While athletes will take center stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, volunteers — including people with disabilities — are expected to play a significant role in supporting spectators and others who will flock to the games.

"Please show your support until the end," Yoshihiro Muramatsu said as he handed out commemorative bags to attendees at the main entrance of a para-ekiden long-distance road relay at Tokyo's Komazawa Olympic Park in March.

Muramatsu, a first-year student at the Tsukuba University's Acupuncture and Physical Therapy Teacher Training School in Tokyo, volunteered at the event, where teams of runners and para-athlete runners passed the sash over an 18.74-kilometer course.