Disabled in Japan

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Chi65

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Since I came across a very touching experience in a village, where I was an artist in residence, I would like to say a bit more about it.
So far I heard, that disabled were a kind of taboo in Japan, but in this village there was a mongoloid girl, and it could not have been more loved than there!

l was invited to an annual local sportsfest nearby, a kind of mix of real hard competitions and games with the audience, so to say.
It was also a great local picknick and in general a social event thus. I also had to attend a few times and learned a few new games this way and a lot of fun, plus was invited to be shown around the school.

Anyhow, this mongoloid girl was maybe 10 years old at the most, always cheerfull and obviously loved by all of them. no one complained, when she neede many times the usual time for simple exercises, games. Everybody was simply waiting, until she was through, her very own way, often guided by someone. I have never seen this before! She was fully integrated into everything.

At another tim, I was invited to a little local Tanabata of the befriended kindergarden, including all the parents around, a very fine festival indeed, till late at night even. There she also appeared and was fed by everyone and joyously happy!
A big sunshine around everything and everyone.

When I later heard, that disabled people in Japan are quite a Taboo-theme, I was very puzzled, because in our case it was everything but taboo.

So I wonder, if anyone had similar experiences and if maybe it has changed in the meantime, or what you know about the past and present situation of disabled ones (whatever kind of).
Any information would be very welcomed!
 
So far I heard, that disabled were a kind of taboo in Japan, but in this village there was a mongoloid girl, and it could not have been more loved than there!
Click to expand...

Really?
Is disable a kind of taboo? :eek:

*****
 
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I work with disabled and elderly and I can tell you that disabled are not taboo. However there is still a long way to go before companies/government have completely embraced the fact that building designs ,roads, ect,ect are up to scratch when enabling the disabled to be completely independent. Japan is behind the 8 ball in this department.
 
Chi65 said:
Since I came across a very touching experience in a village, where I was an artist in residence, I would like to say a bit more about it.
So far I heard, that disabled were a kind of taboo in Japan, but in this village there was a mongoloid girl, and it could not have been more loved than there!

l was invited to an annual local sportsfest nearby, a kind of mix of real hard competitions and games with the audience, so to say.
It was also a great local picknick and in general a social event thus. I also had to attend a few times and learned a few new games this way and a lot of fun, plus was invited to be shown around the school.

Anyhow, this mongoloid girl was maybe 10 years old at the most, always cheerfull and obviously loved by all of them. no one complained, when she neede many times the usual time for simple exercises, games. Everybody was simply waiting, until she was through, her very own way, often guided by someone. I have never seen this before! She was fully integrated into everything.

At another tim, I was invited to a little local Tanabata of the befriended kindergarden, including all the parents around, a very fine festival indeed, till late at night even. There she also appeared and was fed by everyone and joyously happy!
A big sunshine around everything and everyone.

When I later heard, that disabled people in Japan are quite a Taboo-theme, I was very puzzled, because in our case it was everything but taboo.

So I wonder, if anyone had similar experiences and if maybe it has changed in the meantime, or what you know about the past and present situation of disabled ones (whatever kind of).
Any information would be very welcomed!
Click to expand...


That's a lovely story Chi.

I am thinking the kind hospitality in favour of this girl was possibly due to the closeness of the poeple in the small village.

My two accounts.

I once used to teach a lady in Nara and her husband was responsible for all the concreting for JR Railways Kansai district.

I would often write letters for her hubby to give speeches.

Her brother was blind.

One day during our lesson, she got into a deep conversation about it.

She used to tell me how poepl would treat him very badly, and often people would simply walk past and ignore him whislt he was waiting for a lending hand to come down some steep steps, etc..

She actually broke down in tears and told me all about how disabled people in Japan are treated as "special", where as in Australia, you just urge them on, pretty much like the rest of the population..

I also taught a beatiful 28 year old disabled girl

N was in a wheel chair, and her arms were twisted, hands, difficult co-ordination picking things up etc.

She actually broke her neck in a car accident whilst young and also slurred a little when talking..

One of my best Japanese mates went to scholl with N and she was a very pretty girl.

I would often talk about her disabilities with her, and she was as happy as with a large friend and social base..

her English and learning skills were top notch.

She kept her Mum busy..

So not really sure where all this fits in, but I do think that anything classed as "different" in Japan is often looked at by people, and the same old story, "Don't worry", "they are interested"

hanachan said:
Really?
Is disable a kind of taboo? :eek:

*****
Click to expand...

Taboo is related to: "Something not to be talked about"

I was also told that talking about Discrimination in Japan is also Taboo.
 
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caster51 said:
this word in Japanese is also considerd as discrimination slur in Japan
be careful
Click to expand...
ﾂ"ﾂ湘｡ﾅ?Q窶堙ｰﾅｽﾂ昶?堋ｽ窶堙ｪ窶堙??堋｢窶堙ｩﾂ鞘?版ｽ邃｢ﾂ"ﾂ This is considered discrimination? How else would you say this Caster?

Although being disabled is not taboo, that is a misconception and wrong. However as Kyoto Returnee said, the general public as a whole can be quite inconsiderate towards the disabled in public areas by not making an effort to accomodate their special needs, now this is a fact. Have a look at how many able people park in the disabled parking spaces, I think you will find that 95% of the time those parking spaces are taken by people who do not have the right to park there. And the problem lies with the government for not enforcing this strongly enough through the police.
 
ﾂ湘｡ﾅ?Q窶堙ｰﾅｽﾂ昶?堋ｽ窶堙ｪ窶堙??堋｢窶堙ｩﾂ鞘?版ｽ邃｢
Click to expand...

i think it is Ok
however ﾂ身窶佚個湘｡ﾅ?Qﾅｽﾃ停?堙個鞘?板青ｫﾂ is not good

"a person whose body is incovenient" is better

def is aslo such slur.

"person whose ear is inconvenient...
 
I know there are lots of ways to say "Disabled" ,but I translate "Disabled Girl" as "ﾂ湘｡ﾅ?Q窶堙ｰﾅｽﾂ昶?堋ｽ窶堙ｪ窶堙??堋｢窶堙ｩﾂ鞘?版ｽ邃｢" . ﾂ"ﾅｽﾂｨ窶堙娯?｢sﾅｽﾂｩ窶燃窶堙娯?｢ﾃｻﾂ" or ﾂ"ﾅｽﾂｨ窶堙娯?｢s窶｢ﾃ問?堙娯?｢ﾃｻﾂ"ﾂ which way are you trying to translate "person whose ear is inconvenient" ??
 
I always feel bad that there doesn't seem to be a lot of handicapped accessible arrangements. I know there are elevators at some train stations, but they always seem to be out of the way and inconvenient. I've had to use them on occasion when dragging luggage around. And then there are stores where there aren't elevators, just escalators or stairs. ( I may not have found an elevator though, because sometimes they are tucked away in far corners. )
 
mongoloid
adjective
a former term meaning affected by Down syndrome, now considered taboo(dated taboo)
Click to expand...

Or if you want to describe it as the ethnic group in the meaning, which ethnic groups were those villagers?

Sport events are not unique things in a small village. Someone like Kyoto Returnee did not know the event in his town when he was in Japan. But I am not here to blame him. It is simple. Just enjoy the event if you are interested in. If not, just stay at home.
If you want to do volunteer activities, just go to a local council of social welfare (shakaifukushi kyogikai, or Shakyo I usually call it), though I highly doubt the sport events are held every day.

*my personal story
Actually I engage in the sport event in my town, and what I always feel is a pity to see some local lawmakers leaving the event just after they make a speech. I also feel the same sense in threads something like this here.
 
I dunno if this will help you but there is a Japanese law on employment of persons with disabilities. It stipulates that companies over a certain size must hire a certain proportion of people with disabilities or face substantial annual fines.
 
I dunno if this will help you but there is a Japanese law on employment of persons with disabilities. It stipulates that companies over a certain size must hire a certain proportion of people with disabilities or face substantial annual fines.
Click to expand...

障害者雇用対策

Taboo is related to: "Something not to be talked about"
I was also told that talking about past Discrimination in Japan is also Taboo.
Click to expand...

however taboo makes it easy to forget that exsistence of discrimination of past.
sometime ,toboo is very availability to forget the past.

for example, i did not know about buraku and its exsistence at all because i was not taught about it in my prefcture's school.
It is better not to know it as a taboo.
indeed, there are many such ppl in my next town.
A lot of friends might have been also so in my childhood.
They are teaching it with weapon of human rights for their Privilege
oppositely to our regret.
 
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I guess it comes down to why it is an issue at all in Japan which would make it fairly obvious that it is taboo..
I heard that silence is a good thing in Japan.
Japanese people love to talk about Taboo topics, that's with non Japanese, and if they were to speak with Japanese, this would be bad because it is taboo and in-turn would make them different, which possibly may not be good in Japan where difference is frowned upon so obviously the importance and taboo in Japan is very relevant to the culture.

I guess we have to ask the question:

"Why is everyone so silent?" The answer could be, "It's taboo"

Then if you hold feelings and thought's inside, this could lead to stress and sickness, which may make taboo topics difficult not to talk about, as not talking would increase the stress until their was no stress or no taboo and possibly no you!

Ocean Dude said:
I dunno if this will help you but there is a Japanese law on employment of persons with disabilities. It stipulates that companies over a certain size must hire a certain proportion of people with disabilities or face substantial annual fines.
Click to expand...


It's ashame they have to have a law for such a thing..

It could be taboo-boo..
 
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Why is everyone so silent?" The answer could be, "It's taboo"
Click to expand...
to what?..............
and many Japanese does not tend to believe other personal experience without evidence
I think that is why it is so silent
 
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caster51 said:
to what?..............
and many Japanese does not tend to believe other personal experience without evidence
I think that is why it is so silent
Click to expand...

North Korea?

I don't think any of us do, although Japan very much appears to have the numbers against it to make the claim. They can't all be wrong..
 
I don't think any of us do, although Japan very much appears to have the numbers against it to make the claim. They can't all be wrong..
Click to expand...

it is a culture shock for me.
However, They can't be wrong..
you need a lesson that is way some historical matters were caused.

if this way was common for you , it would be said "uncivilized'
here is not your blog
 
caster51 said:
chi65 is misunderstanding it as case of Korea
中央日報日本語版 エラー
http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~seifudo2612/colianow.html
they are still believing disabled is caused by Ancestor's crime

This is Korean traditional dance. They are dancing mimicking physically handicapped persons' behavior, and they make spectators laugh
ichi the killer is a Japanese hero lol
Click to expand...


No misunderstanding from my side at all, you are the only one that misunderstands. . .sorry to say.
 
pipokun said:
Or if you want to describe it as the ethnic group in the meaning, which ethnic groups were those villagers?
Sport events are not unique things in a small village. Someone like Kyoto Returnee did not know the event in his town when he was in Japan. But I am not here to blame him. It is simple. Just enjoy the event if you are interested in. If not, just stay at home.
If you want to do volunteer activities, just go to a local council of social welfare (shakaifukushi kyogikai, or Shakyo I usually call it), though I highly doubt the sport events are held every day.
*my personal story
Actually I engage in the sport event in my town, and what I always feel is a pity to see some local lawmakers leaving the event just after they make a speech. I also feel the same sense in threads something like this here.
Click to expand...
True, these local sports events are annually in the area, that I was invited to and most probably the rule everywhere. They explained the system to me, it is followed by wider areas until all Japan competitions. For example first just one school, then the winners of that one together with other schools, and so forth. I could not visit the next bigger one due to a severely broken shoulder and exhibition preparations, that slowed down accordingly.
Its probably also true, that some disabled (and I do not think, we should use another word here, because it is simply the best english term, that all can understand, also in its variety. And we speak english here) are better off in some villages than in the general public. But it might as well only apply to certain regions or grown relations amongst people.
Thanks Pipokun, BTW.

Also interesting to know that law for employment (thanks for the info, Ocean Dude). dear Kyoto retournee, we have a similar one in Germany, but it includes also physically disabled, thus its only fair, I think.
I have heard, that somehow more efforts were invested into disabled matters in Japan, when I left, but I am uninformed, in which way. Anyhow, it did become a theme for a while. I wonder, if it still is, and where it shows.
BTW, many informations about Japanese behaviour, also from Japanese friends, often turned out to be not the habit all over, gladly, although I could not find out the reasons of the why, where and how.
But in a recent documentary during another event, some Japanese made it very urgently clear to the filmers by intervening in front of the camera, that not all are like this or that. Good to know, indeed. . .:-)

One reason, why I am interested in the matter is, we sometimes worked with normal and disabled (mosly down syndrome) together in art courses here, and those were some of my very best experiences! Rich and inspiring!
 
Goldiegirl said:
I always feel bad that there doesn't seem to be a lot of handicapped accessible arrangements. I know there are elevators at some train stations, but they always seem to be out of the way and inconvenient. I've had to use them on occasion when dragging luggage around. And then there are stores where there aren't elevators, just escalators or stairs. ( I may not have found an elevator though, because sometimes they are tucked away in far corners. )
Click to expand...

Right, but. . .I had most wonderfull experiences with the general outstanding Japanese helpfullness!
Well, I was not disabled. . .thus its really sad to hear, where the limits are.
 
Kyoto Returnee said:
It's ashame they have to have a law for such a thing..

It could be taboo-boo..
Click to expand...

That's a odd thing to write ☝ when Australia has have a similar law as do the U.S. and other countries.

Gossiping about other countries when you don't know what's going on in your own? Not very cool, is it? 😊
 
Ocean Dude said:
That's a odd thing to write ☝ when Australia has have a similar law as do the U.S. and other countries.

Gossiping about other countries when you don't know what's going on in your own? Not very cool, is it? 😊
Click to expand...

What don't I know what's going with which/what law?
 

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