Moon Rider - Mizuki - Moon Rider 7 Project

Talks about Employment for People with Disability in Japan with Rooted in Rights

Rooted in Rights, an advocate group of human right for people with disability, invited me to feature in their filming projects in February when I was in Washington interviewing Disability Rights Washington. I grabbed the chance and said yes right away! I am very lucky to have this opportunity to talk about the employment-related challenges people with disabilities faced in Japan. Through working with Rooted in Rights, I shared the issues in Japan that I have noticed and my vision to change that.

The film was just released yesterday. You can watch it here!

Employees with Disabilities Working Professionally at Store ~Costco Part 2~

Through my observation at the warehouse, I found that Costco has created an inclusive working environment where people from different background can work together. In Japan, many positions that require you to serve customers or people from outside of the company in a face-to-face situation are still not open for people with disabilities. I wonder why. Do employers in Japan think that people with disabilities cannot do customer service face-to-face? Or do employers think that it is embarrassing to show employees with disabilities to their customers? Or both? In some business fields such as retail or food industries, the majority of positions would require you to serve customers directly. How can those industries promote hiring people with disabilities?

Employees with Disabilities Working Professionally at Store ~Costco Part 1~

The last company I visited in Seattle is Costco. The headquarters is located in Issaquah, which is 30-minute drive east from Seattle. I interviewed Brenda Weber, Assistant Vice President of Human Resource. At Costco, the vast majority of employees work at warehouses, which requires more physical movements as an essential function of the job. Those jobs might not link with employment for people with disabilities in Japan. However, Brenda estimates that there would be at least one employee with disabilities at each warehouse of Costco. Unlike Japan, US does not have a quota system for hiring people with disabilities. Then what kind of hiring process does Costco have to hire talented applicants including ones with disabilities?

Differences of Consciousness between People with Disabilities and without Disabilities

The last person I visited was John Kelly who is a well known disability advocate in Boston. 32 years ago, he had an accident and became a quadriplegic. He was 25 years old at that time. It was a huge adjustment for him since he lived as an bodied person for a long time.

After I heard his very active history, I asked a question which I have been wondering for a long time. ” Why does US have so many disability advocates?” John shared his theory with me and explained the history and culture that have affected to the US today.

All Employees Can Take and Expand Their Possibilities ~Amazon~

In Seattle, I visited a company which I cannot live without. It is Amazon. There are two big interesting findings at Amazon. First, is the procedure of providing reasonable accommodation, and the second is rich accessibility in internal training programs. At Amazon, I have found that there are various choices and opportunities that all employees can take and expand their possibilities. And of course, employees with disabilities are included.

Women and People with Disabilities Are Key Persons to Change A Working Environment

Being a person with disabilities may be a disadvantage in workplace. Being a women also may be too. Professor Lisa Iezzoni, whom I visited in Boston, works for the Massachusetts General Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair for all mobility needs. She shared her experiences of difficulties to build her career because of her gender and disability, and explained how change of law and education gave an impact to workplace in US.

Wheelchair Accessible Guest Room in San Diego!

The hotel I stayed in San Diego in March is “The Sofia Hotel.” I chose this hotel because of its location, walking distance to the conference palace where I attended, also its decent price. As I requested, the hotel assigned me to an ADA room which is wheelchair accessible room, so I’m going to introduce the room’s facilities!

San Diego Has the Best Trolley System for Wheelchair Users!

When I visited San Diego, I was so impressed by the trolley’s system. In Japan, most of the train and subway have a gap between a cart and a platform. Therefore, at first Moon Riders (wheelchair users) would need to ask a station staff to bring a mobile ramp to help Moon Rider passengers board the train. The station staff would then contact another station, where the passenger gets off and make sure that another mobile ramp can be ready by then for the passenger to get off the train. After this process, the passenger finally can get on a cart. It might take more than 10 minutes to take train if a station is big and busy. The trolley in San Diego, however, is very easy. It is the best system for Moon Riders!

Attended at International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference

In late March, I attended 31st Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego. At the conference, you can find the latest technology service and products which support and maximize abilities of people with disabilities in daily life, at school, or workplace.

At first, I was only planning to go there as an attendee. However, Sheryl Burgstahler who is a director of DO-IT Program in University of Washington (Interview report is here) asked me to give a presentation with her. DO-IT Program has been implementing locally in Asian countries including Japan. At Sheryl’s session, I got 15 minutes to talk about education and employment environment for people with disabilities in Japan.

Self-advocacy Is One of the Most Essential Skills but Least Trained ~University of Washington, DO-IT Part 3~

In the next day of DO-IT interview, I was invited to a pizza networking gathering which is held 3 times a year to get all Scholars and parents together. The rooms for students and parents are separated. In that way, students can talk with students about their updates, and parents can exchange information.

It is very good idea to make an opportunity for parents to stay connected. Parents have so many worries because they don’t have enough information or experiences, and eventually they overprotect their kids. By providing a place where parents get together, they can share their worries and difficulties, and other parents can give advice and think ways to resolve the issues together. This is a huge power.