The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics is to start in a month, which should be a sign that the troubled Olympics are on track to begin from July 23.
Organizers on Thursday read out a list of rules regarding health measures for the 10,000 torchbearers and others who are to take part, including fans. “No shouting, no cheering. Please cheer by clapping your hands and maintain appropriate distance in case there is overcrowding,” Yukihiko Nunomura, the vice director-general of the organizing committee, told a briefing.
Torchbearers will be allowed to run without wearing a mask, but all others are required to wear one.
The relay begins on March 25 from the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima and will crisscross the country. The relay halts on July 23 in the National Stadium in Tokyo, where the opening ceremony is set to take place.
There was talk after the postponement of dropping all or part of the torch relay for safety reasons or to save money and simplify the games. But it was kept, partly because it is a heavily sponsored event backed by Coca-Cola and Toyota, and other large sponsors such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Nippon Life Insurance, Panasonic, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, and Visa.