Here is a photo collection of scenes from the Tokyo Olympic torch relay that ran through five prefectures, mostly in central Japan, between April 1 and 10.
The nationwide relay started on March 25 in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima and is scheduled to cover all of Japan's 47 prefectures during its 121-day journey till the games' opening ceremony on July 23.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, torchbearers in the western prefecture of Osaka will run only in a park instead of public roads.
Successive bearers hold their torches in front of a cauldron for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (L) and one for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics (R) in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on April 1, 2021. (Kyodo)
Former Japanese mogul skier Aiko Uemura (L) and mogul skier Akari Komatsu pose during the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on April 1, 2021 (Kyodo)
Former Japanese figure skater Midori Ito, who won silver at the Albertville Olympics, arrives at an event venue without spectators as part of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in Nagano, central Japan, on April 1, 2021. (Kyodo)
The Tokyo Olympic torch relay is held in the Nagano Prefecture town of Nagiso, central Japan, where scenery from Japan's pre-modern Edo Period (1603-1868) is preserved, on April 2, 2021. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner passes through a bridge in Takayama in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on April 3, 2021. (Kyodo)
Players of the Japanese women's national hockey team run in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on April 4, 2021, in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner runs in front of an airplane displayed at the Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum in Kakamigahara, central Japan, on April 4, 2021. (Kyodo)
The Tokyo Olympic flame is carried on a ropeway gondola in Gifu, central Japan, on April 4, 2021, as part of the torch relay. (Kyodo)
People crowd onto a path leading to the main hall of Atsuta Jingu shrine in Nagoya, central Japan, on April 5, 2021, to watch a Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner is pictured against high-rise buildings in front of Nagoya Station in central Japan on April 5, 2021. (Kyodo)
People gather in the Sakae commercial district in Nagoya, central Japan, to watch the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on April 5, 2021. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay runner is pictured on an escalator in an office building in front of Nagoya Station in central Japan on April 5, 2021. (Kyodo)
A decorated boat used for a festival dating back to Japan's Edo period carries the Tokyo Olympic flame along a canal in Handa in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on April 6, 2021. Women had traditionally been prohibited from getting into the "Chintoro" boat but boarded one involved in the festival this time in line with the Olympics' principle of gender equality. (Kyodo)
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda runs in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in the Aichi Prefecture city of Toyota where the automaker is headquartered on April 6, 2021. (Kyodo)
Three-time Olympic wrestling gold medalist Saori Yoshida runs in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in her hometown of Tsu in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on April 7, 2021. (Kyodo)
A torch bearer runs with the Olympic flame on the motor racing track at Suzuka Circuit in the Mie Prefecture city of Suzuka, central Japan, on April 7, 2021, as part of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay. (Kyodo)
Former Olympic badminton player Kumiko Ogura waves from a ferryboat off Toba in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on April 7, 2021, while carrying the Olympic flame as part of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay. (Kyodo)
The Tower of Sun in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, is lit up in red on April 7, 2021, as the western Japan prefecture declared a medical state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, cancelling its part of the relay on public roads. (Kyodo)
Veteran singer Ichiro Toba runs with the Olympic flame in the Mie Prefecture city of Iga, central Japan, during the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on April 8, 2021, with Iga Ueno Castle seen in the background. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay participant runs on a mountain trail in Kihoku in Mie Prefecture, central Japan, on April 8, 2021. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay participant poses for photos after arriving at the Nachi waterfall in Nachikatsuura in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on April 9, 2021. (Kyodo)
A Tokyo Olympic torch relay participant runs along the Pacific coast in Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on April 9, 2021. (Kyodo)
Photo taken April 9, 2021, from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the Tokyo Olympic torch relay taking place along a beach in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. (Kyodo)
Many people take to the streets in Wakayama, western Japan, on April 10, 2021, to observe the Tokyo Olympic torch relay amid continued worries about the novel coronavirus, with Wakayama Castle seen in the background. (Kyodo)
