Disability News Japan Episode 79: Toyota’s Driverless Bus Restarts in Paralympic Village After Injury and Aghanistan’s Paralympians Compete

Episode Information:

Toyota Motor Corp. started running its driverless buses again in the athletes’ village in Tokyo on Tuesday 31st August with improved safety measures after they have been stopped since an accident last week involving a visually impaired Paralympian.

The suspension was made after one of Toyota’s e-Palette autonomous electric buses hit a Paralympian, Japanese judoka Aramitsu Kitazono, who was trying to cross an intersection in the village, around 2 p.m. on Thursday.

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2021/08/30/toyota-self-driving-buses-in-paralympic-village-to-restart-on-august-31-toyota-ceo-apologizes-for-overcofidence-in-the-technology/

Afghan athlete Hossain Rasouli competed in a long jump event on Tuesday at the Tokyo Paralympics after recently being evacuated from his home country, now under the control of the Taliban.

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2021/08/31/evacuated-afghan-athlete-hossain-rasouli-makes-debut-at-tokyo-2020-paralympics/