It takes 24 days and half a year until the opening of the Tokyo Paralympics.
When NHK asked the Tokyo Paralympic Games organizations about the effects of the new coronavirus, more than 50% of the organizations were unable to receive the disability classification that is a condition for participation, and there were athletes who were at risk of participating in the competition. I understand.
Classification is a mechanism unique to the Paralympics that allows athletes with different types and degrees of disabilities to compete fairly, and it is stipulated that participants in the Tokyo Paralympics must be judged by experts at international competitions in advance.
As NHK has been half a year before the opening of the Tokyo Paralympics, this month we conducted a questionnaire survey of 26 sports organizations in Japan and received responses from 25 organizations.
When asked about the effects of the new coronavirus on athletes, 13 groups answered that they could not be classified for disabilities, accounting for more than half of the total, or 52%.
There were voices from the competition groups, such as "There are some athletes who have not been classified even if they are unofficial athletes" and "We are coordinating with the JPC = Japan Paralympic Committee, but we cannot reach a conclusion."
In addition, in the future, in athletics and other competitions where there are no plans for international competitions in Japan, there are cases in which athletes are forced to travel abroad in the midst of a global epidemic in order to be classified.
The International Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired has decided to specially classify seven sports such as goalball and judo next month in Japan, but other sports cannot be classified. There are players who are in danger of participating in the Tokyo Paralympics.