Tokyo Olympic torch relay keeps original route and schedule

 The route and schedule of the torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will remain as originally planned, the Tokyo 2020 organizers announced here on Monday.

   The revised outline released by Tokyo 2020 said that the Olympic torch relay will start its journey on March 25, 2021 from the J-Village National Training Centre in Fukushima Prefecture and traverse all 47 prefectures across Japan.

   The scheduled dates for each prefecture in 2021 will be one day earlier than the originally scheduled dates in 2020 but the days of the week will match the previous schedule.

   According to the simplified measures agreed on by the IOC and Tokyo 2020 last weekend, some details of the torch relay will be simplified, including slimming down the size of the vehicle convoys and simplifying the grand start and celebration events.

   Tokyo 2020 said that it is reviewing a number of COVID-19 countermeasures for the torch relay, consulting with experts and the health authority in the aim of ensuring a safe and secure event.

   The Tokyo Paralympic torch relay, which will be held from August 12 to 24, 2021, will also have no major changes to the plans announced for the relay originally scheduled for this year.