Komeito-backed barrier-free law alters Japanese landscape since 2000

January 6 , 2020

Much has changed in Japan after 2000, when Komeito led the Diet in pushing through a law to promote the adoption of universal design in public facilities and transportation. Train stations, airports and entire cities have improved access for the physically challenged. With the Olympics and Paralympics looming, the government is now moving not only to remove “hard” barriers, but also “soft” obstacles.

The Transport Ministry issued a progress report on the universal design adoption rate in December 2019. As of the end of fiscal 2018, 95.6% of all public transport facilities—train stations, airports and bus terminals with more than 5,000 users a day on average—had removed uneven walkways, 98.2% had installed braille instructions and 92.7% had built toilets for the disabled. In addition, the ratio of vehicles and aircraft conforming to legal accessibility standards, including wheelchair-friendly access, reached 73.2% for trains, 45.7% for low-step buses and 98.2% among commercial aircraft. While still far from satisfactory, accessibility has improved significantly since the time when the law first went into effect.

Meanwhile, automated doors on train platforms to prevent users from falling onto the tracks have been installed in 783 stations nationwide. Such “hard” improvements to accessibility have helped not only wheelchair users but also parents using baby carriages.

Some 10 million visitors from abroad are expected to travel to Japan during the Olympics period. While the “hard” infrastructural upgrades are being steadily increasing, the government recognizes that “soft” barriers—prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities—need to be addressed. Such steps require educating the public and initiatives to raising awareness, particularly in schoolrooms, are now being examined for future implementation to realize a society truly coexisting in harmony.

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