Ahead of Respect for the Aged Day in Japan on Monday, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation warned of accidents involving nursing beds or wheelchairs and urged elderly people to review proper usage with their families and care workers. According to NITE, there were 43 nursing bed accidents affecting elderly people between 2016 and 2025, including 23 cases in which users’ bodies were caught in handrail and other gaps.
Japan’s Yui Kamiji shut out Diede de Groot of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s wheelchair singles final at Wimbledon on Saturday, earning her first Wimbledon title. This is Kamiji’s 12th Grand Slam singles title and makes her the first Japanese woman to achieve a career Grand Slam, which requires titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Crew-assisted ramp services have been in place since 2022 at certain stations operated by JR Kyushu, JR East, JR Central, JR West, and JR Shikoku. Within JR East, they are already available at selected stations on the Ōme Line, Sōbu Main Line, Narita Line, Sotobō Line, Uchibō Line, Kururi Line, Sagami Line, Ryōmō Line, and Echigo Line. DPI Japan encourages wheelchair users living along these lines to try the service and share your feedback.
Daihatsu Motor Co. put a new electric wheelchair for the elderly on sale on Monday.
The e-Sneaker has already been used on a trial basis at the ongoing World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka. The wheelchair runs at a maximum speed of 6 kilometers per hour and travels 12 kilometers on a single charge. No driver’s license is required to operate the vehicle.
An electric mobility scooter was demonstrated at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo in Osaka on Tuesday 29th July. The Waku Mobi is about 1.7 meters long and about 60 centimeters wide and has a top speed of 20 kph. Reporters were shown the vehicle being remotely controlled in a designated outdoor space at the Expo. It moved slowly for about 50 meters, then navigated an uneven surface and made a smooth turn using its automated control function. The demonstration was part of an exhibition themed on a future in which robots and humans coexist. The vehicle was developed by glafit inc., a startup based in Wakayama.
With the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament set to open Sunday, a medical center near the competition venue has taken possession of a heavy-duty wheelchair built to transport the sport’s heftiest wrestlers. The chair, designed to accommodate patients weighing up to 300 kilograms, was presented Friday to the medical center affiliated with Nagoya City University Medical School. The facility is located a short distance from the newly built IG Arena, where the 15-day tournament will run through July 27. It will also be on hand for use at next year’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games.
A Japanese startup will introduce an all-terrain electric wheelchair in 2026 that allows users to climb and descend stairs, and board trains and buses without assistance, with plans to develop a model that can navigate escalators. The wheelchair developed by Lifehub Inc., which normally drives on four wheels on flat surfaces, has caterpillar tracks to negotiate stairs, slopes and uneven ground.
Back in December 2023, Barrier Free Japan wrote about they often leave Kyoto by JR Kyoto Station and noted that one of JR Kyoto Station’s ‘accessible toilets’ had been ‘out of order’ or ‘unavailable for use’ for weeks. Barrier Free Japan reported on October 31st 2024 that almost over one year later, it remained ‘out of order’. On Friday 8th November 2024, Barrier Free Japan observed an ‘accessible toilet’ which was ‘un-taped off!’
The Empress Emerita will live in a wheelchair for a while at the residence while doing rehabilitation for independent walking.
18-year-old Tokito Oda, who won the gold medal in the men’s singles at the Paris Paralympics, showed his skills by winning his first match after the Games in Tokyo in straight sets 2-0. Oda won a gold medal in men’s singles and a silver medal in men’s doubles at his first Paralympic Games in Paris. Oda, ranked No. 1 in the world, played his first match after the Paralympics in the first round of the men’s wheelchair singles tournament held in Koto-ku, Tokyo, against a Chinese player ranked No. 55 in the world.
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