Second day of Olympic torch relay departs from Soma, Fukushima, which was damaged by last month's earthquake.

The Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay, which started in Fukushima Prefecture, left Soma City, which was severely damaged by last month's earthquake, on the second day, the 26th. It will pass through Iitate Village and Fukushima City, where there are still difficult areas to return to due to the nuclear accident, before entering the Aizu region in the afternoon.

About 10,000 runners will participate in the Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay, which started on the 25th and will travel through 47 prefectures over 121 days.

On the second day, the 26th, a departure ceremony was held at the Soma Nakamura Shrine in Soma City, which is known for the Soma Nomaoi, a traditional summer festival in the Soma region of Fukushima Prefecture, and at around 9:00 a.m., a local junior high school student, who would be the first runner, started running.

At the shrine, the route of the torch relay was partially changed because stone lanterns on both sides of the approach to the shrine collapsed due to an aftershock of the Great East Japan Earthquake with a maximum intensity of 6.0 on the Japanese scale last month, and a pillar of the Otemon gate, which serves as a relay point, was broken.

On the 26th, the torch will travel through nine cities, towns, and villages, including Iitate Village, where the difficult-to-return-to areas are still under severe restrictions due to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, and Fukushima City, the capital of the prefecture, before entering the Aizu region.

If all goes as planned, the runners will arrive at the finish line in Aizu Wakamatsu City after 5:30 pm.

On the first day, many spectators crowded along the roadside, and in some relatively populated areas, people seemed to be crowded along the roadside.

With the spread of the new coronavirus still unresolved, the measures taken in urban areas such as Fukushima City, where the race will pass on the 26th, will be useful for future reference.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210326/k10012936791000.html