Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics: International Event Marks a Century of Sporting Action

Posing with a gesture used in sign language at an October 2025 press conference for the Tokyo Deaflympics are, from left, Team Japan leader Ōta Yōsuke, men’s soccer team captain and flag bearer Matsumoto Takumi, women’s karate athlete Ogura Ryō, and Ishibashi Daigo, president of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf. (© Jiji)

Schoolchildren practice “cheer signs” at a Deaflympics promotional event a month before the games. (© Matsumoto Sōichi, Nippon.com)

Japan Sports Agency Commissioner Kawai Jun’ichi, left, shaking hands with Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko on October 24. (© Jiji)