Junten Junior High School / Senior High School

　On Monday, June 29, 2020, Madoka Aoki, a third-year high school student working on the Fukunowa Project, remotely interviewed Eriko Yoshida of the Japan Para Powerlifting Federation.

　The temporary closure that began on March 2 due to the spread of the new coronavirus also affected the activities of Super Global High School (SGH). All the external presentations that we had planned to make to promote our activities were cancelled. Despite this, Ms. Yoshida from the Japan Para Powerlifting Federation (JPPF) kindly agreed to take part in the remote interview. Proceeds from the Fukunowa Project are donated to the Japan Para Powerlifting Federation and five other sports organizations. This time, she answered many questions about the event and its activities in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

　Para powerlifting is a bench press competition for athletes with lower limb disabilities. As difficult as it is to get the word out about clothing collection, Yoshida-san thought it would be difficult to find a way to get the sport of powerlifting out to everyone, so she saw an opportunity to get the word out to people who are not core fans through clothing recycling. The federation used the Fukunowa donation to create the first uniforms the athletes will wear at last year’s World Championships. Although it was an individual sport, wearing the matching uniforms gave them the strength to fight as a team. It was also difficult to practice in the corona disaster, and some players continued to train at home, using plastic bottles and other creative ways to train. We hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible, and that the 3rd Challenge Cup Kyoto Tournament, scheduled for October, will be held and the players will be able to play an active role.

　Through the interview, it was very clear that Yoshida-san cares about each and every athlete. Aoki-san himself seems to have realized many things about Para Powerlifting that she didn’t know before. I hope she will make a better SGH activity report including the interview. I would like to thank Yoshida-san who took time to interview me for a very long time.

　Since the state of emergency was declared, commercial facilities and other facilities have been closed and the collection of clothing has not progressed as much as expected.　According to the Fukunowa Project website’s May 15, 2020 activity report, donations for fiscal year 2019 totaled 2,615,969 yen. (Aoki-san’s activities are also enlisted.) Although we no longer collect the donations on campus, you can still send them to our partner warehouses or take them to your local Fukunowa box. We will continue to support para-sports through the Fukunowa Project.