The Grand Start ceremony and first section of the relay on day 1 will not be open to the public as organisers reduce the number of participants
It was meant to be the start of a triumphant march to the Tokyo 2020 Games: the torch relay would begin on Thursday in Fukushima, battered by the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, as a poignant symbol of the "Recovery Olympics." But instead, it was like any other day for this prefecture in northeast Japan after the relay was scrapped following the Games' postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has hit off the coast of Japan, with its epicentre located some 150 kilometers from the city of Namie in Fukushima prefecture triggering a tsunami alert, RT News reports.
The four-month event has been hit by several high-profile runner cancellations as celebrities have pulled out, citing late notice and worries about drawing crowds during the pandemic.
The quake struck on Tuesday morning at about 06:00 local time (2:30 am IST on Tuesday), the Japan Meteorological Agency said, adding that the epicentre of the quake, which was felt in Tokyo, was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 25km, the agency said.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck at 2:46 PM Japanese Standard Time off the coast of Japan, unleashing enough seismic force to knock the entire world off its axis by more than six inches. Five years later, here's is a comparative photo-feature showing how much things have changed since then
It was an extraordinary turnaround for an Olympics that was expected to be held without major issues by a country known for public safety and economic stability. It also revealed a fatal miscalculation by Japanese and IOC officials of public sentiment at a time of heightened fears over the coronavirus.
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