Tokyo Paralympic events get started

Aug 25, 2021 | News On Japan

Aug 25, 2021 (NHK) - Events at the Tokyo Paralympic Games got underway on Wednesday, following an opening ceremony the previous day.

A record 4,400 athletes from about 160 countries and territories are taking part in 539 events in 22 sports held over 12 days.

Yamada Miyuki became the first Japanese athlete to compete in the Games, taking part in the women's S2 100-meter backstroke heats on Wednesday morning.

Yamada, who is 14 years old, is the youngest medal hopeful on the Japanese team. She finished with the third fastest time among all swimmers and advanced to the final, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Iwabuchi Koyo won an intense table tennis match in the men's singles class 9 group qualifiers. Iwabuchi also served as a flag-bearer for the Japanese team in the opening ceremony.

On the cycling track, 50-year-old medal hopeful Sugiura Keiko participated in the women's C3 individual pursuit qualifying race. She finished fifth and was eliminated.

On Wednesday afternoon, Japan plays against France in a group A preliminary mixed wheelchair rugby match. Japan's team won a bronze medal in the Rio Games in 2016.

Japan's women's wheelchair basketball team will play against Australia in its first preliminary match, also scheduled for the afternoon.

Japan's goalball teams, both men's and women's, will play their first preliminary matches on Wednesday afternoon. The women's team is hoping to repeat its gold medal success of the 2012 London Games.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.