Chinanews client, Beijing, March 24th (Reporter Yue Chuan) 370 days after the Tokyo Olympic flame arrived in Japan, the torch relay ceremony will finally start on the 25th local time.

Data Map: Japan Olympic Torch

　　This is the long-awaited starting point, and the source has to be traced back to this time last year.

　　The Tokyo Olympic flame was collected at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece in early March 2020.

After completing the handover ceremony, the torch arrived in Japan on the 20th of that month.

According to the original plan, the torch relay of the Tokyo Olympics was scheduled to start at the football facility "J-Village" in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26 last year.

After that, about 10,000 torchbearers will travel all over Japan in 121 days, and finally ignite the main torch at the "National Arena", the main venue of the Tokyo Olympics on July 24.

Data map: On March 12, local time, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic flame collection ceremony was held at the Hera Temple in Olympia, Greece.

The picture shows the scene of the torch gathering ceremony.

　　As we all know, due to the sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic, the torch relay plan was eventually stranded, and even the Tokyo Olympics were forced to postpone until the opening on July 23 this year. This is the first time in the 100-year history of the Olympic Games.

　　The decision to postpone the Olympics was announced by the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee in a joint statement on March 24 last year.

At the same time, the Olympic tinder was left in Japan, starting a year-long watch and waiting for the passing ceremony.

Since then, just like the ill-fated Tokyo Olympics, various predictions and conjectures about the Olympic flame and the passing ceremony have always been the topic of continuous follow-up by major Japanese media.

　　It is reported that in accordance with the relevant regulations of the International Olympic Committee, the ignited Olympic flame cannot be extinguished before the closing of the current Olympic Games, so the Japanese Olympic Organizing Committee is responsible for keeping the flame during the year.

In the words of Japanese media, the storage location is considered "top secret".

On August 31, local time, the Tokyo Olympic flame was publicly unveiled at the Olympic Museum in Japan.

　　After "disappearing" for a period of time, with the Tokyo Olympics "again" approaching, the Olympic flame returned to the public eye.

　　At the end of August last year, the Tokyo Olympic flame was publicly unveiled at the Olympic Museum in Japan, and a two-month exhibition began.

Subsequently, the Olympic torch began touring exhibitions in various regions of Japan, which is planned to last for several months.

In mid-December, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee announced the updated date and route of the torch relay: the time is set for March 25 this year, and the route is basically the same as the original one.

　　However, due to the increasing severity of the epidemic, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced in January this year that the Olympic torch tour activities in its jurisdiction were suspended. At that time, there was about half a year before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.

Taking this as a guide, coupled with the high daily number of new cases in the local area, although the Japanese government continues to express confidence in the success of the game, there are precedents for postponement, and the Tokyo Olympics looks full of uncertainty.

Data map: People in Tokyo, Japan look at the Olympic rings on Tokyo Bay.

　　The external environment "adds congestion", and the organizing committee is not monolithic.

Just over a month in the past, the former Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee Chairman Yoshiro Mori resigned after making inappropriate remarks suspected of discriminating against women, and the former Tokyo Olympic Director Hiroshi Sasaki also resigned due to insulting remarks against a female artist. .

One after another negative news made the Tokyo Olympics, which was already in turmoil, worse.

　　Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why some people pointed out that the torch relay is an opportunity to reverse unfavorable public opinion.

However, as the passing ceremony is approaching, more and more torchbearers have opted out, including Japan's top marathon runner Daojie, women's World Cup champion Nahomi Kawasumi, well-known actor Kagawa Teruyuki and other celebrities.

In the past month or so, as many as dozens of torchbearers have given up the opportunity to participate in the torch relay, and many of them come from the fields of culture and sports.

　　On the 24th, one of the first torchbearers of the Tokyo Olympics torch relay, Japanese women's football star Sawaho Nozomi, withdrew from the torch relay for personal reasons.

Data map: The torch shape of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The torch shape is inspired by cherry blossoms,

　　Although celebrities from all walks of life have resigned from the Olympic torchbearer one after another, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga responded earlier this month that the event will be held as planned.

　　"The Olympic torch relay is an important opportunity for Japan to feel that the Olympics is approaching. As a light of hope, I look forward to the torch being passed across the country." Yoshihide Suga described the torch relay as a "light of hope". However, after comprehensive consideration, He will not attend the launching ceremony of the torch relay.

　　Not only that, there will be no spectators at the launching ceremony of the Olympic torch relay held in Fukushima Prefecture on the 25th.

After a long period of see-saw, the Tokyo Olympics finally decided to hold the games behind closed doors, banning overseas spectators from entering.

In addition to about 500 volunteers with special skills, other foreign volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics are also barred from entering the country.

In this context, it is not surprising that the launching ceremony of the torch relay adopts an audience-less format.

Data map: The Japan National Arena, the main venue of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

　　In any case, after 370 days of waiting, the torch relay ceremony finally kicked off and the preparations for the Olympics took a crucial step.

It's just that whether this journey will eventually lead to the National Arena, it will take time to give an answer.

(Finish)