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.
Recent incidents at railway crossings in Japan involving people with disabilities have led people to ask how such incidents can be avoided.
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.’
The 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.’
YOKOHAMA – In July in Naka-ku, Yokohama, a hearing-impaired woman tried to ride on a ropeway by herself, but was refused use because of her disability, according to an interview with a person concerned. It was reported that the business operator has stipulated in the manual that hearing-impaired people should not use it alone.
In July in Naka-ku, Yokohama, a hearing-impaired woman tried to ride on a ropeway by herself, but was refused use because of her disability, according to an interview with a person concerned. It was reported that the business operator has stipulated in the manual that hearing-impaired people should not use it alone.
Escalators at train stations in Japan suggest that on one side it is acceptable to stand and that it is acceptable to move on the other side. In Tokyo you stand on the left, leaving the right side free for people move, whilst in Osaka, the etiquette is reversed, you stand on the right side, leaving the left side for people to walk quickly. However, such an arrangement makes it difficult for people with disabilities to use escalators, especially at train stations where people are often in a rush.
West Japan Railway Co said Wednesday that it has developed an automatic ramp system designed to help wheelchair users get on and off trains. The system automatically extends a stainless ramp when a train arrives at a station platform.
On the 24th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism compiled a draft barrier-free measure to enable people with disabilities to get on and off smoothly at unmanned stations. If it is not possible to assign a staff member to assist wheelchair users in advance, the main suggestion is for drivers and conductors to get off the train and assist. Specific guidelines are to be established within the year.
Hotel Kazusaya in Nihombashi, Tokyo, reopened in summer last year following a major refurbishment carried out in sync with the original schedule of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The doorways of its guest rooms have been resized to 85 centimeters wide. At the stage of planning, the doorway width was set at 75 centimeters. But in 2019, the Tokyo metropolitan government amended its relevant ordinance for hotels. Under the new standard, the doorways of rooms in newly built hotels or newly added facilities must be “a minimum of 80 centimeters in breadth,” so that wheelchairs can get through the doorway easily.
Barrier Free Japan