TOKYO – Organizers plan to exercise extreme caution when the Olympic torch relay starts next week, knowing any stumble could imperil the the opening of the Tokyo Games in just over four months.
The organizers spoke in detail on Tuesday about their plans for the relay, which is scheduled to begin on March 25 from northeastern Fukushima prefecture.
The relay will crisscross Japan for the next four months with 10,000 runners carrying the torch. It’s also a symbolic curtain raiser for the postponed Olympics, and there is no room for error.
If the relay stumbles — if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 — it could pull down the Olympics with it and the planned opening on July 23 at Tokyo’s new national stadium. ”The objective of the Olympic torch