Enhancing the Foundation of Parasports with the Suntory Challenged Sports Project

The Suntory Group’s purpose is “To inspire the brilliance of life, by creating rich experiences for people, in harmony with nature.” Based on our value of giving back to society^*, which has been handed down since our foundation, we are engaged in a wide range of activities that contribute to society. Support for athletics for challenged individuals is one of these activities, and in 2014, the Suntory Challenged Sports Project was launched to promote the excitement of parasports. Kana Miyaji of Suntory Holdings Ltd.’s CSR Department, who is in charge of the project, introduces its activities.

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Enhancing the Foundation of Parasports with the Suntory Challenged Sports Project

Why Suntory Supports Young Challenged Athletes

The Suntory Challenged Sports Project began as a component of reconstruction support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2022, the scope of activity was expanded to all of Japan, utilizing experience and knowledge gained. The principal arenas of project activity are the Suntory Challenged Sports Athlete Incentive Fund for young athletes and athletic organizations nationwide; the Dream Athlete wheelchair basketball experience event for elementary and junior high school students in Koto Ward, Tokyo; the Suntory Parasports Design College, with university students collaborating to convey the excitement of parasports; and Wheelchair Skills Workshops, held in collaboration with health and welfare-related universities.

From left, three Suntory Challenged Sports Athlete Incentive Fund grant recipients for the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
Yume Katayama, Deaf Badminton (born 2003): “My goal is to compete in the 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics. The Deaflympics are not as well known as the Paralympics, but through my participation, I hope to communicate the joy of sports to children who face the same challenge.”
Mika Hata, Sitting Volleyball (born 2001): “I was a flag bearer at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games in October 2023, and that strengthened my desire to represent Japan. My goal is to compete in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.”
Hayato Kaneno, Para Table tennis (limb), (born 2000): “I used my grant to offset some coaching fees and competition-related travel expenses. It opened up really great opportunities to make new friends at regional tournaments.”

The Suntory Challenged Sports Athlete Incentive Fund is a core component of the Challenged Sports Project. The fund provides grants to athletes recommended by one of the sports associations for the physically challenged in 47 prefectures and 10 major cities of Japan. For the first quarter of fiscal 2023, 73 athletes received grants, and on January 23, 2024, we announced grant awards for 81 athletes in the second quarter. Young athletes who will become future leaders are eligible if they are under 25 years old or have been competing for less than 10 years. Some athletes have commented that they were able to get a coach for the first time with their grant, which had a positive impact on their performance. This sort of feedback gives us confidence that the program is leading to steady improvements among young athletes.

We Want to Convey the Excitement of Challenged Sports to as Many People as Possible!

The goal of the project is to enhance the environment and foundations of challenged sports. I do feel that these activities embody the Suntory values of giving back to society and “Yatte Minahare.”
Our approach is to encourage local challenged sports associations and athletic organizations drive challenged sports promotion from the grass roots. This is how Suntory creates opportunities to make things happen.

We prepared a wheelchair basketball rule video (top), and we use the sports guide and summary guide books issued by the Japanese Para-Sports Association (bottom). The video features unique characters and is designed to make learning easy.

My background is in track and field, yet I had no knowledge of parasports when I originally got involved with this project. But after I started observing competitions and learning the rules, I realized just how fun and exciting parasports is. Take wheelchair basketball. It’s a very diversity-friendly sport, since each athlete’s unique challenges are assessed on a point system, and anyone can participate as long as their point total is exactly 14.0. I still remember how deeply impressed I was when I first saw how the athletes maximize their strengths and compete as a team. How much you enjoy watching the sport depends a lot on your understanding of the rules. This is why we released a video explaining the rules of wheelchair basketball, and we’re working to convey the excitement of challenged sports to the broadest possible audience.