from 1 January 2009 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:
“Reasonable Accommodation”
A seminar on the CRPD was held by the Japan Disability Forum (an alliance of the major disability-related organizations of Japan) on Nov 29th at the Nadao Hall of the Japanese Council of Social Welfare at Kasumigaseki in Tokyo. The theme was “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will change our lives –how do we effectively utilize reasonable accommodation in our daily life?”
First, the Chairperson of the JDF Management Committee, Mr. Katsunori Fujii (Director of the Japan Council on Disability) reported on Japan’s situation regarding the conclusion of international human rights instruments such as the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenants on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Mr. Fujii also reported on the contents of the recent meeting with the government regarding CRPD, as well as recent endeavors such as the results of local workshops and events hosted by JFD.
In the report, Mr. Fujii mentioned that the Japanese government seems to be considering the ratification of the Convention in the near future, but stressed that a superficial ratification without adjusting the laws in Japan to conform to the Convention would not be accepted. He pointed out that the key issue we have is how to reflect the principles of the Convention into the revision of the Fundamental Law for Disabled Persons and the Law for Supporting Independence of Persons with Disabilities.
On July 16, 2007, at about 10:13 in the morning, a strong earthquake originating off the Chuetsu coast hit Niigata Prefecture on the opposite side of Japan from Tokyo. Strong quakes over the Japanese scale of 6+ were recorded in Kariu Village in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture and in Iizunacho in Nagano Prefecture. Damages were largest around Kashiwazaki City, where many houses throughout the city collapsed. After the earthquake, major lifelines supplying electricity, gas and water were cut off, and fax and emails were not working. No casualties of the Deaf were reported in Nagano Prefecture.
