Walking into Sign with Me, a soup cafe in Tokyo, customers are greeted not by the typical irasshaimase shouts of welcome, but sign language and gestures from the courteous staff.

The cafe's hearing-impaired owner, Masahiro Yanagi, 43, used to be a facilitator for hiring disabled people at large corporations. He recalled how often hearing-impaired people would quit after being unable to participate in casual conversations or discussions, or finding it difficult to communicate about work issues or share in a consensus when problems arise.

"Perhaps we can create a (business) model in which people who can hear are welcomed into the world of those who cannot," Yanagi thought before opening the eatery in December 2011.