Yuwa, right, and Haruki from Team PTW
1:00 JST, May 17, 2024
Para-athletes exist in sports, so wouldn’t it be great to have “para-artists” in the entertainment world?
With that idea in mind, a Nagoya-based information technology services company contracted a duo of artists with disabilities to support their activities.
“We want to do our best so that we are known for our skills, and not for our disabilities,” said Yuwa, the duo’s freestyle basketball player.
Team PTW, which debuted in March, is a duo of Yuwa and beatboxer Haruki, with Yuwa juggling two basketballs to the sound of Haruki’s beatboxing.
Yuwa, whose real name is 32-year-old Masakazu Mitsui, from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, was born with sensorineural hearing loss and wears hearing aids. Haruki, or Haruki Hoshino, 23, from Machida, Tokyo, has Down syndrome.
Yuwa started practicing freestyle basketball when he was in high school after watching a video where he learned that “performing with a ball can make people laugh.” Haruki has been beatboxing since high school because he “enjoyed creating new sounds.”
Yuwa founded a performance group 10 years ago with the aim of “realizing a society in which everyone can have fun together, with or without disabilities.” Haruki joined the group and performed at special schools and welfare institutions.
Pole To Win Inc., a company that supports companies in developing and improving IT environments or digitizing workplaces, took note of their performance and signed a contract with them.
The revised Law on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities came into effect on April 1 and requires business operators to provide “reasonable accommodations” to people with disabilities. Pole To Win decided to support the duo in an effort to raise awareness of diversity in the workplace. It provides Team PTW with a training space and acts as a mediator in negotiations to perform at events.
“We plan to bring in more people in the future and expand the culture of ‘para-artists’ who can be active in the arts, just like athletes competing in the Paralympic Games,” a spokesperson said.
PTW’s official website was launched on March 27 and their information was posted on social media. They are now busy practicing for summer events.
“By performing in different places, we want to convey the idea that anyone can make a career out of what they love, even with a disability,” said Yuwa.
