Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020
Paralympic GamesDavid Legg
（Mount Royal University, Canada）

Introduction
Without question the Tokyo Paralympic Games were unique. They were held ayear following the original date, without fans and with a variety of health measures.
The fact that the Games were held at all is quite remarkable and this is perhaps a
result of the host organizing committee being, what International Olympic Committee
President Thomas Bach repeatedly claimed as, “the best prepared ever”（Dheensaw,
2021）.
The Tokyo Games also were unique in that they provided an opportunity tocompare the host city and country with itself decades after hosting their first
Paralympic Games in 1964（Japan also hosted the Winter Paralympic Games in 1998
in Nagano）. At the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, there were 375 athletes withspinal cord injuries, from 20 countries competing in 9 sports while in 2021, Tokyo
welcomed over 4000 athletes from 162 countries in 22 sports, with athletes classified
into a variety of disability types.（It is perhaps interesting to note that there aredifferences in the numbers used for the 1964 Games with the International Paralympic
Committee having two different totals on their official websites, and the Japanese
Paralympic Committee has a third, although all three totals are only slightly
different）.
The 2021 Games saw athletes demonstrating outstanding performances. In addition,
concerns of the event being a super-spreader did not materialize and controversial
stories about doping, cheating or other scandals found in previous Games were for47

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the most part avoided. The Paralympic Games were also viewed by some as a sign of“good times to come” and an example of how to overcome, or at least adjust to,challenging circumstances. “Our long journey is now coming to an end,” said Seiko
Hashimoto, president of Tokyo 2020, during the closing ceremony in a stadium devoidof fans. “I believe it was the indomitable spirit of all those who have overcome
difficulty that shone so brilliantly on this stage. We will use this brilliance toilluminate our road to further recovery” （Dheensaw, 2021）. As I write this,meanwhile, the Omicron Variant is now spreading and shutting down international
travel and sport in North America.
From a Canadian perspective, of which I am the Past President of the Canadian
Paralympic Committee, the Games appeared to be a resounding success. The current
President, Marc-André Fabien also noted that “The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
have been phenomenal, including incredible performances from athletes, beautiful
venues, and a safe environment for our team. Beyond exciting results on the field ofplay, Tokyo 2020 has been a huge success for the growth of the Paralympic
Movement, showcasing sport at the highest level, sharing so many stories of
excellence and humanity, and how sport can positively impact the entire world.”
From a global perspective the Games also appeared to be a success, if nothing else
showcasing the growth of the Games and movement, with more countries than everbefore winning medals and with 86 countries claiming at least one medal（Perisse,2021）. The host country Japan also finished with its highest medal count, with 51
medals with highlights including being the first Asian nation to reach a gold-medal
game in men’s wheelchair basketball（Perisse, 2021）. These results were strong but
not as good as hoped for by the Japanese Paralympic Committee, and I will reflect on
this later.
As a result of the varied perspectives following the Games, the optimist in me
would conclude that they were a great success. But lurking behind this façade isperhaps doubt that the Games did not achieve the legacy or impact that it had hoped
for, and particularly as it relates to the lived experience of Japanese persons withdisabilities.
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Now, with a few months removed from the closing ceremonies, we can begin to
analyze what took place at the Games and better articulate lessons learned. The
purpose of this paper then, is to focus on how the Tokyo Olympic Games impacted
the delivery of the Tokyo Paralympic Games and second, to evaluate the Tokyo
Games’ operation under the pandemic and more specifically how the Games were
presented. Finally, all of these examinations will connect back to the impact on
persons with disability.

The Effect of the Tokyo Olympic Games on the Tokyo
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games began in Rome 1960, with Tokyo hosting the second editionof the Games. In both cases the same cities also hosted the Olympic Games. From1968 to 1984, the Summer Paralympic Games were held in cities different than the
Olympic Games but often in the same country. Examples included the 1976 Games,
where both games were held in Canada with Montreal hosting the 1976 Summer
Olympic Games and Toronto hosting the Torontolympiad for the Physically Disabled.
In 1968, meanwhile, the Olympic Games were held in Mexico City while theParalympic Games took place in Israel. The Winter Games started in 1976, and werealso held in unique locales from where the Olympic Games took place until 1992. It isalso worth noting that the use of the title “Paralympic Games” varied prior to 1988.
The Tokyo Games in 1964, for instance, were the first to be referred to by the hosts
as the Paralympic Games （Ogoura, 2015） but were still officially named theInternational Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralysed.
The 1988 Summer Games held in Seoul changed the haphazard pattern of location,and from this point forward, the Paralympic Games were held in the same city as the
Olympic Games and is thus referred to by some as the start of the modern
Paralympic era（Legg & Steadward, 2011）. The hosting of both Games continued,
although without official agreement, until 2000 when the International Paralympic
Committee and the International Olympic Committee solidified this process whereby
any future bidding city would agree to host both Games. The 2008 Summer Games in
Beijing were thus the first to fall under this agreement.
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The relationship between the IOC and IPC has thus evolved, and there arecertainly a lot of ways to examine the relationship between the two movements andorganizations, but for the purposes of this paper I am going to focus on only a few
where I saw the impact of the Tokyo Olympic Games having a direct and importantconnection to the Paralympic Games.
The first is the Olympic Games taking place before the Paralympic Games, which
has been a process followed since the inception of the two Games being held in thesame city. This was particularly impactful in 2021, however, because of the changing
dynamics of the pandemic, the impact of the public’s attitudes towards the Gamesand in particular, the tone of indifference or even adversity. There appeared, forinstance, to be significant discrepancy between the negative public opinion in Japanand the attitude of the IOC and IPC with tacit support of the Japanese Government
and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Such a discrepancy, it would seem, ran
counter to the ideals of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In one newspaper
editorial the authors stated that “The organizers must understand that gambling is
not an option. Many citizens share this awareness, and an Asahi Shimbun survey thismonth found only 14 percent of respondents in favor of going ahead with theOlympics this summer”（The Asahi Shimbun, 2021）. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners
Association, representing about 6,000 primary care doctors, also noted that prior toboth Games, hospitals in Tokyo would “have their hands full and have almost no
spare capacity amid a surge in infections” （Slodkowski, 2021）. A Tokyo Gamesaffiliated official also indicated a sense of danger, saying the Games are “an event thatcomes accompanied with a considerable infections risk” （Murakami & Taniguchi,
2021）. The concerns were then even further accelerated during the Olympic Gamesthemselves, and perhaps then cast the Paralympic Games in a shadow of gloom anddoubt as to whether they might even take place. The Olympic Games were also
hailed mid Games as a relative success perhaps because Japanese athletes were
winning a record number of medals, but once the Games ended, and days before thestart of the Paralympic Games, the Japanese public had to confront soaring infection
numbers and a predicted US$15 billion bill for staging the Games （Ryall, 2021）.
Organisers thus had to acknowledge that the Paralympics would be held under “’very
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difficult circumstances’ as Japan’s health situation has worsened…and hospitals in thehost city were filled to capacity”（Reuters, 2021）. This may have then resulted inlower interest in the Paralympic Games. Fewer than 24 percent of possible Japaneseviewers watched the opening ceremony, as opposed to more than 54 percent who
watched the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympic Games（Luk, 2021）. This lackof interest also was not likely helped by the Japanese Paralympic team’s relatively
poor performance, and not meeting their goal of 20 gold medals and finishing 7th or
higher in the medal tally （Kyodo News, 2021; Jiji Press, 2021）. Instead, Japan’sParalympic team finished with 13 gold medals and an 11th place finish, which while
not as high as they had hoped, was still up significantly from the 64th showing at the2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. The lack of exposure and profile may then have
impacted the impact of the Games on persons with disability and thus the potential
positive legacy from the Games themselves.
A second way that the Olympic Games impacted the Paralympic Games was
through the influence of technology. The Paralympic Games have been viewed as oneof the great “petri dishes for technology development” with Fast Company declaringthat the “Paralympics Are the World’s Best Showcase Of Sports Technology”（Nosowich, 2014）. The largest global tech companies seem to agree and haveinvested heavily in ensuring disability accessibility is embedded in their platforms,
with examples including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Samsung.
This link and connection also have a connection to the 1964 Games where
inspiration abounded for technological development （Ogoura, 2015）. One example
where Japan learned from others at the 1964 Games was with wheelchair technology,
with the wheelchairs brought from Europe being far lighter and more agile thanthose built in Japan. The opposite relationship, meanwhile, occurred with othertechnologies, such as Japan having bullet trains which Canada has still yet to adopt.
At the 2021 Games, the focus on technology continued with companies such as NEC
showcasing unique ways “to manage biometrics, congestion visualization systems, andother cutting-edge technology solutions to increase efficiency and security”（Investing
News Network, 2021）. These advances in technology were not without their issues orchallenges, however, with Thomson Reuters（2021）reporting that Toyota had to halt
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the use of self-driving vehicles at the Paralympic village after one collided with anathlete with a visual impairment. “The e-Palette, a fully autonomous battery-electricvehicle, had been adapted specifically for use during the Tokyo Olympic andParalympic Games but was shelved following this accident.” How theseinterconnections continue to evolve is perhaps fodder for a later article. In particular,
it will be important to understand how advances in technology impact the lived
experience of those with disability.
A second focus for this paper is to assess the impact of the Games on persons withdisability beyond just athletes.

Evaluations（both negative and positive）of the Tokyo Games’
operation under the pandemic
With the Games only having recently ended, it is still too soon to fully assess andfully understand their impact, but we can certainly start the conversation withpreliminary reports and observations.
As was widely reported, Tokyo’s Paralympic Games took place with almost no
spectators because of virus rules, which some feared could blunt its impact on
Japanese society. “The Paralympics is a very good chance to change people’s
thinking,” said Shigeo Toda, head of a Tokyo-based research institute studying thelifestyles of persons with disabilities. “But we can’t help but think that momentum
could sag if people can’t watch them in person”（Associated Press, 2021; Triballeau,
2021）.
Frost（2021）echoed this sentiment and suggested that “from the beginning, theTokyo 2020 Paralympics were meant to be something more. In Tokyo’s bid to become
the first in the world to host the Paralympics twice, its candidature file declared thatTokyo would deliver a Paralympic Games which will show how inclusion and nondiscrimination, and full consideration of the needs and interests of people with adisability, can create a better world and provide a brighter future for the entire
community.”52

Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic GamesThe idea of social change was also noted as being a key issue by Motoaki Fujita, asports sociology professor at Nihon Fukushi University, and a parasports expert.
Fujita pointed out that while Japan has become more inclusive, “the change is still
marginal with 57 percent of people surveyed by Fujita’s team in 2020 saying they‘certainly or somewhat’ believed people with disabilities are weak and have difficulty
living with non-disabled people”. This was only slightly less than the 61 percent who
felt the same in a 2014 poll（Associated Press, 2021; Triballeau, 2021）.
Blair（2021）further suggested that these attitudes weren’t necessarily unique toJapan, but systemic abuses in Japan may have carried on longer there than in othercountries with legal protections also introduced later. An example of this was a
Eugenics Protection Law passed in 1948 to “prevent birth of inferior descendants
from the eugenic point of view” permitting sterilisation of people with a range of
disabilities that was not repealed until 1996. A second example was barrier-free
enforcement laws that were revised twice to promote accessibility at public facilities,
but what resulted in what some called “marginal” change. Japanese activists also
reported that the workplace revealed several barriers that remained to persons withdisability. Under government rules, workers with disabilities should make up at least
2.3 percent of staff at all companies and in 2018, the government was forced toapologise for routinely overstating the number of disabled people on its staff to meetquotas（Blair, 2021）.
It is also important to note that positive change has also occurred （Triballeau,2021）. One example was the previously mentioned focus on barrier-free
infrastructure, which while perhaps not going far enough, did at least result in
officials calling accessibility important both for people with disabilities and also for thecountry’s large elderly population. Triballeau（2021）also noted that significant efforts
were made in “Tokyo’s mammoth train system, with elevators operating at around 96
percent of stations as of 2019. By 2019, 82 percent of Tokyo subway stations also had
platform gates to keep passengers with visual impairments safe, up from 56 percent
in 2013. A final example was that new hotels with more than 50 rooms were also
required to make at least one of every 100 rooms barrier-free”（Triballeau, 2021）.

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The hope then was that the Paralympic Games and the resulting changes toaccessibility might enable or further accelerate social change for persons withdisability. This importance was noted when the Games were postponed and theInternational Paralympic Committee（IPC）President Andrew Parsons suggested that
the Paralympics were needed more than ever before “to put disability back at theheart of the inclusion agenda” and if done properly, could then help “change attitudes,
breakdown barriers of inequality and create more opportunities for persons withdisabilities” （IPC, 2021）. Because of COVID restrictions, however, and as alreadynoted because fans were not allowed to attend the events in person, how the Games
were portrayed by the media became even more important. The question was thenwhether the media would portray Paralympic athletes in a way that would enable
this hoped for social change.
To address this, Misener and Pearson（2021）, published an opinion editorial titled“‘Athlete-first’ should be focus of Paralympian coverage” noting that “with nointernational spectators and limited domestic crowds, （International Paralympic
Committee, 2021）the importance placed on broadcasting the Paralympic Games was
greater than ever before.”
The desire was that the media would portray persons with disability in theappropriate manner, with Paralympic organisers and advocates hoping that the media
would avoid “inspiration porn” along with the fixation on reporting on Paralympians
by focusing on the details of their impairment（especially when due to traumatic
accidents or health issues）（Goggin & Hutchins, 2021）. Portraying Paralympians as‘supercrips, achieving success despite their impairment’ had in some scholars’
opinions, had a negative impact because “it reinforces society’s low expectations ofwhat they can do and reinforces the idea that a hierarchy of impairments exists, withthe supercrip image valued over complex and less understood impairments”（Crow,
2014; Purdue & Howe, 2012; Silva & Howe, 2012）. Catchpole（2016）also wrote that“creating a view of disabled people as magical creatures who might look impaired but
actually – ta dah! – are as capable as anyone else, if not more so（#superhumans）,
means that the public will find the vast majority of disabled people, with our pain,
weakness and fatigue, even more frustrating and confounding than they already do”.
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Anecdotally, it appears from my perspective that the coverage of the Games did
not follow this impairment narrative and that the focus instead was on athletic
performance, but it is important to note that I am able bodied and perhaps
unconsciously biased from an able bodied person’s perspective.
Whether the media did or did not portray Paralympic athletes appropriately, what
preliminary reports have suggested is that media portrayal led to greater
understanding of persons with disability. For instance, in one survey conducted by
the Kyodo News agency, 70 per cent of Japanese respondents believed that theGames had a positive impact on society’s understanding of persons with disability（Morgan, 2021）. The Paralympic Games drew “social attention to people withdisabilities through the athletes’ performances” was the most common reason given
for the answer. “An increase in exposures of people with disabilities through themedia” was also cited as key by respondents. Fifty-five per cent then said the absenceof spectators did not have a negative effect on promoting people with disabilities（Morgan, 2021）. In an interview with the IPC following the Games, Takayuki Suzuki
who won five medals in swimming, also noted that “people’s perception of Para sports
has improved after the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games” and that he had heard that“the number of people with impairments who want to do sports has increased”（International Paralympic Committee, 2021b）.
Whether this portrayal and positive view of persons with disability in society leads
to real change is of course yet to be seen.
One place where a change in perspective might help is with employment. Loeppky（2021）noted in a North American context, Paralympians still face significant barriers
finding jobs after Games, and those who do find work may end up in positions related
to sport, their disability, and public speaking, which Karolina Wisniewska, a Canadian
Paralympian and Assistant Chef De Mission for Canada’s team competing in Beijing
2022, said is a form of “pigeonholing.” “Athletes are making employment decisions not
because they love an industry, but because they think the barriers may be less.
Essentially, they’re hedging their bets against discrimination” （Loeppky, 2021）.
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Interestingly, at the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, employment was also seen as
a hopeful positive legacy of hosting the Games. Hanako Watanabe, an expert in thefield of labor, released a report titled “Section View of Labour Policies as Observed
during the Paralympics” and argued that sport could facilitate the ability of persons
with disability to participate in the workforce（Ogoura, 2015）.
Another change resulting from the 2021 Games was through corporate interest in
profiling persons with disability, and this then leading to a normalization of disability
in the public narrative. Goldrich （2021）, for instance, reflected on partnership
between the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Lego and their “Para Expansion
Packs.” This package featured “11 custom minifigure pieces representing individuals
with disabilities, and nine custom pieces representing Paralympic sport, including ashort arm, prosthetic legs, running blades, and a basketball wheelchair”. Each piece
was then designed to integrate into existing Lego sets, and 3D model files were also
made available so that anybody could print the pieces themselves. There were also a
number of other global corporations that profiled persons with disability, but this isperhaps worthy of its own paper.
Awareness of intersectionality within disability may have also been enhanced
because of increased profile at the Tokyo Games. According to Outsports（2021）atleast 36 ‘out’ LGBTQ Paralympians competed in Tokyo, a record and almost triple
what was recorded in Brazil at the 2016 Games. ANI（2021）also reported that theTokyo Paralympic Games set records for the most women competing. IPC President
Andrew Parsons noted that “1,853 female athletes will compete at Tokyo 2020 beating
the previous record of 1,671 women that competed at Rio 2016 - this is a 10.9 per centincrease. Although we are still some ways short of gender parity, we are heading in
the right direction with the number of women competing at the Paralympics almost
doubling since the Sydney 2000 Paralympics.” Bruce（2021）then took this accoladefurther, stating that “The Paralympic Games are increasingly a good news story for
women’s sport”. Childs（2021）, meanwhile, noted that there were 5 nations who madetheir Paralympic debut, and that there was “a very poignant show of solidarity forthe missing Paralympic team of two that couldn’t make it out of Afghanistan in time
for the opening but were able to join”. A team also competed under the Agitos flag
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representing Team Refugee, and Childs（2021）further reported that more people in
Africa were given the chance to watch the Games than ever before thanks to an IPC
initiative. This does not suggest of course that attendance was perfect nor that theGames were a panacea. As reported by Quinn and Misener（2021）, “conspicuous by
their absence are the 21 nations who did not attend these Games, who havepreviously attended Paralympic Games”. Quinn and Misener（2021）noted for instancethat there was “insufficient government support cited by Brunei, East Timor,
Turkmenistan, and North Korea for withdrawal from the Games. These nations were
present at the Olympic Games, so we must question why government support was
not as forthcoming for Paralympic athletes”.
A final example of where the Games could lead to positive social change is throughthe opportunities the Games provide for cooperation and collaboration amongst
international groups. One example here that garnered a great deal of interest anddebate was the global campaign #Wethe15. This was launched by the International
Paralympic Committee （IPC）, along with 20 other international organisations
including International Disability Alliance, United Nations, UNESCO, Special Olympics
International, Invictus Games and Deaflympics （Included, 2021）. When it was
launched there was significant global media coverage, and according to organizers
the campaign reached more than 6.2 billion people. The campaign also had
widespread political support from world leaders including the UN Deputy Secretary
General, UNESCO Director General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, andthe Duke of Sussex Prince Harry（Included, 2021）.
As with most things, the campaign was not without its critics.
Howe and Silva（2021）for instance, penned an opinion editorial during the Gamessuggesting that connecting the #wethe15 campaign to the Paralympic Games wasineffective “as the Games are an elite sporting event and thus by definition an
exclusive domain”（Dutia & Tweedy, 2021）, and not representative of “the everyday
disabled person”（Howe & Silva, 2018）. The concern was that the public could get
the impression that all persons with disabilities are like Paralympians which can thenlead to a “warped understanding of most disabled people’s lived experience”（Braye,
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Gibbons & Dixon, 2013, 2016）.
Another critic of the #wethe15 campaign was Amy Simmons who had concernthat the campaign would simply be tokenism at best and patronizing paternalism atworst. She noted that “if a company edits their logo to include a patch of purple（fromthe campaign）, but their actions do not indicate any commitment to change, theirinvolvement in WeThe15 only serves to boost their moral capital and sales”（Charlton-Daily, 2021）. It was further suggested that “while the goal is admirable,
many disabled people do not expect the campaign to bring about meaningful change.
Branded badges and social media hashtags make it easy for people and companies tomake a show of supporting disabled people, but some experts predict that theirsupport will be empty”（Charlton-Daily, 2021）.
Deaf journalist Liam O’Dell also suggested that the #wethe15 campaign was
misguided in its approach and specifically in the use of person-first terminology. This
was an example, perhaps, of not being able to please all the people all the time, as
person-first terminology is commonly used in North America – but not universally
subscribed to. O’Dell noted that “I can’t take a campaign seriously when it pledges to
educate people yet uses person-first language in its launch; lights up buildings in
purple as a meaningless gesture; has organizations posting promotional images
without alt text and focusses more on awareness.” The IPC responded online to O’
Dell’s concerns and as to why the person first approach was used, but this resulted infurther pushback on twitter from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic
teams pointing out that that they were proud to say “disabled” and “non-disabled”
versus person with disability（Charlton-Daily, 2021）.
Haslett and Smith （2021） also pointed out the potential conflict of messaging.
Paralympic athletes, for instance, were banned from highlighting discrimination basedon race in Paralympic venues（Section 2.2 of the IPC Handbook）but the #wethe15
campaign endorsed by the IPC encouraged them to highlight discrimination based on
disability. A final concern of the #wethe15 initiative was its potential fleeting impact.
In Canada, for instance, at the start of the Paralympic Games the CN Tower andNiagara Falls were bathed in purple light（Weese, 2021）, but the media spotlight58Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

quickly moved on to other issues and many have likely even forgotten the event or
why the colour purple was used.
Returning to the article penned by Howe and Silva（2021）it is also worth pointing
out that they were “not condemning the #WeThe15 movement but were arguing
instead that a better step for disability activism, was what they referred to as thesocial empowerment of difference”（Silva & Howe, 2018）. Instead of advocating that“everyone is human,” they believed that society “should move beyond that messaging
and centre on the celebration of difference”. The social empowerment of difference
they referred to was “designed to enhance not just the social emancipation of#WeThe15, but all marginalized groups. Quite simply, inclusion should not requiremarginalized people to wave a flag that proves their humanity. Instead, we should alltake a step back and celebrate differences. #WeThe15 should be careful to not getcaught up in grand gestures of political activism or the media spectacle of the Tokyo
Paralympic Games, and instead demonstrate an openness towards difference, which
in turn will extend beyond the boundaries of sport and permeate all dimensions ofsocial life”（Howe & Silva, 2021）.
Clearly more needs to be done but it would also appear to this author, anyway, thatthe advent of the Games was as good a time as any to launch the campaign. It also
appears anecdotally that except during the Paralympic Games, disability hascomparatively been forgotten from the EDI（Equity, Diversify and Inclusion）debate.
I am not suggesting that a focus on greater inclusion and reconciliation for other“marginalized” groups related to gender, sexual orientation, race, First Nations,among others are not important, but I am suggesting that disability seems tosometimes be missing in these discussions and so a concentrated focus that #wethe15
provided was warranted. #Wethe15 also was the first time where many leaders came
together to advocate on behalf of all persons with disability. The disability system has
typically been siloed and thus, if nothing else, perhaps the launch of the #wethe15
campaign will lead to greater economies of scale and synergies amongst the various
international advocacy groups.
There were also, of course, those who supported the #wethe15 campaign.
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Bouchehioua（2021）suggested that the International Paralympic Committee got itright taking as proof the message that “there was no need to heroize persons withdisability, but rather to honor them at the height of their exploits. The campaign
allowed clarity that there was no need to differentiate persons with disability, butinstead to distinguish them for their victories, and no need to pity them, but tocelebrate their efforts and their performances.” In an editorial by the Winnipeg Free
Press in Canada, the authors built upon Brown’s （2021） assessment stating that
Paralympians aren’t looking to “inspire” （Winnipeg Free Press, 2021）. They also
noted that a growing number of Paralympic athletes and organizations are speaking
out against so-called “inspiration porn,” wherein disabled athletes are hailed as
inspirational purely because they compete despite a disability. The editors thenreflected on a campaign created by a Canadian ad agency for World Wheelchair
Rugby, which aired during the Tokyo Paralympics. “The ads show a young man
watching Team Canada’s two-time Paralympian Zak Madell play, and then deciding
to train to become a wheelchair rugby player himself. Later, as he races with the ballduring a match, Mr. Madell hammers into him at full speed, knocking him down andstealing the ball. The closing message makes the point abundantly clear: We’re nothere to inspire. We’re here to win. No one is suggesting viewers, able-bodied orotherwise, shouldn’t be inspired watching Paralympians in their quest for medals. But
these athletes don’t want to be cheered simply because they are competing while
disabled; they want to be celebrated for striving to be faster, higher, and stronger
than anyone else on the planet”（Winnipeg Free Press, 2021）.
Elizabeth Wright, an Australian swimmer who competed in the 1996 Atlanta and2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, also thought that the Tokyo Paralympic Games werean appropriate place to launch the campaign. “With the rising profile of the
Paralympics, I can say that it is about time and so important that we use thismovement to tackle the wider disability injustices and inequalities, we need to shift
the view of disability from that as inspiration porn or a tragedy trope. The Games area good start, but they’re far from the endgame”（Charlton-Daily, 2021）. Wright also
said that the movement needs to “amplify the nuance of disability” beyond the lens ofsport and “shift the narrative to be more inclusive of that wider lived experience.”（Charlton-Daily, 2021）.
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Thus the campaign had both its supporters and detractors and regardless,questions will remain as to how and if “the global, top-down strategies lead to local
initiatives to empower people with disability and to facilitate their access to sport andrecreation in their home communities? In part the answer will depend upon what
#WeThe85 do to help co-create more accessible and inclusive societies, communities,
workplaces, and sporting opportunities where #WeThe15 feel welcomed, equal, andat home”（Darcy & Dickson, 2021）.
A second initiative besides #wethe15 that coincided with the Games and was led
by the International Paralympic Committee with the hopes of changing society’s
attitudes about disability was I’mPOSSIBLE. As reported by Hoshino（2021）this wasa global education program developed by the IPC to spread Paralympic values andthe vision of the Paralympic Movement. Matheson, who was responsible fordeveloping the Japanese edition, reflected that it was created to teach students how
to change feelings of “I can’t” into “I can,”. The program was distributed free ofcharge to approximately 36,000 schools throughout Japan（Hoshino, 2021）.
The ambition was that by hosting the Games in Tokyo and including educational
programs such as I’mPOSSIBLE, these would lead to significant and lasting change.
Matheson did stress though that “the Paralympics can be a catalyst, but it is not apanacea for understanding disability and diversity.” Like the concerns expressed byHowe and Silva （2021）, Matheson stressed that athletes who participate in the
Paralympic Games only make up a small percentage of the population of those withdisabilities, and so they should not be presented or understood as representing all
persons with disability; although perhaps this can at least lead to a greater
understanding by bringing disability into a public discourse. “When you watch theParalympics,” Matheson says, “you enjoy the athletes’ amazing performances. But you
can also use a little imagination and think about their daily lives outside of thecompetition.” Showcasing persons with disability whether it’s in art, politics, business,or sport also has the potential to create change simply by increasing awareness. For
example, when Matheson’s son was in kindergarten in Canada, she reflected on how
the teacher asked her to be involved as a volunteer, as there were few Asians and61

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people in wheelchairs who had volunteered. As she participated, she witnessed how
the children became aware of her different needs, and began to act on their own,
doing things like clearing things out of the way in aisles because “‘Miki is coming（inher wheelchair）’”（Hoshino, 2021）.
What is unfortunate with many of these campaigns and potential impacts is thatyoung people may not be watching or paying attention. Global Sports Week（GSW）
Factory suggested that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was highly successful with
Generation Z（those born approximately from 1997 – 2012 and thus are between 9 –24 years old）but the Paralympics was not（Lloyd, 2021）. It was a perceived lack ofcoverage that was explained as to why the Paralympics went somewhat under theradar with this demographic. “It’s getting better, but I feel like the Paralympics arestill underrepresented in the media,” a Gen Z respondent said（Lloyd, 2021）. Other
respondents noted “I will try to watch it, but it is difficult. “I don’t know any athletes,
nor do I understand the rules.” For others, it was not the coverage but the type of
media that was covering the Games that was not appropriate. “We don’t really see
the Games in youth media or in the media we usually follow,” one Gen Z respondentsaid（Lloyd, 2021）. What was unfortunate is that the Tokyo Paralympic Games werenoted by others as ‘the most digitally accessible and ‘savvy’. Alongside live streamingon platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, “the IPC provided extra content onsocial media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok in addition to launching
their very own Paralympic mobile app which provided access to live streams withvarious interactive features”（Pullen, Mora & Silk, 2021）.
The impact of the various social and education campaigns and media portrayal ingeneral is still yet to be fully understood, but what is interesting is that the hoped-for
legacy of social change being led by athletes has not changed since the Games werefirst held in Tokyo in 1964. Yutaka Nakamura stated then that “Our society ingeneral tends to underestimate the capability of people with disabilities. An event likethis （the 1964 Games） is significant in that it is a wonderful opportunity todemonstrate their capability to the rest of society”（Ogoura, 2015）. This sentimentmight then return in 8 years as Japan is considering a bid to host the 2030 Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games in Sapporo.
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Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Conclusion
The Tokyo Paralympic Games were perhaps held in one of the most unique
circumstances since they were first held in 1960. This was due to the pandemic but
also because of the evolving relationship between the Olympic and Paralympic Gamesand the potential influence that the Paralympic Games has on social change throughvarious medias.
As noted by Pullen, Jackson, and Silk（2021）, unlike other sporting mega-events,
the Paralympic Games “maintains an important political and cultural role as a vehicle
for the empowerment of disabled people through sporting success centered on avision for a more inclusive and equal society”（Howe 2008）. How the Games can theninfluence social change is both unique and important. That being said, and as notedby Frost（2021）, creating a better world through accessibility, inclusivity, and nondiscrimination takes years of commitment and hard work. The Paralympic Games
can certainly help, but they do not deserve all the credit nor all the responsibility.
That all being said, what other event or movement, can claim to potentially have thesame power or influence as the Paralympic Games?
Three years from now in Paris during the 2024 Games, perhaps the legacy andimpact of the Tokyo Games will be more easily understood. The 2024 Games havealready been noted as having a greater opportunity to further shift the lines andcreate more momentum towards the sustainable and total inclusion of people withdisabilities. Malika Bouchehioua, President of the Association for the management of
the fund for the professional integration of disabled people（Agefiph）, noted that theCity of Paris already has the ambition to make the capital “a resolutely inclusive andaccessible city and these next Games can be activators of progress and defend theconviction that real consideration of disability is a winning bet from all points of view:
beyond the possible constraints, disability can be an asset, an opportunity to do betterand to act for equal opportunities, a vector of innovation, a factor of progress forsociety”（Bouchehioua, 2021）. The Tokyo Games can thus perhaps take pride and63

Journal of Paralympic Research Group vol.17

solace that they created the model and template for this change to occur.
Both the 1964 and the 2021 Paralympics took place in extraordinary circumstances.
The first Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were seen as Japan’s return to theworld stage after it resurrected itself from post-war devastation. The 2021 Paralympic
Games were then the first to be held during a global pandemic. In the intervening 57
years, tremendous strides were made in terms of attitudes to disability in Japan, but
stigmas appear to remain in a culture “that still places considerable emphasis on
conformity to societal norms and not standing out from the crowd”（Blair, 2021）.
What needs to happen now is for a more fulsome assessment and evaluation of the
impacts from the Tokyo Games. This can take place looking specifically at the impact
and relationships between the Olympic and Paralympic Games and second, on theimpact from media and education campaigns on social change. This second part could
then include a continuation of the research conducted by Kolotouchkina, Llorente ‐Barroso, García ‐ Guardia, and Pavón（2021）. These authors attempted to（1）better
understand the framework of the representation and visibility of disability in thecontext of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, （2） identify best communication
practices in the pre-Games period, and（3）provide further insight into the researchof the complexities of para ‐ sports communication. A follow up to their pre-Games
study would thus be valuable and necessary to ensure that lessons learned from theTokyo Games are continued in future events.
Returning now to the connection between the two Tokyo Paralympic Games, at the1964 Paralympic Games, a hymn with lyrics by Erio To and music by Nobuaki
Tanaka was presented at the closing ceremonies, which was the first time such an
event was hosted at the Paralympic Games.
The lyrics were:
Paralympics, Paralympics
Praise the spirit of the games.
Gather fellow athletes from around the world to present our sprit and skills.
64Perspectives on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Foster a healthy mind and train each day with dedication.
Our hopes are brought together, and our friendship come together to create
massive force that covers the entire globe as we nurture peace in this world（Ogoura, 2015）.
This sentiment was as relevant in 2021 as it was in 1964.
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パラリンピック研究会

紀要 vol.17

東京2020パラリンピック競技大会に関する考察
デイビット・レッグ（カナダ・マウント・ロイヤル大学）

2021年に開催された東京2020パラリンピック競技大会の閉会式から４カ月，同大会が国際オリンピック委員会（IOC）をはじめとする他者からどのような影響を受けたのか，
また同大会が日本国民など他者にどのような影響を及ぼしたのかを把握できる時期にきたと思われる。本稿では，東京2020オリンピック競技大会が東京2020パラリンピック競技大会の実施にどのような影響を及ぼしたのか，さらには，同パラリンピック競技大会がソーシャルメディアや教育的取り組みを通じて障がいのある人々のための社会変革にどのような影響を及ぼした可能性があるかについて重点的に考察する。また，1964年に東京でパラリンピック競技大会が開催された当時と比べて，これらの問題がどのようであるかについても適宜言及する。

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