On May 1st 2022, a player from the Japanese professional e-sports team ‘REJECT’, previously known as ‘All Rejection Gaming’ or ‘ARG’ made a comment during a game that was perceived to be discriminatory towards people with disabilities. The player ‘SaRa’ has since been suspended from the team.
S2, a Japanese server company, said Friday it will launch an elderly professional e-sports team, the first of its kind in Japan. The members of the team will all be residents of Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, aged 65 or older. They will be called Matagi Snipers, after “matagi” Japanese traditional hunters.
As esports continue to grow in popularity, the video game-based competitions are being used in Japan to help rehabilitate people with disabilities and promote their engagement with society.
“In the Gunma E-Sports Festival on Aug. 31, four five-member teams will battle it out in multiplayer online game “League of Legends,” vying for a grand prize of 1 million yen ($9,300), according to esports association of Gunma Prefecture, which is organizing the event.”
Barrier Free Japan