Due to a dearth of job opportunities in Japan for autistic people, mainly deriving from a lack of understanding toward the disorder, it is often difficult for them to lead independent lives after they attain adulthood.

However, an institution in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, is one rare place where adults with autism can earn their own living and enjoy life to the fullest.

In early December, a group of 13 people, including parents of autistic children and doctors from China, visited the institution, Keyaki no Sato (The Zelkova Home), in hopes of building the same kind of institution in Beijing.