In Japan blind people can get a guide dog but there are no solid access laws. The blind may or may not be able to go places. Think about that. In America you can go to college if you have a disability but you may or may not get accessible course materials or accessible facilities. Think about that. The will of the unjust has never lacked an engine. (Auden) I know about this. You do too. You wouldn’t read my blog if you didn’t.
The low unflattering voice of resistance has been committed to memory. From kindergarten to graduate school I’ve been told I don’t belong. And you have too. You weren’t fast enough; cute enough; tall enough; white enough; its a long list. Its a long list because division is the agenda of modernity. This is, by the way, why they stopped teaching civics back in the 60’s. “We don’t need no stinking civics!” But back to Japan. There are approximately 4 million people with disabilities in Japan but as Tomoko Otake writes:
But where are they? Granted, we see more station elevators, wheelchair-accessible toilets and buses with passenger lifts nowadays. Such facilities are visible, but many people hardly ever encounter those who use them — let alone anyone with non-physical disabilities. In fact, apart from people with disabled family members or friends, most Japanese quite likely live their whole lives without ever interacting with their disabled fellow citizens.
Without universal guarantees of access there’s nowhere to go. In Japan you can get a guide dog and stay home.
Although Japan passed a law concerning service animals and access in 2003 it does not extend broad protections. What this means is that going places with a guide dog is “hit or miss”:
…the law does not yet obligate privately owned housing and places of work, i.e. private company offices, to accept service dogs. This means that people with disabilities are at times forced to choose between getting a service dog and staying with a job, or getting a service dog and staying in a private housing complex. Complaints have been made by service dog users about not being able to apply for certain jobs where company owners refuse to accept the dogs into their offices.
There have also been cases where users have been unable to rent private apartments because of their dogs. The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labor has stated that social education, to enhance public awareness of the issue should come before attempts to revise the law.
Full link here
In a few short months the International Guide Dog Federation (a worldwide consortium of guide dog schools) will hold its biennial conference in Tokyo from May 10-12.
My question for the IGDF is simple: who will be brave enough to channel the spirit of Morris Frank, the first guide dog user in the United States—who will say what needs to be said regarding freedom to travel?
I’m guessing the IGDF will simply be polite. Who after all wants to embarrass the host?
But I went to Japan and saw no blind people. I saw no guide dogs though I did go to a guide dog school and saw a few in cages.
The low, unflattering voice of resistance is one the blind know all about but unfortunately even organized charities—even guide dog schools can further the climate of discrimination. Its in what you say or don’t say.
Planet of the Blind 