Women can now join a Tokyo Olympic torch relay leg involving a traditional decorated boat in a Japanese city in response to calls that excluding them violates the global sporting event's principle of gender equality, local officials said Friday.In the relay leg due to be held Tuesday, only men were initially set to be allowed to board the boat to be used in the 200-meter segment, crossing a canal in Handa, Aichi Prefecture.Women are prohibited from getting in the "Chintoro" boat, which is used in a local festival dating back to the Edo Era (1603-1868), according to the city. In Japan, women…READ FULL ARTICLE
