“The flame brings to Japan the spirit of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and the torch relay will remind Japanese people of the passion they felt when the flames of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics reached the land of Japan, ” said Takeda in his address.
After being lit by the Olympic flame, which begain its journey in ancient Olympia of Greece, the torch passed through the hands of Takeda, Li, Cui and Washizawa in a row before reaching Hoshino.
After leaving the starting point, the torch procession won loud cheers from the crowds, mostly made up of Chinese students and scholars, who had been waiting along the street for the torch to emerge. Chinese flags created a sea of red over their heads.
Over five thousand Chinese students and emigrants in Japan flocked to Nagano early in the morning to support the torch relay, according to Li Guangzhe, chairman of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association in Japan.
“Perhaps this will be the closest we get to the Beijing Olympics. We will cherish this opportunity and show our passion,” said Han Bing, a doctoral candidate and vice-chairman of the association.
Chinese flags, held by groups of young Chinese, decorated the streets of Nagano since early this morning. The energetic youngsters weaved their way through narrow alleys around the torch relay route, trying to get a better view of the torch.
The 16th leg of the Olympic Torch Relay started at 8:30 a.m. local time Saturday morning in Nagano, Japan. (Photo credit: Xinhua)
“I never expected myself to be so excited. Maybe it’s because this is the first time for me to see so many Chinese red flags,” said Junko Koizumi, an old lady living beside the location of the launching ceremony.
The torch procession is scheduled to take a 30-minute break at 10:20 a.m. at the M-Wave speed-skating gymnasium and reach the end point at a park south of the Nagano central railway station at about 12:15 p.m.
(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)
