Photo taken April 1, 2020 shows the Olympic flame in a lantern at J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The flame will be on public display from April 2 to 30, due to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Tokyo 2020/Handout via Xinhua)
The Olympic flame display in northeastern Fukushima will end after only five days as Japan prepares for a state of emergency.
TOKYO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic flame display in northeastern Fukushima will end after only five days as Japan prepares for a state of emergency.
The NHK reported that the Tokyo Olympic organisers decided to stop the flame display after Prime Minister Abe Shinzo declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures on Tuesday.
File photo taken on March 12, 2020 shows Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of an ancient Greek High Priestess, lighting the torch of the Olympic Flame during the flame lighting ceremony for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Tuesday that Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have agreed to postpone the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games by one year. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)
The order is expected to be in place for about a month.
The flame, which was lit in Greece on March 12, arrived in Japan on March 20 for a torch relay originally scheduled to kick off on March 26 at the J-Village National football center in Fukushima. But the relay was canceled after the postponement of the Olympic Games.
The flame was then put on a month-display at J-Village on April 2. The organizers have decided to display the flame across the country. ■