Japanese model with Down syndrome fulfills dream; walks in Paris show

Excellent.

Every girl can grow up to be a princess. This woman is proof.

Well done Nao!

A nice story to start the day off. Good for you Nao! Show them you can do anything.

It would have been more positive to have seen this in Japan where disabilities don’t seem to be as accepted as in western countries.

She is very gorgeous, and I am so glad her dream came to fruition.

Good for her. My dreams were not so fortunate.

I actually teared up myself while reading this. So happy for Nao.

All power to this young lady.

Forget about her having down syndrome. She is the perfect model for that dress and she gave justice to it. I don't think that a typical long-legged/skinny model would have done the same job as Nao.

Nice. Lots of Down’s people working service jobs in Tokyo. Good to see.

Nothing can stop our dreams.

Great story JT. We need more articles like this among the usual gloom and doom.

Well done and good for Nao!

As someone who has a cousin that has down syndrome, this is very inspiring. I'm going to ask her if she wants to do something similar one day.

Good to see more people with Down syndrome achieving acting and modeling roles.

Having known several people with Down syndrome has led me to truly believe that our planet would be in better shape with them as world leaders. Honest, incorruptible, a gift to humanity.

Great day for her. I hope she keeps getting more and more opportunities to live out her dream.

But by the looks of the picture it was more like a walk in front of a few close friends instead of the glamourous runway at major events.

She looks great! Love that smile!

Good for her!

Probably anybody that is close with a person with Down syndrome can understand how huge this achievement is, there are a lot of disadvantages that people like her have to surpass to be able to do this,

She has complications of the heart and esophagus and has undergone over 40 surgeries.

inspiring that she still have the strength to follow her dreams.

We often hear that Japan is not the best place for those with disabilities.

But I have noticed (at least in the greater Tokyo area) that people with down syndrome are far more visible and often more independent!

In my country they are treated as "special" meaning special transportation services, special schools, social workers overseeing theirs and their guardian, etc...

But here we see on a near daily basis people with down syndrome taking public transportation on their own, having jobs, going to and from those jobs and or school without supervision.

My friend's daughter would go on her own daily to a vocational school by bus and subway, then she got a job and again manages everything daily on her own.

She wanted to move out on her own but instead her parents built her an apartment on the first floor of their house.

Her father was surprised, she managed her own utilities, got her own cellphone, bought her own furniture and has a group of friends that she goes out with and none have down syndrome, regular coworkers and former classmates.

Even her own family were surprised at how much she is able to do on her own and how society has been towards her with non disabled coworkers and non disabled classmates just accepting her for who she is!

But come-on look at Nao, she looks beautiful and look at her face look at that smile, you can't help but smile right back!

Nice. Well done. Life is a precious gift.

Good for her - she has overcome great odds and is living her dream!

Down's Syndrome sufferers in Japan - and those with other disabilities like autism - certainly have a world of opportunities. In a place where I lived in Tohoku, the disabled ran a bakery and baked the most delicious breads and cookies. Many others with sight impairments work as professional masseuses and masseurs.

A perfect dress for the very soon beginning Cherry Blossom Season. Enjoy Paris!

Much respect to her hard work and perseverance to make her dream come true.

She also already set a new goal which is great to continue the progress.

Nice. Lots of Down’s people working service jobs in Tokyo. Good to see.

My post. 1 thumbs down. Whether up or down I don’t care, but in this case - the story of a young lady with Down’s - I am curious. I suspect it was an automatic “down” when my JT handle was seen. I leave it there as I don’t wish to tax the moderator’s judgement.

Nao Saito "Down syndrome" is a disability, Ok

However, for Nao, a door to making her dream come true as she walked down the runway in a glamorous kimono-inspired dress.

And I hope more.

The trip to Paris began taking shape in January when Nao was invited to appear in Mughal's show through Makoto Okubo, who runs a group promoting U.N. sustainable development goals via music.

What is truly inspiring is through self determination, sometime painful arduous hard graft, Nao carved well disserved recognition.

The world is Nao oyster

Wonderful story, Nao's picture made me cry.