Inclusion - Moon Rider 7 Project

A Society that People Respect the Differences and Feel Value of Equality ~Interview Judith Heumann~

1 and half year ago, I was selected as a fellow of Duskin Ainowa Foundation, and I joined their lecture to learn about the history of disability movement in the US. I spent 2 years in the US for college, so I knew the accessible environment for wheelchair users as well as that disabled people live actively in a community. However, I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know the historical background of disability movement. This time in Washington DC, I had a precious opportunity to meet Judith Heumann, who is one of the key persons of disability movement in the US. She is a special advisor for international disability rights at U.S. Department of State.

Utilize Abilities of People with Disabilities, Instead of Putting Them in A Safe Zone ~EEOC~

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has 53 offices across the country, and is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. When you experience discrimination by an employer, you can contact the nearest EEOC office and file a charge (complaint) so that EEOC can investigate the discrimination and, in some cases, sue the employer if the issue cannot be resolved. EEOC Headquarters is located in Washington DC, and it was an honor to meet Peggy Mastroianni, Legal Counsel.

Booking A Wheelchair Accessible Seat Online! I Went To Justin Bieber’s Concert!

I visited Miami in the beginning of July. While I was there, I found that Justin Bieber is gong to have a concert near my hotel. I decided to purchase a ticket through “ticketmaster”, and that was my very first experience that I could get a wheelchair accessible seat in advance online.

Interview at the U.S. Department of Labor: Keys to Promote Employment of People with Disabilities

The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in the U.S. Department of Labor is working to develop and influence policies and practices that increase the number and quality of employment opportunities for people with disabilities. I had the opportunity to interview three people at ODEP. The first person I would like to write about is Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary.

The American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington DC!

In Washington DC, I visited The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and interviewed Zach Baldwin, Director of Outreach. AAPD has implemented various projects to promote equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation for people with disabilities. This time I mainly asked about employment-related projects, which is my research focus.

9th Session of Conference of State Parties to Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at United Nations in New York!

I have been in New York City (NYC) since last week. The main purpose of visiting NYC is to attend the 9th session of the Conference of State Parties to Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The convention is international level rules that protect rights of people with disabilities. The text was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, and Japan signed in 2007 to agree with the convention and confirmed officially in 2014 after improved domestic policies for people with disabilities. This year in April, the Act for Eliminate Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities came into force in Japan. This is one of the improvements that Japanese government has implemented to comply with CRPD. Through 3 days conference, I have gained lots of information and things to think…and new networks!

How To Evaluate Ability and Performance Effectively and Properly?

We had held our 4th Ability For Success Online Discussion event on 12th of June, 2016. It is our privilege to have 1 guest from Washington state and 2 guests from Japan. The topic is How to evaluate ability and performance effectively and properly?

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 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.