Here is a photo collection of scenes from the Tokyo Olympics torch relay in its first week from March 25 to 31.

The torch first went through towns most affected by a 2011 nuclear meltdown in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, and moved on to Tochigi and Gunma prefectures, showcasing famous locations. The relay will cover all of Japan's 47 prefectures during its 121-day journey till the games' opening ceremony on July 23.

Azusa Iwashimizu (L), a member Japan's 2011 Women's World Cup-winning soccer team, lights the Tokyo Olympic torch during the opening ceremony of the torch relay at the J-Village soccer training center in Fukushima Prefecture on March 25, 2021. (Kyodo)

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A torchbearer waves at spectators on March 25, 2021, in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Horseback riders dressed as feudal-era armored warriors in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, observe a torchbearer on March 25, 2021. (Kyodo)
 
Sachi Midorikawa holds a torch as it is reignited after the flame went out on March 25, 2021, in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture. (Kyodo)

People protest against the holding of the Tokyo Olympics in the capital on March 25, 2021. (Kyodo)

Air race pilot Yoshihide Muroya lights a cauldron with the Olympic flame at the end of Day 1 of the Olympic torch relay on March 25, 2021, in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. (Kyodo)
 
Former Olympic skier Sho Endo (front) skis on a slope with children while carrying the Tokyo Olympic torch in Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

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Children are pictured after a Tokyo Olympic torch relay on a ski slope in Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

A junior high school student carries the Olympic flame up to an observation deck in Mishima, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

Former volleyball player Motoko Obayashi takes part in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Aizuwakamatsu on March 26. 2021, with Tsurugajo Castle seen in the background. (Kyodo)

Members of a family hold torches for a commemorative photo in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

A staffer calls on spectators to adhere to anti-coronavirus measures on March 27, 2021, in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture. (Kyodo)

A torchbearer runs through the Fukushima Prefecture town of Shimogo, where an Edo period post station town is preserved, on March 27, 2021. (Kyodo)

A torchbearer waves as a steam locomotive engine runs along the route in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, on March 28, 2021. (Kyodo)

A torchbearer carries the Olympic flame at Bannaji Temple in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, escorted by people dressed as feudal-era armored warriors on March 28, 2021. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo Olympic torch is carried aboard a boat as part of its relay in the eastern Japan city of Tochigi on March 28, 2021. (Kyodo)
 
Yoshiaki Yatsu carries the Olympic frame on an artificial leg on March 28, 2021, in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Shitsui Hakoishi, a 104-year-old barber who is the oldest so far of the Tokyo Olympics torchbearers, carries the flame in rain on March 28, 2021, in Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi Prefecture. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo Olympic torch relay passes rows of cherry blossom trees in the Tochigi Prefecture city of Sakura on March 29, 2021. (Kyodo)

The Tokyo Olympic flame is passed from torch to torch in front of the Yomeimon gate of the Nikko Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, as part of its relay on March 29, 2021. (Kyodo)

High school teacher Kazuyoshi Iwasaki carries the Olympic flame in a wheelchair on March 30, 2021, in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Shota Horie, a member of Japan's 2019 Rugby World Cup team, takes part in the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, on March 30, 2021. (Kyodo)
The Tokyo Olympic flame is passed from torch to torch in Kiryu in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, as part of its relay on March 30, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Tsugiharu Ogiwara, a former Nordic combined skier who competed for Japan in the 1998 Nagano winter Olympics, runs through a hot spring resort in Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, on March 31, 2021, for the Tokyo Olympic torch relay. (Kyodo)
Drone photo shows the Tokyo Olympic torch relay being held on Yamba Ohashi bridge in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, on March 31, 2021. (Kyodo)

 

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