Mayor of Japanese City at site where people with disabilities were killed to re-consider location of Paralympic torch ceremony

From Kyodo

April 20 2021

SAGAMIHARA – Kentaro Motomura, the Mayor of Sagamihara City, spoke at a regular press conference on the 20th about the facility for people with intellectual disabilities “Tsukui Yamayurien” where 19 residents were killed in July 2016. Mayor Motomura said: “I want to make a comprehensive judgment, including changing the location,” he said. The bereaved families were asking the city to cancel the event.

On March 31, the city announced that the torch would be lit at the facility on August 15, but no prior explanation was given to the bereaved families. At a press conference, Mayor Motomura apologized, saying, “We were not considerate or sympathetic enough. He sent a letter of apology to the bereaved families and announced that he was gathering opinions about the lighting of the fire. The mayor said that he would collect opinions until around the 26th of this month, and would decide whether to carry out the project or cancel it by the end of the month at the earliest.