A wheelchair-bound woman sued the Osaka Municipal Government on Monday for 2 million yen in compensation, saying she has been prevented from boarding city-operated buses and has been verbally abused by bus drivers.
Fatihi Manami Amina, 41, who filed the lawsuit at the Osaka District Court, said she was denied permission to get on city-operated buses on four occasions from September to November 2002.
The bus drivers instead asked her to use buses designed for disabled passengers, with one driver shouting at her before driving off.
The city refused to give detailed comments on the suit, saying only that it instructs drivers to help disabled people use buses that are not fitted with special equipment, such as lifts, as there are few specially equipped buses.
Amina, a Japanese national who has converted to Islam and uses an Islamic name, told reporters after filing the lawsuit that the Osaka government had always apologized to her whenever she complained but had not improved its service.