Statement by Kengo Sakurada, Chairman of Keizai Doyukai
on Opening of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

August 24, 2021

Kengo Sakurada
Chairman, Keizai Doyukai

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1. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games have officially opened today. The Paralympians around the world have kept challenging themselves with a focus on this day, while facing unprecedented difficulty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their effort and passion deserve our sincere admiration.
2. Like the Olympic Games already closed, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics are taking place under the state of emergency declaration as a result of the pandemic. The lessons of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics should be well utilized for the safer and smoother operations of the games going forward, as well as for constraining the spread of infections in the communities overall.
3. Keizai Doyukai has been active, toward the games just started, in promoting and supporting para-sports through exchanges with sports associations and by organizing para-sports athletic meetings with involvement of the companies Keizai Doyukai members belong to. In this regard, we hope that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will further drive the public recognition of the unique values para-sports have in realizing everyone's limitless potential, thereby adding momentum to attain a truly inclusive society.

Japanese version