Hiroshima: A flame-lighting event for the torch relay for the upcoming Asian Games took place in the western Japan city of Hiroshima on Thursday. Participants at the event held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park included Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of the Japanese men's national soccer team.

According to Philippines News Agency, Matsui lit a torch from the Flame of Peace, which is dedicated to the victims of the August 6, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing of the city, and a lighting rod held by Moriyasu was lit from the torch. The flame was then placed in a golden lantern. Moriyasu, who began his career as a corporate and professional soccer player in Hiroshima, said at the event: "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."

The upcoming quadrennial sporting event will be held mainly in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, from September 19 to October 4. Hiroshima hosted the Asian Games in 1994. A flame-lighting event for the Asian Games torch relay in Aichi was also held in Tokyo, the host of the 1958 Asian Games, on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the flames from Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagoya, the capital of Aichi, will be brought together at Nagoya Castle, and the torch relay for the Asian Games will start in the prefecture the same day.