“I can’t participate in TV or teleconferences.” Japan’s disabled face difficulties working from home

Written with extracts transated from The Asahi Shimbun

April 2nd 2020

OSAKA – People with disabilities are facing unexpected difficulties from working at home, A study by Osaka-based venture company Mirairo found that people could not hear and could not hold a video conference, and that the number of non-step buses was limited. Mirairo Co., Ltd. engages in consulting services for companies and local governments to propose an environment where people with disabilities can live easily.

From hearing impaired people, “I can’t participate in TV or teleconferences.” “Due to the spread of masks, it’s difficult to read lip movements and talk.” People with disabilities answered, “I can’t make a loud voice, so it’s hard to reach my voice in a video conference.” In addition, about 40% of respondents introduced telecommuting due to the spread of the new coronavirus.

As of the end of last year, there were approximately 560,000 disabled people working in private companies. Mirairo sends the survey results via e-mail magazine and SNS. We are calling on companies to consider. A spokeswoman said, “I want you to be aware of the inconvenience that people with disabilities feel and take care of as much as possible.”