COVER N.38 - Japan

Postmark:  - Shinjuku Tokyo 24AUG21
Posted on the 24th August; received on the 9th September. 
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On the last 24th August, the beautiful hydrogen fuelled cauldron at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo was set alight by three paralympic athletes - wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji, boccia player Shunsuke Uchida and powerlifter Karin Morisaki -  in what was the closing act of the inauguration of the 16th Paralympic Games, an event that since 1960 (with a few interruptions) has been running alongside the summer Olympics, proving that Citius, Altius, Fortius is a truly inclusive motto and that achievement is a question of character and will, no matter what hurdles one has to overcome.

Officially designated Tokyo 2020, the games were held in 2021, from 24 August to 5 September, sadly on empty venues, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To celebrate the Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, and especially the torch relays of both, Japan Post issued two 84 Yen stamps in se-tenant format on 10MAR2020. These stamps as far as I could investigate are only available as part of a minisheet with 5 pairs of the two stamps.

Ban-no kindly sent me a super cover graced with a special card also issued by the Japanese Post to celebrate the inauguration of the games. Thank you so much Ban-no

The card, also highlighting the paralympic torch relay, contains the paralympic stamp as well as  a special cancellation mark (first day of issue, I presume) illustrated with an image of  Someity, the games mascot.

The stamp contains an image of the elegant torch used in the relays that were organised in several locations in Japan and was also set alight in England in the village of  Stoke Mandeville on 19 August, birthplace of the games that were to be later called the paralympic games.

The regular cancellation mark tells us that the cover was sent from Shinjuku - Tokyo.