Japan plans phone relay service for those with impaired hearing, catching up with rest of G7
The government plans to launch a telephone relay service to enable people with hearing disabilities to chat online via sign language, government officials said Thursday. Japan will be the last of the Group of Seven advanced countries to launch such a service for people who ...
Wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms still an issue ahead of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and Olympics
A shortage of wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms remains an issue for Tokyo 2020 organizers, who say they are committed to using the Paralympic Games to make Japan a more inclusive place. As the clock ticks down to the Aug. 25, 2020, opening ceremony for the games, ...
Japan passes law to beef up checks on hiring of workers with disabilities after quota scandal
The Diet on Friday passed a bill to strengthen monitoring of the hiring of disabled workers after government ministries and agencies were found last year to have inflated their hiring figures to meet legal quotas for national-level public bodies. The revised law on promoting the ...
Japan Times 1919: Maniac believed eating brain would cure his madness
According to facts brought to light at a preliminary trial, Hori Tokuichi was first observed as possessing peculiar mental traits last October when he attempted to kill a small dog for the purpose of eating its brain in the belief that such was a ...
Plaintiffs appeal Sendai court's ruling denying damages for forced sterilization
Two women who underwent forced sterilization in Japan decades ago appealed Friday a district court ruling that denied their claim for damages despite determining that the country's now-defunct eugenics law was unconstitutional. The Sendai District Court found Tuesday that the law enacted in 1948, which ...
The court rejected the ¥71.5 million damages suit in the first ruling handed down in a number of similar cases nationwide.
An Olympics crowdsourcing project may be the answer to making Japan a more accessible country
Tokyo is up against the clock when it comes to creating a city that's accessible for everyone. Its deadline? Next year's Olympic Games, though that really shouldn't matter when it comes to transforming Japan into a nation where anyone can use any space. Accessibility means ...
French court tells doctors to resume life support for paralyzed patient
A French appeals court on Monday ordered doctors to resume giving food and water to a French quadriplegic, lawyers said, some 12 hours after medics switched off the man's life support against his parents' will. The fate of Vincent Lambert has renewed a fierce debate ...
Volunteers prepare to be the face of inclusive 2020 Tokyo Olympics
While athletes will take center stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, volunteers — including people with disabilities — are expected to play a significant role in supporting spectators and others who will flock to the games. "Please show your support until the end," ...
Speak your mind: Brain implant translates thought into speech
People unable to communicate due to injury or brain damage may one day speak again, after scientists on Thursday unveiled a revolutionary implant that decodes words directly from a person's thoughts. Several neurological conditions can ruin a patient's ability to articulate, and many patients currently ...
Diet passes bill to pay ¥3.2 million each to victims forcibly sterilized under Japan's eugenics law
The Diet enacted legislation to apologize and pay ¥3.2 million in compensation to each person who underwent forced sterilization under the nation’s now-defunct eugenics law.
'I'm the happiest person on earth': Blind Japanese sailor completes nonstop Pacific crossing
A blind Japanese sailor on Saturday successfully completed a near two-month, nonstop voyage from San Diego to Fukushima Prefecture, making him the first person to make a blind sailing across the Pacific Ocean. Joined by a sighted navigator, it was 52-year-old Mitsuhiro Iwamoto's second two-person ...
