22 October 1997 (Wed)
Disability Movement
Trends in Major Disability Specific Organizations
1. Beginning of Disability Movement after World War II
After World War II, people lost their houses and jobs, thus, civil movements such as more demanding rice were staged across the nation.
Among them was disabled persons' movement which started as a movement to protect the livelihood of disabled persons.
Tuberculosis patients at the National Sanitarium formed a patient's organization in order to make their demands for better treatment and faster rehabilitation to society. In 1948,the national organization was created which was called the Japanese Patients' Federation.
Around 1949, recovered tuberculosis patients in Kumamoto, Fukuoka and other regions began their actions to establish after-care centers. This movement spread into Hyogo, Okayama and Tokyo. This was beginning of Zencolo (National Organization of Sheltered Workshops).
2. Formation of Disability-Specific Organizations
Right after the war, blind people and deaf people formed their own nationwide organizations. This is because they have a long history of special education for them since the Meiji Era.
The first organization created after the war was the Japan Federation of the Blind (1948). In this year, Helen Keller visited Japan, and a move for the enactment of a welfare law for the blind arose. However, as the law for the welfare of the physically disabled was favored by the majority, this did not come true. Helen Keller's visit, however, made a great impact upon the post-war disabled persons' movement. One such example is the setting up of the employment promotion week for disabled persons.
Next was the rebuilding of the All Japan Federation of the Deaf (1949). The Federation started to demand the amendment of discrimination clause in the civil law.
Since 1958, these two federations have organized the Japan Association of Disabled Veterans and the Japanese Federation of Organizations of the Physically Disabled.
Along with orthopedic disabled persons' movement, with the assistance of Mutual Aid Association of the Railway Workers, the National Railways Federation of Disabled Workers' Organizations was established, and staged protest against the cut-down of pension benefits. The Mutual Aid Association started to publish a newsletter called "Rehabilitation" in 1953. At the time, the word "Rehabilitation" sounded quite refreshing.
In 1947, graduates from Komei School for Physically Disabled Children in Tokyo published a magazine "Shinonome". In order to put into practice the ideology founded in the "Shinonome" some of the participants in the magazine formed "Green Grass" Organization (Aoishiba-no-kai) and organized a protest against the controlled life in the institutions, and launched a larger social movement by bringing up issues on mercy killing of disabled children and mercy killing in general.
In the field of mental retardation, the Japanese Association for the Protection of the Mentally Retarded (an association of institutions) was re-founded in 1949. Also, in 1952, parents with mentally retarded children formed the Japanese Parents' Association for the Mentally Retarded.
This is the first organization created by parents with disabled children in Japan. The association now has 1995 chapters with 410,000 members; this is the biggest parents' organizations.
In 1950s, groups of parents of orthopedically disabled children began to locally organize their activities, and in 1961 the National Federation of Organizations of Parents of Orthopedically Disabled Children was formed. This Federation and the Japanese Parents' Association for the Mentally Retarded are major parents' organizations in Japan.
These two parents' organizations were putting all their efforts to build institutions and special schools for their children which were extremely lacking in number at that time.
3. Campaign for Compulsory Special School System
Since 1902, a campaign for compulsory education for blind children as well as deaf children had been launched. After the war, this demand was put in motion and put into effect by the School Education Law of 1947.
As for orthopedically disabled children and mentally retarded children, the School Education Law reads: "Special schools shall be established". However, here was no en-forcible date, and it took thirty-one long years to put into effect.
In order to resolve encompassing issues such as compulsory special education, improvement in social security, increase in welfare pension, the enactment of Physically Handicapped Persons' Employment Promotion Law and the Law for the Welfare of the Mentally Retarded, disability related organizations began to jointly organize national conferences and meetings.
In this context, the Physically Handicapped Persons' Employment Promotion Law and the Law for the Welfare of the Mentally Retarded was finally enacted in 1961.
In 1979, compulsory special education for the orthopedically disabled was finally put into effect. However, the delay of the implementation made this compulsory education face a campaign against special schools and refusal of entering special schools as the concept of integration of education for disabled children began to be accepted.
4. Pollution and Disability Movement
From 1950s to 1960, Japan enjoyed technological revolution, modernization and rapid economic growth. At the same time pollutants discharged by large industries caused many disabling conditions among citizens and this became major social issue.
In 1955, arsenic milk poisoning in Morinaga milk, and in 1956 in Minamata disease due to mercury poisoning drew public attention. This was followed by "Itai-Itai" disease in Toyama prefecture caused by discharged water by mining companies and asthma due to air pollution from Yokkaichi oil refining industries and so forth which caused disabling conditions among many citizens.
During the same period, chemical poisoning took place and produced many victims. Thalidomide babies caused by sleeping pills and Sumon disease were brought forth and both victims took issues to the court in 1963 and 1971 respectively.
Moreover, premature baby's moumaku-sho and daitai-yontokin-koshukushou were recognized as medical malpractice and brought to the court in 1972 and 1973.
Against these victimization, in order to win their demands the disabled victims, their families and concerned people formed organizations such as Association to Protect Morinaga Milk Poisoning Babies, Citizens' Assembly to Eliminate Pollution and Support the Minamata Disease Law Suit, Parents' Organization for Congenitary Abnormal Children (Parents' Association to Open-up Children's Future), and National Sumon Association.
5. Formation of Disability-Specific Parents' Organizations
As mentioned earlier, in 1950s parents of children with mental retardation and parents of children with orthopedic disability formed associations. In 1960s various parents' organizations for children with officially unrecognized disabilities sprang up.
This was due to insufficient laws and government policies to respond to the needs of specific laws and government policies to respond to the needs of special disability and also the parents' recognition of the importance of organizing themselves to share their own problems.
The following organizations were formed and began taking actions: Parents' Association for Children with Speech Impairment (1962), Organization to Protect Children with Hear Disease, Japan Muscular Dystrophy Association, Parents' Association for Congenitary Abnormal Children, National Association of Sisters and Brothers who have Mentally and Physically Handicapped Siblings (1963), National Association to Protect Children with Severe Mental and Physical Disabilities (1964), National Federation of Families' Organizations with Mental Illness (1965), Parents' Association for Autistic Children (1967).
About the same time, the Central Association to Protect Children from Polio, Japan Friends' Association for Person with Rheumatism (1960), All Japan Association for the Visually Impaired (1967), National Organization to Protect Persons with Nephritis and Kidney Diseases (1970) and so forth were formed.
As such, many disability-specific parents' association were born spontaneously. Through their experience they began to realize that they were all in the same boat, and set up a coalition to lead their movement more effectively.
In order to form a coalition among nationwide associations for mentally and physically disabled children, in 1965 the National Association for the Welfare of Mentally and Physically Disabled Children was set up within the National Social Welfare Association.
In addition, parents' organizations formed the National Coalition of Parents' Association for Mentally and Physically Disabled Children in 1966, and it started the National Welfare Foundation for Mentally and Physically Disabled Children to provide counseling consultation and training regardless of disability.
6. A Shift from Institutional Care to Community Care
The objective of the parents' associations' movement in the first half of 1960s was to build many institutions because these institutions had a long waiting list. As such, services for children living home were totally neglected.
In 1964, the 13th Paralympic Games was held in Tokyo, and also in the following year held in Tokyo was the 3rd Pan-Pacific Rehabilitation Conference. These two events brought a big shift in the direction of the social welfare policies in Japan which till then had centered around the institutional care.
1965 saw the beginning of a new trend in the parents' movement; that is to organize groups of homebound children and created non-residential community based facilities for these children. This new movement within a short period of time spread across the nation. A movement to integrate disabled children into regular kindergartens and child care centers also started.
Parents' association began to demand the improvement in community based services, and responding to the request the government in 1966 initiated to support community activities of the physically disabled, the supply of technical aids, the creation of training programs for social adaptation, the creation of social welfare centers for the physically disabled, and so forth.
Also initiated was a campaign called "Making the Town Accessible for Wheelchair Users", by disabled persons themselves forming a coalition with volunteers and citizens.
In 1970, disabled persons from an institution for severely disabled persons in Sendai City ventured out into town with their own wheelchairs. They were disappointed to know that they could not move around because of curbs on every corner of the sidewalk. This experience triggered a new campaign and resulted in "Citizens Assembly to Build a Welfare-conscious Town". This campaign to check accessibility of society began to spread over other cities and towns, and stimulated the publication of wheelchair access guides in local town and inadequate consideration for disabled persons in urban planning was pointed out as a result.
These local campaigns were at first organized by wheelchair users and their supporters as to expand the living environment of wheelchair uses. However, in a national meeting of the National Wheelchair Citizen's Assembly held in Sendai city, not only wheelchair users' but also other disabled persons' problems were brought up in terms of accessible environment. From this time on, the campaign engulfed other disabled persons and was expanded to one of citizen's campaigns.
Through this campaign people realized that disabled persons and other citizens could share one goal, support each other , and strengthen the understanding between them.
From this time on, a slogan "Living Together with Disabled persons" has been stressed by volunteers and workers of the institutions for disabled persons.
7. A movement to protect rights and living
A main purpose of the movements organized by disabled persons and their parents was to make requests to politicians or the government administration.
At the latter parts of 1960s when teachers' unions, citizens' groups, and labor unions demanded various rights, disabled persons movement likewise shifted to a campaign to demand their rights such as the right for education, right to enjoy living, and right to work.
In 1968, during the 17th National Congress of the Deaf, a slogan, "Protection of living and rights" was approved.
Earlier than this, in 1966, at the 15th Educational Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union, a proposal was presented to create a nationwide private organization regarding the education for disabled children. This organization should be organized not only by teachers engaged in disabled children's education but also take in parents, workers at institutions, physicians, and other citizens. As a result, in the following year the National Study Group on Issues of Disabled Persons was organized.
This study group defined the development and living of disabled children as the issue of rights, and placed it as the principle of its movement. With this group being a focal point, in 1967, "National Assembly to Protect the Living and Rights of Disabled Persons" was held, and the National Conference to Support the Life and Rights of Disabled Persons was formed.
This is considered an epoch-making in that this overcame the difference of disabilities and demands of the many organizations involved.
Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, in 1957 persons with cerebral palsy organized a group called Aoi-shiba-no-kai (Green Grass Association), and at about this year, they began human rights as well as so-called accusation campaigns.
8. Securing the right to work
Among the services for disabled persons the most delayed was the issue of employment. As the policies and services for employment of disabled persons advanced in European countries and the United States, disabled persons' organizations in Japan kept demanding a mandated employment quota system. However, the government postponed its action, and finally in 1960 the Physically Handicapped Persons' Employment Promotion Law was enacted.
However, the law only covered part of physically disabled persons, the employment quota was set low, and the quota was not mandated by the law. In other words, the law was more or less insignificant.
For this reason, right after the law was enacted, disabled persons' organizations demanded amendments in the law. It was in 1976 when the law was finally amended to impose responsibility for employing disabled persons, set a quota at 1.5% and collect levy when a company does not comply with the quota.
Even in this amendment, the coverage of the law was limited to physically disabled persons; thus, the campaign went on to ask for a law for the employment of persons with all types of disabilities. In 1982, it was amended to be called the law on the employment of disabled persons.
Disabled persons' organizations also asked for the establishment of protected employment system, however, at this moment, its chance is minimum.
Because there is no protected employment system in Japan, parents of disabled persons aimed at making small community workshops for their children. Up to now, about 1,600 workshops have been built with over 250,000 disabled persons working there.
These small workshops receive a small amount of grants from national or local government; however, the management is very difficult. Lately, due to the down turn of manufacturing industry, orders from these industries have declined a great deal, thus workshops are having very hard time to maintain their business.
To improve the situation, most of disabled persons' organizations including the Federation of Sheltered Workshops in Japan voice the need to assist these small scale community workshops.
9. Toward the Independence of disabled persons
The impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons of 1981 upon the government, mass-media, and the general population raised enormously the awareness toward disabled persons.
Especially, because of this occasion, various disability organizations which used to go against each other began to overcome the difference of disabilities, their beliefs, and opinions and formed, although a loose coalition, the Japan Council for International Year of Disabled Persons. Regarding this council, I will touch upon later on.
In 1982, some organizations which belonged to the JCIYDP invited American leaders of independent living movement and held the Japan-USA Seminars on Independent Living of Disabled Persons.
These seminars made a great impact upon severely disabled persons in Japan who had been seeking independence and "full participation and equality". After the seminars, they started their own independent living movement in their localities.
At the same time, the development of group homes for disabled persons including mentally retarded persons by disabled persons themselves and their families was seen.
The development of both community workshops and group homes is the most important issue of disabled persons who live in the community.
Another important issue facing disabled persons was to establish income maintenance as disabled person's right to live.
Since 1960s persons with cerebral palsy and with polio who were not engaged in any gainful employment organized the National Coalition to Establish Income Maintenance, and began their activities.
The JCIYDP was involved in this issue as its first priority and finally in 1981 the National Pension Law was amended and basic disability pension was included as part of the pension scheme.
The amount of the pension benefit is not enough to maintain daily living, however, it is quite significant in that it is included in the contributory pension scheme.
Another important move was the establishment of the Disabled Peoples' International in 1981 at the First World Congress in Singapore. In 1968, DPI Japan was finally established and it intends to coordinate with the 16th World Congress of Rehabilitation International to make sure that disabled persons' perspective is fully reflected.
10. Japan Council for International Year of Disabled Persons
In 1980, the year before the International year of Disabled Persons, the Japan Council for International year of Disabled Persons (JCIYDP) was born.
At the beginning, the number of member organizations was 57 and almost all of the organizations nationwide participated in it. Later on, the number increased to 100 and presently, it has 91 member organizations.
The JCIYDP is a coalition to coordinate activities among private organizations within and outside of Japan in order to achieve full participation and equality of disabled persons.
In 1981, the JCIYDP hosted a national congress to make a long term plan of action. Since then, it held a national conference every year to pursue the full implementation of the action plan.
Among other activities are issuing the IYDP Newsletter, and hosting welfare movie festivals and welfare book fairs on a regular basis.
Since its inception, the following were considered its accomplishments; the amendments of the Law for the Welfare of the Physically Handicapped; improving income maintenance of disabled persons through the amendment of the National Pension Law; and the total of amendment of the employment promotion law.
The present issues to be resolved are to amend the Mental Health Law, and to expand the scope of officially recognized disabilities up to the internationally accepted one.
The JCIYDP has chosen the following items as the plan of action for the second half of the United Nations' Decade of Disabled Persons:
(1) To review the scope and degrees of officially recognized disabilities.
(2) To establish a social welfare system which responds to the life cycle of disabledpersons.
(3) To guarantee the participation of disabled persons in the process of policymaking.
(4) To advocate for the rights of disabled persons.
(5) To improve the employment services for all types of disabled persons.
(6) To secure the financial assistance to small scale workshops.
(7) To improve the community-based welfare services.
(8) To improve income maintenance and to establish personal care service.
(9) To review the institutional care services.
(10) Supplies of more housing for disabled persons, and improvement in public transportation services.
(11) Emphasis on early detection and early treatment o disability and promoting day care services for disabled children.
(12) Promoting integration of disabled children in education.
(13) Improvement in medical care.
(14) Promoting awareness raising activities.
11. Cooperation among the four major organizations for people with disability
In 1981, the UN International Year of Disabled Persons, the four organizations, namely, Japanese Federation of Organizations of Disabled Persons, Japan Council on Disability (JD), National Council of Social Welfare of Japan, and Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (JSRD),co-hosted the National Assembly on Disability to mark the end-year of UN Decade of Disabled Persons. Together they carried on the movement to appeal to the national government and to political parties. In December 1992, the final year of the UN Decade of Disabled Persons, they carried out National Caravan Campaign throughout Japan and held the National Assembly on Disability which consummated the final year of the Decade to promote measures for people with disability.
The four organizations shared the same awareness that a great number of problems still remained as far as the measures for people with disability in the Asian and Pacific region were concerned. As for the plans after the termination of the UN Decade of Disabled Persons, they appealed to the national government for the need to continue promotion of measures for people with disability. On the occasion of UN ESCAP Meeting, which was held in Beijing, the Decade for Disabled Persons in the Asian and Pacific Region was adopted as a joint proposal by Japan and China. In 1993, the starting year of the Decade, the First Assembly of the Regional NGO Network for the Promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (RNN) was held in Okinawa.
In April 1994, Promotional Council of the New Decade was founded by the four organizations in order to promote new measures for people with disability. The purpose of the Promotional Council is, on the one hand, to actively promote new long-term plan of measures for the disabled in Japan, and, on the other hand, to strengthen solidarity among NGOs and aim at realization of full participation and equality to suit situations of the respective countries in the Asian and Pacific region.
Major activities of the Promotional Council include:
1) Conducting survey studies on measures for people with disability, making various proposals, and executing plans.
2) Sponsoring conferences and seminars on people with disability.
3) Cooperating with the Regional NGO Network for the Promotion of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
4)Others.
In the year 1997, Campaign'97 Seoul Conference to mark the Mid-Point of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons was held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, and a Japanese delegation representing disabled persons' organizations attended. The delegation successfully consolidated partnership with other countries in the Asian Pacific region.
From "Resource Book of Training Course for Leaders of Persons with Disabilities 1997"
Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons