Tokyo Deaflympics Sign Interpreter Wants Fellow Learners

Tokyo, Nov. 23 (Jiji Press)–International Sign is used as the official language at the ongoing Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics as a tool for communication with deaf people from various countries, but it is not well known in Japan and there is a shortage of interpreters. Ryoji Miura, 37, who supports the sporting event as an interpreter, said, “I hope that people will discover the joy (of using International Sign) through the Tokyo event and that the number of learners will grow.” According to the Japan International Sign Language Interpreters & Guides Association (JIIGA) and others, International Sign is used for the Deaflympics and other events because sign languages, like spoken languages, differ from country to country. International Sign employs simple and easy-to-understand expressions. For example, “Thank you” is expressed by a motion like a kiss throw. Meanwhile, in Japanese Sign Language, it is expressed as a movement similar to that used by sumo wrestlers when they receive prize money on the ring. Takeshi Sunada, 64, who heads the association, said that International Sign is “still not well known in Japan, and there is no related qualification.” “There are only a few people (in Japan) who can work as International Sign interpreters at international events,” he continued. At the tourist information center of the Deaflympics Square in Shibuya Ward, where the Tokyo Deaflympics’ operation headquarters is located, Miura used International Sign to respond to foreign athletes with hearing impairments on Nov. 15. He answered a wide range of questions, including the locations of competition venues and where they can charge their mobile phones. At university, Miura, with no hearing impairments, was invited by a friend to join a sign language club and started learning Japanese Sign Language. Communicating with deaf people “made me feel like a new world has opened up,” he recalled. Fifteen years later, in 2022, he started learning International Sign at the JIIGA as he wanted to do something new. At the Deaflympics Square information center on Nov. 15, Miura sometimes had to ask foreign athletes to repeat themselves as he could not understand their sign languages. Still, he managed to communicate with them using gestures. “I was relieved when I could answer questions and saw them off with a smile,” he said. “International Sign is fun because we can interact with foreigners even if we don’t speak English,” he added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]