WOWOW supports Paralympic athletes (athletes with disabilities). In addition to supporting their athletic activities, we are engaged in activities such as promotion of Paralympic sports by leveraging the experience they have acquired to date.
After contracting meningitis at the age of four months, Akira Toyoshima was paralyzed from the waist down . Attracted by the fast pace of wheelchair basketball, he started playing with the team in his home prefecture of Fukushima, then was traded to the Miyagi MAX in 2009. The following year, he was selected for the Japanese national team and, thanks to his trademark speed, performed impressively in various international tournaments. He joined WOWOW INC. in April 2015 to continue focusing on wheelchair basketball. During the 2016-2017 season (from October 2016 to April 2017) and 2017-2018 season (from October 2017 to April 2018), he played for Germany's Köln 99ers. He competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. From 2017, he captained the Japanese national team, leading it to a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He retired from professional wheelchair basketball in October 2021. Today, he is engaged in activities to promote wheelchair basketball in addition to performing duties for the department he belongs to.
◆Paralympic Games
2012 - London Paralympic Games (9th place)
2016 - Rio Paralympic Games (9th place)
2021 - Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (silver medal)
◆World Championships
2010 - Birmingham, England (10th place)
2014 - Incheon, South Korea (9th place)
2018 - Hamburg, Germany (9th place)
◆Asian Para Games
2010 - Guangzhou, China (1st place)
2014 - Incheon, South Korea (2nd place)
2018 - Jakarta, Indonesia (2nd place)
2019 - Pattaya, Thailand (4th place)
◆Asia Oceania Championships
2013 - Bangkok, Thailand (4th place)
2015 - Chiba, Japan (3rd place)
2017 - Beijing, China (3rd place)
2019 - Pattaya, Thailand (4th place)
◆Competed in the U23 World Championships
2009 - Paris, France (6th place)
◆Emperor's Cup Japan Wheelchair Basketball Championship
Won the 38th-47th championships; three-time MVP
Team: Para Kanagawa Sports Club (Japan)
While a sixth grader, Takuya Furusawa started using a wheelchair due to complications from congenital dichotomous spondylosis. The first parasport he played was wheelchair tennis. Then, after taking part in a trial session held at his practice venue, he began playing wheelchair basketball. In 2013, while in the second year of high school, he competed in the U23 World Championships.
After being named captain of the U23 Japanese national team in 2016, he led the team at the Men's U23 World Wheelchair Basketball Championship held the following year in Toronto, Canada, guiding them to a top-four finish and being personally selected for the tournament's All-Star 5. He made his official competitive debut as a member of the Japanese national team the following year (2017) at the Asia Oceania Championship. He joined WOWOW INC. in April 2021 as a new graduate.
He currently plays for Para Kanagawa Sports Club and is devoting himself to training to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and win a medal while also engaging in activities to promote wheelchair basketball.
◆Paralympic Games
2021 - Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (silver medal)
◆World Championships
2018 - Hamburg, Germany (9th place)
◆Asian Para Games
2018 - Jakarta, Indonesia (2nd place)
◆Asia Oceania Championships
2017 - Beijing, China (3rd place)
2019 - Pattaya, Thailand (4th place)
◆U23 World Championships
2013 - Adana, Turkey (9th place)
2017 - Toronto, Canada (4th place; selected for All-Star 5)
◆Emperor's Cup Japan Wheelchair Basketball Championship
Won the 48th championship