TOKYO – The Olympic torch relay has been scrapped on Tokyo’s public roads, officials announced Wednesday, as virus concerns continue to plague the Games just over two weeks before they begin.
Private flame-lighting ceremonies will replace public relay events across the capital beginning Friday, the Tokyo city government said.
Right up to the opening ceremony on July 23, the torch events will be streamed online, with authorities urging spectators to watch them “in the comfort of your home”.
Only the relay leg in the Ogasawara islands — a remote archipelago some 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) south of Tokyo — will go ahead as scheduled.
The nationwide torch relay has been fraught with problems since it began in March, with…
