“The government and manufacturers are promoting electric wheelchairs as a means of transportation to replace automobiles at a time when elderly people are increasingly returning their driver’s licenses.”
“Japanese company ‘Whill’ produces smartphone-controlled wheelchair”
“The driver told the company he regrets “making the wrong decision,” according to a Matsudo Shin-Keisei Bus official.”
“In the group’s tests, which looked into whether wheelchair users could enter the bathroom without making contact with walls, most motorized wheelchairs failed while all the manual wheelchairs passed.”
“The company had received calls for a revamp of the model from wheelchair users and others, as the setup operation is complicated and some drivers refused to accept such passengers.”
“The realization of a society in which physically disabled people can be transported on autonomous wheelchairs at such places as airports and shopping centers has moved a step closer with the start of trials in Tokyo by Yokohama-based venture company Whill Inc. together with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and others.”
“Kazuhiko Motoki, a section chief in charge of the revisions at the Tokyo Office of the Governor for Policy Planning said” “We understand that the wider a space is, the easier it is (for wheelchair users) to use, but it was decided via intense negotiations,” “
“In Japan, the idea of” right to move “is missing. It is not a problem only for people with disabilities. In rural areas, public transportation declines for business reasons and elderly people who can not drive a car are inconvenienced… “
“Disabled rights advocacy groups point out that electric wheelchairs are treated the same as pedestrians under the Road Traffic Act, and pedestrians are not prohibited from drinking alcohol. Therefore, they say, banning chair users from tasting at beer factories constitutes discrimination under the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. They want the ban removed from the NPA guidelines.”
“Following a surge in the number of fatal accidents involving electric wheelchairs getting stuck at rail crossings, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) has started an investigation.”
Barrier Free Japan