Friday marked 200 days until the Tokyo Paralympics get underway. As the Games approach, the Japan Sports Agency is trying to promote the development and awareness of sports for people with disabilities by helping to strengthen the organizational foundation of para-sporting associations.
In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, agency commissioner Daichi Suzuki said, "I want to support horizontal cooperation between groups to create better organizational management."
―How do you view management of organizations associated with para-sports?
"The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Center is currently providing joint offices to the various organizations for a limited time until fiscal 2021. When I visited the offices, I saw them negotiating with foreign officials through a shared interpreter. It's important to use this kind of ingenuity to make office work such as legal and financial procedures more efficient. We are speaking with stakeholders so horizontal connections between organizations improve, even after the Tokyo Games."
―Participation rates are low among people with disabilities.
"Only 20.8% of adults with disabilities play sports at least once a week, which is significantly lower than our target of 40%. While the top stratum [of sports for disabled people] such as para-sports is becoming better known, the base is still not. I believe that collecting case studies, identifying barriers and conducting research will in the future lead to policies for promoting sports for the disabled."
―How do you envision a legacy that the Tokyo Paralympics leaves behind?
"It would be ideal if the Games helped create a society where people with disabilities can naturally play an active role in daily life. I want a society where people naturally offer help to someone in a wheelchair if they are having difficulty. I hope that a change in attitudes will be one of the legacies that the 2020 Games leaves behind."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
