When the Tokyo Paralympic Games came to a close on Sunday, many athletes had managed to get to the finish line, some with medals, thanks to technology from Japan’s largest firms.
Honda Motor Co.’s latest model of racing wheelchair, for example, features carbon technology that’s also used for the company’s F1 racers and jet planes. Using carbon in its key components, including the frame and wheel, the vehicles weigh just 7.9 kilograms (17.4 pounds), among the lightest in the industry.
Named "Kakeru,” or "to soar” in Japanese, the wheelchairs were created more than two decades ago by Honda Taiyo, a subsidiary that employs many workers with disabilities.