Working to change Japan

Workingchange Japanto

Para-athletes will be forced to wait the longest to realise their Tokyo 2020 dreams, but the Games will not just be about sporting prowess. Geoff Berkeley discovers that the event may be crucial to transforming Japanese society for the better.

Five years may have passed since the Sagamihara massacre rocked Japan, but the scars have yet to heal within the country’s disabled community.

Wielding a knife, Satoshi Uematsu killed nine men and 10 women, and injured 26 others, at a care home for disabled people in

July 2016.

Residents were targeted in their sleep by

Uematsu, a former employee at the Tsukui

Yamayuri En facility in Sagamihara - situated 31 miles south-west of Tokyo.

It was a harrowing incident, and one of the worst mass killings in Japan since the Second World War. Japanese people are still hurting.

“I cannot explain exactly what I felt that day,” Junichi Kawai, President of the Japan Paralympic Committee, told insidethegames.

“Various emotions were in my mind. I was so disappointed and sad. It was a terrible incident.”

According to reports, Uematsu claimed that people with disabilities were unable to communicate well, had no human rights, and that killing them would be good for society.

Uematsu was sentenced to death by hanging last year but his heinous crime sparked a debate over the treatment of disabled people in Japan.

A survey conducted by the Japanese Government in 2017 found that 84 per cent of people felt there was discrimination or prejudice against people with disabilities.

During the Uematsu trial, it was agreed by the Yokohama District Court that the names of those who had been killed or injured would not be revealed, on the request of family members who feared the victims or themselves would be discriminated against.

“The image of people with a disability in Japan was that they cannot do things, so it was a negative one,” said Kawai.

GEOFF BERKELEY SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Tokyo 2020 could change perceptions of people with a disability in Japan. Photo: Getty Images

“A few years ago, families did not allow people with a disability to go out and there was segregation in education.

“Children with a disability would go to a special needs school and those old cultures may still influence people’s attitudes in Japan now.”

Kawai believes the awarding of the Olympics and Paralympics to Tokyo in September 2013 proved to be a seismic moment for disabled people in the country.

He said it helped put their needs higher on the Government’s agenda and led to a series of reforms.

“Before 2013, it was deemed okay if the schools were not accessible,” said Kawai.

“Schools will be used for evacuation during a disaster so they should be accessible, and that was made law.

“Another law was that the employee rate for people with a disability should be higher.”

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons has also witnessed a shift in how Para-sport is viewed in Japan over the past eight years.

“I remember when we started this journey in 2013 and Para-sport was not under the Ministry of Sport,” the Brazilian told insidethegames.

“It was under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Human Rights.

“Since Japan got the Games, it has moved to sport so there was a shift in the understanding.”

Parsons knows how much of an impact staging a Games can have on the host country, having been the head of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee during Rio 2016.

The Brazilian said the main focus was making transport and infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro more accessible, but he believes the mission is completely different in Tokyo.

“Japan is very advanced when it comes to infrastructure and accessibility, especially in Tokyo,” he said.

“It is about changing the mindset of the Japanese population towards people with a disability.

“Because there is often an angle of super protection, trying to make sure that a person with a disability stays at home, is protected and they are benefiting from a safe environment.

“At the end of the day, they need to be given opportunities to be active citizens, so accessibility is a way to achieve that.

“If accessibility is there, they can move around freely, but they are not in the labour market and active parts of Japanese society. That is not inclusion.

“Our main goal here is to change the mindset and perception the Japanese society has on people with a disability, because when you have done that you can start changing the reality.

“When you focus on the kids and youth, the next generation of decision-makers in Japan will have a different understanding of people with a disability.”

Education is key to the IPC and JPC succeeding with their goal of changing perceptions in Japan.

In February 2017, the IPC and its development arm - the Agitos Foundation - launched a project called “I’mPOSSIBLE”.

It was designed as a toolkit of resources aimed at engaging with young people between the ages of six and 12.

The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Centre and the IPC, in collaboration with Tokyo 2020, have supported the rollout of the scheme with educational materials distributed to public and private primary schools in Japan for free.

Kawai confirmed about 36,000 schools had benefitted from the I’mPOSSIBLE programme.

“I’mPOSSIBLE is going to be important in changing Japanese society,” said Kawai.

“Last year, Paralympic education was included in the teachers’ guidebook by the Japanese Government.

“I’mPOSSIBLE will continue to go out to all the Japanese schools so that the young generation can change the perception of a person with a disability.

“We also use SMS to spread information about Paralympic sport, and we arranged to send our athletes to schools near the venues of the Japan Para Championship.

“Children can learn, talk to athletes and gain interest in Paralympic sport and the athletes, and their clubs will go to the competition to watch the actual Games.”

Excitement for the Olympics and Paralympics was building in Japan before the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to put

GEOFF BERKELEY SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

their plans on hold and work out how to stage the Games against the backdrop of a global health crisis.

The IPC joined forces with the International Olympic Committee, Tokyo 2020, the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to put together a package of measures to help combat the spread of coronavirus.

Under the guidelines set out in the Tokyo 2020 playbooks, athletes will be expected to be tested daily, wear masks at all times except when competing, wash hands regularly, avoid physical contact, steer clear of crowds and clap rather than sing or chant when supporting their team-mates.

However, organisers have agreed to adapt the rules for some Paralympic sports, including cycling and five-a-side football, where pilots and coaches will be allowed to shout instructions to visually impaired athletes.

People will also be permitted to temporarily remove their masks to speak to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound and facial expressions to communicate.

Parsons insists the COVID-19 countermeasures will be “enhanced” for the Paralympics, with additional medical assistance in place to support disabled participants.

“The data we have and all the research shows that Paralympians do not have a higher susceptibility [to catching coronavirus],” he said.

“But due to the level of disability of some of our athletes, if they do get the virus it could get more severe.

“We are offering them the same level of protection as any other athlete because we cannot offer more than that, the ultimate level.

“But the medical response will have to be very quick and focused.

“We have all these athletes mapped out, we know where they are and we know the nature of their disabilities.”

The biggest defence against COVID-19 will be vaccines, and the IPC estimates around 60 per cent of people inside the Athletes’ Village will be immunised.

Parsons hopes this figure will increase after the IOC and IPC struck a deal with vaccine developer Pfizer-BioNtech, to donate doses to National Paralympic Committees.

Tokyo 2020 organisers have faced fierce opposition from Japanese citizens over the staging of the Games, with some medical professionals claiming it could lead to a new strain of the virus.

But Kawai believes the rollout of the vaccination programme will help to change public opinion.

“It is very important for Japanese people to know that most of the athletes and officials who will participate at Tokyo 2020 will be vaccinated,” he said.

“The Japanese people will be relieved to know that, and a safe and secure situation will be provided during Games time.”

Scheduled to run from August 24 to September 5, around 4,400 athletes will compete across 22 sports at the Paralympics.

Badminton and taekwondo will both make their Paralympic debuts after replacing sailing and seven-a-side football on the programme.

Taekwondo will be the second combat sport to feature at the Paralympics, after judo was introduced in 1988 for visually impaired athletes.

Parsons believes the inclusion of taekwondo will help break down more barriers for disabled people.

“There is a taboo that people with a disability should not do combat sports,” he said.

“[People may say] athletes with a disability cannot be in combat sports.

“We did it with judo, although only for the visually impaired. Now with taekwondo, physically impaired athletes will kick each other in the face.

“It changes the way people see the person with a disability. I am really excited to see taekwondo.

“There is this wow effect when you see athletes turning and giving a high kick with no arms.

“You can see their balance, speed and power. It’s an amazing sport.”

Kawai lost his sight at the age of 15 after suffering with a condition where tissue around the eye is missing from birth.

But he refused to let his disability hold him back, and went on to etch his name into Paralympic history by winning five gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals in swimming.

Kawai will now lead the Japanese team into a home Paralympics where athletes will be expected to deliver success.

The JPC President hopes the country’s Paralympic stars will remain in the public eye once the Games are over.

“We really wish the profile of our athletes will go up after the Games,” said Kawai.

“In order to realise this situation, the JPC has developed a strategic plan until 2030.

“One of the main targets is athlete development. It is not only about the development of their performance but their maturity as human beings.

“Their efforts, experience and endurance can increase their profile so we would like to educate them to be role models in society.

“I believe these Games will be the opportunity to transform Japan.

“I am sure there will be lots of emotion at the Opening Ceremony, but the Closing Ceremony will be more emotional.

“If I can close the Paralympics, it means the world can unite to realise that such an event can happen against COVID-19.

“This is not about the winning or losing and the number of medals, but everyone being the winners.

“This friendship and unity can be showed to the world.”

The I'mPOSSIBLE education campaign is seen as crucial in delivering the Paralympic message to Japanese society. Photo: Getty Images