Two softball games and one baseball game in Fukushima next summer may be little more than an 2020 Olympic cameo, but local fans are thrilled to have them, largely in the hopes they will give their prefecture a badly needed public relations boost.

Fukushima was one of the three northeastern prefectures that bore the brunt of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, along with Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, and will be part of the focus next year given that Tokyo Olympic organizers have dubbed the games "the reconstruction Olympics."

In addition to the games in Fukushima, Miyagi Stadium will be one of the Olympic soccer venues, while all three prefectures will be focal points of the Olympic torch relay, which officially starts in Fukushima.