Category: Barrier Free

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 24, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Employment Japan

41% of companies fail to meet legal employment rate for people with disabilities in Wakayama

As of June last year (2024), the employment rate of people with disabilities at companies in the prefecture was 2.78% on average, the highest ever, while 41% of the target companies did not meet the statutory employment rate set by the national government. The Wakayama Labor Bureau stated, “There are companies that do not fully understand or prepare for the system, and we would like to continue to support them.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Deaf Hearing Impaired Japan

(Update) In Legal First, Court Awards ¥43 million ‘Lost Earning’ to Parents of Hearing Impaired Daughter

The court ordered the payment of about ¥43 million (around $227,000), equivalent to that of a nondisabled person, stating that there was “no reason to reduce the amount from the average of all workers” on lost earnings that the victim would have been able to earn in the future. The family had sought ¥61 million.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 10, 2025 1
Barrier Free Disability Japan Media NHK

NHK’s Disability TV Show “Baribara” to End in March after 15 years on Air [Podcast Episode]

On January 7th, it was announced on the official website that NHK Educational TV’s barrier-free variety show “Baribara” (broadcast on Thursdays 8pm) will end in March.
The production team of the show announced, “Baribara, which has been broadcast with the aim of eliminating ‘barriers’ for ‘all minorities who have difficulty living’, will end in March this year.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 4, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Employment Japan Railway Company

As Employment of Disabled Reaches Record High in Japan, JR Subsidiary Seeks to Ensure Disabled have Contact with Customers

As JR East promoted the employment of people with disabilities, they realized that many workplaces had no contact with the outside world. So, starting in the summer of 2023, JR East decided to have people with disabilities serve customers in a food truck. In December 2024, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s Tokyo Labor Bureau released the results of a survey on the employment status of people with disabilities. The number of people with disabilities employed by private companies reached a record high of 251,901 (a 5.3% increase from the previous year). Meanwhile, 17,369 companies in Tokyo have not met the legal employment rate, and of these, 9,785 companies do not employ any people with disabilities.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 29, 2024 2
Barrier Free Deaf Disability Imperial Family Japan

Japan Federation of the Deaf Employee Princess Kako Turns 30

Japanese Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, turned 30 on Sunday. As an adult member of the Imperial Family, Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad this year, while working twice a week since April at the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, which she joined as a part-time employee in 2021.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 20, 2024 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Employment Japan Podcast

Large Number of People with Disabilities in Japan ‘let go’ from Workplaces as Government-aided Employers Close Down [Podcast Episode]

large number of people with disabilities are being let go from workplaces in Japan as government-aided employers which offered them chances to gain skills and knowledge while working have been closing down. Formerly, there were about 4,600 such facilities nationwide. Between March and July this year, this was reduced by more than 160, and around 4,300 people lost their jobs. Usually, between around 1,000 and 3,000 people with disabilities are fired each year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 14, 2024 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Japan LGBT Relationships

Japan high court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

The Fukuoka High Court on Friday became the third high court in Japan to rule the country’s lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss plaintiffs’ claim for damages. In the ruling, the court judged for the first time that civil law provisions not allowing same-sex marriage violated Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to the pursuit of happiness. The court also said the ban violates sections of the Constitution that guarantee equality under the law and upholds individual dignity and the essential equality of both sexes. “There is no longer any reason to not legally recognize marriage between same-sex couples,” Presiding Judge Takeshi Okada said.