According to a 2021 survey conducted by the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF), Japan only has about 150 sports facilities used either exclusively or preferentially by people with a disability. This is a very small figure when set against the about 9.64 million people across the country who have a disability.
From August 30th, Lawson will install a pointing sheet at the checkout counters at all stores so that people with hearing disabilities can shop with peace of mind. It is said that this is because the staff members have also started wearing masks due to the corona crisis, making it difficult to understand what they are saying by looking at their mouths.
A Japanese law to facilitate access to and use of various information by people with disabilities has entered force. The legislation is expected to be a foothold for pushing to make information barrier-free, in addition to removing physical barriers at stations, buildings, roads, and other places.
Legislation is expected to be passed in the current parliamentary session to support persons with disabilities to obtain the same information they need in their daily lives and during disasters as able-bodied persons, with the aim of eliminating disparities. Issues have been raised regarding the acquisition of information by persons with disabilities, such as the fact that subtitles and sign language interpreters are sometimes not provided for disaster news.
A nationwide survey conducted by Kyodo News found that only less than 40% of prefectural sports facilities have conducted staff training within the past three years on how to consider and accommodate disabled persons.
The “NHK Heart Exhibition” is held annually by NHK and the National Council of Social Welfare, with the aim of realizing a society where people with and without disabilities understand each other and live together.
In order to make it easier for people with disabilities to obtain information, issues have been pointed out, such as the difficulty of people with visual or hearing impairments to quickly grasp the occurrence of disasters, and the difficulty of people with intellectual disabilities to understand information displays in public facilities.
On February 10th, the Oita District Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by three wheelchair users in Oita City who claimed that they suffered from restrictions on their freedom of movement due to JR Kyushu’s decision to make its stations unmanned. The plaintiffs presented their views on JR Kyushu’s decision to make four new stations in the prefecture unmanned, and appealed to the court to “take a sincere look at its role as a public transportation system once again.
Mobility as a Service, or MaaS is an emerging type of service that, through an app or other type of digital service or software, enables users to plan, book, and pay for multiple types of mobility services.
Hyogo Prefecture has become the first prefecture in Japan to use a new guidance system for the blind and visually impaired whereby the colour of traffic lights can be detected via a smartphone.
Barrier Free Japan