Nadeshiko Japan saw the Tokyo 2020 Olympics get under way as the Torch Relay started in Fukushima. As the flame’s journey will begin in the J-Village national football training facility, the route, which is unchanged from a year ago when the Games were postponed, will see the Olympic flame travel through 859 municipalities, passing within a short distance of the majority of the Japanese population.
Over 10,000 torchbearers, hand-selected from over half-a-million applicants, will have the responsibility of carrying the Olympic flame on its journey across the host country. With its pink gold colour - inspired by cherry blossom, a flower synonymous with Japanese spring - each torchbearer, who was chosen for their ability to overcome adversity, will celebrate the best in everyone.
With the aim of uniting people around messages of supporting, accepting and encouraging one another, the Olympic torch is again on the move - one year after it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no crowd to witness the start, the first runner to carry the torch was Azusa Iwashimizu, a Japanese player who was part of the team that won the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The ceremony was the beginning of what will be a four-month tour around Japan, culminating with its arrival at Tokyo's Japan National Stadium during the Opening Ceremony in July.
