Ahead of the Olympic torch relay slated to kick off in March, a rehearsal was carried out on an actual part of the course in Tokyo on Saturday. Conducted by the organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, it looked like the real thing -- except for the lack of fire on the runners' torches -- with people gathered along the course watching intently.
The rehearsal started in Hamura, Tokyo, and four runners, including actress Satomi Ishihara, a 33-year-old official torch relay ambassador, ran about 200 meters in turn. Long processions with representatives from the organizer as well as sponsors preceded or followed the runners.
After the rehearsal, Ishihara, who will run in the torch relay in the Nagasaki Prefecture section in May, said: "I was nervous [while running] but also I enjoyed it, and it ended so soon. I was happy to see people along the course waving their hands."
The official torch relay will kick off in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26 and it will cover 47 prefectures across the nation in 121 days.
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