Elimination of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons

Implemented in April 2016, this law was enacted with the goal of creating a society in which people with and without disabilities can live together undivided while respecting each other's personality and individuality by promoting the elimination of discrimination against disabled persons.

 The official name is "Promoting the Elimination of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons Law".

• As a measure to eliminate discrimination, unfair discriminatory treatment is prohibited in government agencies such as the national, prefectural, and municipal governments, as wells as in private businesses.
• In order to remove social barriers that impose various restrictions on people with disabilities in their daily and social lives, government agencies and private businesses should provide accommodation (reasonable accommodation) for people with disabilities according to the individual’s situation while not placing too much of a burden upon them.

Unfair discriminatory treatment means denying or limiting service without a justifiable reason on the grounds of a disability.

• Refused service at consultation/reception windows
• Refused from being admitted into school/taking entrance exams
• Told that that there are no real estate properties available for people with disabilities
• Turned away from restaurants due to using a wheelchair

Reasonable accommodation means that government agencies or business operators should accommodate those with disabilities according to the individual’s situation in order to lessen the burden on people with disabilities and to remove the social barriers that cause various restrictions on people with disabilities in their daily and social life.

• Flexible changes to rules and practices according to the characteristics of the disability such as adjusting break times
• Building ramps across the stairs in a facility
• When moving to the upper and lower floors of a facility without an elevator, providing support up and down stairs in the form of manpower
• Accommodation such as moving their workplace to the first floor, making it closer to the toilet, etc.

The provision of reasonable accommodation is a legal obligation for national government agencies and local governments, and a non-binding obligation for private businesses. This will shift to becoming a legal obligation for private businesses within three years.

At the Minamisoma City & Iitate Village Regional Independence Support Council Rights Advocacy Subcommittee, a reasonable accommodation casebook has been created that summarizes the main cases of what people with disabilities are having trouble with and what kind of support they need.

Let's start by implementing what we can in order to make comfortable areas for everyone, regardless of disabilities.

If you would like to know more about the Disability Discrimination Elimination Law, please see the leaflet and website created by the Cabinet Office.

In line with the basic policy on promoting the elimination of discrimination against disabled persons, it is understood that the cabinet minister in charge will establish the necessary guidelines to ensure businesses respond appropriately in regards to the prohibition of unfair discriminatory treatment and the provision of reasonable accommodation. As such, the relevant ministries and agencies have formulated "Guidelines for Promoting the Elimination of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons" in the business fields under their jurisdiction.

Along with the enforcement of the Disability Discrimination Elimination Law in Minamisoma, city staff themselves formulated a response procedure in order to work towards “raising awareness of measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities” and "promoting the provision of reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities,” and have been implementing this procedure since April 1st, 2018.

Information about these guidelines can be found on the Japanese homepage in Japanese. Just see the link below for more information.