Disability News Japan Podcast: The Shog-A.I. Shimbun #10: Aeon Cinema Chain Apologizes Over Access Debacle

By Barrier Free Japan

March 25 2024

TOKYO – An incident took place at an Aeon cinema in Tokyo, which is regularly used by Ryoko Nakajima, a wheelchair-using woman. TBS reported that: “The woman watched the movie not from the wheelchair-only space, but from a reclining seat with four steps.” When Ryoko Nakajima posted about this incident on social media, in which she said she would be refused admission to the cinema next time, it went viral. 

The day after Nakajima made the post, Aeon Entertainment, which operates the cinema chain, issued an apology:

“It has come to our attention that an Aeon Entertainment employee made an inappropriate comment to a customer while assisting the customer to move to another location after the customer had finished watching a movie. We regret the incident and believe that it was caused by a lack of guidance to our employees.”

Episode Notes: 

‘(Update) Wheelchair User Denied Accessible Space at Tokyo Cinema, Aeon Cinema Company Apologizes and Social Media Responds’: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2024/03/22/update-wheelchair-user-denied-accessible-space-at-tokyo-cinema-aeon-cinema-company-apologizes-and-social-media-responds/