The Japanese Red Cross Language Service Volunteers arranges the events to join the “participation programme” which the city of Tokyo has prepared for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The first session of the events was held on October 6 2019 and NHK covered it in its web news called the Shutoken Network.
The “Accessible Tokyo” team hosted the second session of the events.
Time and Date: Sunday, November 10, 2019
| Sunday, November 10, 2019 Open 12:30 / Start 13:00 | |
| Venue | Japanese Red Cross Society Headquarters, 201 Conference Room (Shiba Daimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo) |
| Title | Development of accessibility of Tokyo – review activities by “Accessible Tokyo” of the Japanese Red Cross Language Service Volunteers |
The following is a brief introduction of the event. We invited two guests with disabilities. One was a visually disabled person and the other was a wheelchair user. Is accessibility for people with disabilities really embraced through society? We conducted accessibility reviews around the city with them and found problems at some facilities from their points of view which the majority of people would not have been able to notice.
We and Mr. Tsunagawa, a visually disabled person, carried out an accessibility review at Shinjuku Station and the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal. As a result, we found some obstacles people with visual disabilities would come across if they visit those facilities.
We and Mr. Kogo, a wheelchair user, did another accessibility review around Shinjuku Station. We found some problems wheelchair users would face if they walk around the city.
Guests
| Yasunori Tsunagawa, a person with visual disability (total blindness) |
| Zenichi Kogo, a person with spinal cord injury (wheelchair user) |
We also explained “Accessible Tokyo” activities in the event. Our activities started in 1975 and our group has an over 40-year history among other groups of the Japanese Red Cross Language Service Volunteers. Tracing the history, we told attendees about the current activities and the website. Furthermore, we mentioned our activities leading up to and following the 2020 Paralympic Games.
Programme
| Introduction | Introduction of the activities of Japanese Red Cross Society and the Japanese Red Cross Language Service Volunteers |
| Session 1 | History of “Accessible Tokyo” activities and current accessibility of Tokyo |
| Session 2 | Accessibility reviews of Tokyo by a person with visual disability and a wheelchair user – problems for people with disabilities in the city |
Hosts
The Japanese Red Cross Language Service Volunteers
Japanese Red Cross Society
The photos show our accessibility review with Mr. Tsunagawa
