Photo/Illutration Japanese Paralympians play against the United States Paralympians in the men's basketball final at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics at the Ariake arena in Tokyo. (Toshiyuki Takeya)

One year after the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, more than 30 percent of para sports organizations comprising 22 sports reported receiving more grants from businesses than before the sporting extravaganza. 

There had been a concern that the amount of business donations could gradually decrease after the Paralympics.

“We didn’t expect this," experts said of the findings from the new survey. "It points to changes in awareness within companies.”

The Asahi Shimbun sent questionnaires to 26 para sports organizations in Japan that competed at the 2020 Paralympics to mark the one-year anniversary of the event.

The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics opened on Aug. 24 and ended on Sept. 5 in 2021.

Of the 25 organizations that responded, 23 provided answers that enabled comparisons between donations they received from companies in August 2021 and in July this year. 

According to the findings, eight organizations received more grants in July than in August 2021.

Six said that they had received the same number of grants in July as in August 2021.

Nine reported that companies gave them less grant money in July than in August 2021.

Among those reporting receiving more grant money, the Japan Boccia Association collected around 50 million yen ($360,000) in July, about 10 million yen more than in August 2021.

The Japan Para Athletics was provided around 46 million yen in July, around 8 million yen more than in August 2021.

Organizations receiving more donations from companies said of the reasons, “People are more aware of the sports thanks to our athletes,” or “More companies are now conscious about the issue of an inclusive society.”

In comparison, organizations given less donor money said in the survey, “Our contracts with companies to receive grants expired when the Tokyo Paralympics ended,” or “Companies that supported our organization ran into financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

On the increase in grants for these organizations after the 2020 event, Kazunari Obuchi, a policy director at the Sasakawa Sports Foundation and an expert on para sports, said, “When the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into the spotlight, companies became attracted to values inherent in para sports such as 'achieving an inclusive society.'”

However, Obuchi warned that companies likely ceased providing grants to these organizations once they concluded that doing so doesn’t contribute to helping society.

Therefore, he said, “The next several years are crucial. It’s essential for (para sports organizations) to be united and demonstrate the values that para sports have.”

The survey also highlighted that while many organizations feel that people are more aware of para sports after the 2020 event, they are still struggling to secure venues or facilities for their sports.

No organization said that people are now less aware of their competitions.

Of the 25 organizations, 18 said that their sports enjoy more recognition now, while seven reported that the public's awareness of their sports hasn’t changed.

Most of the 25 organizations said that the situation in securing sports venues or facilities remained the same.

Only three organizations said it was now easier to secure training sites, with just one saying the same regarding securing a match venue.

(This article was written by Ryusaburo Matsumoto and Takashi Endo.)

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