Travel – Barrier Free Japan

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 23, 2022 0

“Your disability certificate is fake” bus driver in Japan refuses male passenger with a disability over possibly expired disability certificate

A 52-year-old male driver of Orihime Bus, a route bus in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, told a male passenger with a left leg and heart trouble to get off the bus early and said, “Your disability certificate is a fake,” according to an interview with the bus company Kiryu Asahi Jidosha and the city, which outsources its operation. According to the company, the driver had said that he had been given a disability certificate for six months.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 15, 2022 0

Deaf Japan Travel

Test to Convert Announcements into Text Starts at Tokyo’s Ueno Station

East Japan Railway Co, or JR East, and others started Wednesday a trial at the railway operator’s Ueno Station in Tokyo of a system to convert station announcements and train sounds into words to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 26, 2022 0

Blind Disability Japan Travel

Blind woman fatally struck by train at crossing in west Japan

According to the police station, a nearby security camera had filmed the bars lowering when Takagaki had almost finished crossing the tracks. Immediately after she was about to turn back, she seemed to have been hit by the train, the footage apparently showed.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 19, 2022 0

Driverless Vehicles Japan Travel Unmanned

Japan Road Traffic Law Revised to Add Rules for New Mobility

Under the revised law, a license system will be introduced for operators of transport services using unmanned vehicles with Level 4 autonomy, which requires no driver in the remotely monitored vehicle in an limited area. Such vehicles are expected to be used for residents in depopulated areas.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 7, 2022 0

Disability Japan Travel

JR East to raise fares by 10 yen to improve accessibility for people with disabilities

The plan is to tack on 10 yen (8 cents) to a ticket for JR East’s 16 major lines, including the Yamanote, Chuo and Keihin-Tohoku lines. The increase will go into effect from spring 2023.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 12, 2022 0

Barrier Free Japan Travel Unmanned Stations

Unmanned Stations “not just about disabled people” say plaintiffs in JR Kyushu accessibility case

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 3, 2022 0

Barrier Free Disability Japan MaaS Mobility as a Service Travel

Japan trials ‘MaaS’ information-sharing service to enable wheelchair users to travel

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 23, 2022 0

Disability Intellectual disabilities Japan Travel

JR and private railways yet to introduce discounts for people with ‘mental disabilities’ in the Tokyo metropolitan area

Of the 175 railroad companies in Japan, including streetcars and monorails, only 97, or more than half, offer discounted fares for the ‘mentally disabled’, according to an internal document of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has released internal documents.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 8, 2022 1

Blind Disability Japan Travel

Deaths of visually impaired people sparks questions about safety at railway crossings in Japan

Recent incidents at railway crossings in Japan involving people with disabilities have led people to ask how such incidents can be avoided.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 8, 2021 0

Barrier Free Disability Podcast Travel Wheelchair

Disability News Japan Podcast Episode 82: Japan’s Transport Ministry offers “administrative guidance” to JR Kyushu after wheelchair user was refused access to train

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has issued administrative guidance to Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) over an inability to provide assistance to a wheelchair user in Nagasaki Prefecture when the station had no personnel present, sometimes referred to as an ‘unmanned station.’