was the Olympic flame torchbearer who lit the cauldron at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Sakai was born in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, the day an atomic bomb was dropped on that city. He was chosen for the role to symbolize Japan's postwar reconstruction and peace. An enthusiastic part-time athlete, at the time of the 1964 Olympics he was a member of Waseda University's running club. The nineteen-year-old was coached in the ceremonial duty by Teruji Kogake, a triple jump world record-holder turned coach. He never actually competed in any events at the Olympics.
Two years after the Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4 ÃÂ 400 m relay and a silver in the 400 m at the 1966 Asian Games. He joined Fuji Television in 1968 as a journalist and worked mainly in the fields of news and sports.
He died of cerebral bleeding in Tokyo at age 69, on September 10, 2014.