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disabilities

Tokyo cafe staffed by robots piloted by paralyzed and otherwise housebound people

It’s the Dawn of a new restaurant experience.

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Japanese cafe has speech-to-text displays for conversation with hard-of-hearing staff and customers

New Shojo Cafe Bar continues owners’ mission to “create environments where disabilities disappear.”

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What’s it like traversing Tokyo using only wheelchair accessible routes?

Inspired by a family member’s recent need for a wheelchair, our reporter tries to see Tokyo from their perspective.

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New silent cafe opens in Japan, where talking and music is not allowed

It might be silent here, but there are smiles all around. 

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Former Uniqlo employee starts clothing alterations service for people with disabilities

No more settling for whatever clothes you can put on…now you can wear whatever clothes you like!

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Honda has created a GPS navigation system for your shoes【Video】

Ashirase sounds great for anyone who gets lost easily, but there’s another group of people Honda has in mind.

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Starbucks Japan releases beautiful sign-language mug at its first sign-language branch in Tokyo

Exclusive drinkware is stylish and touching, and its companion journal is even more moving.

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Starbucks Japan opens first sign-language store in Tokyo

Staff at new “Signing Store” use hand signs to communicate with customers.

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Documentary about man with no limbs discusses what it’s like to be disabled in Japan

Hirotada Otatake was born with no arms or legs, but it didn’t keep him from trying to do good things in this world.

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Cafe opens in Tokyo staffed by robots controlled by paralyzed people

Dawn is an inspirational marriage of technology and humanity.

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Man sues Tokyo wine tasting event for not allowing him to drink while operating a wheelchair

Valid safety concern or unjust discrimination?

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“Caterpillar Rugby” aims to level the playing field for people with and without disabilities

Sports are supposed to bring people together, giving a group a common goal to work towards and developing community spirit. Nevertheless, it can be difficult to find sports that everyone can enjoy, with many left out due to physical disabilities. However, the World Yuru Sports Association, which goes by Yuru Sports for short, has developed a game intended to level the playing field for everyone so people with and without disabilities get on the ground and play together.

And we mean get on the ground literally: the name of the game is caterpillar rugby and it’s incredibly accurate!

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“No dogs allowed”: Why one service dog was refused entrance to these restaurants in Japan

It was Saturday, October 3 when a hearing-impaired woman and her service dog, a hearing dog for the deaf, attended an event promoting the awareness of service dogs at the Hankyu department store at Hankyu-Umeda Station in Osaka. After the event, the unnamed woman, her dog, and a friend went for a bite to eat at one of the restaurants located inside the same department store on the same floor as the event. Ironically enough, and much to the surprise of the woman, a member of staff stopped her from entering the restaurant, stating that animals were not allowed inside.

The woman’s friend pulled out a guidebook about hearing dogs for the deaf, trying to explain that the dog wasn’t a pet but an animal trained to assist its owner. The staff still refused, however, and the pair finally gave up and went elsewhere, thinking that it must have just been an unfortunate misunderstanding. Perhaps this was just one uninformed staff member who didn’t realize service animals are actually allowed in public places, they thought.

But even at the next restaurant they were turned away yet again…

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Katawa Shoujo visual novel gets Japanese release… Wait, it wasn’t originally in Japanese?!

Back in 2012 when a bunch of 4chan members released a visual novel game based around romantically pursuing disabled high school girls, expectations were low to say the least. But to the shock of the internet, the game received widespread acclaim for its impressive visuals, story, and music, not to mention its sympathetic treatment of its characters.

However, despite being a game in a distinctly Japanese genre and taking place in a Japanese high school with Japanese characters, the game was originally written and released in English. It’s only now, three years later, that Katawa Shoujo (“Disabled Girls”) has finally been released in the language many people thought it was originally created in: Japanese.

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