ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--A proud symbol of Japan's revival after World War II is now offering hope to a region still trying to pick itself up from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--A proud symbol of Japan's revival after World War II is now offering hope to a region still trying to pick itself up from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The massive cauldron that held the Olympic flame that burned brightly over the 1964 Tokyo Games was unveiled here at a ceremony on June 27. Olympic gold medalist and hammer thrower Koji Murofushi lit the cauldron erected on a concrete base at the municipal sports park.
Residents who survived the twin disasters witnessed the ceremony.
The cauldron had been dismantled and removed from the National Stadium, in preparation for construction of the New National Stadium to be built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The decision was made months ago to lend it to Ishinomaki, one of the cities devastated by the tsunami four years ago, for the duration of rebuilding of the stadium.
Similar to the relaying of the Olympic flame through an Olympic host nation before the opening ceremony, one plan calls for moving the cauldron to other parts of the disaster-stricken Tohoku region that want it erected in their community before returning it to the New National Stadium.