MEDALS ARE A VICTORY FOR RECYCLING

THE Japanese population may be unable to attend the majority of events, but they have already played a major part in producing the roughly 5,000 medals for the Olympics and Paralympics.

People were invited to donate old electronic devices in a two-year-long drive which eventually yielded more than 6.2million phones and 79,000 tons of material, from which metals were recycled to forge the medals.

The gold medals, which are made from pure silver and then gold plated, weigh in at 556g, with the silvers only a fraction lighter and the bronzes, made from red brass, at 450g.

All three medals feature the Greek goddess Nike, and are the creation of designer Junichi Kawanishi, whose