TOKYO -- Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) aerobatics team Blue Impulse soared over central Tokyo on July 21, skywriting Olympic rings with white smoke under the summer sun in a rehearsal for the Tokyo Games' opening day flight. Hundreds of aviation fans around the Japan National Stadium -- the opening ceremony venue -- marveled at their skill.

       It is expected that Blue Impulse will fly in the daytime on July 23 to draw five colored-smoke rings in the sky ahead of the opening ceremony to be held that night. To prevent crowds forming to see the flight, the ASDF will announce a detailed schedule via Twitter and other means only on the day of the flight.

       (Japanese original by Yoshitake Matsuura, Tokyo City News Department)

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