SMAP Supports the Tokyo Paralympic (international multi-sport event, involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities) - November 10th, 2015
The popular group, SMAP attend the opening ceremony of The Japan Foundation Paralympic Support Center's Paralympic Games Association Office in the Japan Foundation Building (Minato-ku, Tokyo), on the 10th. SMAP will be supporting the Center in getting ready for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic. Nakai Masahiro said "The athletes are the main roles, we only support. We will be discussing and getting ready with everyone about what kind of support can we give and what performance can we do," He also made a comment, "SMAP is short for "Sports Music Assemble People" in the first place, it means a group that combines sport and music. We have high interest in sports. Maybe we change SMAP's "P" to Paralympic from now on..." and the whole attendees gave a round of applause, he smiled, "I knew there'd be an applause. I might be pushing it, but I'll let everyone make their own interpretation,"
The Japan Foundation Paralympic Support Center was established and funded by the Japan Foundation on May 2015, to promote parasports and to make the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games a success. The new office was built on the 4th floor of the Japan Foundation Building and at the present time, 25 groups of the Paralympic Games are planned to be occupying the office. The office is designed with "Stadium" motive in order to build an environment comfortable for the athletes. The whole place uses universal design that is easy to use for the handicapped people. Katori Shingo's wall painting is displayed in the office.
Katori's wall painting theme is "i enjoy", the same theme the office has. He painted on the 12 metre square wall on the office entrance. It is a colorful and unique painting. It took ten days to complete the painting. Katori said "I enjoyed working on it while thinking of the Paralympics,"
In the ceremony, the chairman of Tokyo Olympic-Paralympic Games Organization Committee - Mori Yoshiro (ex-Prime Minister), Governor of Tokyo - Masuzoe Yoichi, the chairman of Japan Paralympic Committee - Torihara Mitsunori, Chief of Japan Sports Agency - Suzuki Daichi, the wheelchair tennis athlete - Kunieda Shingo, also attend. They also had the turn-on-the-light ceremony as a countdown watch until the Tokyo Paralympic opening.
source:
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20151110-00000011-mantan-ent