THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 28, 2021 at 18:10 JST
Apologies were offered to a Japanese judoka whose dream of winning Paralympic gold was shattered after he was struck by a self-driving vehicle inside the athletes’ village.
The accident forced Aramitsu Kitazono, 30, to withdraw from competition Aug. 28 in the men’s judo’s 81-kilogram division for the visually impaired.
At a news conference the same day, Hidemasa Nakamura, the Tokyo official helping to ensure the Games go off smoothly, apologized to Kitazono for the incident that prevented him from competing.
Nakamura was accompanied by Hidefumi Takahashi, vice chairman of the Japanese Paralympic Committee.
Takahashi explained that Kitazono suffered no external injuries and an MRI scan showed that his brain was unaffected by the accident.
However, the judoka decided to withdraw, saying he did not feel quite right after the accident, including a loss of appetite.
Doctors with the Japanese delegation said Kitazono should not compete for a week in case he had suffered a slight concussion.
Kitazono was hit by a vehicle called “e-Palette,” developed by Toyota Motor Corp., on a pedestrian crosswalk in the Olympic Village, according to Tokyo police.
Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor Corp., appeared on the Toyota Times media outlet on Aug. 27 to apologize to Kitazono.
Toyota said engineers of the e-Palette had never considered what it means to lack the ability to see or hear at Paralympic venues.
Usage of the e-Palette within the Olympic Village was immediately suspended.
Toyoda said he was not in a position to say if the vehicles would resume operations while the Paralympics are still on.
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