Governor Attends a Roundtable for Promoting Parasports and Accessibility

Governor Koike attended the fifth Roundtable Meeting for the Promotion of Parasports and Barrier-Free Access on December 18, 2025.

This roundtable forum was launched in December 2021, months after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were held, with the aim of advancing the Paralympic Movement across Japan and developing Tokyo based on universal design. Forum members are called TMG (Tokyo Metropolitan Government) Parasport and Barrier-free Ambassadors.
 
In her opening remarks, the governor noted that TMG Parasport and Barrier-free Ambassadors had supported the Tokyo 2020 Games, as well as the World Athletics Championships and the Deaflympics, both held in Tokyo in 2025. “Through these international competitions, we were reminded anew of the immense power of sports and the strength of the human spirit.”

“At the recent Deaflympics, we provided children with an opportunity to cheer on athletes, and approximately 50,000 children witnessed the sports unfolding right before their eyes,” she said. “We also made admission free and drew about 280,000 people to cheer on-site, creating tremendous enthusiasm.”

 “Whether or not a person has a disability, and regardless of their nationality or gender, people coming together through sports is truly one aspect of an inclusive society,” the governor went on. “It is crucial that we do not let this momentum slip away, but instead pass the baton to the next generation through the collective effort of society.”
 
Governor Koike told the roundtable that the day’s theme was how to “carry the legacy of the World Athletics Championships and the Deaflympics into the future.” “We would like to hear your opinions, including your impressions of the initiatives undertaken during the World Athletics Championships and the Deaflympics,” she said. “We would sincerely appreciate your continued support and assistance.”