With exactly one year to go until the Tokyo Olympics, organisers marked the day by unveiling the gold, silver, and bronze medals that will symbolise the 2020 Games.
The unveiling of the medals, designed by Junichi Kawanishi, was the main attraction of an extravagant ceremony in the Japanese capital to commemorate the landmark.
The event was attended by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The medals, feature Greek goddess of victory Nike in their design along with the Olympic symbol and are made from recycled metals, collected from 6.21 million electronic devices donated across Japan.
About 32kg of gold were extracted from used mobile phones donated over two years by the Japanese public.
They also recovered 3.5 tonnes of silver and 2.2 tonnes of bronze to make 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Abe said he hoped next year's Games would have a similar impact as the 1964 Summer Games held in Tokyo.
"Sports brings the world together, and it affords equal opportunities to all. That is what sports are about," said Abe. "Fifty-five years ago, we learned that when we hosted it in Tokyo before.
"Next year, we want to demonstrate that again, and we want this to be an opportunity where we can do that."
Bach reiterated that Tokyo is the best-prepared city he has ever seen ahead of an Olympic Games.
"It will be a wonderful and unique moment for our gracious Japanese hosts. For you to show the world the best of Japan," added Bach.
Organisers believe they are on track to deliver a world-class sporting event next year and with 3.22 million tickets already sold for the Games.
On top of that, over 200,000 people have applied to be volunteers,
The only reminder of the issues in the build-up to the Games was the presence of new Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita on stage with Bach and Abe.
Yamashita took over at the JOC last month, following the resignation of Tsunekazu Takeda, who is being investigated for suspected corruption related to the Tokyo 2020 bid.
Reuters
