Reviews

Juntendo Medical Journal 2020. 66(Suppl 1),83-87 Promotion of Disabled and the Paralympic Movement in Japan: Initiatives to Train Disabled Sports Instructors at Physical Education Universities

TAKAHIRO WATANABE＊

＊Faculty of Health and Sports Science,Juntendo University,Chiba,Japan

Key words: disabled sports,Paralympic Movement,Paralympic Education,physical education universities

Introduction Expectations for the Promotion of Disabled Sports in Japan Since the Tokyo Paralympics in 1964,sports for disabled people in Japan have been gradually Six years have passed since the decision in expanding thanks to the efforts of numerous September,2013,to host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic relevant parties. and . Since then,efforts have However in Japan,the percentage of people who increasingly been made to ʻdiscover and strengthen head out and watch disabled sports is low compared playersʼ as well as ʻdevelop public understandingʼ to other countries,and it cannot be said that people related to sports for persons with - best have high interests in disabled sports. In fact,the represented by the Paralympics. Especially with environment is not well developed for the disabled respect to the ʻdiscovery and strengthening of person to take interest in sports,and there are athletes,ʼ there has been a growing support for various obstacles that hinder them from playing para-athletes,and the rate at which para-athletes sports 1). are employed by companies is rising remarkably, This finding indicates that expectations in allowing athletes to focus on their competition in a general towards the promotion of disabled sports in more secure environment. The frequency at which Japan are high. In this paper,we will first outline para-athletes make an appearance in television the promotion of disabled sports and the Paraly- programs or commercials has seen an increase,as mpic Movement in Japan in light of the opportuni- well,promoting awareness regarding disabled ties that the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games sports among the people. According to a survey provide. Next,we will discuss the significance of conducted by the Cabinet Office in 2015,ʻimproved Olympic and Paralympic education in schools and understanding regarding persons with disabilitiesʼ the training of disabled sports instructors in accounted for the highest expectation towards the physical education universities. Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games,followed by a ʻbarrier-free integrationʼ among others.

Takahiro Watanabe Faculty of Health and Sports Science,Juntendo University 1-1 Hirakagakuendai,Inzai-shi,Chiba 270-1695,Japan TEL: +81-476-98-1001 FAX: +81-476-98-1011 E-mail: [email protected] 〔Received Dec. 8, 2019〕〔Accepted June 30,2020〕

Copyright © 2020 The Juntendo Medical Society. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution Li- cense (CC BY),which permits unrestricted use,distribution,and reproduction in any medium,provided the original source is properly credited. doi: 10.14789/jmj.2020.66.JMJ19-P08

83 Watanabe T: Promotion of disabled sports and the Paralympic Movement in Japan

Origin of the Paralympics and Disabled Sports improving sports environments (e.g. facilities) and school education via projects such as the Special It is said that the word ʻParaʼ in Paralympic orig- Project 2020 or the Disabled Sports Promotion inally only referred to ʻpara-plegia,ʼ the paralysis of Project. Furthermore,with calls for the realization the lower body,but at some point in time the word of a symbiotic society through the ratification of the began to also include the meaning of ʻparallelʼ - as in ʻConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabil- ʻone more,ʼ or ʻadditional.ʼ And just as the Greek ities,ʼ the ʻDisability Discrimination Elimination Actʼ preposition ʻparaʼ means ʻstanding side by sideʼ and was enacted in June,2016,and the idea of ʻrational ʻequality,ʼ behind this change was the unmistakable considerationʼ promoted. Thus,it can be seen that intent to close the gap between the Paralympics various systems are being developed in order to and Olympics. enable people with disabilities to live better lives in Now,the origin of disabled sports lies in the their communities than ever before. Efforts to introduction of sports as a means to rehabilitate change the society for the better,while conveying injuries that two world wars had caused. A spinal the original appeal of sports activities by means of cord injury centre was established at Stoke such legal revisions and measures,are steadily Mandeville Hospital,UK,to treat those who had advancing. The International Paralympic Commit- suffered injuries in the war,and Dr. Ludwig tee (IPC) states that ʻthe Paralympic movement is Goodman was appointed as its first director. He was about giving people with disabilities equal opportu- convinced that sports would have a positive impact nities to engage in sports at various levels,from not only on the recovery of physical functions but everyday sports to competitive sports,in every part also on psychological and social aspects of recovery. of the world.ʼ The goal is to ʻpromote an inclusive Thus,he actively incorporated sports as treatment society for people with disabilities through para- and training aimed at patientsʼ rehabilitation in sports (a variety of sports for the disabled,centring society. Later,he held a sports tournament in the around what is widely practiced in the Paralym- hospital,which developed into an international pics)ʼ 3). tournament that is the origin of the current Paralympic Games. These efforts are thought to Lifelong Sports for Disabled Children and Adults have had a major impact on the kind of social and the Role of Olympic and Paralympic Education welfare that aims at the elevation of people with disabilities in their regional communities 2). The In recent years,as a school educational activity, doctorʼs famous quote ʻDonʼt count what is lost, “Olympic and Paralympic Education”has been make the best of what is leftʼ encourages athletes developing in and around Tokyo,and the opportu- with disabilities around the world to this date. nity to learn the different ways to get involved in sports is increasing. Revision of Laws Regarding Disabled Sports and Through the Olympic and Paralympic Education, the Paralympic Movement MEXT aims to achieve the following 3 goals: 1. Enhance the understanding and interest of the The ʻBasic Act on Sportsʼ enacted in June 2011 public towards the significance and value of sports, includes sports for persons with disabilities. Fur- 2. Expand and establish the lifetime proactive par- ther,in October 2015,the Sports Agency was ticipation in sports (play,watch,and support) of all established to unify sportsʼ policies. The Sports people including the disabled people from early child- Agency holds the ʻPromotion of Sports towards the hood to the older age,3. Furtherance and fostering Realization of a Sports Nationʼ as its mission and of abilities and qualities of children and students incorporates sports for persons with disabilities in that are expected by the society from now on. their ʻComprehensive Measures for the Promotion Moreover,in order to make it easier to plan of Sports,ʼ aiming to support local disabled sports by further actions for this study within the school

This manuscript was submitted for the Special Issue “Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Sportology”, prior to the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to 2021.

84 Juntendo Medical Journal 66(Suppl 1),2020

educational activities,the Tokyo Metropolitan school education after graduation. Board of Education recommends the following 4 themes and actions for the study content and Initiatives to Train Disabled Sports Instructors at standpoint of Olympic and Paralympic Education. Physical Education Universities The 4 themes are: 1. Olympic and Paralympic Spirit,2. Sports,3. Culture,4. Environment. The 4 In 2017 and 2018,the Juntendo Universityʼs actions are: 1. Learn,2. Watch,3. Play,4. Support 4). Faculty of Health and Sports Science was selected Especially,it is important for children with for the ʻCross-university and cross-discipline disabilities,who are usually less involved in sports, headquarter (Japanese version of the NCAA) to be more actively engaged as well as ʻdoʼ,ʻseeʼ,and founding project (promotion of university sports)ʼ, ʻsupportʼ sports themselves. In furtherance of which is an open recruitment project of the Sports enhancing Olympic and Paralympic education at Agency. The purpose of this project is to devise and schools,it is required for teachers/instructors to carry out a model for nurturing disabled sports study more about Olympic and Paralympic,collabo- instructors and to disseminate the results. It aims to rate with one another,and make use of the existing develop high-quality human resources and respond resources in their own regions. to the demand for the promotion of sports for the disabled by improving curricula and facilities in Physical Education and Sports Environment for schools as well as involving volunteer organizations. Disabled Children and the Role of Health and Further,it strives to raise interest in disabled sports Physical Education Teachers and establish disabled sports as local sports. This is achieved by cooperating with organizations,the As for schools,students with disabilities are government,private businesses,and schools in enrolled not only in schools for children with special providing a base for mutual sports interaction and needs,but also in regular elementary,middle,and exchange,organizing attractive sports events for high schools. However,there are many cases where persons with disabilities,and more (Figure-1). there are not sufficient learning opportunities for Also,since many students nowadays aim to become these children as they often cannot participate in physical education teachers,what we focus on in activities during physical education classes. Health particular is to produce teachers with the capability and physical education teachers need to become to also guide children with disabilities. We are practitioners of ʻinclusive physical educationʼ in convinced that it is important for students to be settings where they supervise classes with a mix of able to advance into various fields with a mindset of children both with and without disabilities and take working towards an inclusive society,which they on a key role when it comes to granting children develop by learning and practicing Paralympic with disabilities opportunities for participating in education in university education. For this reason, sports activities,developing their sports perform- we are collaborating with faculty members to ance and nurturing them in general. introduce parasports in practical classes teaching To produce human resources in such a way, soccer; ; and volleyball and to include physical education universities that offer courses those in the school curriculum. In addition to for becoming teachers in health and physical developing the curriculum,we are also working on education positions need to teach students basic a system that will allow students to participate knowledge about education and actively in parasports activities. There is no philosophy related to inclusive physical education, denying that,in Japanese educational institutions, as well as disabled sports theory and practice. both instructorsʼ capacity to take into account the Further,they need to allow students to acquire diversity of people,as well as the universitiesʼ practical instructional skills through cooperation curricula to that end are underdeveloped. However, with local schools and sports events,and provide we believe that fostering human resources to play a education in a way that enables them to become a role in a symbiotic society is an important task pillar for the promotion of disabled sports as a assumed by higher education institutions. health and physical education teacher at any level of

85 Watanabe T: Promotion of disabled sports and the Paralympic Movement in Japan

Juntendo University initiatives, advanced model projects

Companies with which the University plans to collaborate in pursuing this present project under application（including those that are not directly related to sports）

CCooperationooperation

Sports Organization Juntendo Sports Advanced Support Center CCooperationooperation ・Japan Boccia association ・Japan Association Para－Sports advanced unit

CCooperationooperation event－hosting Revenue sponsorships Mentor, Staff, Dispatch of athlets, Equipment, Provision of facilities, Development, Planning and managing events, etc

Communitycontributions through university sports, regional revitalisation

－ parasports experience classes － corporate training, corporate in－house sports events partnership agreements Promotion of Parasports education with local governments, － teacher－training sessions and － University sports×parasports experience responding － Paralympic caravan to regional demands Sports－science research and its findings as a way to give back to the communityt

－ development of the system for volunteer organizations and research into teaching methods, － website creation and information dissemination

Figure-1 The ʻCross-university and cross-discipline headquarter (Japanese version of the NCAA) founding project (promotion of university sports)ʼ

86 Juntendo Medical Journal 66(Suppl 1),2020

Conclusion Reference

To make the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic a success, 1) The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Research Group: the popularization of Paralympic Movement is Survey on the General Publicʼs Awareness and Interest in the Paralympics,in Japan and Some Selected considered necessary. Especially,education at Countries after the Rio 2016 Games: A Summary of schools have a vital role in enhancing disabled Results of a Second Survey Conducted by The Nippon sports. Foundation Paralympic Research,2014; 13-14. (in Japanese) As described in this research paper,Olympic and 2) Winnick JP: Introduction to Adapted Physical Educa- Paralympic education have been conducted at tion and : History of Adapted Sport. Adapted schools in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Physical Education and Sport,5th Edition. Human Kinetics - USA,2011; 16-17. Games,providing more opportunities for children to 3) International Paralympic Committee: International Par- learn about sports for disabled people. Increasing alympic Committee Annual Report: The Paralympic public interest in sports for persons with disabilities Movement and the IPC,2018; 08-10. https://www.paral ympic.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/2018%20IPC%20A is also important in promoting sports for this nnual%20Report%202018.pdf (Accessed at 2020-06-30) population in Japan. Since the objective of the 4) Conference of Experts on Olympic and Paralympic Paralympic Movement is to promote an inclusive Education: For the Promotion of Olympic and Paraly- mpic Education (Final Report),2016. https://www.mext. society,the most important aspect to consider is not go. jp/sports/b_menu/shingi/004_index/toushin/__icsFil only to learn about sports for disabled individuals es/afieldfile/2016/07/29/1375094_01.pdf (Accessed at but to determine how to deepen the understanding 2020-06-30)(in Japanese) of disabilities in an inclusive society.

87