Lawmaker with ALS becomes first in Japan to use speech synthesizer during Diet session
A lawmaker with severe physical disabilities attended his first parliamentary interpellation Thursday since being elected in July and became the first lawmaker in Japan to use an electronically generated voice during a Diet session. In the session of the education, culture and science committee, Yasuhiko ...
Disabled Japanese lawmaker makes history as first in wheelchair to attend Q&A session
A lawmaker with severe physical disabilities highlighted the various difficulties disabled people encounter in their daily lives on Tuesday as she attended her first question and answer session in the Diet since she was elected in July. According to the House of Councilors, her attendance ...
Limbless writer Hirotada Ototake blazes trail of hope with artificial leg project
Hirotada Ototake, a writer born without arms and legs who is best known for his 1998 memoir "No One's Perfect," has embarked on a project to develop electrically operated "robot" legs that will enable him and others like him to walk. The 43-year-old Ototake, who ...
In the dark: Disabled California seniors in complex left behind in outage amid wildfire threat
One woman in her 80s tripped over another resident who had fallen on the landing in a steep stairwell. Others got disoriented, even in their own apartments, and cried out for help. At least 20 seniors with wheelchairs and walkers were essentially trapped, in the ...
Japanese learners flock to International Sign language courses ahead of Tokyo Paralympics
As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics draw ever closer, more people in Japan are taking courses in a pidgin form of sign language called International Sign as a means of communicating with hearing-impaired visitors from overseas. The courses are expected to improve communications standards ...
Creating a barrier-free transportation environment in Japan
Not too long ago, domestic media organizations would rarely have anything negative to say about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but as the actual games draw nearer, there's been a greater willingness to find fault with preparations and even raise a bit of alarm. Everything ...
Wheelchair rugby team guns for share of spotlight as Japan excels at World Cup
While the ongoing Rugby World Cup has raised the profile of the sport in Japan, wheelchair rugby players also hope to earn a share of the spotlight ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. World Cup hosts Japan made history on Sunday by reaching the last ...
Nursery providing specialist care for disabled children helps Tokyo moms return to work
Three-year-old Asahi Watanabe, who was born with a genetic disease that requires the use of a feeding tube for hydration, receives care from nursery staff at his Tokyo home — an unusual arrangement in Japan where family members of children with disabilities are often ...
A French man paralyzed in a nightclub accident can walk again thanks to a brain-controlled exoskeleton that scientists call a breakthrough providing hope to quadriplegics who are seeking to regain movement. The patient trained for months, harnessing his brain signals to control a computer-simulated avatar ...
Growing network offers guidance for parents of children with disabilities in Japan
One of the biggest fears held by parents of children with disabilities is how to make sure their children are cared for after they are gone. With both parents and children in mind, a network of advisory services to help families plan for the future ...
Stand and be delivered: Japan's evolving escalator etiquette
Is escalator etiquette in Japan about to change? The established custom of standing to one side and keeping the other side open for people in a hurry is being called into question by those who want to make moving stairways safer. As next year's Tokyo Olympics ...
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend opening ceremony for festivals in Niigata
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the opening ceremony for festivals in the city of Niigata on Monday, their second visit outside Tokyo in as many weeks. They were in Niigata for the 34th National Cultural Festival and the 19th Niigata National Arts and Culture ...
