A survey conducted by the Japan Guide Dog Association revealed that the spread of the new coronavirus has also caused problems in the lives of visually impaired people who use guide dogs. The plight of people with disabilities who find it inconvenient to wear a mask or to keep a distance from people has become clear.
Mitsunobu Yoshimoto had a disability certificate for an eye disease, and Yoshimoto’s white cane has been found on the scene. There is no barrier on the platform at the station to prevent someone from falling, and the camera that was installed showed that Yoshimoto stepped off and fell onto the track. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the cause of Mr. Yoshimoto’s fall.
A man was served with a fresh arrest warrant on June 10 on suspicion of secretly filming visually impaired women in their houses in the capital, police said.
As campuses shut and an increasing number of schools offer classes via the internet amid the coronavirus epidemic, a team of university professors has launched a website called ‘Accessible Online Lectures for Students with Visual Impairments’ to support online teaching for students with visual impairments.
Participants walk through a temple wearing eye masks for a simulated experience of being blind, including having to make better use of the senses of hearing and smell.
In the early morning of January 11, a 53-year-old visually impaired man fell off his platform at JR Nippori Station in Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, and was killed by a train.
“A railway company renovated a Braille block, in response to an accident in which a visually impaired woman fell and died at a station…The Keisei Electric Railway said, “We will continue to work on safety measures in response to this painful accident.” ”
“Since October began, two blind people have died at a railway stations in Japan.”
“A woman apparently carrying a white cane was hit by a train and killed at Tateishi Station on the Keisei Oshiage Line on the morning of Oct. 1.”
“The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee for 2010 did not create Braille materials explaining how to purchase tickets for the tournament or a CD that provides necessary information by voice. A disability organization argues that it is “in violation of the guidelines for ‘barrier-free’ set by the organizing committee.” ”
