Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics Paves the Path to an ‘Inclusive Society’

TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS Games Emblem

Urged on by visual applause, some 2,800 deaf athletes from 79 countries and regions have pushed themselves to their limits in Tokyo, as the host city moved forward with its effort to build an “inclusive society.”

The Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics in November wrapped up with great energy. Held in an often-called “world without sound,” the event drew about 280,000 spectators—nearly triple the original target.

Many of them pumped up the athletes with hand-formed “Cheer Signs” newly developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Deaf athletes dance in sync with festive Japanese music during the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics closing ceremony at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on November 26.

At Deaflympic venues, an array of equipment converted announcements and sounds, including sounds from the table tennis table, into multilingual visual words and symbols on displays and screens. Also on hand were 240 sign language interpreters, 100 of them well versed in International Sign.

The whole setup was part of an initiative by one of the co-organizing bodies, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to promote “universal communication.”

Adam Kosa, President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), uses International Sign in delivering the closing declaration at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics closing ceremony on November 26.

ICSD President Kosa expresses applause in sign language after delivering the closing declaration, joined by Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko (front row far left).

“The Deaflympics has spurred the spread of cutting-edge technologies that support universal communication,” Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko told the closing ceremony on November 26, the final day of the 12-day Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

She noted that Tokyo is the only city to have ever hosted the Paralympics twice and the Deaflympics. (It also hosted the Olympics in 1964 and 2021, the same years as the Paralympics). “Tokyo has been able to share with the world the vision for a truly inclusive society.”

TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS  videos (subtitles in English):

 https://www.youtube.com/@tokyo2025deaflympics

Deaf Sport Audience: From Almost None to a Full House 

Spectators use the hand-formed Cheer Sign “Go!” during a volleyball match at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on November 16.

“In just a few words, it made me almost burst into tears,” said Hisamatsu Mitsuji, who headed the local Deaflympic organizing committee, marveling at the spectator turnout.  Admission was generally free, while entry to the opening and closing ceremonies was determined by lottery.

Adam Kosa, President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), agreed: “All the venues were really packed. I was moved to see that.” The ICSD organizes the quadrennial summer and winter Deaflympics.

Additionally, more than 50,000 people visited the Deaflympics Square at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center. This venue served as a key base, consolidating functions such as the Main Operation Center, a transport hub, a media center, a warm-up area, an interaction space and an exhibition of contents promoting understanding of Deaf culture and Deaf sports.

Hisamatsu, who serves as the general secretary of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, admitted that the number of spectators had been quite small at annual deaf sports events hosted by his organization in the past.

His staff had to scour across the country to raise public awareness of the Deaflympics by holding seminars and lectures involving Deaflympians.

Hisamatsu and Kosa were speaking at a pre-closing ceremony news conference. Their remarks in sign languages were interpreted into spoken Japanese, which were then retranslated into spoken English.

Pre-Closing Ceremony Press Conference on November 26: 

 

On Par with the Olympics and the Paralympics 

Spectators pump up the deaf athlete with “Cheer Signs” in a women’s orienteering event on Day 1 of the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on November 15　(Official YouTube channel of TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS)

A total of 39 deaf world records and 62 Deaflympic records were broken at Tokyo 2025, said Kosa, a Hungarian lawyer and former member of the European Parliament. He described the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics in terms of operations as “a world-level sporting event just as the same as the Olympics and the Paralympics.”

“I’m proud that our sporting community has proven nothing is impossible,” he later noted in his closing declaration in International Sign read out in English through the PA system at the closing ceremony. “Everyone competed with integrity, perseverance, and gave their very best.” 

The Deaflympics is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee along with other global multisport events, namely the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Special Olympics for people with intellectual disabilities. The Deaflympics started a century ago in 1924 in Paris, long before the Paralympics debuted in 1960 in Rome to bring together athletes with disabilities except for hearing difficulties.　

‘A Moment of Joy’ for War-Torn Ukraine 

Violeta Lykova wins the women’s 10m air rifle to bring table-topping Ukraine one of their 100 gold medals at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on November 16. (Official YouTube channel of TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS )

Among the 209 Tokyo Deaflympics gold medalists in 21 sports, which included the non-Olympic disciplines of orienteering and bowling, Kosa singled out Ukrainian shooter Violeta Lykova as a standout.

She won the women’s 10m air rifle with 252.4 points, better than the 251.8 points scored by Ban Hyo-jin of South Korea in capturing the same event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. “She might have gotten the gold medal as well,” if she had competed in Paris, the ICSD chief said.

Her gold was one of the 100 medals won by Ukraine to maintain its top spot on the Deaflympic medal table. Host Japan followed with its best-ever 51 and China 50. In the gold medal tally alone, Ukraine at 32 was followed by the U.S. at 17, Japan at 16, China at 12, and South Korea at 11.

Ukraine swept to the top of the medal table at the 2022 Summer Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, and at the 2024 Winter Deaflympics in Erzurum, Turkey. It took over Russia in both Games after the ICSD banned Russia along with Belarus following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Deaflympic delegation was congratulated back home by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their success. “This is a moment of joy for the entire country in such a difficult time,” he said when he handed state awards to the team, according to his office’s website.

Next Stop: LA Olympics? 

Pamera Losange uses sign language to “sing along” with the French national anthem “La Marseillaise” after winning the women’s 200m sprint on November 23 (Official YouTube channel of TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS )

Preparations may already be underway for the next 2029 Summer Deaflympics to be held for the first time in Athens—and in Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. But for the top Deaflympians, who have Olympic experiences, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is next up in their crosshairs.

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar, 25, successfully defended her Deaflympic women’s golf title. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she became the first ever golfer to have competed in both the Olympics and the Deaflympics.

A regular on the Ladies European Tour (LET), Dagar finished 50th at Tokyo 2021 and 49th at Paris 2024. “I’m very proud. Whether it’s the normal Olympics or the Deaflympics, it’s an honor playing for your country. The competition is always fun,” she told the LET news site.

French sprinter Pamera Losange, 23, completed the women’s 100m and 200m double in Tokyo. She was seen using sign language to “sing along” with the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, on the 200m podium.

In 2023, Losange, an aspiring dental technician, beat hearing rivals to win the 200m French national title. But she failed to make the team for the 2024 Olympics at home although she had participated in an Olympic training camp.

“I can’t wait, but I have to work hard to improve my performance,” she told the French news site TF1info about the LA Games. “Athletics is my passion and I want to run as well as I can.”

Italian swimmer Viola Scotto Di Carlo, 22, a Paris Olympian, broke four deaf world records and picked up five gold, four silver and two relay bronze medals　at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics. In her international debut year of 2023, she swept aside hearing swimmers to earn silver and bronze medals at the Mediterranean Games and the World University Games. Di Carlo has every reason to aim high at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. At Paris 2024, she was disqualified for an irregular kick both in the 100m butterfly and the women’s 4X100 medley relay.

In another Deaflympic milestone, the U.S. defeated Japan 4-0 to clinch a record fifth women’s soccer gold medal. They have not lost a match since their official debut in 2005, registering 44 wins and one draw.

Host Japan Proud with its Best-Ever Medal Haul 

Yamada Maki raises a cry in winning the men’s 400m for host Japan’s first gold at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on November 19. (Official YouTube channel of TOKYO 2025 DEAFLYMPICS )

Hosting the Deaflympics for the first time, Japan glittered　with　51　medals　(16　gold,　12　silver　and　23　bronze), topping its previous best of 30 from the last 2022 edition in Brazil. The host country swept the podium in the men’s hammer throw.

“I feel very happy because I have seen hearing people use sign language on my way to and back from the venue and on other occasions,” said track runner Yamada Maki, 28, who won Japan’s first gold of the Games in the men’s 400m.

“I guess deaf and hearing people have enhanced their mutual understanding one step further through these Games,” he told the metropolitan daily Tokyo Shimbun. “It would be great if the same thing happens away from the competition venues.”

Yamada, a Deaflympic poster boy who doubles as an actor occasionally portraying a hearing person, also took home the 200m silver and the 4x400m relay gold at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics. They added to his collection of seven medals, three of them gold, from the past Deaflympics and World Deaf Athletics Championships.

About 3,000 volunteers, selected from nearly 19,000 applicants, worked at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

Tokyo Governor Koike told the closing ceremony: “This event was made possible through the joint efforts of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people. The sight　of smiling volunteers with or without disabilities closely working　together　to　provide　warm　hospitality itself truly embodies the values of the Deaflympics.”