NEWSWORTHY
Junko Iizuka remembers clearly the day she was taken to a hospital as a teenager and forcibly sterilized under a government program. Her foster mother gave her a rice ball as they stood by a river, and then took her without explanation to a doctor. Sometime ...
91-year-old actress continues 50-year fight for inclusive society
As Japan's first school for people with disabilities celebrated its 50th anniversary last week, its founder — 91-year-old actress Mariko Miyagi — has been hailed for her "revolutionary" work battling prejudice and working to create an inclusive society. When Miyagi launched Nemunoki Gakuen in 1968, ...
A Chinese climber who lost both legs to frostbite on Everest four decades ago is hoping to finally reach the summit after Nepal's top court overruled a controversial government ban on blind and double amputee climbers. Xia Boyu is the first double amputee to be ...
Many visually impaired people who use guide dogs are still suffering from discrimination two years after a law banning such a practice came into force, a survey by a guide dog training organization showed Tuesday. In the research conducted in the 10 months through February, ...
Tokyo pageant celebrates beauty of people with mental and physical challenges
Fashion enthusiast Mana Yokoyama, wearing a light cream lace dress, strutted down the catwalk during a beauty pageant in Tokyo, hoping the experience would bring her a step closer to a fashion career. But while she's as determined as her nondisabled counterparts, the 24-year-old Yokoyama ...
Goal to achieve full barrier-free access at major transport terminals by 2020 Olympics adopted
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 ...
Australian paraplegic aims to be first to reach Everest base camp under own power
A wheelchair-bound Australian is aiming to become the first paraplegic to reach Everest base camp unaided, a breathless trek he reckons he will make mostly on his hands. Scott Doolan, 28, sets out Friday for Mount Everest's base camp, which lies 5,364 meters (17,598 feet) ...
Stephen Hawking, Britain's most famous scientist, who dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the universe, has died at age 76. His children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said in a statement carried by Britain's Press Association news agency on Wednesday: "We are deeply saddened ...
Records of about 2,700 males and females Japan sterilized under the Eugenic Protection Law until 1996 are found in local archives, showing who gave consent and who didn’t.
IPC officials press for greater hotel accessibility in Tokyo area for 2020 Paralympics
With less than 1,000 days before the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Japan is accelerating efforts to prepare lodging facilities to accommodate the athletes, spectators and others who will visit Japan for the event. Working-level officials of the International Paralympic Committee visited Tokyo in ...
Woman with impaired vision killed by train after falling onto tracks in Osaka
An 89-year-old woman with impaired vision died Monday when she was hit by a train after falling from a station platform in Osaka, police said. The woman, whose name was not released, fell at around 9:20 a.m. in Kami-Shinjo Station, the police said. She was ...
