Congratulations to Mr. Marcel Hug who won first place in the 38th Oita international Wheelchair Marathon! On the weekend, the Embassy staff had a chance to participate in a school presentation which saw children interact with the athletes and experience racing wheelchairs. The next day, at a Swiss Fair organized right before the opening ceremony, they shared a bit of Swiss culture and present the Cybathlon project, including the wheelchair series scheduled for 2019 in Kawasaki and the main competition of Zurich 2020. The Olympic Minister Yoshitaka Sakurada was present and during a one-to-one meeting with Ambassador Paroz, the importance of inclusiveness was stressed once again.
Given the excellent relation that is developing between Oita City, which is a Host Town of Switzerland on the road to the Games of Tokyo 2020, and the Embassy of Switzerland, Ambassador Paroz is very supportive of the engagement of Oita not only in terms of Paralympic and Olympic activities, but also in the framework of the “Inclusive Host Town” Initiative.The Embassy of Switzerland in Japan will continue to communicate closely with Oita city. The city will naturally be featured in our House of Switzerland which will open in July 2020.