Japan Para Games delegation hopes sporting success spurs social change

NAGOYA - The Japanese delegation at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games voiced hope Wednesday that sporting success will bring about a positive impact on society.

"There was a big social change after the Tokyo Paralympics (in 2021) through sports," Chef de Mission Hiroyuki Misaka, a former Japan wheelchair rugby player, told a press conference in Nagoya. "We'll accelerate it further at the Aichi-Nagoya Games."

Around 3,000 athletes from over 40 countries and regions will compete at the para games opening on Sunday, with badminton, blind football, table tennis and wheelchair basketball kicking off two days earlier on Friday.

Japan will be sending around 280 athletes across all 18 sports as the country hosts the event for the first time in its fifth edition.

Vice Chef de Mission Ayumi Tanimoto, the two-time judo gold medalist in the women's 63-kilogram category in 2004 and 2008, called for the same kind of home support that helped Japan win 83 gold medals at the Asian Games through early this month, its most ever.

"The cheers gave the athletes the push and the competitive power," she said. "I hope that will be happening again at the Asian Para Games."