A request to cancel the running of the Olympic torch relay in Osaka City has officially been made to the Games organizing committee by the prefecture's relay-related executive committee.
With the city under emergency-level priority measures against novel coronavirus infection, the prefectural committee also requested alternative measures be taken for torch relay runners who were scheduled to run in Osaka City.
The torch relay is scheduled to go through the prefecture from April 13 to 14, with 21 legs to be run in the city on April 14.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the prefectural committee are considering ways for runners to participate in the relay at places other than public roads, with family members and related parties as spectators.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Expo '70 Commemorative Park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where the torch will arrive on April 13, is one of the proposed alternative sites for runners.
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