Tokyo Olympic flame to be on display next week

TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympic flame will be put on public display at the Japan Olympic Museum from September 1 to November 1, Tokyo 2020 organizers announced here on Monday.

A display ceremony will be held on August 31 and attended by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori and Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita.

The Olympic flame, which was lit in Olympia, Greece, on March 12, has been kept in a secret place since its last display in Fukushima was canceled on April 7 when Japan prepared for a state of emergency.

The flame 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 called off after the postponement of the Olympic Games.

Reports said last week that Tokyo Olympic organizers will try to preserve the torch relay schedule developed for 2020 to be used in next year's postponed Games, which means that the relay will still last 121 days and traverse all 47 prefectures.