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July 02, 2026
 

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DISABILITY

People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 22, 2026
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
Firms are stepping up their efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in a bid to improve their management of human resources.
Yudai Togitani speaks to reporters in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, on Thursday after a ruling was handed down on a woman who killed his wife and left his child disabled in a car accident.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2026
Driver jailed for killing pregnant woman, leaving unborn child with disability
Prosecutors had difficulty interpreting the existing law to regard a fetus as a victim independent from the mother.
A prison officer in charge of education speaks to inmates at Osaka Prison in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Feb. 26. A portion of the image is blurred for privacy reasons.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 1, 2026
Osaka Prison helps rehabilitate inmates with developmental disabilities
Prisoners with development disorders at Osaka Prison receive education and guidance focusing on facilitating self-understanding and improving cooperative behavior.
Kanata Konoe, 7, writes kanji characters on a whiteboard as his teacher, Sachiko Shimabukuro, watches over him at Nakadomari Elementary School in the village of Onna, Okinawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 11, 2026
Okinawan schoolboy deals with hearing loss with speed and cheerfulness
At the tender age of 7, Kanata Konoe has already come to terms with the fact that everyone is born different, and that’s alright.
A walking training session for people with visual impairment is held on a platform at East Japan Railway's Shinagawa Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward on March 2.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 27, 2026
Japan starts platform safety training for visually impaired
With more time needed to install platform screen doors, the transport ministry views the initiative as an urgent interim measure to prevent falls and other accidents.
Plaintiffs head to the Oita District Court on Thursday ahead of the ruling in a lawsuit over whether unmanned stations operated by JR Kyushu violate the freedom of movement of people with disabilities.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2026
Oita court rules unmanned stations don’t curb freedom of those with disabilities
The lawsuit was the first in Japan to take up the issue of whether such station operations constitute discrimination against people with disabilities.
Fadel Al-Naji, 14, who lost both legs, sits beside his brother Amir Al-Naji, 11, who lost an eye, after they were injured in an Israeli strike, at their home in Gaza City.
WORLD / Society
Apr 17, 2026
Gaza’s war amputees short of prostheses under Israeli restrictions
Such is the need for prosthetic limbs that two medical centers said they were trying to reuse old prosthetic limbs recovered from people killed in the war.
Investigators said they are looking into the possibility of additional victims.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2026
Day care worker arrested for kidnap and sexual assault of 5-year-old girl
The former employee had been in charge of transportation for a day care center for children with disabilities.
A former Ukrainian service member, who was injured in the war against Russia and now has a prosthetic leg, takes part in an indoor climbing session at Climbing SPACE in Kyiv on Feb. 26.
WORLD
Mar 18, 2026
‘It’s adrenaline’: Ukraine amputee veterans climb for recovery
Tens of thousands of wounded veterans are readjusting to civilian life, finding solace in the host of activities and communities popping up to cater to their growing numbers.
Koto Kawaguchi, a Deaflympics medalist who works in auto parts logistics in Aichi Prefecture, recently made his acting debut in the Hollywood film “Marty Supreme.”
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Mar 12, 2026
The unlikely Hollywood story of Deaflympics champion Koto Kawaguchi
The table tennis medalist discusses his unlikely turn in the Oscar-nominated ‘Marty Supreme’ and returning to life in Aichi Prefecture.
American Anna Soens said she "only started racing since last season" but has already qualified for the Milano Cortina Paralympics.
PARALYMPICS
Mar 8, 2026
Skiing ‘filled the void’ for Paralympian Anna Soens after life-changing fall
Soens was determined not to let the accident define her and set about finding a new passion in the form of Alpine skiing.
In Japan, parents of bilingual children with hearing impairmentsmust navigate unforseen obstacles with a constant goal: giving their kids the best possible chance at a fully realized life.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 28, 2026
In bilingual homes, raising hearing-impaired kids is a long road toward a ‘normal life’
Early screening, financial assistance and emotional support from wider communities help multilingual families navigate an uncertain process.
Momoha Kubota (left), a student at Ohkagakuen University in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, talks about her study-abroad experience with her professor Eri Ikawa.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Feb 9, 2026
Inclusive education for students with disabilities advancing in Japan
Efforts to foster an environment that welcomes those with and without disabilities have helped one student realize her dream of studying abroad.
Umeda Arts Theater, which specializes in theater management and stage production, utilized an accessibility subsidy to introduce portable captioning devices for people with hearing difficulties at a musical theater performance in Tokyo in October.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2026
Tokyo boosting support for accessibility to arts
The Japanese capital is offering subsidies to arts organizations that introduce measures to help people with visual or hearing difficulties enjoy art.
The university entry rate for fiscal 2024 was initially announced as 59.1%, but after correction by adding 9,836 special school graduates to the denominator, it was revised to 58.6%.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2025
Japan corrects inappropriate calculation of university entry rate
The revision comes after the initial entry rate had been calculated without reflecting the rate of graduates from schools for children with disabilities.
A building housing the welfare ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2025
Cases of disability abuse hit record high in fiscal 2024, ministry data shows
Physical abuse, including assault, was the most common type, followed by psychological abuse such as verbal harassment.
Michaela Benthaus, who uses a wheelchair, onboard a Blue Origin flight on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2025
In a first, wheelchair user flies into space
The space company owned by American multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos launched its New Shepard suborbital mission from its site in Texas.
A road information board publicizing the newly issued “off the coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku subsequent earthquake advisory” on Wednesday in the city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2025
Some care facilities unsure how to respond to new earthquake advisory
Japan’s first-ever megaquake advisory, issued after Monday’s earthquake off the coast of Aomori Prefecture, is set to remain in effect until Monday.
Disability-friendly boundary blocks are seen installed between a pavement and a road in Fukuoka's Tenjin district in August.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 8, 2025
Fukuoka government develops disability-friendly paving block
The paving block has been designed with the needs of both blind or partially sighted pedestrians and wheelchair users in mind.
Itsuki Nagasawa (center) plays a young woman caught in a feud between her deaf father (Kazuyoshi Kezuka, second from left) and a Kurdish restaurant owner (Murat Cicek, second from right) in Ken Kawai’s “The Chatterboxes.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2025
‘The Chatterboxes’: ‘A comedy of errors finds a common language
Ken Kawai’s comedy about a feud between a deaf Japanese man and a Kurdish immigrant tackles a range of themes including prejudice and communication.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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