Hiroshima Hosts Torch Relay Ceremony for Asian Games
In the soft evening light of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, sport and memory met over a single flame.
On Thursday, the city that still stands as a global symbol of peace hosted a flame-lighting ceremony for the torch relay of the upcoming Asian Games, which will be staged mainly in Aichi Prefecture from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.
From the Flame of Peace to a Golden Lantern
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stepped forward first. In front of the Flame of Peace—eternally dedicated to the victims of the Aug. 6, 1945 U.S. atomic bombing—he lit a torch, the gesture heavy with history and intent.
From that torch, a lighting rod held by Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of the Japanese men's national soccer team, caught fire. The small transfer of flame carried a larger message. Once lit, the flame was carefully placed inside a golden lantern, the glow now ready to travel on toward Japan’s next major multi-sport stage.
The event drew key figures, including Matsui and Moriyasu, and unfolded in a setting where every ceremony carries an extra layer of meaning.
Moriyasu’s Message of Unity
For Moriyasu, the moment was personal as well as symbolic. He launched his playing career in Hiroshima, first as a corporate and then as a professional footballer, and returned now as national team coach with a different kind of responsibility.
“I think that sports have the power of binding different values and cultures together. I want athletes (who are set to participate in the Asian Games) to compete with all their strength while wishing for peace,” he said, tying the competitive edge of elite sport to the city’s long-standing call for reconciliation.
Aichi Steps Into the Spotlight
The Asian Games, held every four years, will turn the spotlight on Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, with events running from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. Hiroshima, of course, knows what that means. The city hosted the Asian Games in 1994, using the tournament back then to project both recovery and ambition.
This time, Hiroshima’s role is more symbolic, but no less central. Its flame will become part of the fire that drives the relay.
Tokyo—host of the 1958 Asian Games—played its part earlier in the week. On Tuesday, a separate flame-lighting event for the Aichi Games torch relay took place in the capital, extending the chain of host cities and memories across generations.
Flames Converge on Nagoya Castle
The journey now moves to Nagoya, the capital of Aichi. On Saturday, the flames from Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagoya are scheduled to be brought together at Nagoya Castle, fused into a single source that will power the official torch relay through the prefecture.
From a park built on the scars of war to a castle that will send the flame out across central Japan, the relay begins not just with ceremony, but with a clear question: how far can this Games carry Japan’s message of peace and unity across Asia this autumn?
