Masaki Aiba will support amputee athlete in his 24Hr TV special

Details about Arashi’s Masaki Aiba’s “２４時間テレビ３５『愛は地球を救う』(24Hr Television / Love Saves the Earth’)” special program were announced on July 16, reports Mainichi Shimbun.

 

The Johnny’s talent will cheer on 17-year-old Miho Fujii as she climbs to the peak of Yukushima.  The island in southern Japan is where one of the oldest trees in the world (the Jomon Sugi) is located.  It has been reported Aiba will be supporting Miho from the Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, while a TV crew will try and feed live footage of the teenager on her climb to the tree.  It will not be easy either.  The whole climb is 20 kilometres there and back, goes up 1300 metres, and is expected to take 10 hours.

 

The challenger, Miho, is an amputee runner who is currently in her high school’s track team and is hoping to take part in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“I hope that I can support Miho-san with everyone in the country to watch over her, see how far she can go, and see that moment where she achieves her goal,” Aiba said.

 

The TV crew will also make history as it will be the first time live footage is sent out from the area.  Until now the dense forest has disrupted signals, and so as Miho climbs to the top, the TV crew will be looking for areas with good reception.

 

“２４時間テレビ３５『愛は地球を救う』(24Hr Television / Love Saves the Earth’)” starts on August 25 – 26.