Current Situation of Persons with Visual Impairments in Japan
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Executive Director, International Association for the Visually Impaired (IAVI)
I. The Number of Persons with Visual Impairments
In Japan the definition of persons with disabilities is widely recognized as defined in the Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons. According to a national survey of the year 2005, number of persons with visual impairments is 307,000. Out of this figure, number of the children with visual impairments (under the age of eighteen) is only 3,900. In other words, most of the persons with visual impairments are the blind adults.
Now, in Japan, we have two major problems involved in the persons with visual impairments. One is the elderly people with visual impairments, and the other the up-growing severe condition of persons with visual impairments.
The persons with visual impairments over 60 years old are 73.4% of the total population of the persons with visual impairments, which is in response to the general trend of the increasing elderly population in Japan. In this sense, the problem of the blind people is closely connected with the problem of the elderly people.
In case of the visual impairment, we classify it into 6 grades in accordance with the degree of disabilities. The classification of disability 1 and 2 is recognized as the severely disabled persons. The ratio of persons with visual impairments belonging to these classifications 1 and 2 is 59.5%, while that of people with other disabilities shows 45.1%.
II. Education
The percentage of school attendant of children with visual impairments is almost 100%. Children with visual impairments are recommended to go to the school for the blind, because they need special assistance for their education.
In 1875, the first school for the blind was established in Kyoto. After that, the schools for the blind were established in many cities in Japan. Now, we have 73 schools for the blind across the country.
The number of students at the schools for the blind is decreasing year by year.
The reasons are considered to be :
- General trend of decreasing number of children in our Japanese society
- Advance of medical technology
- Spread of integrated education
In 1973, integrated education was introduced in Japan. But, the integrated education has not prevailed in Japan. This is the reason why there are few resource teachers who can take care of the blind students in the regular schools. Besides, lots of educational resources are furnished in the local schools for the blind.
III. Rehabilitation
Normally, rehabilitation programs for persons who have become visually impaired during middle age can be divided into three main categories, that is, medical rehabilitation, social rehabilitation(includes educational rehabilitation), and vocational rehabilitation.
(A) Social rehabilitation (training on daily living activities)
Training on daily living activities is designed to provide persons with visual impairments with the knowledge on how to promote their independent living by effectively using their overall past experiences, the restored senses from prior to becoming blind. The use of assistive devices, independent travel, use of transportation, means of communication, daily activities and recreational activities, all of which are imperative for achieving independent daily living.
- Orientation and Mobility
- Communication exercises
- Training on daily living activities (cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, etc.)
- Training on recreation activities
- Training for the persons with low visions
(B) Vocational rehabilitation
The main objective of vocational rehabilitation is to enable persons with visual impairments to recover their capacity to work.
- The main field of vocational training is provided in massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion. The vocational training requires 3 years of training after completing high school education or 5 years after middle school education.
- Telephone operator
- Data processing : Training on the language of the program and the operation of hardware to an equal level of passing the national examination.
- Engineering
-
Employment by professions
-
University processors
Approximately 20 blind processors are employed in national, public or private universities or colleges. They give lectures in the fields of, sociology, education, engineering, literature, natural science, data processing. -
Lawyers
Bar examinations have been prepared in Braille since 1972. In 1981, the first person with visual impairment passed the exam. Since then a second person with visual impairment and 2 persons with low vision successfully passed the exam and has become a lawyer. - Teachers in the ordinary school
- Teachers (schools for the blind)
- National civil servants
- Local government employees
- Data processing technicians
- Telephone operators
- Shorthand writers
-
Masseurs and acupuncturists
Approximately 100,000 persons of the employed persons with visual impairments are engaged in therapeutic work, it marks the highest percentage of the involvement of persons with visual impairments among other professional fields. Therapeutic work has traditionally been considered as a major field of their work, however, a number of sighted people who take part in the fields of massage and acupuncture have increased since the late 1970s and the number has gone beyond that of the visually impaired employees. There is no doubt that it is now very competitive for the visually Impaired to become a masseur or acupuncturist. -
Health keepers
Recently, the number of visually impaired masseurs who work for private enterprises to take care of employees' health conditions has been increasing. - Rehabilitation trainers
-
Staff of private institutions
Many persons with visual impairments work at institutions for visual impairments. Braille Libraries, for instance, have many staff with visual impairments. Also, there are quite a few institutions, whose heads are persons with visual impairments. - Musicians
- Company managers
-
Journalists, broadcasters, etc.
(Mass communication-related employees) -
Politicians
Currently, there is no politician with visual impairment on the national level, but some are playing an active role on the local levels. - priests and catholic sisters
-
University processors
IV. Quarter System
Some workers with visual impairments are employed under the Quarter System. Both private enterprises and public organizations in Japan have resolved to employ a certain proportion of persons with disabilities based on the "Employment Promotion, law for the Disabled."
The law will enforce private enterprises to satisfy the employment rate of 1.8% and public organizations, 2.1%. The status of employment will be reviewed every five years. The rate is calculated by the actual number of persons with disabilities and the number of total employees in an organization.
Private enterprises (with more than 301 employees) which do not satisfy the quarter rate stipulated in the law mentioned above must pay the amount of 50,000 yen/month per person multiplied by the number of persons required to employ as a penalty. The collected funds will either be forwarded to the enterprises that employ more workers with disabilities than required by law or provided to the business managers as subsidies for employing persons with disabilities. The major use of subsidies for persons with visual impairments is for purchasing technical aids and employing personal attendants (who read the documents for persons with visual impairments).
V. Dispatch system of home helpers
Dispatch of home helpers to the homes of persons with severe visual impairments is one of the most important measures to assist with their daily life. The home helpers are to take care of household work. They are being dispatched from public agencies. In general, home helpers visit the homes of persons with disabilities twice a week for half a day. Home helpers can be dispatched more frequently upon request.
VI. Pension scheme
The Basic Disability Pension is provided to the blind person. The person who belongs to the disability classification 1 and 2 can receive the amount of approximately 80,000yen per month.
VII. Reduction of Public Transportation Fees
When persons with severe visual impairment and their attendants travel on JR and/or other lines, they are provided with 50% discount fare.
VIII. Braille libraries
There are 88 Braille libraries that are registered with the "National Council of the Welfare Institutions for the Blind", and approximately ten individually established Braille libraries.
IX. Braille publishers
29 publishers belong to the National Council of Welfare Institutions for the Blind, by which 4,000 titles of books have been published. Most of the publishers are family-run types of small size.
X. Subsidies for purchasing Braille books
The price of books transcribed into Braille by Braille publishers is very expensive compared to that of ordinary books. In 1992, government took a measure to subsidize the costs of Braille books to alleviate the financial burden on persons with visual impairments. Since the introduction of the measure, persons with visual impairments can purchase Braille books at the market price. The difference is subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and municipalities. The measure was initiated due to the strong demands of persons with disabilities for promoting rights for equality.
XI. Communication in Computer Network
Both the Braille printing centers (nation-wide) and individual persons with visual impairments have access to Braille data bank. The data bank was established by IBM Japan to upload and download Braille data.
Since the printing centers became independent from IBM Japan, efforts are being made to maintain good management. Their concern for the near future is when to install the Internet system.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare entrusted the Japan Federation of the Blind with a program on JB Braille News Letters in 1991. Since the beginning of the program, persons with visual impairments have been provided with the JB Braille News Letters. Articles from "Nihon Keizai Shinbun (newspaper)" and individually collected data are transcribed into Braille and are transmitted to 45 footholds through telephone circuits. Places where the Braille data has been downloaded can print out the articles in Braille and deliver them to visually impaired persons who wish to receive them.
XII. Information network for the schools for the blind
Braille data is connected between the schools for the blind (nationwide) and the host server. The expense of this system is covered by the Ministry of Education. The network immensely helps the production of Braille study materials and the effective use of other educational information.
XIII. Newspaper articles network
This is a computer network system which looks up all of the articles in the Yomiuri Shinbun (newspaper) and reads them with the compound voice machine. Persons with visual impairments can use the network if they pay the regular "Yomiuri Shinbun" fees.
XIV. Broadcast for Persons with Visual Impairments
NHK program : "To the Visually Impaired Persons"
"To the Visually Impaired Persons" is a NHK radio broadcasting program started in 1964 for persons with visual impairments. It is a 30 minute weekly program and is replayed every Sunday. It provides information on visual impairment related events. It also introduces the visually impaired who have active roles in various fields.
XV. Shortwave radio program : "Visually Impaired Persons' Forum"
The program has been on the air every Wednesday for 15 minutes since 1997. It provides information on education and ophthalmology for visually impaired persons.
XVI. JBS Japan Welfare Broadcast
The program was introduced in 1988. It is shown on commercial cable radio channels nationwide. The program provides the visual impairment related information. Also articles from the five largest newspapers are read by volunteer group. It is a two-hour daily programme. It appears on communications satellite and cable channels as the number of TV channels have been increased.
