Impressions of Japan from a U.S. Disability Perspective

As we waited for a meeting to begin, our group was guided to the Honmonji Temple. The smell of incense and the sounds of chanting and an intermittent gong filled the air. The echo of the large space evoked a feeling of calm, solemnity and tranquility. This was one of the cultural highlights of my first trip to Japan. Traditional drumming, the preparation of Mochitsuki (traditional rice cakes) and a family that opened their home to me rounded out the picture.

In February 2003, I found myself en route to Tokyo, a participant in the Mobility International USA (MIUSA) US/Japan Disability Professional Exchange Program, sponsored by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Our goal was to learn more about the situation of the disabled community in Japan and to share our experiences as US professionals with our Japanese counterparts. Our delegation was hosted by Footloose, an organization founded to increase opportunities for people with disabilities in education, employment and community involvement through international exchange.

Through seminars, small group meetings and cultural opportunities we learned a great deal about the issues facing people with disabilities in Japan and the efforts underway to create a more inclusive society. Currently, the rights of people with disabilities in Japan are not protected under the law. In spite of this, people with and without disabilities are creating new opportunities in many arenas.

Separate but equal in education
Although students with disabilities are provided an excellent education in Japan, many are educated in separate schools providing services to meet the needs of students with various types of disabilities. There is no question that these students are taught a curriculum as rigorous as in regular neighborhood schools. What is missing is social interaction, the awareness of non-disabled children that their disabled peers have a great deal to contribute to their communities.

On February 8, we joined members of the public in a public forum, entitled Equal Opportunities for Education. One of the speakers was Kenji Katagiri, a teacher who has educated students with disabilities in his general education classroom for more than fifteen years. Mr. Katagiri shared his initial reluctance to include a student with a disability in his classroom, then explained how the year was a great success for his students and for himself. As Secretary General of the National Association for the Promotion of Inclusive Education, he is now committed to raising consciousness and funding to make it possible for more students with disabilities to attend school with their siblings and neighborhood peers. Due to the commitment of individuals like Mr. Katagiri, there has been an increase in the number of students with disabilities being integrated into local schools.

If more teachers embraced the importance of including children with disabilities in general education programs, students with disabilities would enjoy greater success in integrated classrooms. This holds true in the US as well as in Japan. As more and more students become integrated into the education system, communities will begin to realize that disabled students have much to offer, including problem-solving skills and life experiences. Integration in education in turn leads to greater inclusion in the workforce and in community activities.

Employment issues
In recognition of the importance of employment issues in Japan, our delegation visited job sites where people with disabilities are employed in both segregated and inclusive environments. At Tsubasa Kobo, a subcontract company of Nikon, we met with workers with developmental disabilities who work in a separate environment from non-disabled workers. Nikon managers explained that the workshop was opened in response to a 1998 increase in the percentage of people with disabilities companies are required to employ. In response to questions regarding opportunities for these workers to work alongside their non-disabled peers, managers explained that the environment in the main factory would not allow these workers to succeed and flourish in their jobs - an assumption that has led to separate work and educational environments for people with disabilities for decades.

During a visit to the Canon main office, we experienced a very different outcome for people with disabilities in Japan. Here, managers promote integration and actively recruit qualified people with disabilities for professional positions. Our group met with three employees at Canon, one of whom has a physical disability, a second who is Blind and a third who is hard of hearing. It was evident from these site visits, and an additional meeting at the Tokyo Colony Ota Welfare Plant, that the absence of a national non-discrimination law makes possible very different employment outcomes for people with disabilities, depending on the discretion of the employer.

Homestay
One of the highlights of my time in Japan was living with a Japanese family. My host family was unique in that they have been providing a home away from home for international students for many years. Prior to my arrival, however, they had never hosted or even had contact with a person with a disability. My host family welcomed me warmly. I got to know the parents and their two grown daughters, as well as two students from Taiwan. My host mother and I have been corresponding on a regular basis since my return to the US and I hope someday to extend to her the hospitality, courtesy and candor that she and her family extended to me.

Accessible hostel and train stations in Tokyo
Many things impressed me during our two weeks in Tokyo. We were told that we would be staying in a hostel. I immediately imagined a traditional youth hostel, in which many people would be bunking in a large room. Hence, I was surprised when we arrived, tired from the long trip, at the fully accessible Toyama Sunrise, a training facility and hostel established by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons. The Toyama Sunrise has many thoughtful access features such as difference in texture on the floor making it easy to identify the location of the elevators. The elevators also were marked in Braille and had spoken messages as well. By the end of our trip, I could actually understand the Japanese announcements on the elevator! The automatic entrance doors also were easily located by the tunes they played - one for an opening door and one for the closing door. The public bath was the perfect end to many exciting, full days of learning and sharing.

Many Tokyo train stations have elevators for people who have mobility disabilities. Tactile warning strips allow all passengers on the crowded trains to know that they are very close to the platform edge. As I understand it, this has been the case in Japan for many years. In the US, many transportation facilities are installing tactile warning strips in order to comply with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Braille signage was thoughtfully positioned on the handrails of each and every stairway, top and bottom and left and right. Although I don't read Japanese Braille, I found this most impressive. In the subway system in New York there is Braille signage on the occasional pillar, which I usually try to avoid! If I want to find signage, I have to ask a sighted traveler to show me where the sign is in any given station.

New friendships
In addition to establishing relationships with the US members of the delegation, I have formed lasting friendships with many of the people whom I met in Japan. In the spring, I got in touch with Toshiaki Aomatsu, a teacher at the National School for the Blind, who was planning a trip to a California technology conference. We have since shared information regarding exciting new adaptive technology being developed in the US and in Japan. In October, I met with representatives of the Japan Council on the Blind in New York.

As a consultant who frequently presents at conferences on international exchange, this exchange has given me one more culture, one more perspective, one more set of experiences from which I can draw. Taking part in professional exchange gives you authenticity when talking about the importance of international exchange for people with disabilities.

Ellen Rubin traveled to Japan as a participant on the US/Japan Disability Professional Exchange Program, sponsored by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. Ms. Rubin is coordinator of Disability Programs at Educational Equity Concepts, Inc., and an Access Consultant. Ms. Rubin has a background in inclusive education and curriculum development, and works extensively to increase access for people with disabilities, and particularly those with visual impairments, to science education. For the past six years, Ms. Rubin has conducted workshops for numerous MIUSA delegations, and traveled to Mexico in 1997 and to Uzbekistan in 2001 as a consultant for MIUSA.

For twenty-two years, Mobility International USA (MIUSA) has been working to increase the number of students, parents and professionals with disabilities actively participating in international exchange. In addition to conducting international exchange programs, MIUSA encourages people with disabilities to explore the wide range of programs available through other organizations.

For information on opportunities to participate in international exchange, please contact the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE). Established in 1995, the NCDE, managed by MIUSA and sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, provides free information and referral to individuals with disabilities interested in international study, work, volunteer or research programs abroad.

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