Hiroshima Hosts Flame-Lighting 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, to be staged mainly in Aichi Prefecture from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

From the Flame of Peace to Asia’s athletes

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stepped forward to begin the ritual. He drew fire from the Flame of Peace, the monument dedicated to the victims of the Aug. 6, 1945 U.S. atomic bombing, and used it to ignite a torch. From there, the flame was passed to a lighting rod held by Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of the Japanese men's national soccer team, before being placed carefully into a golden lantern.

The setting was deliberate. So was the symbolism.

Moriyasu, who launched his career as a corporate and professional player in Hiroshima, framed the moment through the lens of sport’s unifying force. “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.

Around them, officials and guests looked on, including figures such as Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, underlining the connection between Hiroshima’s past and Aichi’s turn as host.

A relay built on history

This year’s Asian Games return to central Japan three decades after Hiroshima itself staged the event in 1994. The flame’s journey has been designed to trace that history.

Tokyo, host of the 1958 Asian Games, held its own flame-lighting ceremony on Tuesday. Nagoya, the capital of Aichi and another key stop in Japan’s sporting geography, will complete the triangle.

On Saturday, the flames from Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagoya are scheduled to be brought together at Nagoya Castle. Once united, they will form the official torch flame for the Aichi Asian Games, with the relay set to launch in the prefecture that same day.

From a city defined by its call for peace to a region preparing to welcome the continent’s best, the message is clear: when the athletes line up in Aichi, they will be running with more than just medals in mind.