INTERVIEW: IPC Head Hopes for Another Paralympics in Tokyo

Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons has voiced his hopes that Tokyo would host another Summer Paralympics. In a recent interview with the Jiji Press in Tokyo, the 49-year-old praised again the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, held without spectators after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I have this very personal dream…that…we see…the Summer Games (come) back to Tokyo,” he said. Both Tokyo and Japan “deserve” another shot with spectators, he added. Invited by the Tokyo metropolitan government, Parsons participated in a three-day Tokyo Paralympics legacy tour from Aug. 28. After Tokyo won the bid to host the quadrennial sporting event in 2013, accessibility significantly improved across the Japanese capital, with 98 pct of all train stations free of barriers as of the end of fiscal 2024. Similar efforts have been made for roads and facilities. Such infrastructure was “already good” in Tokyo, but there has been a further improvement, Parsons said, adding that there has also been “a different understanding” for people with disabilities. The IPC leader also took part in a session held for the public to try parasports under a Tokyo government project to promote such sports and interacted with children. Children in Tokyo watched athletes shine at the Paralympics, and they do not need to be told to do sports, Parsons said. “They want to practice sports because they saw athletes competing in the Games.” Tokyo holds about 120 such sessions a year mainly on the weekends, using special-needs schools as venues. Participating schools have increased over the years, numbering 35 this fiscal year. Parsons said he has told officials of cities looking to host Paralympics to take a leaf out of Tokyo’s book in hosting the global tournament. Bringing up last year’s Deaflympics and the World Athletics Championships, both held in Tokyo, Parsons said, “Japan has a tradition of organizing and delivering very good events.” “There are conversations around…bringing more international parasport competitions to Japan and specifically to Tokyo,” especially Paralympic qualifiers, he said. This year’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games will kick off in central Japan on Oct. 18. Parsons expressed his hopes that images of athletes performing at the Asian Games stage be broadcast across Asia. The Asian Games, in a similar way to what the Tokyo Paralympics did, “can contribute to the change” to the Japanese society as a whole, he added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]