By Duncan Mackay

Three of the six reactors were damaged at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant following the tsunami and earthquake in March 2011 ©The Asahi Shimbun/Getty ImagesA campaign for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay to pass through Fukushima, the centre of the nuclear disaster in 2011, has been launched today.


Yūhei Satō, the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, held a meeting today with Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori during which he issued an early plea for the Torch to visit his area which was devastated by the meltdown of three of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant following the tsunami triggered by the Tōhoku earthquake in March 2011.

More than 300,000 people evacuated the area while nearly 16,000 people died due to the earthquake and tsunami.

"We hope to see Torch Relays here so the status of our reconstruction can be reported accurately," Satō said after the meeting with Mori, a former Prime Minister of Japan, in Fukushima, located about 220 kilometres (140 miles) south of the capital. 

"Fukushima is moving toward revival. I strongly hope the torch relay will take place on Route 6 [the road in the Prefecture]."

Governor of Fukushima prefecture Yūhei Satō wants the Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay to help showcase the region's recovery from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake which triggered the nuclear disaster ©Getty ImagesGovernor of Fukushima Prefecture Yūhei Satō wants the Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay to help showcase the region's recovery from the 2011 tsunami and earthquake which triggered the nuclear disaster ©Getty Images

Mori is currently touring several areas which were worst affected by the disaster. 

He earlier visited Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures, also hit hard by the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. 

Mori has promised to work closely with the affected areas so that they benefit from the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics for the first time since 1964.

He claimed the Games "will be the best opportunity to show the world our restoration efforts and express our appreciation for all their support".

Among the ideas discussed, along with the Torch Relay visiting the areas, is overseas teams holding pre-Olympic training camps in the area and preliminary rounds of the football tournament being staged there. 

Mori claimed that if foreign athletes based themselves in the area and were prepared to take part in competitions it would help allay fears about concerns about its safety, particularly over nuclear radiation. 

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