“Tomoka Igari, member of a popular indie idol group who was crushed by a falling billboard in April, leaving her in a wheelchair, has found a connection with para-sports while maintaining her career as an entertainer.”
“A visit to Tokyo for work-related reasons in August 2018 left me with some free time, and I decided to visit the ‘Tokyo 2020 Store’ at BIC Camera store in Shinjuku. I am really not a naysayer about Tokyo 2020 and wanted my piece of it.”
“Haruta Saito, 11, an amputee athlete in the fifth year of elementary school who lives in Tokyo’s Koto Ward, tried to beat the record along with two other elementary school students who have artificial limbs.”
““I want to show that disabled people don’t need pity. I want to show that we can do so many different things.”
“Posters using the phrase “Disability is just an excuse, only I am weak if I lose” were removed the walls of JR Tokyo station on October 15th following criticisms from disability groups.”
“Japan won 45 gold medals at the Asian Para Games 2018, an eight-day international sporting event for para-athletes that ended Saturday with the closing ceremony in Jakarta.”
“Serving as Japan’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony was Kaede Maegawa, a member of the national women’s track and field team. She said she walked with her head held high during the ceremony hoping that the audience “will realize that a person with a prosthetic leg can walk gracefully.” ”
“While there is no Paralympic category for athletes solely with hearing impairments, the deaf community is not just watching the momentum build from the sidelines, and the Japanese Federation of the Deaf has launched a campaign to bring the Deaflympics — Olympic Games for the deaf — to Japan for the first time.”
“With the start of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics just two years away, para athletes have begun to ramp up preparations and intensify their training. But many face major disadvantages due to a lack of training facilities with features such as air conditioning or barrier-free entrances.”
“With Aug. 25 marking exactly two years until the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, facilities across Japan are being renovated or newly built to meet universal design standards.”
Barrier Free Japan