Tokyo Woman Working to Help Disabled People Get Jobs

From Jiji

June 14 2025

TOKYO – A 39-year-old woman in Tokyo has been working to help disabled people get jobs in an effort to create a society that recognizes the value of all people. 

In May 2018, Rie Usui, who now runs a talent agency for disabled people, welcomed a young woman in a wheelchair to her home doubling as a nail salon.

The woman had complained that there were no barrier-free nail salons that accommodated wheelchair users, and no schools offering nail design courses to people with disabilities.

Springing into action, Usui started hosting nail design lessons in Tokyo twice a month for people with disabilities on a voluntary basis. In August 2020, she founded her company, Accessibeauty, to train such people to become nail technicians.

Usui tried to offer online courses, but she ultimately abandoned the idea mainly due to issues with tuition fees.