from April 2003 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:
Full of Discriminative and Biased Views
“Hearing-Impaired Drivers Are Dangerous to Both People and Cars”
Article 88 of the Road Traffic Law contained a clause saying, “Those who cannot hear are not eligible to receive a drivers’ license”. This clause, disqualifying hearing-impaired persons from acquiring a drivers’ license, was finally abolished in 2001. However, the aptitude test for drivers still requires a hearing test, so that in actual practice, the situation has seen little improvement, even after the revision of the Law. The only ray of hope was the Diet resolution accompanying the enactment of the Law stating that, “(Authorities) should ensure that (actual practices) do not become disqualifying factors”.
