The torch of the Tokyo Olympics ... in the presence of the crowd and without cheers

Organizers of the Summer Olympics said today that fans will be allowed to line up on the torch relay in Japan next month, but that shouting and cheering will be banned.

The Olympic torch route was canceled days before its launch last year, when Japan and the International Olympic Committee officials made an unprecedented decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for a year due to the Corona virus.

Despite persistent concerns about holding the Games this summer, organizers say the event could take place on schedule and the torch relay will be launched as scheduled on March 25th.

However, Chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, Seiko Hashimoto, said in statements to reporters: "The health situation will differ from one region to another, and we have to take this into account and it will be very important to take a careful approach."

"We want to gain the understanding of the people in every region and link the whole country to the principle of the torch relay: (Hope enlightens our path)," she added.

The torch will be launched from a symbolic site in Fukushima, to highlight Tokyo 2020's role as the "Reconstruction Olympics", a tribute to reconstruction efforts ten years after the earthquake, tsunami and 2011 nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan.

But the torch relay will be a more realistic event than usual.

Onlookers will be allowed to watch the torch pass in front of them, but they will be required to wear masks, avoid crowds, and only attend certain parts of its path near their homes.

Hashimoto explained that the guidelines warn that "they should be supported by applause or by using the things that are distributed instead of shouting or cheering," stressing the need for social distancing.

"Individual segments of the torch relay will be suspended if there is a risk of congestion," she added.

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