Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered a meltdown after an earthquake and tsunami struck the region in March 2011.
Fukushima will host Olympic baseball and softball in 2020, less than a decade after the Japanese city was devastated by a tsunami and ensuing nuclear plant meltdown.
The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that it had approved at Azuma Stadium as an additional baseball and softball venue during the Summer Games.
The move was the initiative of IOC President Thomas Bach, who sought to ensure that some Olympic events would be held in the region affected by the disaster, the organization said in a statement .
“This is a great opportunity to bring the spirit of the Olympic Games to this region, which was affected by the tsunami in 2011,” Bach told a press conference in Pyeongchang, South Korea. “It is also an expression of solidarity of the Olympic movement with the people in this region who are suffering from the consequences of this disaster. ”
Tokyo 2020 will be the first time that baseball and softball have been featured at the Olympics since 2008. A stadium in the city of Yokohama will host other baseball and softball games.
“Fukushima will have a great platform to show the world the extent of its recovery in the 10 years since the disaster,” Tokyo 2020 president and former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said in a statement Friday.
