Disabled people still face social obstacles in Japan despite government measures under a decade-long program that ended in fiscal 2002, according to a white paper released Tuesday.

More efforts will be made to achieve a barrier-free society in the next decade, the government report says.

It remains difficult for disabled people to act and work on their own in society, the annual report says. For example, the average employment rates for the disabled in fiscal 2002 in private and public corporations, as well as in prefectural boards of education, remained below those required by law.