Flame festivals and visits will take place in 43 of Japan’s 47 prefectures on Aug. 12-16, while the remaining four prefectures–Tokyo, Shizuoka, Chiba and Saitama–where Paralympic Games venues are located, will host similar events and the Paralympic torch relay from Aug. 17, according to a detailed program for Paralympic flame-related events announced by the organizing committee.
Minister Marukawa pointed out that “diversity and harmony are one of the basic concepts of the Tokyo Games,” and said, “I am very disappointed to hear that the Organizing Committee did not make any special efforts to provide sign language interpreters for the ceremony.
Nobuyuki Hirota, head of Sagamihara’s Olympic and Paralympic promotion section, said he remains committed to honoring the victims and survivors of the massacre of disabled people.
The Japanese Para-Sports Association (JPSA), the body that oversees sports for the disabled in Japan, wants to promote the use of the term “parasports” ahead of the Paralympics in Tokyo this summer, according to sources.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons voiced his confidence that the Tokyo Paralympics, which was pushed back by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held this summer as scheduled.
Athletes’ disabilities are classified for the Paralympics to ensure fair competition. In athletics, this results in the men’s 100 meters being split into 16 different categories.
IPC President Andrew Parsons congratulated Seiko Hashimoto on her appointment as the new President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
Para athletes taking part in the postponed Tokyo Games have been asked to arrive at the Paralympic village no earlier than seven days before the start of their first event, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday. The IPC guidelines are almost identical to those for Olympic athletes announced by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach last week.
In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Misato Michishita, who holds the marathon world record for the women’s T12 class, said her single-minded obsession with Paralympic gold is what has kept her going for the last six months amid coronavirus-related restrictions.
“I hope that the Paralympics will be a chance for people to realise that people (with disabilities) live among them” and are part of society, Murakami added.
Barrier Free Japan