One year late, virus-delayed Tokyo Olympic torch relay begins

The relay, like the Games themselves, will be vastly different from years past

Organisers are battling public scepticism in Japan about holding the Games

The Tokyo Olympics torch relay kicked off Thursday, a year late and without spectators, heralding a major step towards the start of the coronavirus-delayed Games on July 23.

"It makes people feel that the Games are about to start -- that's the nature of the torch relay."