The 2020 Olympics torch relay reached Tokyo yesterday to a muted reception.
The torch began its final fifteen-day phase, one day after Japan decided to ban all spectators, including domestic ones from attending the Olympic Games.
Under a gloomy grey sky, organizers held a small ceremony at the almost-empty Komazawa Olympic Park with Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike in attendance.
This is usually an anticipation-building moment ahead of the Olympics.
But the torch relay is limited due to coronavirus measures, and organizers failed to generate enthusiasm among the Japanese public, many of whom are against the games going ahead.
Since the relay began at the end of March, the torch has made its way through Japan’s forty-seven prefectures but was banned from public roads in many areas.
It now faces the same treatment in Tokyo due to surging coronavirus infections except for a few areas, the torch relay is banned from the public streets of the Japanese capital.
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