A softball game between Japan and Australia in Fukushima, site of the nuclear disaster triggered by the 2011 tsunami, kicked off the sports programme at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.

Tokyo Olympics
The softball game in Fukushima is the first sports event of the Tokyo Olympics Photo: AFP / KAZUHIRO FUJIHARA

The event, in a sport returning to the Games for the first time since 2008, took place two days before the opening ceremony of the pandemic-delayed Games.

The game took place without spectators under the stringent coronavirus measures that will surround an Olympics facing widespread opposition from the public in Japan, where infections are rising.

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