Kondo, now 86 years old, competed in archery and wheelchair basketball at the Tokyo 1964 Games.

Suzaki, a four-sport Paralympian, specialised in athletics and swimming.

Both said the first Games to be held in Tokyo helped to change attitudes towards disability in Japan, but now see the upcoming Paralympics - scheduled to start on Tuesday (August 24) and finish on September 5 - as a chance to improve accessibility for all.

"The sporting role models changed societal attitudes toward disability," Kondo told Kyodo News when asked about Tokyo 1964.

Following the Paralympics, Kondo started a local government job, where he was involved in disability-specific services and the creation of barrier-free infrastructure for over 40 years.

"I hope these Paralympics spur accessibility improvements, not just to make society better for people with disabilities, but for all people," said Kondo.

Suzaki called the 1964 Games "the starting point of my life", after injuring his spinal cord in a motorcycle accident when he was 20.

"The Paralympics are where the flower of my life blossomed," he said.

Despite disabled people being steered away from work at the time, the Games inspired him to seek employment, landing a job in a prosthetic limb factory.

He added that he wishes to see "disabled people blending fully into mainstream society", and said he is setting an example by being part of a boccia team comprised of disabled and non-disabled players.

Accessibility guidelines were created by the Organising Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which applied to areas such as ramps, stairs, ground surfaces, reception desks, entrances and exits, doors, escalators and lifts.