The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) announced on March 26 that there were 2,202 cases of abuse suffered by people with disabilities from family members, welfare facilities and employees of business establishments in fiscal 2019, with 2,398 victims. The number has remained almost unchanged from the previous fiscal year. Two of the victims died. A record 8,519 cases were reported to the local government.
An average of about 100 people a day… This is the number of people who use wheelchair seats on the Tokaido Shinkansen.
On March 26, during a session on the budget, Japanese lawmakers with disabilities were able to cast a vote in person owing to a ramp that had been built in the House of Councillors in January. This was the first time in history a lawmaker with a disability could vote in person, before it had to be done via a House of Councillors staff member.
Minister Marukawa pointed out that “diversity and harmony are one of the basic concepts of the Tokyo Games,” and said, “I am very disappointed to hear that the Organizing Committee did not make any special efforts to provide sign language interpreters for the ceremony.
Nobuyuki Hirota, head of Sagamihara’s Olympic and Paralympic promotion section, said he remains committed to honoring the victims and survivors of the massacre of disabled people.
Regarding the vaccination of the new coronavirus, an expert group of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved on the 18th that people with severe mental illness or intellectual disability will be included in the priority vaccination.
A study session was held at JR Kanazawa Station on the 16th to verify issues so that visually impaired people can use ticket vending machines smoothly. Yoshifumi Yoneshima (68), the chairman of the Ishikawa Association for the Visually Impaired, and helpers experienced purchasing a ticket using a new ticket vending machine installed on the premises in December last year.
The so-called “digital disability certificate”, which is equipped with information on the disability certificate on smartphones, became available for use on JR and private railways nationwide from the 13th.
JR Tokai will increase the number of spaces for wheelchairs on its Shinkansen or ‘bullet trains’ from two to six spaces.
Hyogo Prefecture will create a video to support people with disabilities who are facing difficulty in living due to the new coronavirus disease. In addition to introducing exercises that can be done at home, we also distribute videos aimed at understanding people with disabilities.
Barrier Free Japan