Barrier Free Japan

Former world No. 1 Yui Kamiji missed out on gold in the wheelchair tennis women’s singles event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Thursday, but praised her Chinese rival who defeated her in the final and clinched a berth for the Los Angeles Paralympics. Kamiji, who completed a career Golden Slam this year, lost to third-ranked Li Xiaohui 6-1, 7-6(2) in Nagoya after pushing the second set to a tiebreak.

Japan has won 100 medals at the ongoing 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games being held Aichi Prefecture, including 29 golds, to rank second in the overall standings behind China, as of Wednesday 21st October. Japan’s haul comprises 29 gold, 36 silver and 35 bronze medals, putting it ahead of third-placed Uzbekistan, which has won 89 medals, including 29 golds, as of the end of competition on Oct. 21.

Japan’s Kazuki Takahashi became emotional after winning bronze in the men’s individual BC3 boccia event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Wednesday, as the medal came at the venue where he suffered a life-changing injury about 30 years ago. Takahashi, a Paralympic silver medalist, beat South Korea’s Jeong Ho Wong 5-1 in the bronze medal match at Nagoya City General Gymnasium.

Wheelchair racer Tomoki Sato led a Japanese podium sweep in the men’s 100-meter T51/T52 final Wednesday at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games before paying tribute to former teammate Hirokazu Ueyonabaru, who died last month after being injured in a road accident.

Japan’s Koyo Iwabuchi, 31, and Mahiro Funayama, 22, won table tennis golds in the men’s class 9 and class 10 singles events, respectively, at the Asian Para Games on Tuesday. 

Six-time Paralympian swimmer Takayuki Suzuki was relieved after winning gold in the men’s 50-meter freestyle S4 final at the home Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Monday. Meanwhile, 14-year-old debutant Ryuga Yamada was satisfied after setting a personal best despite finishing seventh in the men’s 200m individual medley SM6 final.

Japan’s Shizuka Hangai, 38, and Shota Kawamoto, 30, on Monday clinched Asian Para Games gold in the women’s J1 class 52-kilogram judo event and in the men’s C1-2 class 3,000-meter individual cycling pursuit, respectively. A day after the opening ceremony was held for the quadrennial sporting festival mainly in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi, Hangai added the Asian Para gold to her medal haul after winning silver for the women’s 48 kg judo event at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, which was her fourth Paralympics.

Sporting action began at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Friday, two days before the opening ceremony, as Japan hosts the event for the first time. Japan were beaten 1-0 by China in blind football, while in men’s wheelchair basketball, the host nation defeated China 76-38. Table tennis and badminton also got underway in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan.

Japan’s Hiromi Endo arrives at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games sitting second in the women’s boccia world rankings and looking to go one better than her runner-up finish at the recent world championships. Playing in the BC1 category for athletes with significant impairment of all four limbs and trunk, the 40-year-old emerged as Japan’s leading figure in boccia after the individual men’s and women’s events were adopted for the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Japan captain Ryo Kawamura has vowed to win men’s blind football gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games and avenge a loss to China in April’s Asian Championship final that denied his team an automatic berth at the Los Angeles Paralympics.