On Sunday, September 21, 2025, “HACHIMANTAI 8 FIGHTS 25,” held at Appi Kogen Ski Resort in Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture, featured a stage presentation ahead of the launch of theJapan-Saudi Arabia cultural exchange project “ePARA × Saudi Vision 2030,” along with a barrier-free esports experience session centered on “Shingan,” which is played without relying on visual information.

ePARA × Saudi Vision 2030 Presentation at HACHIMANTAI 8 FIGHTS 25

First, ePARA representative Daiki Kato announced the launch of the Japan-Saudi Arabia cultural exchange project “ePARA × Saudi Vision 2030.”Together with blind esports player NAOYA, he introduced ePARA’s future initiatives in Saudi Arabia.Kato then reported that ePARA had been selected as one of the project operators for the FY2025 Subsidy for Project Costs for Petroleum Refining Technology and Related Measures in Oil-Producing Countries, administered by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. As a major development stemming from this, he also announced that ePARA planned to sign an MOU with “Hawk Gaming Group,” whose Chairman and CEO is Prince Turki Faisal. According to ePARA, the MOU was scheduled to be signed at the MOU signing ceremony at the “Japan-Saudi EXPO Investment Forum” to be held on September 24 at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai venue.

He also announced that on Friday, October 10, he will appear on the Atrium Stage of the “H.C.R.2025 The 52nd International Welfare Equipment Exhibition & Forum,” to be held in the West and South Exhibition Halls of Tokyo Big Sight, and give a talk titled “Barrier-Free Esports Today: People with Disabilities Active on the Global Stage.”

Finally, he said that as part of its Saudi Arabia-related projects, ePARA plans to actively pursue film production, the launch of a dedicated website and social media accounts, barrier-free esports schools, and barrier-free esports experience sessions.

Photograph: Kato Daiki in a white thobe stands at center stage holding a microphone, with a presentation slide displayed behind. NAOYA sits in a wheelchair to the right, wearing an ePARA uniform. HACHIMANTAI 8 FIGHTS banners line the front of the stage.

ePARA × Saudi Vision 2030 Barrier-Free Esports Experience Session at HACHIMANTAI 8 FIGHTS 25

At the barrier-free esports experience session, the “Shingan” project, a key initiative for promoting barrier-free esports in Saudi Arabia, was introduced, and a match event was also held in which participants wore blindfolds and experienced “Shingan” by playing Street Fighter 6 against blind player NAOYA. Many players experienced “Shingan” for the first time, playing hesitantly at first and relying only on sound rather than visual information, and they also voiced their surprise at NAOYA’s play as, despite being totally blind, he repeatedly defeated sighted players.

Photograph: A blindfolded participant sits at a table in the Shingan booth, playing a game with a controller against NAOYA. A large black banner with the Shingan calligraphy logo hangs on the back wall.

Saudi Arabia has positioned esports as a national strategy under Saudi Vision 2030. By implementing in Saudi Arabia the barrier-free projects it has been working on to date, including “Shingan,” ePARA aims to promote barrier-free esports that people can participate in regardless of age, gender, time, place, or disability status, and to create an environment in which everyone can take pride in their individuality and shine through esports.

Photograph: Two black banners displayed on a wall — the left reading "Shingan" in Japanese calligraphy with "Road to Saudi 2030" below, the right showing the same design. An information panel titled "SHINGAN, Defined" and the ePARA logo are posted to the right.