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概要

FPCO English

Interview with the PresidentSato: However, the reality was different.Hosokawa: That’s right. As I continued to read, I cameto understand why she won the medal. She was awardednot for her outstanding gymnastics performance but for herpersistence and for not giving up.Sato: You mean that the criteria for evaluationwere different.Hosokawa: In the Olympics for the unimpaired,superiority to other contenders is important, as impliedin the motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius, or Faster, Higher,Stronger. However, the Special Olympics honor those whosurmount who they used to be. Let me give an examplethat I actually saw in the Games in Austria since it is easyto understand. An 11-year-old autistic boy called Katchanentered the competition at the lowest level of figure skating.He practiced a great deal leading up to the Games but duringthe actual contest he became so scared that he could notstep into the rink and he was disqualified. Three days later,the day of the final round, the organizer of the Games gavehim another chance. This time he courageously steppedinto the rink and performed brilliantly. I cried in jubilationtogether with his mother.Sato: That is wonderful. The organizer that gavehim the chance and Katchan who responded to it wereboth great.Hosokawa: At the time of the awards ceremony,Katchan believed he would get nothing since he had beendisqualified, but he received a medal with a white ribbon,which meant disqualification. He also received a prize forspecial effort.Sato: The organizer treated the situation verywell.Hosokawa: But this is not exceptional treatment; it justcomplies with the rules of the Special Olympics, basedon the philosophy under which those who have put forththe effort are all to be honored. He was honored since heovercame who he was before. I encountered the SpecialOlympics that way and I thought it was my task to makethis sporting event popular in Japan.Sato: Now I see why it is the source of youramazing energy.? FP Corporation and floor hockeyHosokawa: After the end of the 2005 SpecialOlympics in Nagano, I decided to next strive to popularizefloor hockey, which is a barrier-free sport. At that time, Irecommended this sport to you as a means of improvingcommunications between those with disabilities and thosewho are unimpaired.Sato: Our company started employing workerswith disabilities 28 years ago. I felt that even we lackedunderstanding about such workers. We sought a goodway of encouraging communication.Hosokawa: I find it difficult to instantly narrow thedistance with those with disabilities. Even I was unable tofree myself from prejudice at the beginning.Sato: We started by having able-bodied workersat our bases watch the DVD of the movie you produced,called Able, together with coworkers with disabilities.Thankfully, the FP Corporation Group has been enjoyingfloor hockey as an internal recreational activity for aroundfour years. Every team has members with and withoutdisabilities. At first there were only teams from specialsubsidiaries. Later, teams joined from the facilities of FPCOAi Pack, classified as a Type A business with support forcontinuous employment. The number of teams increasedat an accelerating pace and at the moment our group has15 teams across the country.Hosokawa: As president of the Japan Floor HockeyFederation, I think this is terrific.47 FP Corporation CSR Report 2014