‘Legacy Does Not Happen by Chance’: IPC President Lauds Tokyo Five Years after Paralympic Games

“Oh, you’re so powerful!” exclaims Parsons

Local elementary school students enjoying a hands-on wheelchair basketball session

Engaging with the participants of the wheelchair basketball session

Street Fighter 6 exhibition match between Jeni (in a wheelchair) and NAOYA (wearing a blindfold)

Remote exchanges through the Bunshin Robot OriHime.

TOKYO, JAPAN, November 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Five years after the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, their legacy is present not only in venues but also in community programs, technology, and everyday urban services. During a three-day visit to Tokyo from August 28 to 30, 2026, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons and Executive Director Colleen Wrenn toured sites demonstrating how the city has continued to advance accessibility and inclusion.

[Inclusive Design Shaped by Users’ Voice]

At Ariake Arena, which hosted wheelchair basketball during the Games, the delegation saw accessibility features designed to welcome a wide range of visitors. Wheelchair seating is available at different levels and angles, with clear sightlines and adjacent seats for companions. Restroom functions are distributed among different cubicles rather than concentrated in a single multipurpose toilet. This layout helps reduce congestion while accommodating specific needs, with facilities for wheelchair users, ostomates, all-gender use, and baby care.

The Arena also offers calm-down and cool-down spaces for people with sensory sensitivities, clearly distinguishable signage, and power outlets positioned within reach of electric wheelchair users. Developed through workshops and consultations with people with disabilities, these features complement regular accessibility standards. “I think one important legacy is the establishment of such a mechanism that you directly hear the voices of the stakeholders,” noted Parsons.

[From Inspiration to Participation]

The Arena’s legacy also extends to local children. Since 2022, Ariake Arena and partner organizations have offered regular sessions for elementary and junior high school students to experience wheelchair basketball. Parsons observed one such occasion and talked with two junior members of the NO EXCUSE wheelchair basketball team coaching the session.

The players, aged 14 and 15, said watching the Japanese team win silver at this very venue had inspired them to dream of representing Japan themselves. Hearing their aspirations to compete in future Paralympic Games, Parsons promised, “If you win at Brisbane (2032), I’ll be the one putting the medal around your neck.”

Talking with children who took part in the session, he was delighted to hear they had enjoyed wheelchair basketball and wanted to play again. Parsons stressed, “If they are going to be Paralympians, if they are going to be athletes, this is not as important as if they keep sports in their lives.”

[Technology and Community Open New Paths]

On Sunday, the delegation attended a Para Sports and Recreation Plaza event hosted at Tokyo Metropolitan Komei Special Needs Education School, where anyone, with or without disabilities, could try various activities including boccia, virtual sports, technology-assisted inclusive sports (ePara Sports), and Para powerlifting. Some participants also joined in via the Bunshin Robot OriHime.

A Street Fighter 6 exhibition match between two Para e-sports players was held on stage, and Parsons talked with them after watching the game. Jeni, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, operates a customized controller with his chin, while NAOYA, who is blind, competes using audio cues and other nonvisual information.

Struck by the speed of the game, Parsons was interested not only in the enabling technology but also in the gaming community that had supported the players to develop their own techniques and equipment.

“He felt embraced by that community, even though he had a severe disability,” he told reporters. “That’s the power of technology and connecting.”
With an easy rapport with everyone he encountered, Parsons showed the same emphasis on connection. He praised a junior wheelchair basketball player for speaking English so confidently, told two nine-year-olds that he had practiced judo at their age but “wasn't very good at it,” fist-bumped a young child with disabilities while joking, “Oh, you're so powerful! Be easy on me!” and even shared a virtual hug with a remote participant through an avatar robot. Such moments reflected the inclusive spirit that the Paralympic movement seeks to foster.

[Accessibility in Everyday Life]

The delegation then visited two subway stations in central Tokyo to see how technology is removing communication barriers for passengers with hearing or speech impairments, international visitors, and others. At Hibiya Station, they viewed the Transparent Translation Display, which provides real-time captions and interpretation in 14 languages through voice and keyboard input. At Yurakucho Station, they saw Mieru Announce (Visible Announcement), a system that converts live audio announcements into multilingual text.

The visits demonstrated how accessibility principles advanced through Tokyo 2020 are extending beyond sporting venues into everyday services. Initiatives like these gained further momentum when Tokyo hosted the Deaflympics in 2025.

[A Legacy Sustained Across Society]

In his meeting with Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko, Parsons said, “While the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were delivered under unprecedented circumstances, the success was extraordinary. Five years on, the legacy lives on and is even more remarkable.” He also told her that when talking to future host cities, he always points to Tokyo “as a shining example of how the Paralympic Games can drive lasting transformation.”

He also noted that responsibility for the legacy now extends beyond government. Communities, schools, private organizations, educators, volunteers, and persons with disabilities are helping sustain and develop initiatives connected to the Games. Governor Koike said, “Tokyo will continue to work with the IPC to deepen inclusion and foster broader acceptance of Para sports. We are committed to making steady progress toward these goals.”

[Building on the Legacy]

Throughout the visit, Parsons emphasized the power of sport driving changes. When barriers are removed, “athletes with disabilities can do incredible things and inspire people,” he said. “They deliver performances at the highest level that they can really promote change around the world.”

He also said it was incredible that the legacy lives on five years after the Tokyo Paralympic Games, not only through official programs but also at the grass-roots level. “It's the societies, the community, the private sector. Everyone taking advantage of the fact that you have hosted the incredible games five years ago, and to keep those learnings and the legacy on and on.”

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games served as a catalyst for improving accessibility and advancing a more inclusive society. Such improvements are becoming increasingly important with a graying population, a point Governor Koike highlighted when she said that the Paralympics was “an opportunity to create a model legacy for how an advanced nation deals with the issues of an aging society.”

Speaking at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 5th Anniversary Special Stage, Governor Koike reflected on Parsons’ tour of Tokyo over the weekend. “He saw firsthand how deeply Paralympic sports have taken root and how they continue to grow. Universal design has also become firmly established. I believe he truly felt that the legacy has become part of everyday life and continues to spread throughout society.”

She called on people to carry that momentum forward: “I hope we can once again recall those moving moments and use this opportunity to carry the legacy we have built over the past five years into the future and share it around the world.”

Strategic PR Section, Strategic PR Division
TOKYO METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT