Paralympic Medalist Kawai Named Japan Sports Agency Head

Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Junichi Kawai, a gold medalist in Paralympic swimming and chairman of the Japanese Paralympic Committee, will become the next commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency on Oct. 1, the government said Friday. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Kawai, 50, will succeed current Commissioner Koji Murofushi, who has served since 2020 and will retire Sept. 30 this year when his term expires. The agency’s top position has been held by Olympic gold medalists for two consecutive terms since the 2015 launch of the organization, with the first commissioner, Daichi Suzuki, 58, followed by Murofushi, 50. Kawai will be the first Paralympic medalist to assume the post. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, Kawai participated in six consecutive Paralympic Games, starting with the 1992 Barcelona Games. He won 21 medals including five golds. He became JPC chairman in 2020 and served as leader of the Japanese delegation at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics in 2021 and the Beijing Winter Paralympics in 2022. “Given his achievements as an athlete and experiences in educational activities as a junior high school teacher and in organizational management at the JPC, we’ve decided that Kawai is most suitable for the role as we implement sports-related policy measures,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]