Overview
- The Ministry of Education announced the appointment on September 19, with Kawai to take office on October 1 as Koji Murofushi departs on September 30 at the end of his term.
- NHK reports a two-year term for Kawai under rules that cap private-sector appointees at five years.
- Kawai will be the first commissioner drawn from the Paralympic community, following predecessors Daichi Suzuki and Koji Murofushi, both Olympic gold medalists.
- As Japan Paralympic Committee chair since 2020, he led Japan's delegations at the Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022 Paralympics.
- The Shizuoka-born 50-year-old won 21 Paralympic medals, including five golds, and was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2016.