On the morning of the 12th, a woman in her 80s was found collapsed with her neck trapped near the handrail of an escalator at a supermarket in Nishitokyo City, Tokyo, and was taken to the hospital, but later died. The woman was using a shopping cart, and the Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating the details of the incident.
Hiroshi Tamon, a deaf Japanese civil rights lawyer, was elected Tuesday to serve as an independent expert on the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
“I’m feeling very happy that I won, however burdened with this very large undertaking,” Tamon, 57, told Kyodo News after the vote through a sign language interpreter.
A group representing people with disabilities has pointed out that the location of the new parking lot “hinders the use of the platform and increases danger,” and is calling for improvements. JR West Japan Chugoku Headquarters, based in Higashi-ku, which set up the parking lot, has reflected that “information sharing with the groups was not done well,” and will continue to monitor usage.
“But another Kobe resident in her 50s said that the city was “divided in some parts,” while also lamenting that attendance could have been better. She came to see the tournament with her husband and daughter, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound.”
Some people with disabilities who use wheelchairs find ‘wheelchair-bound’ to be offensive and prefer the term ‘wheelchair user’. Barrier Free Japan sometimes gets comments and posts on social media about this issue.
“In Japan, the idea of a right to move is missing. It is not a problem only for people with disabilities. In rural areas, public transportation declines for business reasons and elderly people who cannot drive a car are inconvenienced”
“There may be cases where businesses cannot fully accommodate the desires of people with disabilities. In such instances, it’s worth considering mechanisms to facilitate dialogue and compromise between the parties involved.”
A man has died following an accident involving his suit jacket getting caught in an escalator at a station in Ibaraki Prefecture, police said Wednesday 27th March.
As spring and the next fiscal year arrives, some changes and new policies that may affect the elderly and people with disabilities in Japan will be rolled out. Public subsidies related to the coronavirus will change, limits on overtime for doctors will be imposed and backed by penalties. Fees paid to nursing care providers will go up 1.59% overall and the revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities will come into effect.
The Japanese government has raised the legally required ratio of employees with disabilities in the private sector to 2.5 percent or higher starting on April 1. The labor and welfare ministry says the number of people with disabilities working at private firms has been on an upward trend. It estimates the figure to be more than 1.1 million as of June 2023.
In order to not impose excessive burdens on companies, they are now required to take necessary measures only if the accommodations fall within the scope of normal operations.
Barrier Free Japan