Tokyo will host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games for the second time in 2020. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which took place only 19 years after the end of World War II, marked the first time the games were held in Asia.
Yoshinori Sakai, who carried the Olympic flame, was born on Aug. 6, 1945, the same day the bomb exploded in Hiroshima. He was chosen to pay tribute to the victims, and to indicate Japan’s recovery from the war.
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The Olympics also spurred a major building program that dramatically transformed Tokyo’s urban landscape. These photos capture the city's 1960s development and the vigor with which the games infused Tokyo.
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The National Stadium under construction, in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Photograph taken in August 1962.
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A highway under construction in Tokyo. Accidents, some fatal, happened during the rapid building of the large-scale structure. Photograph taken on Dec. 12, 1963.
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As the Tokyo Olympics approached, construction for event facilities continued at the Komazawa Olympic Park, in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward. Photograph taken on Dec. 20, 1963.
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A raffle for tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics at the Hibiya Outdoor Theater, in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Photograph taken on Jan. 22, 1964.
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Komazawa, located on the outer grounds of the Meiji Shrine, became the site for two Tokyo Olympics venues. Soccer matches were held at the athletic field to the upper right. To the lower left is a gymnasium that was used for wrestling matches. Photograph taken in March 1964.
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The Enoshima yacht harbor, on which construction started in 1961, was paired with the town of Hayama to be the Tokyo Olympics yacht venue, at Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujisawa City. It could accommodate up to 350 boats. Photograph taken in March 1964.
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The Budokan, the designated judo venue at the Olympics, nears completion at Kitanomaru Park, in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. Photograph taken in May 1964.
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A Japanese man flies a kite with a poster of the Tokyo Olympic Games made out of paper and bamboo, in Showa Town, Japan. Photograph taken on May 5, 1964.
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People in Tokyo put up Olympic Games posters. Photograph taken on June 1, 1964.
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The Shuto Expressway Route 4 (the Shinjuku Route). On the right is the Benkei Bridge located in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, near Akasaka-Mitsuke subway station. Photograph taken on July 25, 1964.
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Tokyo Olympics commemorative stamp. Photograph taken on Sept. 6, 1964.
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Relay runners carry the Olympic flame through Tokyo. Photograph taken on Oct. 7, 1964.
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At the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics jets create vapor trails shaped like Olympic Rings. Photograph taken on Oct. 10, 1964.
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Yoshinori Sakai carries the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics at the National Stadium. Photograph taken on Oct. 10, 1964.
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The Tokyo Olympics Games opening ceremony. Photograph taken on Oct. 10, 1964.
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This post originally appeared on HuffPost Japan and was translated into English.