The government on Friday set a target of achieving full barrier-free access for the disabled at major train stations, bus terminals and airports ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
The step-free access rate at such facilities with more than 3,000 daily users on average stood at 87.2 percent in the year through March 2017. By March 2021, the aim is to boost it to 100 percent.
The government, as part of a five-year plan, is also looking at raising the proportion of low-floor buses and other vehicles to 70 percent by March 2021 from 53.3 percent in the year ended March 2017.
According to the plan adopted Friday, the government will create an easily accessible environment and promote urban planning with the disabled in mind.
In addition, the plan will bolster security measures at care facilities for people with disabilities in the wake of the 2016 stabbing rampage in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in which a former worker there killed 19 residents, believing “the disabled should be eradicated.”