Japan is set to make its debut in the blind football contest at this year's Paralympics, with Kawamura claiming the delay to the Games gave the team more time to prepare. 

The Paralympics were rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now set to take place from August 24 to September 5 2021. 

"With the extra time we can raise our level even more to mount a stronger challenge at the Games, and I’m thrilled about it," said Kawamura, according to Japan Times. 

"We’ve hoped to use the extended period of time effectively."

Kawamura also highlighted the personal benefits of the postponement. 

"I feel like my body core has gotten stronger and I’ve gained flexibility in my left leg," he said. 

"So I feel like the period wasn’t a waste for me and that I’m at my best physically right now."

Japan automatically qualified for the blind football contest at Tokyo 2020 as hosts. 

The country is set to face defending champions Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, China, Thailand and Morocco at the Aomi Urban Sports Venue.

Para track and field athlete Atsushi Yamamoto also discussed the postponement of the Games and claimed he had expected it as the global health crisis worsened. 

"I was told that an international tournament in Dubai where I was going to compete had been cancelled while I was travelling there," he said.

"Having already gone through something like that before the Games were postponed and looking at the situation, I thought we just had to accept it."

Japan's Yamamoto, a long jump silver medallist at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016, revealed the difficulties of finding somewhere to train after his facilities in Osaka were shut during the peak of the pandemic. 

"I was using different facilities that were available," he said.

"We practiced at different places every time.

"We searched for facilities that could be available the following day and made phone calls.

"I train with two others and we’d say, 'we can probably use here tomorrow,' while looking at Google Maps."

Preparations for the Paralympics are continuing but there are still doubts over whether the Games can be staged. 

These concerns have deepened due to a new variant of coronavirus which is thought to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible. 

Japan has detected the variant and is on the cusp of entering a state of emergency after reporting a record number of daily cases.