The Japanese gave a new meaning to perfection during 3rd Asian Games held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. The Games drew a total of 1,422 participants from 20 countries/NOCs who competed in 13 sports, an increase of 5 from the previous one. Also, the torch relay was introduced as a new tradition of the Asian Games.

The relay was commenced from the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, the venue of the previous Games in Manila. In Japan, the torch was relayed from the U.S. occupied Okinawa to Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, for a journey through Japanese archipelago. At the Opening Ceremony on May 24, the Sacred Flame was ignited by Mikio Oda, the first Asian to win an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump event at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympiad.

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