Junichi Kawai, a Paralympic gold medalist in swimming and chairman of the Japanese Paralympic Committee, is seen as a candidate for the next commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency, sources said Saturday. Kawai, 50, would succeed current Commissioner Koji Murofushi, 50, who will reach the end of his term at the end of September.
The torches for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics next year were unveiled Monday at the Italian pavilion of the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka. The Olympic and Paralympic torches, each weighing 1,060 grams and measuring 89 centimeters in length, differ in color and are designed in the image of a flame. They will be displayed at the pavilion until the Expo’s final day on Oct. 13. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said at a ceremony that the torches will carry a message of peace.
Toyota has served as a highest-ranking sponsor under a 10-year contract starting in 2015. The company has provided vehicles for officials and athletes at five Summer and Winter Games during that period. According to officials, Toyota has paid approximately 200 billion yen ($1.4 billion) to the IOC.The automaker intends to continue providing direct support to athletes and equipment for sports for the disabled even after the sponsorship agreement ends, Toyoda said.
18-year-old Tokito Oda, who won the gold medal in the men’s singles at the Paris Paralympics, showed his skills by winning his first match after the Games in Tokyo in straight sets 2-0. Oda won a gold medal in men’s singles and a silver medal in men’s doubles at his first Paralympic Games in Paris. Oda, ranked No. 1 in the world, played his first match after the Paralympics in the first round of the men’s wheelchair singles tournament held in Koto-ku, Tokyo, against a Chinese player ranked No. 55 in the world.
Keiko Sugiura and Natsuki Wada, gold medalists in cycling and table tennis, respectively, were among the athletes welcomed home at Tokyo’s Haneda airport by enthusiastic fans, some of whom displayed signs with encouraging messages. Japan’s 14 gold medals were one more than the team won at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Japan’s Tokito Oda won gold in men’s wheelchair tennis singles at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday.
Oda, 18, defended the title that Japan’s Shingo Kunieda clinched in the previous Paralympics in Tokyo in 2021.
The victory by Oda brought Japan three gold medals and one silver medal in wheelchair tennis at the Paris Games.
Founded in 1988 as a developer of motorcycle engines and parts, the company switched to the wheelchair business in 1995. It has a factory at its head office that manufactures wheelchairs for competitive sports.
On the 10th day of the quadrennial sporting event, Kamiji defeated Diede De Groot of the Netherlands in the final, winning the first gold medal for Japan in this category.
Yui Kamiji and Manami Tanaka brought Japan its first gold medal in women’s Paralympic tennis by winning the doubles event at the Paris Games on Thursday.
Japan on Tuesday defeated powerhouse South Korea on the first day of mixed gender boccia events at the Paris Paralympics to advance to the BC1\BC2 quarterfinals.
The team got off to a three-point lead in the three-a-side wheelchair event before the South Koreans briefly recovered to tie the match, only for Japan to score two more times to win 5-3 at South Paris Arena.
Barrier Free Japan