Fukushima Olympics

June 17, 2014

Ex-PM Mori wants Fukushima included in Tokyo Olympic torch relay course

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140617p2a00m0na004000c.html 

FUKUSHIMA -- The chairman of the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games said on June 17 that his panel will consider making Fukushima Prefecture a key segment of the Olympic torch relay course as part of efforts to address harmful rumors about radioactive contamination.

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who heads the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, also said his panel will extend support for a program to invite foreign athletes to have training camps in Fukushima.

At the Fukushima Prefectural Government's office earlier on the same day, Mori and Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato exchanged documents confirming redoubled mutual cooperation toward the success of the Tokyo Olympic Games. In his meeting with Mori, Gov. Sato called for the 2020 Olympic torch relay to include the coastal region of the prefecture where the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is located.

On the proposed torch relay in Fukushima, Mori said, "We would like to thoroughly study whether that is possible."

June 17, 2014(Mainichi Japan)