Petition to Remove ‘Caregiver Accompanying’ Requirement for Disabled Discount on Railways in Japan Submitted with Over 30,000 Signatures

By Barrier Free Japan with extracts from The Tokyo Shimbun

October 27 2023

TOKYO – Disability rights groups in Japan have been petitioning for better access to the country’s rail system, specifically demanding improvements to the current system that prevents disabled people from receiving discounts when riding alone on trains if the distance is less than 100 kilometers.

Approximately 30,000 signatures were collected online. The petitioners, including Moritaka Aiba, 38, a disabled person who lives in Tama Ward, Kawasaki City, handed the signatures to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism at the upper house of the Diet in Nagatacho, Tokyo, on October 27th.

Discounts for the disabled on railroads are determined by each company, such as half-price fares for both the disabled person and his/her caregiver. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) has stated that “the system was introduced by the former Japanese National Railways in 1952, but the details are not clear” as to the reason for the 100-kilometer limit.

The Tokyo Shimbun reported that, this spring, IC cards that allow passengers to pass through automatic ticket gates while receiving discounts for the disabled began operating. However, “I was told by a station attendant that I needed to purchase an IC card together with a set for a caregiver. I felt that the system itself was outdated in that it required a caregiver,” said one traveler with a disability.

The online petition: オンライン署名は「change.org」のウェブサイトで当面の間、継続する。（梅野光春）