【Netherlands】Wheelchair basketball event coinciding with the visit of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Japan
- Time Period
- 9th November, 2015
- Region
- Tokyo, Japan
- Sport/Programme Category
- Wheelchair basketball / event
- Implementer
- The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in JapanThe Japanese Paralympic Committee of the Japanese Para-Sports Association
- Co-Implementer
- The Tokyo Sports Association for the Disabled the Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation Shiba Junior & Senior High-School
- Number of Individual Beneficiaries
- Around 215 people (including 100 foreign nationals)
An introduction to Wheelchair Basketball was held for primary and junior-high school students from Japan and the Netherlands and a demonstration by wheelchair basketball players was held with the attendance of Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Yoichi Masuzoe, the Governor of Tokyo, and Daiichi Suzuki, the Head of the New Japan Sports Agency.
The event was held on the theme of 'Connecting Japan and the Netherlands through sports' to communicate the message of the development of health, solidarity and self-respect through sports, regardless of people's backgrounds and physical attributes.Primary and Junior-High School students from Japan and the Netherlands enjoyed playing wheelchair basketball with the wheelchair basketballers, Kiyoshi Fujisawa, Horie Wataru, Marc van de Kuilen, and Mustafa Korkmaz, and played very excitedly in a lively friendly match. In a demonstration by the wheelchair basketballers, the students were able to experience the power and thrill of the speed of wheelchair basketball and the shots on target right before their eyes, and gained a first-hand experience of the enjoyment of wheelchair basketball. Finally, Prime Minister Mark Rutte presented the medals individually at the end of this very memorable day.
Kiyoshi Fujisawa, who represented Japan in the 2015 Asia-Oceania Tournament
Feedback from :
I was very glad that children from Japan and overseas were able to interact through wheelchair basketball. This was an event through which we could sense the value of sports.