东京残奥会原则上“无观众”举行，中国军团整装待发
东京奥组委16日宣布，东京残奥会除了少数场次比赛允许学生入场观看外，将在没有观众的情况下举行。
东京奥组委主席桥本圣子当天晚上与国际残奥委会主席帕森斯、东京都知事小池百合子以及日本奥运大臣丸川珠代，就残奥会的观众问题进行了四方会议。会后四方发表联合声明，宣布了残奥会无观众举行的决定。
"More stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be held in these prefectures, including no spectators," the Tokyo 2020 organizers said in a joint statement with local and national governments and the International Paralympic Committee.
The decision had been widely expected, and follows the same measures in place for the Olympics, which ended on August 8.
Children take part in a flame-lighting event for the Tokyo Paralympics in the Okayama Prefecture city of Kurashiki in western Japan, August 16, 2021. /CFP
Organizers said that under the school program, children will be allowed to watch some competitions. But no decisions have been made about the number of children and the details of the competitions.
Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto apologized for the move, calling on people to watch the Games at home and avoid attending road events.
"We sincerely apologize to all ticket holders who were looking forward to watching (the Games) at the venues, but please understand that it was unavoidable to implement these measures to prevent the spread of infection," she said.
Around 4,400 athletes are expected to take part, and like their Olympic counterparts they will face daily testing and restrictions on their movement. Despite the surge in virus cases in Japan during the Olympics, Games officials said there was no evidence of a link to the massive sporting event.
Paralympic athlete Marie-Amelie Le Fur participates in a training session in France, May 21, 2021. /CFP
The Paralympics are due to run from August 24 to September 5 and some teams are already at training camps, as Japan battles record infections despite stiff measures in several parts of the country.
It will be held in four prefectures of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka. The first three areas are already under a state of emergency and Shizuoka will be added to the list along with Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka on Friday.
17日，第16届残奥会中国体育代表团出征动员大会在京举行。代表团团长、中国残联主席、中国残奥委员会主席张海迪出席大会并讲话。
此次出征的251名运动员中，男运动员119人、女运动员132人。代表团将参加射箭、田径、硬地滚球、羽毛球、皮划艇、自行车、盲人柔道、举重、赛艇、射击、游泳、乒乓球、轮椅击剑、轮椅网球、跆拳道、铁人三项、盲人足球、轮椅篮球、坐式排球、盲人门球等20个大项、341个小项的角逐，是我国参加境外残奥会参赛大项最多的一届。
The contingent of 132 female and 119 athletes will compete in a Chinese record 20 of the 22 sports on the program, including debuting sports taekwondo and badminton.