Olympic flame arrives in Japan amid coronavirus fears

Tokyo, March 20 (IANS) The Olympic flame arrived in Japan on Friday amid coronavirus fears with only four months to go until the opening of the Tokyo Games.

The Tokyo 2020 Go, a chartered aircraft carrying the flame, landed at the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

An arrival ceremony will be held later in the day to welcome the flame but performances by local students have been cancelled due to the spread of the coronavirus.

The flame will be displayed in three northern prefectures hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami before the start of the torch relay on March 26 from J-Village at Fukushima.

The torch relay will begin on March 26 and will conclude with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, which is scheduled on July 24.

–IANS

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