Medalists parade through downtown under clear autumn skies Smiles and cheers burst forth!

The Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games Japanese National Team Joint Parade Executive Committee (Japan Olympic Committee, Japan Disabled Sports Association/Japan Paralympic Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Cabinet Secretariat Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Promotion Headquarters Secretariat, Japan Sports Agency) held a parade featuring Rio Games medalists in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on October 7. (Special Sponsor: Mitsui Fudosan; Sponsors: Daiwa House Industry, Bridgestone, Toyota Motor Corporation, ASICS, JX Energy, Mizuho Financial Group, Ajinomoto, Japan Post).

This marked the first time a joint parade featuring both Olympic and Paralympic medalists was held. The route was also extended compared to the one after the London Games, covering approximately 2.5 kilometers from Ginza 8-chome to the front of the Mitsui Fudosan headquarters in Nihonbashi Muromachi.

Prior to the parade, a "departure ceremony" was held on Shintora Street, near Toranomon Hills in Minato Ward, attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and others.

At the start of the ceremony, athlete representatives Saori Yoshida (wrestling) and Yui Uechi (wheelchair tennis) each addressed the crowd: "On behalf of all athletes, we medalists want to express our gratitude to everyone in Japan who supported us. Let's carry the excitement of this parade forward to the PyeongChang Games in two years and the Tokyo 2020 Games." "I'm thrilled to be parading alongside Olympians. The cheers we received in Rio and back home in Japan pushed us forward. Athletes will strive for even greater heights as we look toward 2020."

After Governor Koike handed the Olympic flag to Yoshida and the Paralympic flag to Uchi, the athletes boarded the parade bus trailer and moved to the starting point at Ginza 8-chome.

A total of 87 athletes participated in the parade: 50 Olympic medalists and 37 Paralympic medalists. As the parade began, huge cheers erupted from the crowds lining the streets, and the athletes responded with smiles and waves. The throngs of people trying to catch a glimpse of the athletes stretched uninterrupted all the way to the finish line at Nihonbashi, where city dressing was in effect. The crowd reached approximately 800,000 people (according to the organizers).
(Related article: First City Dressing After Rio Games Conclusion[2016.09.23] )