Official Torch Relay Ambassadors Selected as Torch Runners

The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee announced on January 15 that four individuals—Olympian Aki Taguchi, who serves as an official ambassador for the Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay; actress Satomi Ishihara; and comedians Mikio Date and Takeshi Tomizawa of the duo Sandwichman—have been selected as Tokyo Olympic Torch Runners.
(Image: Uniforms worn at the "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay Event ~Everyone's Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay~" held in June 2019)

Osaka native Taguchi will run through the prefecture on April 15, 2020. Taguchi commented, "I have many memories in Osaka. As a torchbearer, I want to join the local community in energizing the Games and carry the torch that embodies hope."

Mr. Ishihara, who has connections with atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, will run in the prefecture on May 8. He commented, "I believe the torch relay in Nagasaki, which preserves the memory of the atomic bombing, can connect people around the world who sincerely wish for peace. I want to run carrying the many hopes for nuclear abolition and anti-war sentiments in my heart."

The two members of Sandwichman, both from Miyagi Prefecture, will run in different locations within the prefecture on June 20. They commented, "We want to run while lifting the spirits of residents in our hometown, which suffered immense damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake," and "We want people to see and understand the current state of Tohoku, expressing our gratitude for the aid received from both Japan and abroad for recovery and reconstruction after the disaster."