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True Colors DANCE

True Colors CHANNEL #9

#9 "TBH, I don’t want my visual disability to be known" Featuring Blind Judo Haruka Hirose and Junko Hirose

After competing in the Inter-Highs, Haruka’s eyesight deteriorated due to glaucoma.When Junko was a college student, she lost most of her vision due to complications from adult Still’s disease, an incurable disease of unknown cause.
Haruka and Jyunko turned to blind judo and married in 2015.
However, it is difficult for them to see timetables at train stations or price tags at supermarkets.The fact that both couples are visually impaired makes it difficult for them to obtain life insurance and mortgages.
Frankly, “we don’t want others to know we are blind” The couple says they have been “happy every day for seven years.The two talk about their partnership with MC Hikaru Takahashi and navigator Yuji.

Guests: Haruka Hirose and Junko Hirose

  1. At the age of 17, Haruka Hirose suffered from glaucoma, which impaired his vision, and he later turned to Blind Judo. Junko Hirose was suffering from adult Still's disease, a type of collagen disease, in her first year of college. The complications caused her to lose her eyesight, and she later turned to Blind Judo.They participated in the Rio Paralympics and the Tokyo Paralympics together. Junko won Japan's first bronze medal in women's Paralympic Judo at the Rio Games. Today, they continue to work together in judo.

    Haruka Hirose's Twitter
    Instagram

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Navigator: Yuji

  1. Yuji, originally from Miami U.S.A., is currently active as a model, actor, and TV celebrity. He is also recognized as a graphic designer and has worked on designs for CD covers, collaboration items with major corporations, and various other projects.

    Official site
    Twitter
    Instagram

MC: Hikaru Takahashi

  1. In 2014, Takahashi won the Grand Prix for the 14th Japan Bishojo Content which led to her debut and immediate success through staring in various corporate commercials. Since then, she has appeared in numerous acclaimed works such as NHK Taiga Drama Onna Joushu Naotora (2017). Other than working as an actor, Takahashi has been active in a variety of fields including radio, television, and fashion.

    Official site
    Instagram
    YouTube

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TCF is a long-running international festival of performing arts. We celebrate diversity and inclusion, and embrace the fact that we are One World, One Family. We choose the arts as our platform, for its power to move, inspire and heal.

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“One World, One Family” – what does it actually mean?

By True Colors Festival Team

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