Virus effects on Olympic

Virus outbreak forces major downgrading of Olympic torch relay

With this year's Tokyo Summer Olympics likely to be postponed, organizers made a last-minute decision Tuesday about how to handle one of the most visible icons of the Games: The highly symbolic torch relay will go on ― but without runners, spectators or even the flaming torch itself.

While 10,000 runners were originally enlisted to carry the Olympic flame on foot, traversing a route meant to showcase Japanese culture and scenery while building local enthusiasm for the quadrennial sporting event, the relay instead has been downgraded to just a safety lantern ― the kind used to transport the flame aboard aircraft ― ferried by car. The four-month relay is set to kick off at the J-Village soccer training center in Fukushima on March 26.