Hiroshima Hosts Torch Relay Ceremony for Asian Games

In the fading summer heat of Hiroshima, a different kind of fire took center stage on Thursday.

In Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a flame-lighting ceremony for the Asian Games torch relay unfolded under the gaze of the Atomic Bomb Dome, tying one of Asia’s biggest sporting events to one of the region’s most solemn places of remembrance.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Japan men’s national soccer team head coach Hajime Moriyasu joined participants at the park, where the Flame of Peace burns in memory of those killed in the Aug. 6, 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.

Matsui drew the new torch’s fire directly from that eternal flame. From there, the light passed to a rod held by Moriyasu, the spark jumping across generations and purposes—mourning to sport, tragedy to competition. The carefully tended flame was then sealed inside a golden lantern, ready to begin its symbolic journey.

For Moriyasu, the moment carried an added layer of meaning. The national team boss started his career as both a corporate and professional player in Hiroshima, and he stood on familiar ground as he addressed the gathering.

“I think that sports have the power of binding different values and cultures together,” he said, looking ahead to the athletes who will soon carry that flame. He added that he wants those set to compete at the Asian Games “to compete with all their strength while wishing for peace.”

The quadrennial Asian Games will be staged mainly in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, running from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. The lantern from Hiroshima will arrive there carrying more than just fire. It will bring a reminder that every sprint, every whistle, every goal is unfolding in the shadow of history—and under a light first kindled for peace.