Japan aims for record medal haul at Paris Paralympics
Japan has sent 175 athletes, its largest overseas Paralympics team ever, joining the ranks of some 4,400 athletes from a record 168 delegations.
Category: Para Sports
2024 Paris Summer Olympics 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics Disability Japan Para Sports Paralympics Podcast
Typhoon and Paralympic Woes [Podcast Episode]
Typhoon 10 is on its way and Japan’s Paralympic Team is in Paris!
Paris Paralympics: First group of Japan delegation enters athletes’ village
Japan is sending 176 athletes to the Paris Games, a record high for a Paralympics held overseas. The first group of Japanese athletes competing at the Paris Paralympics entered their village in Saint-Denis, just outside of Paris, on Wednesday. 21st August. About 40 athletes and staff of sports such as blind football, goalball, rowing and swimming arrived a week before the start of the games, with some of them taking commemorative photos with their smartphones. The opening ceremony will be held at the Place de la Concorde on Aug. 28, and the games will run through Sept. 8.
Paris-bound Japan para archer ordered to pay damages for defamation
A Japanese court on Tuesday ordered an archer bound for the upcoming Paris Paralympics to pay damages of around 1.24 million yen ($8,600) to a fellow athlete for posting defamatory comments on her blog during qualification for the 2021 Tokyo Games. According to the ruling handed down by the Tokyo District Court, Chika Shigesada, 41, anonymously posted comments on plaintiff Asako Onodera’s blog such as “Don’t struggle too much in vain,” and “Aren’t you breaking the rules?” in January 2021 while both were taking part in qualification for the games that year.
Yukinobu Ike ready to lead Japan to wheelchair rugby gold at Paris 2024
Three years after finishing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with a bronze medal, Japan wheelchair rugby captain Yukinobu Ike is ready to lead his team to the top of the podium at Paris 2024. It took Japan wheelchair rugby captain Yukinobu Ike six months to watch recordings of his matches from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and it took him another six months for him to put the semifinal defeat behind him. “I competed at Tokyo 2020, thinking this was the only opportunity for Japan to win the gold medal. I believed it was the only time I could ever win gold in my life,” said Ike, a two-time Paralympic bronze medallist. “It was very shocking to miss out on that medal.” Three years later, Ike is preparing to lead his team at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where he wants to realise his dream winning a gold medal.
Mental Health Experts to Join Japan Delegation at Paris Olympics
The Japanese delegation to the Paris Olympics, which begin later this month, will include four mental health experts to help create a better environment for Japanese athletes. It will be the first Summer Olympics where such experts, called “welfare officers,” will accompany Japanese athletes. Previously, mental health services for Japanese athletes were provided online. But Dohi said it is “easier for athletes to talk” to accompanying experts.
Tennis: Tokito Oda wins 2nd straight French Open wheelchair title
Japanese wheelchair tennis star Tokito Oda won his second consecutive French Open and fourth Grand Slam singles title Saturday, defeating Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
Para athletics: Athletes, fans praise “successful” Kobe tournament
Athletes and fans alike praised a “successful” World Para Athletics Championships on Saturday, lauding the tournament for its level of organization and accessibility on its last day in host city Kobe.
Outside the Stadium for the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships
The Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships is the first time the Para Athletics World Championships has been held in an East-Asian country. Barrier Free Japan had a look at the entrance to the stadium on May 21st.
The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #22: Kobe Gets ‘PARAgrressive’ about Sports, Disabled Writer Ototake ‘Certain’ to Lose By-Election
On April 27th Kobe City started to literally ‘fly the flag’ – put out flags in Kobe City – heralding the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships to be held from May 17th – May 25th.
An event titled ‘PARAgrressive Day’ was held in various locations in Kobe. Barrier Free Japan made some videos!
As of the evening of April 28th 2024, Hirotada Ototake is set to lose the by-election for a House of Representatives seat. On April 23rd it was reported that someone was arrested for attacking a staffer working for Ototake.
Barrier Free Japan 