The new block “is designed in a way that makes it easy for people with visual impairment to recognize (boundaries between roads and pavements) while making it easy for wheelchair users to get past them,” said Satoshi Hano, associate professor at Kyushu University specializing in public space design, who led the development.
A disability rights group has submitted over 23,000 signatures to JR Kyushu, urging an investigation and stronger safety measures following the death of a visually impaired woman at Tsukumi Station in Ōita Prefecture three years ago. The woman was struck by a limited express train during unstaffed hours in December 2022. The group, comprising people with visual and physical disabilities, also delivered a written statement reflecting concerns from visually impaired passengers. During a meeting at JR Kyushu’s Ōita branch, members called for clear rescue protocols for falls from platforms. Co-representative lawyer Yasuyuki Tokuda urged JR to take the voices of disabled passengers seriously.
A lawsuit challenging JR Kyushu’s move to make stations in Oita Prefecture unstaffed has intensified after plaintiffs, including people with disabilities, criticized the company for failing to fully investigate the 2022 death of a visually impaired elderly woman hit by a train at Tsukumi Station. At a briefing on August 11, they argued that unstaffing compromises passenger safety, with supporters submitting a petition of more than 23,000 signatures calling for stronger safety measures. JR Kyushu maintains that operational decisions are influenced by profitability, but plaintiffs insist that preventing passenger deaths must remain the railway’s foremost priority.
Of the 49 fatalities in flood-ravaged Kumamoto, 14 were from the Senjuen nursing home near the Kuma River, which overran its banks at 11 locations and broke one levee, according to the prefectural government.
“There was a rally meeting at a JR Kyushu station in Oita city on the 24th, against the large scale reduction of unmanned stations.”
Barrier Free Japan