Mayor of Sapporo

KatsuhiroAKIMOTO

Mayor of Sapporo

Dear Participants,

First of all, I would like to sincerely congratulate everyone on the18th International Symposium of Asian Society for Adapted Physical Educationand Exercise being held here in Sapporo. It is a great pleasure for the twomillion citizens of Sapporo to host this symposium, and as Mayor of the hostcity, I welcome you all.

Attention to adapted sports is currently growing as the Paris 2024Paralympic Games will be held at the end of this month. We hope that theParalympic Games will inspire people to pursue their hopes and dreams, and thatmany people will gain a deeper understanding of Para sports and people withdisabilities.

In line with this social movement, Sapporo City is also promotinginitiatives aimed at creating a society where everyone recognizes each other'spersonality and abilities and where diversity is a strength. As a part of thisendeavor, we are working to formulate an ordinance to foster a society wherecitizens can coexist freely with a barrier free mindset.

We recognize that the purpose of this conference is to exchangeopinions, ideas and research internationally to enable people from diversebackgrounds to participate in physical activity and sport. We sincerely hopethat you will lead the development of adapted sports in Asian countries andthat such research will increase public awareness of the importance ofdiversity in society.

Sapporo is one of the most popular tourist cities in Japan,attracting many domestic and foreign tourists. Kanamoto Hall, the venue of thisevent, is located next to Odori Park, where the Sapporo Odori Beer Garden, afamous summer event in Sapporo, is currently being held. We hope you will enjoydrinking beer under the refreshing summer sky of Sapporo.

Lastly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude once again to President Yasui and the conference secretariat for their efforts in organising this event, and to the many others who have supported the progress and development of research in adapted sports in the Asian region since it s establishment in 1986 until today. We sincerely hope that this conference will become a global platform to ensure that the world moves closer to the realisation of a more diverse society in the future.