stay on display in the J-Village until April 30 before being moved to Tokyo. Organisers have not yet decided where in the Japanese capital it will be displayed.

Reuters

April 01, 2020 / 03:03 PM IST

Tokyo 2020 organisers left the Olympic flame in the hands of Fukushima Prefecture on April 1 where it will be on display in a lantern for the next month after the Games were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The handover took place at a subdued ceremony at the J-Village National Training Centre in Fukushima, which was originally set to be the starting point of the torch relay.

Only Tokyo 2020 COO Yukihiko Nunomura made the trip north from the organising committee.

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"This is a (symbol of) hope for the world to celebrate the best of human beings through Tokyo 2020 after we overcome the serious coronavirus," said Nunomura to start the ceremony.

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