For the Japanese, the results of the Paralympic Games contrasted between performance and health crisis

The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games (JP) organized on Sunday 5 September celebrated a world “Where the difference shines”. From its title, “Harmonious cacophony”, the Japanese could only retain the cacophonous aspect, both the Olympic Games (Olympics) and Paralympics present a mixed record, all accompanied by a mini-political crisis, the Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, having chosen September 3 to relinquish his duties.

On the performance side, Japan can be delighted with the success of its athletes. After having gleaned 27 titles at the Olympics, a record, they won fifty medals at the Paralympics, including 13 in gold. Among their successes is that of the phenomenon Shingo Kunieda, winner of a third Olympic title in wheelchair tennis – after those of London in 2012 and Beijing in 2008, which is added to his 45 victories (in singles and doubles) in the Grand Slam tournaments. The Japanese were also able to applaud their Boccia or wheelchair rugby players. Cyclist Keiko Sugiura has ” forget [s]we are old ” to become at 50 years the oldest of the Japanese gold medalist para-athletes.

The Paralympic Games have started in extreme heat, rekindling the controversy over the organization of the event this season. Then the rain and an astonishing coolness for the end of August in Tokyo allowed the athletes to breathe. Organized without spectators, the events were a real television success. The public channel NHK provided 540 hours of broadcasting, exceeding the 500 hours achieved in London in 2012, and 23.8% of Japanese watched the opening ceremony.

Poor management of the pandemic

This wide coverage for competitions of a judged level “Amazing” by Craig Spence, spokesperson for the International Paralympic Committee, even raises hopes for a change in the perception of disability in society. “Maybe we don’t have the perfect environment for accessibility, but there’s no doubt we’ll see an improvement. This is the power of the Paralympic Games, which have become a catalyst for change in society ”, wants to believe Hisashi Nakaminami, Japanese member of the organizing committee.

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However, the celebration was tarnished by the sharp deterioration of the health situation in the Archipelago, giving an impression of detachment from a Japanese reality marked by a sharp increase in daily cases of Covid-19, from 4,225 on July 23 to 24 962 on August 26, before starting a slow ebb. Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed. A critically ill Paralympic athlete was denied access to a hospital, which preferred to prioritize local patients.

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