Tokyo eSports Festa 2026, an esports event held to promote the spread of esports and the growth of related industries, took place at Tokyo Big Sight from Friday, January 9 to Sunday, January 11, 2026. Organized by an executive committee made up of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and related organizations, this year marked its seventh edition.
Here is our event report on the “Exhibition Match with Para-esports Players” (organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Sports Promotion), held as part of Tokyo eSports Festa 2026.
What is the Exhibition Match with Para-esports Players?
The event featured Jeni and NAOYA of ePARA. Special guest Yuka Kuramochi, producer of the women’s esports team G-STAR GAMING, and the two members of the game-comedian duo NO Motion also took the stage as MCs.
The featured title was Street Fighter 6 (SF6), the latest installment in the popular fighting game series, for which ePARA supervised the sound accessibility. NAOYA, who was directly involved in that supervision, is a formidable player who has reached the in-game rank of “Master” despite being fully blind. Jeni, meanwhile, is a player who skillfully controls the character using the chin while living with the rare disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which gradually weakens the muscles throughout the body. Taking on the two were five general attendees.
Results of the Exhibition Matches with Para-esports Players
Here, we look at the results of the exhibition matches.
Match 1: Sharo Asase vs. NAOYA
Sharo Asase had been playing SF6 for about two years and said he decided to participate today after getting to know many people through the game, including Jeni and NAOYA. One of the biggest points of interest was how NAOYA, a fully blind player, understands what is happening in a match. SF6 includes a “sound accessibility” feature that allows players to check things like the distance from their opponent and their own health through sound effects. NAOYA relies on these “sounds” to instantly assess the situation and unleash moves.
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After the loss, Sharo Asase said, “NAOYA is someone I play against regularly, and it feels like our win rate is about even, but in a one-match format you never know what might happen, so I was nervous,” speaking about the tension he felt during the match.
NAOYA, meanwhile, said, “When that SA (short for Super Arts, a high-damage special move) hit me, I felt like it was all over. Then it turned out I could block it… I guess things can work out somehow. Thank you. Sorry, I’m so nervous I can’t get the words out!” sharing his honest feelings. NAOYA is usually good at livening things up with his talk, but on this big stage his nerves seemed to get the better of him.
Match 2: Nobu vs. NAOYA
Nobu is an accomplished player who regularly plays blindfolded, and he and NAOYA are said to be good rivals who hone their skills through “Shingan battles,” in which both fight with their vision blocked. For this event, Nobu prepared an eye mask modeled after his main character. The sight of both players battling while wearing their characters’ faces as eye masks made for a surreal and humor-filled scene.
Nobu led throughout the match and steadily cornered NAOYA. In a battle between two players who had both mastered Shingan, Nobu came out on top with a straight victory.
After the match, Nobu said, “I’ve had the chance to play NAOYA several times, but to get to face him on such a huge stage—and to actually win—makes me really happy. Thank you.” NAOYA, on the other hand, lost in straight games, but lightened the mood in the venue with a Shingan-style joke: “This is something people I play against often say to me too… You can definitely see, right? (laughs)”
Match 3: Kawagishi vs. Yuka Kuramochi
Kawagishi works in disability support and is also involved in activities to spread fighting games among children and people with disabilities. Showing the poise of a veteran player, he won the match in impressive straight games. By consistently shutting down the plans of Kuramochi’s Lily, he showed the authority of an experienced player.
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After the match, Yuka Kuramochi commented, “Even last night I was up late working on Ed counterplay with my husband, pro player Fuudo, but he had prepared so thoroughly against Lily that I couldn’t turn it into a battle of reads. He was incredibly strong!” acknowledging a complete defeat.
Kawagishi said, “For about three days, Lily was all I could think about. I watch Fuudo’s matches, so I came determined to win no matter what,” suggesting it was a memorable bout in which both sides’ determination collided.
Incidentally, Kuramochi’s husband, pro gamer Fuudo of REJECT, is a top player who uses the same character as Kawagishi, Ed, and has won numerous tournaments. Given that Kuramochi had been preparing with such a strong practice partner, Kawagishi’s victory showed just how high his level was.
Match 4: MikotoChan vs. Jeni
MikotoChan also has a hearing disability and said he joined because he wanted people to know that “people with disabilities can do it too”, and to spread that message further. Whereas a fully blind player fights by relying on sound, MikotoChan’s only source of information is the visuals on the screen. That made this a closely watched match, with attention on what kind of fight he would show.
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Although the result was frustrating, MikotoChan conveyed the significance of being able to take part, saying, “I was really nervous at the start of the match. Being at the venue definitely made it feel harder than usual. Jeni has a disability like I do, so I was really happy that we were able to play each other like this. Thank you very much.”
Jeni, meanwhile, said with a relieved expression, “I honestly thought I was going to lose in the second round. I was extremely nervous, but I’m glad we were able to have a good match.”
Match 5: Thompson vs. Jeni
What stands out above all is Thompson’s unusual background. Thompson is a real-life athlete who ranked fourth in Japan in his age group in triathlon. He mains Cammy and holds the Diamond rank. He is truly an “ironman gamer.”
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Match 6: Yuka Kuramochi vs. Jeni
After the exhibition matches with general participants, a special match between Yuka Kuramochi and Jeni was also held. With both having finished their exhibition matches and loosened up a bit, it became a serious first-to-two showdown.
Jeni opened with a perfect KO and, with a furious offensive onslaught, took the first game.
In the second game, Kuramochi’s comeback stood out. She landed the throw she had been aiming for, and her reads were spot on. She took one back through sheer determination.
The match went to a third game and all the way to the final round. It remained a close battle with neither side giving an inch, but in the end it was Jeni who came away with the win. Kuramochi reflected, “It had been about a year since I last played Jeni, but compared with back then, Jeni’s reads have gotten stronger, and we had a good battle.” Meanwhile, after taking the victory, Jeni said, “Whew, I was pretty desperate at the end. I got so fired up that my body temperature went up too much, so I think I’ll make sure to drink some water (laughs),” speaking about the intensity of the match.
An unexpected special exhibition match was also held, firing up not only the participants but the spectators as well. The entire venue came together, making it an event everyone could enjoy.
Summary: Creating an Atmosphere Everyone Can Enjoy
And with that, the “Exhibition Match with Para-esports Players,” an event that left all participants smiling, came to a close. Personally, I felt it was one of the liveliest events at Tokyo eSports Festa 2026.
A key factor behind that excitement was the way the two members of NO Motion, Yuka Kuramochi, Jeni, and NAOYA worked together to create the atmosphere in the venue. Not every visitor is familiar with the tournament culture of SF6. Recognizing that, they carefully explained the pre-match chants and how to cheer, creating a sense of unity that made it easy for anyone to join in.
At first, some audience members timidly raised their arms while anxiously thinking, “Wait, how do you do this again…?” But the cheering gradually escalated. By the end of the event, everyone was loudly enjoying themselves.
The enjoyment of diversity that esports brings
What this event made me feel was the nature of the diversity that esports offers. When people talk about esports, the idea that “anyone can enjoy it” can sometimes be treated lightly in a sense, but I want to say that precisely because anyone can enjoy it, anyone can also devote themselves to it seriously.
When you lose a competition, it is of course frustrating, and you want to keep practicing as your next step forward. Perhaps one of the appeals of esports is that you can enjoy that kind of challenge.
At this event, whether participants had disabilities or not did not matter; everyone united through the common language of SF6 and became purely absorbed in the match in front of them. This enjoyment of people coming together is perhaps the greatest appeal of esports and the shape of the future that esports will open up.
The visiting delegation, united as one
At Tokyo eSports Festa 2026, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike visited on an observation tour and also watched the “Exhibition Match with Para-esports Players.” As they watched the competitors take the matches seriously, smiles naturally spread across the delegation. It felt like a moment that suggested esports can transcend barriers such as age, gender, nationality, disability, and differences in position, allowing people to enjoy themselves together.
HAWK Gaming Group × ePARA: Building a Bridge for Barrier-Free Esports
In September 2025, ePARA signed an MOU with Hawk Gaming Group, a leading international company in the esports industry (Chairman and CEO: Prince Turki Faisal). For ePARA, examples of barrier-free esports centered on gamers with disabilities mark an important milestone in deepening collaboration with its global strategic partner, Hawk Gaming Group. In line with the ambitious goals of Saudi Vision 2030, attention is focused on how this collaboration will build a global bridge for barrier-free esports.
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The Sports General Promotion Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Sports Promotion has published an event report that includes comments from the participants.
Scenes from the “Exhibition Match with Para-esports Players” at eSports Festa 2026 can be viewed in the archive on the Sports TOKYO Information YouTube channel below.