Ever since Japan won the right to host the Olympics, Yukari Shimizu, who grows flowers in a town in Fukushima Prefecture that was once entirely off-limits due to the serious nuclear disaster that hit the region in 2011, has been determined to seize the golden opportunity.

Even as the coronavirus pandemic has caused doubts over whether the Tokyo Games will begin in less than three months' time, Shimizu has been growing thousands of lisianthuses in her hometown of Namie, hoping that her flowers will bring joy to Olympic and Paralympic medalists.

During the medal ceremonies, athletes will receive a "victory bouquet," a commemorative gift that features colorful flowers from Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures — areas that were hit the hardest by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.