Children Start Watching Tokyo Paralympics at Venues

From Jiji

August 25 2021

TOKYO – Japan started a special program Wednesday to allow schoolchildren to view Tokyo Paralympic events at venues as an exception to the policy of holding the Games without spectators. 

Participating children showed up at venues in and outside Tokyo, showing their support for Paralympians without uttering a sound.

Meanwhile, schools are divided over whether to participate in the program. A growing number of schools have decided not to take part amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In the Makuhari Messe convention center in the city of Chiba, near Tokyo, 55 students of a local municipal junior high school sat socially distancing themselves in the audience seats.

They enjoyed watching goalball while listening to commentaries about the sport on their earphones. They applauded players instead of giving loud cheers.