Barrier Free Japan feels a little bit under the weather, but here is a digest of recent news stories. The Osaka High Court allowed a hearing impaired person to use Speech-to-Text technology, Carers will receive wage hikes and COVID cases are increasing.
On the 10th, three staff members from the Prefectural Center for the Hearing Impaired drove around the homes of hearing-impaired people living in the city, where a seismic intensity of 6-low was observed in the earthquake on the 8th. The staff members used sign language to ask about damage caused by the earthquake and their concerns. Mitsuhira Kazuo, director of the Prefectural Center for the Deaf, who conducted the survey, said, “We don’t know when the next big earthquake will occur, so we went there to listen in detail. We would like to hear the honest feelings of disabled people in other areas of the prefecture as well.”
On the 10th, three staff members from the Prefectural Center for the Hearing Impaired drove around the homes of hearing-impaired people living in the city, where a seismic intensity of 6-low was observed in the earthquake on the 8th.
The staff members used sign language to ask about damage caused by the earthquake and their concerns. Mitsuhira Kazuo, director of the Prefectural Center for the Deaf, who conducted the survey, said, “We don’t know when the next big earthquake will occur, so we went there to listen in detail. We would like to hear the honest feelings of disabled people in other areas of the prefecture as well.”
At some branches of 7-11, as you walk up to pay, you might see this mat, stuck to the counter. The mat has images with writing underneath, the writing is in Japanese & English and below the images it reads: ‘Buy Coffee’, ‘Buy Plastic Bag’, ‘Chopsticks’, ‘Fork’, ‘Spoon’, ‘Warm Up Microwave’, ‘Yes’ & ‘No’.
The mat is intended to help people with difficulties communicating, especially d/Deaf people and people with hearing impairments, when attempting to tell the 7-11 staff what they want to buy.
A survey conducted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) research team found that approximately 1% of children have symptoms of “listening difficulties” – (LiD) – such as inability to hear or frequent mishearing, even though hearing tests show no abnormalities. This is the first large-scale epidemiological study in Japan, and the paper was published in an international journal.
The Mie Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, which provides support for the hearing impaired and trains sign language interpreters, announced that someone had gained unauthorized access to a staff member’s computer, possibly leaking the names, addresses, and other personal information of about 1,200 people, including the hearing impaired and sign language interpreters, to outside parties.
The Mie Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, which provides support for the hearing impaired and trains sign language interpreters, announced that someone had gained unauthorized access to a staff member’s computer, possibly leaking the names, addresses, and other personal information of about 1,200 people, including the hearing impaired and sign language interpreters, to outside parties.
Jiji Press Ltd. and seven partners on Wednesday signed a declaration of cooperation to prevent social isolation for elderly and other people with hearing loss.
The partners will disseminate information on cases where new technologies, such as cartilage conduction earphones, are in practical use, aiming to promote support for those people.
In ongoing hearings for a damages lawsuit after a girl with impaired hearing was killed in a traffic accident in 2018, estimating lost wages have become a key point of contention.
At Osaka District Court, the family of the deceased girl, Ayuka Ide, who was 11 years old at the time of the accident, have pressed for her to be treated equally to people without disabilities.
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.
Barrier Free Japan