The training camp, which is being held at a facility in Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture, at an altitude of 1,750 meters, includes seven athletes who have been selected to represent Japan in the para-athletics class for intellectual disabilities.
The Japanese government has decided to improve the provision of information on noninvasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT), which examines pregnant women’s blood to determine the risk of chromosomal abnormalities in fetuses.
The decision has come about due to factors including births at advanced maternal ages driving up need for testing, but concern is growing among people with Down syndrome and their families that depending on how the information is conveyed, it could lead to “selection of life” practices and perpetuate prejudice.
On 28 May, the revised Disability Discrimination Act was unanimously passed by the House of Councillors at a plenary session, requiring private companies to provide “reasonable accommodation” to support the mobility and communication of people with disabilities. The government will now consider the fundamental policy based on the revised law and make a cabinet decision.
Visually impaired people in Japan are struggling to book COVID-19 vaccinations, as they are often unable to recognize promptly the arrival of a vaccination voucher.
COVID-19 vaccinations for residents of Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures aged 65 or over began Monday at the Osaka mass vaccination site operated by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, a move that brought the number of prefectures covered by SDF-run vaccination venues to seven.
The trial in a murder case in which an elderly mother, who lived alone with her daughter who had a severe intellectual disability, will begin at the Tsu District Court on June 7th.
While basic costs for dealing with the novel coronavirus are being subsidized by the government, additional measures required to ensure safe transportation and accommodation of disabled athletes are not.
A deaf man, 33, living in Nagoya City, who was infected with the new coronavirus and requested hotel treatment, was rejected by Aichi Prefecture, saying it was difficult for him to communicate by telephone. The ‘All Japan Federation of the Deaf’ submitted a request for improvement to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the ministry will consider asking local governments not to exclude hearing-impaired people from hotel treatment.
Performed by actors with disabilities from Japan, Britain and Bangladesh, the play is being staged in Higashi-Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The work, created by overcoming the “tempests” of disability, language and distance, conveys the importance of accepting each other’s differences and living together.
“Sports venues are places where people with and without disabilities can come together and enjoy [an event],” Yukishita said. “I want the Games to be the catalyst to bring about change, so people with disabilities will feel more comfortable going out more often.”
Barrier Free Japan