Two Years After Japan’s Anti-Disability Discrimination Law Revision, Mixed Progress on “Reasonable Accommodation”

By Barrier Free Japan

December 22 2025

OKAYAMA – Nearly two years will have passed next spring since the revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, which aims to create a society in which people with and without disabilities acknowledge one another and live together, came into force. Under the revision, the provision of “reasonable accommodation”— removing unjust discriminatory treatment within limits that do not impose an excessive burden when requested by a person with a disability— was made mandatory for private businesses as well.

The Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, enacted in 2016, prohibits refusing or restricting the provision of services on the basis of disability. It also requires administrative bodies to respond, within limits that do not impose an excessive burden in terms of cost or administrative work, when asked by a person with a disability to remove social barriers. For private businesses, which had previously only been under a “duty to make efforts,” this obligation became mandatory under the revised law that took effect in April 2024.

On December 22nd, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported some of views on The Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities from Okayama Prefecture.

In response to the revised law, Chugin Financial Group (Kita Ward, Okayama City) produced TV commercials with sign language and subtitles. The company has also moved forward with initiatives such as having all employees download “Koetra,” an app on their work smartphones that supports smooth communication with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

At the restaurant Koi no Mure (also in the city), whose customers have included people with visual impairments, the owner, Yasuhiro Tanabe (56), has prepared Braille menus and whiteboards for written communication ever since the restaurant opened in 1997. “I just wanted people with and without disabilities to enjoy their meals in the same way,” he said. “I would be happy if, with the law’s enforcement, what we’ve been doing became something taken for granted.”

On the other hand, there are also voices of dissatisfaction from those directly affected. “Just because the revised law has been enforced doesn’t mean I feel anything has particularly changed,” says a 51-year-old man who is totally blind and works as a teacher at Okayama Prefectural School for the Blind. Recently, at restaurants where orders are placed using tablets or smartphones, he tried to order verbally but was refused. He also cannot use the self-checkout machines that are increasingly common in retail stores.

“I’d like people to first show understanding toward those with visual impairments, and for all staff to be able to respond flexibly,” the man said.

A representative of the Okayama Prefectural Association for the Welfare of the Deaf said, “While we feel that there have been more cases of sign language interpreters and note-taking support being prepared for lectures and meetings following the revised law, there are also times when requests are refused due to cost. We hope a subsidy system to support the provision of reasonable accommodation will be introduced.”

There also appears to be confusion on the part of businesses. The Prefectural Center for Consultation on the Elimination of Disability Discrimination reports receiving inquiries from retailers and others asking, “What exactly should we do as ‘reasonable accommodation’?”

To examine the actual situation, the Okayama NPO Center (also in the city) is conducting a survey through the 26th of this month among people with disabilities and businesses in the prefecture. Preliminary results show that not a small number of both affected individuals and businesses are unaware of the revised law, and there are also calls from businesses for training sessions. The center says, “We want to clarify the current situation and needs, and propose concrete initiatives.”