The last report of Starbucks Headquarters visit. I had an opportunity to meet Jessica Rafuse who is manager within the Equal Employment Opportunity team at Starbucks. Jessica has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. To empower employment for people with disabilities, Jessica works with Starbucks business units to develop individualized hiring strategies. I often hear from US companies, including Starbucks that “hiring the very best person for the job” is first priority. A person with disability often develops a powerful strength, which is developed by the disability. Jessica gave an inspiring example.

On the other hand, it appears that Japanese companies has not yet realized and recognized persons with disabilities’ strengths. I see Japanese companies often remove people with disabilities from “the very best person” from the beginning of recruiting process.