The Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay will visit all 47 prefectures of Japan with emphasis on the area affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
The torch relay, whose motto is “Hope Lights Our Way,” will visit the three prefectures most affected by the tsunami and earthquake (Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi) for three days each.
More than 18,000 people died or went missing after a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organizers have been eager to use the Games as a symbol of recovery from the 2011 disaster that hit Japan’s northeastern region including Fukushima, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo, where entire communities fled after meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.