CONCEPT
What is Shingan?
Seeing with the mind’s eye — “Shingan”
A new stage and arena for activies produced primarily by members who are completely blind. Even without sight, they enjoy games and aim higher. This project is led by visually impaired individuals with such passion, who take on challenges such as:
・Creating stages (e.g., Shingan CUP, Shingan PARTY)
・Creating functions (e.g., supervising sound accessibility)
PROJECT
What We Do
PICK UP!
Contributing to the Sound Design of Street Fighter 6
ePARA cooperated in improving sound accessibility for the fighting game Street Fighter 6, released on June 2, 2023, by Capcom Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, President & COO: Haruhiro Tsujimoto).
Street Fighter 6 with improved sound accessibility designed with ePARA Inc. to launch June 2
01Shingan CUP
An eSports tournament where players rely solely on audio cues within the game to grasp the battle situation, without depending on visual information. Past events have included both individual and team matches using the Street Fighter series.
The unique strategies that come from not being able to see — The appeal of “Shingan CUP.”
02Shingan PARTY
An eSports exchange event where participants rely solely on sound, not sight, to read the battle situation.
Report: “Shingan PARTY 2023 powered by JEXER” — A fighting game gathering without visual information
03Barrier-Free eSports School
A near-future style business training program where people with disabilities take the role of instructors, creating opportunities for interaction through games. Organized as a co-creation project within the “JR East Startup Program” in partnership with JR East Startup Co., Ltd. and JR East Sports Co., Ltd.
04Development Collaboration: “Onsen Takkyu eSports”
Released on August 1, 2025, by the welfare technology organization Tanys, the barrier-free eSports app “Onsen Takkyu eSports” was developed with cooperation from members of the “Breakthrough Course,” a vocational transition support program for the visually impaired operated by Harumokea, an ePARA group company. In addition, members of ePARA VOICE, an audio production service by and for the visually impaired, provided some of the character voices.
05ePARAVoice
Japan’s first audio production service established by visually impaired individuals who also work as voice actors and narrators.
Narrators from ePARA Voice provided the audio guide for a Netflix comedy series.
06Blind eSports Research Project
In collaboration with Professors Junji Onishi and Masatsugu Sakajiri, Assistant Professor Masaki Matsuo, and Visiting Researcher Takahiro Miura from Tsukuba University of Technology, ePARA is conducting research to expand the possibilities of eSports without visual information (Blind eSports) and to improve accessibility.
Launch of the ePARA × Tsukuba University of Technology “Blind eSports Research Project.”
Joint Research Project Activity Report 2023.
Awarded “Best Paper” at the Japan Social Innovation Society.
MeSSAGE
Messages from Members
Naoya
Shingan is a platform to expand opportunities for people with visual impairments to shine. Beyond games and eSports, visually impaired people are at the forefront in areas such as character voices and research. With the hope that “visually impaired people and their supporters will not limit possibilities,” we will continue not only refining existing projects but also pioneering new opportunities.
Misato
I feel that Shingan is an initiative that expands the potential of people with visual impairments through games. Personally, watching the live broadcast of the very first “Shingan CUP,” which preceded this project, was my first chance to see senior players with visual impairments thrive. That experience gave me the courage to believe in my own potential and take new steps forward. Through Shingan, I want to continue working with all my effort so that more people can expand their worlds and take on challenges in their own way.