'25 Tokyo Deaflympics Helped Raise Awareness, but Issues Remain

Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)--While the Tokyo Deaflympics in 2025 have helped boost public awareness of the sporting event, there remain issues that need to be tackled almost a year on.

Yamaha Motor Foundation for Sports conducted a survey on the public recognition of the Deaflympics, an international sporting event for deaf athletes.

According to the survey, 24.3 pct of respondents aged 20 and over said that they knew of the Tokyo Deaflympics, before the competition was held last November. The recognition rate rose to 55.4 pct in 2026.

The rate of recognition among Tokyo residents after the event stood at 72.4 pct, jumping from 33.3 pct before the tournament.

At a recent seminar in Tokyo for media organizations hosted by the foundation, Rina Komokata, who won gold in the women's tennis doubles and bronze in the singles event at the Tokyo Deaflympics, said, "As the tournament approached, I felt there was an increase in people who knew about the event."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]