Does anyone know how disabilities are talked about in Japan? By this I mean if they have a translation, or if they’re written in katakana. As well as the general opinions people have about disabilities in Japan. If that makes sense? I’m asking because I’m disabled and may be going to Japan sometime in the next few years. And I understand that there’s probably way too many different disabilities to list. But if anyone has any information, I’d like to know.
Specifically asking about autism. As well as physical disabilities, like, how people in Japan may react to seeing someone in a wheelchair.
I doubt I’ll find this sort of stuff in any textbooks, so I wanted to ask here to see if anyone has any information. Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, I saw someone else asking a similar question with a different topic so I thought it was worth a shot.
4 comments
There are kanji as well as katakana names for various disabilities.
In general, old attitudes about disability persist. In other words “out of sight, out of mind.” In a place where “the nail which sticks out gets hammered down,” being “normal” is best. But it’s getting better.
In the schools where I worked, there were books about teaching students with various disabilities (autism, ADD…). NHK (?) has (had) some animated spots where people with various disabilities or other differences asks “what’s normal anyway.”
Here they are! https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/9999382/
Disability is 障害 (しょうがい) with disabled person being 障害者 (しょうがいしゃ) however you will often see the latter written without the second kanji (i.e 障がい者) which is seen to be more inclusive because 害 means harm / evil
My sister is _heavily_ disabled and entirely wheelchair bound. The station accessibility is hugely improving, there are many elevators now where even back in like 2015 I didn’t see as many. Getting around via train was largely fine for my family, but crowded trains were difficult – as you’d expect.
The bigger problem was narrow stores and restaurants, especially those with a few steps up or down for access, the vast majority of those were off limits and offered no accommodation; that’s something to be aware of.
Non-visible disabilities are more difficult and also easier at the same time. I wouldn’t worry much about Autism, but I would spend time planning if you are wheelchair bound as you’ve mentioned, because it may limit what you can or can’t do.
It definitely depends on the disability but they’re no way as progress in Japan compared to many other first world countries. I’ve seen businesses turn away customers with various disabilities.