Formation and Other eSports Activities for Disabled Persons
in Gunma Prefecture

Hironari Hamakawa

Esports GM, ONEGAME,ONELIFE Inc.

1. Why use eSports in social services fordisabled persons?
There is increasing awareness of eSports as a new genreof activity for disabled persons being sponsored by many local
governments. Disabled-person eSports has become topical as aform of barrier-free sports that enables people be on the stage as
players, regardless of having a disability. eSports tournaments andchampionships are currently attracting the attention of disabilityrelated facilities at a national level.
Our company first began noticing the potential of eSports fordisabled persons an initiated our eSports business in the winter of2018.
We wanted to give the people with disabilities, who werecoming to a facility every day, a chance to have hopes and dreams,
so we created a facility for life nursing care with an environmentthat enables them to set their sights on becoming eSports
professionals. No similar facilities existed at the time and we hadmany applicants, so it was clear there was much demand in thefield. For the facility, we contracted with a pro team and prepareda fully-equipped training environment, but there were still many
challenges for the players.

■ Figure 1: Mouth mouse■ Figure 2: Mr. Koshizuka’s devices

2. Types of devices for disabled persons
Every person operates devices differently, even when
considering the same type of disability, so finding out how a user
will operate a device can be a challenge. The market for suchdevices is also still small in Japan, so only a limited number ofdevices can be sold.
Consider the example of Mr. Koshizuka, with whom wehave a pro contract. Due to muscular dystrophy, Mr. Koshizuka
has difficulty with ordinary controllers and plays using parts of
his body from the neck upward. The first game-play method
Mr. Koshizuka tried was using line-of-sight as a mouse pointer.
However, this quickly became tiring and it was difficult to play for
longer periods of time.
The second device we tried was a mouth-operated mousecalled a Quad Stick (Figure 1). With this device, mouse operations
are done using the mouth, click operations can be done bybreathing in or out, and button operations can be optionallyconfigured. Mr. Koshizuka was able to do operations reliably, evenwhen playing intensely, so we decided to build a device for him
based on the Quad Stick (Figure 2).
Besides these, he uses ten other devices such as touch-activated

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buttons, buttons that can be pushed using your cheek, and buttons
that attach to the finger tips. He currently uses these devices toplay League of Legends.

3. Disabled person eSports for promotional
purposes

Mr. Koshizuka was able to play the game using the devices inthis example, but that may not be the case for other users. Devices
must be built suited to each person. Many types of devices are alsoneeded to build device configurations for each person, and much
more activity in the device market is needed to produce the devices
for these configurations. Having eSports for disabled persons will
help to build this market.
We have engaged in activities to gather disabled competitors
nationally and raise awareness of eSports for disabled people.

As the next step in this activity, we worked to expand activities
nation-wide and in 2019 we held the first eSports Tournament
for disabled persons in Japan. All participants were players withdisabilities. We had a capacity for 20 participants, but when we
began recruiting, we received more than expected—almost 30
applications! This gave us a strong impression that it was a big step
toward the future.
For the 2019 disabled-person eSports tournament, weprovided coaching to players before the tournament, so that even
beginners could participate easily. We also included various otheraspects into the tournament for people with no knowledge or priorinterest in eSports, to promote their interest.
Then, as the tournament day approached, we also held events
to make sports culture in Gunma prefecture more interesting andattract them to the event, such as having a parasports area, andholding eSports tournaments for disabled persons and the generalpublic.
However, there were still significant issues to resolve, since
there had never been an eSports tournament that enabled disabled
people to play to their own satisfaction. For example, the slope tothe stage was not designed with proper consideration for wheelchairs, or the desks could not be adjusted for the heights ofwheelchairs, which differ for each person. There were manyother issues that do not need to be considered at other eSports
tournaments, such as people who tend to panic under harshlighting, how to contact participants that are hard of hearing, andhow to accommodate people requiring meal management or othertypes of care.

As soon as the tournament finished, we took feedback fromit and started a business for the next step. We really felt that thetournament had been a place where disabled persons were able
to take action, so as our next task we set out to create a training
space, so that disabled people could set their sights on reachingthat place.
We spent one year to complete the Onegame office, and it
opened in July, 2020. We received many inquiries, from within
and outside of Gunma prefecture and it became popular with
our users. For training, we had professionals from the training
industry to create video materials, and participants learned bywatching them.
Having only oral or written guidance can be difficult tounderstand, so we provided support suited to individuals’
disabilities, and we found that some of our enrollees were able tolearn extremely quickly.
Many participants did not feel comfortable with regular social
services for disabled people, and many were interested in becoming
eSports pros, so we also provide training in business manners andskills, to help them find work through eSports.
At the time it was a very new experiment and we had
difficulty working with the public administration and gamecompanies, but now the reputation of the program has improved
considerably and we have almost reached our capacity ofparticipants.

■ Figure 3: Disabled person eSports tournament winningteam

5. Regional establishment of Onegame andfranchising

By providing these improvements, we believe that disabledperson eSports can enable disabled persons to have hopes anddreams, and stand up on the stage. The first tournament in Japan,in 2019, created a strong reaction in various media and the event

really showed how it could grow (Figure 3).

4. Start of the Onegame businessWe wanted Onegame to develop associated with the region, sowe worked to create an overall eSports facility suited to the region.
For example, in Ota City there are eSports departments in boththe Gunma prefecture offices and the municipal offices, and theadministrations are putting effort into eSports, so our Onegame
efforts helped to increase interest in eSports in people and to build
excitement in the region.
Other efforts included an event with SEGA, the developerof “Puyo Puyo eSports,” and collaboration with UBISOFT,
the developer of “Rainbow Six Siege,” which provided about1000 T-shirts commemorating the tournament. The tournament
seemed to raise the level of excitement for eSports in the wholegaming industry.
Several photographs from our Onegame efforts are included
here. Figure 4 is from an event held at Onegame in April 2021,
using Puyo Puyo. This was the first event planned in which
we had people competing in the facility from both the Gunma
Prefecture and the Ota City eSports Clubs.
We were able to hold an event very closely tied to the region,
using the whole facility, with people enrolled in the MC course
providing commentary and play-by-play for Puyo Puyo and acting
as master-of-ceremonies for the event, people enrolled in theNew Breeze Summer 202211event course handling relations with the various companies andoperating the event, and people enrolled in the player course,
dealing with competitors, eSports clubs and the competition.
Even though conditions are still bad due to COVID-19, weare preparing an environment that allow us to hold events formembers of the public, as we do for disabled persons.
Onegame provides a place that disabled persons can go tocommunicate with their local region and be involved in activitiesthat enliven the region through eSports.
With the Onegame business we are also offering franchises.
By franchising, people from throughout Japan will be able tocome to a place that previously only existed in Gunma Prefecture,and there will be more opportunities to learn in areas that were
not possible earlier, with Type-B continuous work support.
We decided to franchise Onegame to provide suitable learning
environments and to expand eSports activity.
After we started Onegame, we have seen many facilities
throughout the country adopting eSports. However, there reallywere no facilities with learning environments suited to disabledpeople. Among the people who inquired at Onegame, there werepeople who had been going to other facilities providing eSports,
but the staff at those facilities did not provide any support, andonly provided an environment where games could be played freely.
Most of these facilities were providing eSports without permission
from the game companies, while Onegame certainly obtains

permission and also provides support.
In addition to playing games, we also provide an educational
environment that enables people to communicate and have contact
with people from outside, through eSports. By having richer
communication and contact with people from outside, users
can increase their confidence and become more positive about
gaining employment. Thus, eSports training at Onegame provides
education that has value for people, regardless of disability.
This type of training, available throughout Japan only at
Onegame, also provides support suitable for those looking forwork, through eSports.
We also hope to build an eSports economy with ourfranchises, so that disabled people interested in eSports work
can learn at Onegame in each region, help to build up the region
through Onegame, and thus promote hiring of disabled people.
After we have increased the number of franchise branches,
we have a vision for other activities only possible in Japan, such asplanning a para-eSports pro league and creating a disabled-person
eSports tournament brand.
We want to make progress each day, to enable even one
disabled person find a job or make progress toward their dreamthrough eSports education.
These activities also represent what we want to give back to allof those who have enjoyed and supported Onegame.
Onegame will set up the basics for franchises, and will provide■ Figure 4: From the left: Gunma Prefecture agency eSports Club, Ota City eSports department

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support for building them to owners after that.
The goal of ONELIFE Co. Ltd. is to be an education
business providing training for people’s dreams, so with each new
franchise branch, we hope to establish Onegame in a new form.

6. Gunma eSports AssociationOn a slightly different topic, we also have activities toexpand eSports to a wider range of people. The Gunma eSports
Association is the first eSports organization in Gunma Prefecture.
The association promotes eSports in Gunma, increasing thepopulation engaging in eSports, and creates enjoyable spaces forchildren using PCs and other devices to build interest in IT.
One of our activities to expand eSports was in Ota Cityin Gunma Prefecture. We held an eSports tournament incollaboration with a hot-springs resort called Yurabu and aninternet café called Zima (Figure 5). The event was also intended
as tourism PR for Ota City, so prizes for the tournament included
items such as admission to the Yurabu hot-springs resort. This was
so that visitors to the event would also see the allure of the hotsprings. The tournament attracted many participants, includingchildren and adults, and was quite lively.
Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has required more
restrictions, but even during the pandemic, we have been looking
for opportunities for activities with players.
Post COVID-19, many individual shops had closed dueto the drop in sales during the pandemic, so we are planningeSports events to invigorate towns that have lost energy during thepandemic.
Onegame is working with the Gunma eSports Association,
consulting with everyone in the Ota City eSports department
regarding the event, including tourism PR. We have set a goal of
making Ota City in Gunma Prefecture a community enlivened by
eSports in 2022.
Finally, we will introduce initiatives involving disability,eSports and medical treatment. Some people still believe thateSports can lead to gaming addiction. As such, we plan to conduct
a survey this year in collaboration with Gunma University,
regarding what benefits eSports could have for disabled persons.
With eSports, players must use their heads to think and hands
to control a keyboard or mouse when they play, so we expectthat it could have effects such as rehabilitating brain function
or training hands or feet. In preliminary experiments for thisresearch, we attached instruments to a player’s head while playing
a game and gained valuable data showing large changes in activity
in the frontal lobe of the brain. As this research progresses, wemay find that eSports can be applied to rehabilitate a wide rangeof disabilities, such as dementia in the elderly, or for physicalrehabilitation.
We will continue activities to raise awareness of eSports, tofurther expand their potential.

■ Figure 5: Yurabu tournament

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