Inclusion
A man who I meet sometimes on my way to the train in the morning made me aware of something I almost forgot about since I came to Japan in 2015. I never talked to him. He is maybe my age and always wearing
very nice and well combined clothes... He seems to be taking the exact same train in the morning around 9 o’clock every morning.
This would not be something outstanding or special if he was a normal guy also heading towards the office like I do, but his case is a little different:
He is blind using a white cane to find his way - wherever he is heading to. What impresses me most is actually the way he is walking.
I realized that when I saw him the second or third time I curiously and secretly looked at the way he moved and he walked along the yellow colored tactile blocks, that he always seems so self-confident and independent.
Immediately after that I started to wonder how the environment of the city and the station are made in order to "help" and huide him. I started analyzing the design of the pathway, followed by the station itself which I live close to and escalators, checkout machines, lifts and stairs...
I was surprised. I never noticed in such a conscious way, how impressively Japan created spaces and systems not only for disabled people, but also for people with different needs, elderly people and so on. I started to close my eyes while standing on the yellow blocks made for blind people in Japan and tried to „feel my way for a view centimeters“.
What an experience!
...coming back to the story of the blind man:
If there wasn’t a space, a well thought through surrounding/design helping him to navigate, he’d probably need another persons help and would not be that independently managing his daily life, I thought. I started wondering...
„How friendly is Japan REALLY for people with disabilities?“.
Especially because the more I thought about it the more I realized that compared to my home country Germany, I rarely actually meet people with some kind of disability in Japan. I can’t even remember seeing someone
else but the blind man. I wanted to know numbers!
According to the DINF (Disability INFormation Recourses) in 1996 about 4.3% of total Japanese population had some kind disability:
Total Number 5,136,500
Physically disabled persons 3,176,500
Mentally retarded persons 390,000
Mentally disabled persons 1,570,000
Some numbers from 2015:
(source from www.scielo.org.)
Reading articles about disability in Japan made me realize what I had an inkling of when I could not even remember seeing a disabled person: it is a topic that’s not common to talk about in Japan. But it should be a topic that is talked about. Furthermore it has to be a topic each and every person in society should consider how to be involved in in his own life frequently and empathically.
The keyword is inclusion...
Definition on wikipedia (JPN)
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/インクルーシブ教育
Work situation
Today in Japan there’s a law that pushes companies and government organizations to employ a certain percentage of people with “physical, intellectual or mental impairments.” Before the mid-1900s, there was actually no legislation regarding the rights of disabled people in Japan.
Throughout much of Japans history, people with physical disabilities and mental illnesses were ostracized from society. In some worse cases they even were LEGALLY sterilized!
Another law, passed in 2016, bans “unjust discrimination” against people with disabilities and urges the private sector to take “reasonable accommodation” to remove barriers for individuals. For example, organizations should provide dictation services and braille documents when necessary, as well as create accessible spaces.
Public space
In Japan private-sector entities are only obliged to take action.
On the other hand public spaces and facilities do a much more better job at addressing the needs of disabled individuals. Across the country elevators, ramps and spacious multipurpose bathrooms are available at most major train stations. Tactile blocks, a type of textured, directional paving for visually impaired people, even originated in Japan and line almost every platform and sidewalk in Tokyo.
check out this article about how many people with a disability are working in Japan if you like:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/10/national/number-people-disabilities-working-japanese-firms-tops-500000-first-time/
The inventor, Miyake Seiichi spent in 1967 his own money to create the first tactile blocks for a friend of his who had gone blind. It was used first in the prefecture Okayama and since then spread not only throughout Japan but has also been adopted in other countries all around the world.
Yet infrastructural change, especially within the private sector, is still a huge
challenge for Japan holding on to a very traditional way of thinking about society.
Still a lot to do...
The country is still far away from „true inclusion“ of different individuals.
This is not only about places and cafes on the 2nd or 3rd floor that still don’t have an elevator. I personally think it’s more about a mind set and an open way of thinking about "difference". This also is the reason why mental illness is far away from being discussed publicly and without prejudice and why by the way the idea of seeking psychiatric help remains greatly stigmatized.
This makes me feel very sad, although I can understand the roots and reasons of the Japanese society being this way.
Still, I think it is wrong and something that really needs to change as soon as possible. While new legislation and accessible public spaces are clear signs of progress, Japan has a long road ahead to truly becoming a friendly place for people with disabilities.
Links / Interesting sites and articles
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