Awards ceremony held for businesses in Yamanashi Prefecture proactive in hiring people with disabilities

From NHK

September 30 2024

Kofu City,Yamanashi Pref –  In order to raise interest and understanding in hiring people with disabilities, Yamanashi prefecture and other organizations are awarding businesses that are proactively hiring and exemplary people who have worked there for many years in line with “Disability Employment Support Month” in September.

This year’s awards ceremony was held at the prefectural office on the 30th, and six of the seven people selected as outstanding workers, including Ryo Fukazawa and Shun Sakata from Kofu City and Satoshi Ichikawa from Kai City, were presented with certificates of commendation and commemorative gifts by officials from the prefecture and other organizations.

Of these, Fukazawa, who received the Governor’s Award, is a hearing-impaired person who has worked at a machine manufacturer in Showa-cho for over 10 years, and has been working to create an environment where other people with disabilities can work comfortably, such as teaching sign language to his colleagues on the side.

In response to the award, Fukazawa said in sign language, “I have been able to work this far thanks to the company. I would like to continue to work hard to gain understanding for people with disabilities.”

Also selected as an excellent workplace was JIT in Minami Alps City, which employs five disabled people and has been working to improve its consultation system and working environment to eliminate their concerns.

JIT President Kotaro Ishizaka said, “We want to continue to create a workplace environment where there are no barriers between able-bodied people and people with disabilities.”

According to the Yamanashi Labor Bureau, as of June last year, there were more than 2,100 disabled people working at private companies in the prefecture, the highest number in 11 consecutive years.