When a huge debate erupted over the wisdom of bringing schoolchildren to the Tokyo Paralympics during the pandemic, Takehiro Miura felt uncomfortable about the program for an entirely different reason than what was being discussed.

Detractors of the effort are concerned about safety and the spread of the virus. Advocates in favor of the initiative say watching Paralympians excel at high performance sports despite the challenges posed by disabilities can inspire children and have a great educational benefit as they see firsthand the diversity of people in society.

But Miura, 16, who was born with a heart problem and has used a wheelchair to get around since he was very young, is raising questions about using education as the rationale for sending kids to watch the events.

He posted his views on Aug. 23, the day before the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics, and it quickly attracted attention.

“What do people with disabilities mean to society?” he said on his Twitter account. “I will decide on my own whom I want to interact with. I am not a mobile zoo.”

FELT OBJECTIFIED IN SCHOOL EXCHANGE

Miura, who lives in Hyogo Prefecture, calls himself “a freelance NEET,” an acronym for an individual not in education, employment or training, after dropping out of a special-needs school.

He has been actively discussing problems faced by people with disabilities.

Last year, he published “TK Magazine,” in which he interviewed author Hirotada Ototake, a sportswriter born without limbs. Miura has spoken publicly about his own disability at speaking engagements.

When he came across a tweet that described comments by personalities on a TV program that debated the pros and cons of the program to bring schoolchildren to the Paralympics, he was prompted to respond.

The decision by Tokyo organizers to stage the event despite the state of emergency over the deepening health crisis was a hot-button issue, even if it was held without spectators.

In addition, the initiative to have tens of thousands of schoolchildren across the Tokyo metropolitan area and elsewhere travel to watch live competitions sparked a controversy, given the potential for them to transmit or contract the virus during the outing.

One of the show’s personalities in favor of the school program said children should have opportunities to interact with people with disabilities, as the experience will help them broaden their perspectives.

The comment reminded Miura of his days attending a special-needs school.

He had settled on attending the special-needs school in his neighborhood because an elementary school nearby refused to take him in due to his health problem.

“You have health risks and we do not have teachers at our school who can address them,” a school official told him.

But the school district has a program that lets children at the special school and those at elementary and junior high schools interact.

On one such occasion, the principal of an elementary school told him: “There are many things my students can learn from you. Please come and visit us again, as we appreciate exchanges with students with special needs.”

Miura was struck by the principal’s comment. He felt like he was being treated as educational material, like a “mobile zoo” for giving students hands-on experience with an animal.

Most children with disabilities go to a special school and rarely have opportunities to mingle with their counterparts at regular elementary and junior high schools in their communities.

“Why were children with or without disabilities educated separately from preschool and onward if people insist on the need for children to have exchanges?” he asked in his Twitter thread.

“I do not understand why adults refer to such needs,” he said. “They are the ones who divided children in the first place, deeming it convenient.”

Miura’s mother, Yu, said the current arrangement is flawed as the exchange program is not designed to reciprocate visits.

Only children at a special school, accompanied by their parents, can visit a local school to attend classes and mingle with the students there.

“It does not allow students on both sides to learn how different things would look if they put themselves in each other’s shoes,” she said.

UNREPRESENTED IN ELITE SPORTS

Miura said he did not take much interest in the Olympics and Paralympics prior to the Games in the capital because he could not play sports due to his heart condition.

But that changed somewhat after watching “Idaten,” a serialized drama by Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) that featured the history of Japanese Olympians leading up to the Summer Games that Tokyo hosted for the first time in 1964.

He was heartened to see Masatane Muto, a representative of WITH ALS, an organization for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, appear in the Opening Ceremony.

Muto is one of the people he interviewed for TK Magazine.

“It was nice to see some of the people I have worked with in the event,” Miura said.

But he said he still cannot help harboring mixed feelings toward the Paralympics if it is defined as an event for people with disabilities.

Some people with internal disabilities, like himself, face enormous difficulties in playing sports from the beginning.

Paralympians competing on the global stage in a dedicated wheelchair or with specially designed prosthetic legs seem to be near superhumans to him.

“I have deep respect for Paralympians, but they are elite athletes,” Miura said. “I did not see anybody with a serious disability requiring the use of a stretcher in the parade during the Opening Ceremony.”

He said he is not sure whether the Paralympics serves as a source of great inspiration, though many officials tout it as such.

“Olympians and Paralympians can compete in the same events with ingenuous efforts made if we adhere to the philosophy of the Olympics,” he said.

His Aug. 23 tweet was retweeted about 3,000 times over the first three days and received about 8,000 “likes.”

He posted a similar message in the past. But he said his tweet on Aug. 23 had the most positive reaction and attracted few negative comments.

“It may indicate that people are growing sensitive to discrimination and division as the pandemic takes its toll on society,” he said.

He rejects having programs, like the recent one devised for the Paralympics, that urge all students to sign on.

“Why don’t we let only people interested take part in the program?” he said. “We should not divide society into people with disabilities and people without them from the outset if it is better for them to interact with each other.”

Miura hopes the Paralympics will help pave the way for society to change for the better.