A national meeting to discuss “inclusive education,” where children learn together regardless of disabilities, was held in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido on October 5th and 6th. Children with disabilities and their guardians shared their experiences and talked about necessary considerations for entrance examinations and school life.
Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, unanimously passed a bill on Monday to compensate victims of forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law. The bill is expected to be enacted on Tuesday after approval by the House of Councillors, the upper chamber. It calls for compensation of 15 million yen each for victims and 5 million yen for their spouses, as well as a lump-sum payment of 2 million yen to those forced to have abortions. If victims and their spouses are already deceased, the bill allows their bereaved families to seek compensation.
The number of people aged 65 and over in Japan with no close relatives is expected to grow about 1.5 times in 2050 to make up over 10 percent of the elderly population, estimates by a research firm have found.
A startup backed by Honda Motor Co. has launched a shoe-mounted vibration device to help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings.
Paired with a smartphone app, the device developed by Ashirase wraps around the foot and sends prompts by vibration. It contains a motion sensor to detect the user’s position and signal a turn at the appropriate time.
Toyota has served as a highest-ranking sponsor under a 10-year contract starting in 2015. The company has provided vehicles for officials and athletes at five Summer and Winter Games during that period. According to officials, Toyota has paid approximately 200 billion yen ($1.4 billion) to the IOC.The automaker intends to continue providing direct support to athletes and equipment for sports for the disabled even after the sponsorship agreement ends, Toyoda said.
According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, only 50.1% of companies achieved the legal employment rate for people with disabilities of 2.3% in 2023. The legal employment rate for private companies was raised to 2.5% in April 2024, and is scheduled to be further raised to 2.7% in July 2026.
COVID-19 routine vaccinations, mainly for people aged 65 or older, began in Japan on Tuesday in a program running until March 31 next year.
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.
The statutory employment rate for people with disabilities in Japan was raised to 2.5% in April 2024, and a policy has been announced to make it 2.7% in fiscal 2026. UNIQLO’s parent company, ‘Fast Retailing’ employs 1,167 people, saying it has set a goal of “employing at least one person with disabilities per store.”
There is one week to go until the release of ‘Mark – A Call to Action’ on October 8th 2024! Mark Bookman was a historian, whose specialism was disability policy and related social movements in Japanese and global contexts. He studied Japanese Studies at University of Pennsylvania, and at the time of his death on December 16th 2022 he was Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Tokyo. The film is directed by Ron Small.
Barrier Free Japan