The country had shown enormous enthusiasm for the Olympics. The games even had an effect on Japanese culture, Hu said. The construction of infrastructure, such as highways and the Tokyo International Airport, has played a vital role in the country's development. It was a valuable opportunity to improve its international status and revitalize its economy, Hu Lingyuan, a professor at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, told Nanfang Daily. In 1964, Japan hosted the summer games for the first time. Abe said the torch will guide humanity through the current darkness and he wants to make the games a symbol of mankind's victory. Shinzo Abe, Japan's Prime Minister, said on March 28 that the torch would remain lit in the country. The Olympic torch relay was to cover 859 municipalities across all of Japan's 47 prefectures. Accordingly, the Paralympics was put back to August 24 through September 5 next year. The first summer games ever to be postponed will run from July 23 to August 8, 2021, but will still be called the 2020 Olympics. On March 30, the organizers including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the new dates. 'It was sad to see the countdown outside my workplace stop following the postponement,' he said, adding that his Japanese friends and colleagues are more concerned about the growing pandemic than the Olympics.

The event was originally scheduled to run from July 24 through August 9 this year.ДЇor Li, the chance is lost for him to witness the sporting spectacle-he will be moving back to China after living in Japan for over four years. 'Advertisements everywhere and changing numbers on countdown boards in Tokyo reminded people the event was coming,' Li Yifan, a Chinese working in Tokyo, told Beijing Review.Д«ut the escalating novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced the delay of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games. Retired Japanese swimmer Naoko Imoto holds the torch containing the Tokyo Olympic flame at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, on March 19 (XINHUA)Дў020 was expected to deliver a glorious Summer Olympics.

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