[Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.] Regarding conclusion of sponsorship contract with paraclimbing athlete Tadashi Takano
*Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd.*
Press release: August 9, 2024
**
Regarding the conclusion of a sponsorship agreement (sponsorship agreement) with Tadashi Takano for the paraclimbing competition Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Representative Director and President: Takahashi Kaoru (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) hereby announces that it has entered into a sponsorship agreement (sponsorship agreement) with paraclimbing athlete Tadashi Takano.
Starting in fiscal 2024, our company has set a new vision of “protecting customers’ lives that are worth living” and is aiming to realize a DE&I society where everyone can live their lives in their own way.
Takano, a childhood cancer survivor, has a strong desire to convey to many people the hope and desire to live with dreams and goals through her own image. Our company sympathizes with this feeling, which is connected to the keyword of the new vision, “Ikigai”, and has concluded this sponsorship agreement.
Takano is active in world competitions such as the World Cup as a representative of Japan in paraclimbing, which was added as an additional event to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. We will support Takano, who is a public elementary school teacher but has a desire to take on challenges (his goal) to create a new framework for his activities.
(Left) Our executive officer Tabei (center) Takano (right) Our executive officer Kokubu
[* Takano’s thoughts and thoughts (Takano’s comments)*]
Being a childhood cancer survivor and a person with a disability myself, and through paraclimbing, I have always had goals and dreams and have been able to live my life positively.
People tend to give up on their dreams or lose sight of their goals in life and who they are because they think that “disability means they can’t do it.” I want to convey the wonders of living with a goal and living positively to such people, children with limitless potential, and children with cancer who are constantly battling anxiety. To achieve this, it is important to be active, raise your voice, and continue your steady activities. This will have a positive impact not only on children, but on many other people, changing the thoughts and actions of each individual, and eventually spreading the word all over the world. I believe that this will lead to changes for a better future.
[*Takano’s career*]
・Name: Tadashi Takano
・Occupation: Public elementary school teacher
・Competitive event: Paraclimbing
(2024 M-RP3 class Japan representative)
・Disability: Left lower limb dysfunction
・Main results (last 3 years):
2024 World Cup Salt Lake City 1st place, Innsbruck 1st place 2023 World Cup Villars 1st place,
Swiss World Championship 1st place
2022 World Cup Innsbruck 2nd place
[*What is paraclimbing*]
It is a competition in which athletes climb a route set on the wall using only their own strength, using ropes to ensure safety on a wall approximately 15 meters high, and compete to see how high they can climb.
The types of disabilities in the competition are divided into 3 classes for visual impairments and 7 classes for physical disabilities in Japan.
The Paraclimbing World Championships are held once every two years, sponsored by the IFSC (International Sport Climbing Federation), and the World Cup is also held every year, with Japan’s national team placing in the top ranks at these tournaments, making it one of the strongest countries in the world. It is recognized as one. It will be added as an additional event to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games, and is expected to gain even more attention.
That’s all