Disability Japan Para Sports Sports

Asian Para Games: Torch relay starts ahead of opening on October 18

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games torch relay started Saturday, ahead of the opening ceremony on Oct. 18, with around 3,000 athletes from more than 40 countries and regions expected to compete. Yoshimi Kaji, who represented Japan in canoeing at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, became the first runner in her hometown of Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture.

From Kyodo

October 10 2026

OKAZAKI – The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games torch relay started Saturday, ahead of the opening ceremony on Oct. 18, with around 3,000 athletes from more than 40 countries and regions expected to compete.

Yoshimi Kaji (C) starts as the first runner of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games torch relay in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, on Oct. 10, 2026. (Kyodo)

Yoshimi Kaji, who represented Japan in canoeing at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, became the first runner in her hometown of Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture.

The torch relay is scheduled to run through several cities in the central Japan prefecture, including Kariya and Inuyama.

Flames collected from 31 municipalities across Aichi will be combined on Thursday in Nagoya, before the torch relay finishes at Meijo Park in the center of the capital city.

For the weeklong event, 18 sports, including Para athletics and Para swimming, will be contested in Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures.

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