IWAKI, Japan— Masao Hashimoto has dreamed of holding an Olympic torch since 1964, the first time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, when he ran behind the torch bearers. Rena Arakawa wants to say thanks for help after the 2011 nuclear disaster forced her from her home.
On Thursday, their dreams will come true.
They will be runners on the first day of the Olympic Torch relay, postponed for a year along with the Summer Games – a delay unprecedented in Olympic history forced on organizers by the global pandemic.
The four-month relay involves 10,000 runners and takes the torch across Japan’s 47 prefectures. It kicks off from Fukushima prefecture, where the tsunami 10 years ago cripple…
Keep on reading: ‘Once in a lifetime’: Olympic torch bearers look forward to relay start