Disability Studies Quarterly Summer 2008, Volume 28, No.3 <www.dsq-sds.org> Copyright 2008 by the Society for Disability Studies

Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples International (DPI-Japan).

Japan Council on Independent Living Centers (JIL).

Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD)

Japan National Group of Mentally Disabled People.

• Related link:

  "Recovery, self-help, from my and our experience in Japan" presentation made by Mari Yamamoto (Japan National Group of Mentally Disabled People) available at http://nagano.dee.cc/alternative05.pdf (pdf)

Disability Information Resources (DINF).

Heyer, K. (1999). "From Special Needs to Equal Rights: Japanese Disability Law",

Provides an overview and analysis of postwar Japanese disability legislation and activism as well as the role of the medical model of disability in shaping this legislation.

Ishikawa, J. (2004). "The Dawning of a Society for Disability Studies",

A brief description of the emergence of Japan Society for Disability Studies (JSDS), written by Professor June Ishikawa of the International Relations Department at Shizuoka University.

Kusunoki, T. (n.d.). "Rights of Disabled Persons and Japan",

Toshio Kusunoki, Deputy Chairperson of the Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples' International (DPI), produced this short piece on the drafting of the Japan Disabilities Act (JDA), which has not been actualized yet. The piece is published on the website of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center, or HURIGHTS OSAKA.

Miles, M. (2007-08). "Disability and Deafness in East Asia: Social and Educational Responses, from Antiquity to Recent Times. A bibliography of European-language materials with introduction and some annotation",

This bibliography introduces and lists 900 articles, chapters and books connected with social and educational responses to disability, deafness and mental disorders in China, Korea and Japan, from antiquity to 2007, some with annotation.

Nagase, O. (1995). "Difference, Equality and Disabled People: Disability Rights and Disability Culture",

The full text of Nagase's Master thesis at the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, Netherlands.

Nakamura, K. (n.d.). "Bibliography on Deaf Communities in Japan",

Created by Karen Nakamura, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and East Asian Studies at the Department of Anthropology of Yale University.

Nakanishi, S. (1997). "Historical Perspective and Development of Independent Living Movement in Japan",

Tateiwa, S. (n. d.). "Bibliography of Shinya Tateiwa's work",

Shinya Tateiwa is one of the most significant figures in Disability Studies in Japan and has published numerous articles and books. Although it is under construction, his website provides English excerpts and/or abstracts of some of his published works including the following:

• "On Private Property" (1997) — http://www.arsvi.com/ts1900/1997b1e.htm
• "Equality of Freedom: An Another Simple World" (2004) — http://www.arsvi.com/ts2000/2004b1e.htm
• "Future of Property and State" (2006) written by Inaba, S. & Tateiwa, S. — http://www.arsvi.com/ts2000/2006b2e.htm

Hayashi, R. & Okuhira, M. (2001). The Disability Rights Movement in Japan: past, present, and future, Disability & Society, 16, 6, 855-869

This paper introduces the history of the modern disability rights movement in Japan, which has been a driving force for change in social norms and policies, and for improving the lives of disabled persons and their families. It presents the traditional social norms and policies that resulted in the confinement of disabled people in their parents' homes and in institutions, a radical movement of people with cerebral palsy active from 1960-1980s, the emergence of the independent living movement in 1980s, and the current disability rights movement and its future challenges. This paper is based on a review of documents and on interviews conducted during the spring of 2000 in Japan with disability rights advocates and personnel working for centres for independent living.

Holarnd, L. (1989). A Conversation with Mutsuharu Shinohara, Equity and Excellence, 24, 2, 58-61

A Japanese psychologist and educator describes special education in Japan and the Movement for the Coeducation of the Handicapped with the Nonhandicapped in Neighborhood Schools. Influenced by mainstreaming policies in western countries, the Coeducation Movement calls for an end to handicapped student segregation and advocates student togetherness.

Ishikawa, N. (1980). Full Participation and Equality in Japanease Education Today and in Future. Pediatrics International, 24, 1, 101-106

The National Law for Special Education in 1979 unfortunately enforces the segregation of the handicapped children. Many new private trials, however, have shown that integration is very important for handicapped children. They also have proved that integration is much easier than previously thought. Some of these trials are reviewed with our case reports and the new approach requested is discussed.

Iwakuma, M (2001). Ageing with disability in Japan. In: M Priestley (ed.) Disability and the Life Course. Global perspectives, 219-230. Cambridge University Press.

Reports interviews with "more than thirty" older Japanese people with disabilities, mostly men with spinal cord injuries, discussing a variety of topics, with some analysis. Their reflections on ageing with disability often reflect 'life stance.' A common theme was that interviewees felt they were better prepared for the problems of ageing than the non-disabled population. They had already had plenty of experience of coping with physical difficulties, of dependency on others (especially wives), and of facing uncertainty about the future. A number of interviewees had been close to death and had survived against pessimistic prediction; they no longer feared death or the future.

Iwakuma, M. (2003). Being Disabled in Modern Japan: A Minority Perspective. In E. M. Kramer (Ed.), The Emerging Monoculture: "Model Minorities" and Benevolent Assimilation, 124-138. Praeger Press.

Iwakuma, M. (2007). A chronicle of my education and disability transformation. In M. L. Vance (Ed.), Multiple Voices and Identities in Higher Education: Writings by Disabled Faculty and Staff in a Disabling Society, 87-95. Huntsville, NC: Associates on Higher Education And Disability.

Kose, S. (2003). The Japanese experience. In Coleman R. et al. Eds, Inclusive Design: Design for the whole population, 308-316, London: Springer.

Morita, K. (2001). The Eugenic Transition of 1996 in Japan: from law to personal choice. Disability and Society. 16, 5, 765-771.

The Eugenic Protection Law, which regulated sterilisation and abortion in Japan, had two aspects: one was to prevent the birth of people with specific diseases and impairments, and the other was to permit women to have an abortion for specified reasons. This law was criticised by both disabled people and feminists, and finally amended in 1996. Another eugenic practice related to both disabled people and women is prenatal screening. One prenatal diagnostic check, serum screening, is a simple blood test carried out on the mother with little risk and no need for sophisticated techniques. It became very widespread in Japan around 1996 and was used with too little thought. As a result, it led to controversy. This paper discusses Japanese eugenics with reference to the Eugenic Protection Law and prenatal screening from the standpoint of both women and disabled people.

Nagase, O. (2006). Experience of disability: Japan. In: G Albrecht et al (eds) Encyclopedia of Disability, II: 671-674. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.

Describes some modern 'resistance movements' of disabled and deaf people, protesting against the 'normal' belief in Japanese society that their lives are worthless.

Nakamura, K. (2002). Resistance and Co-optation: the Japanese Federation of the Deaf and its Relations with State Power, Social Science Japan Journal 5, 17-35.

The main organization of the deaf in Japan has not only been able to work within a civil law environment designed largely to promote the interests of the state and quell social protest, but has been able to succeed in manipulating the system to its own benefit. It has shown remarkable organizational flexibility by subdividing in an amoeba-like fashion to avoid political control. This paper engages questions of power and resistance in the civil society framework of Japan.

Nakamura, K. (2006) Deaf in Japan: signing and politics of identity. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Ochiai, T. (1994) History, issues and trends of Japanese special education. International Journal of Special Education 9 (2/3) 155-161.

Saito, S., & Ishiyama, R. (2005). The invisible minority: under-representation of people with disabilities in prime-time TV dramas in Japan. Disability & Society. 20(4), 437-451.

This study analyses the depiction of people with disabilities in Japanese TV dramas. Using preview issues of TV Guide, we content-analysed serial dramas and drama series airing during prime time on five commercial broadcasting networks between January 1993 and December 2002. The results showed that only 1.7 per cent of the characters examined were disabled, indicating that disabled persons were under-represented on TV. The study also found that most of the disabled persons depicted were young; there were almost no elderly people with disabilities. Analysis also revealed that Japanese TV dramas focused on certain disabilities. The implications of these findings are also discussed from the perspective of cultivation theory and the drench hypothesis.

Stibbe, A. (2004). Disability, gender and power in Japanese television drama. Japan Forum, 16(1), 21-36.

Traditionally, people with disabilities have been kept segregated and invisible in Japanese society and media. The 1990s, however, saw the start of a surprising boom in the portrayal of disability on Japanese television. Within the last ten years, there have been popular, prime-time dramas featuring portrayals of paraplegia, deafness, autism, visual impairment and learning disabilities. At first sight, the sudden increase in programs about disability seems to follow a number of political changes which occurred in Japan during the 1990s, as increased disabled activism created pressure to move away from the widely condemned medical model of disability towards new constructions. But closer analysis suggests that, while the television dramas manage to avoid some of the negative images that have appeared on television in the West, their overall effect is that of reinforcing many of the aspects of the traditional medical model. This is particularly true for dramas that feature disabled female characters, suggesting a relationship between representations of disability based on the medical model and traditional representations of gender.

Tsuda, E. (2006). Japanese Culture and the Philosophy of Self-Advocacy: The Importance of Interdependence in Community Living. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 151-156.

In Japan, there is a growing network of self-advocacy groups. Some groups are involved in campaigning. Other groups are involved in social events and education. The age of de-institutionalization is gradually arriving and community living for people with learning difficulties is becoming an urgent political issue. Self-advocacy groups can help people to settle and be accepted in the community. It is important to think about how self-advocacy ideas will fit with traditional parts of Japanese culture.

Tsuda E. & Smith J. (2004) Defining and organizing self-advocate centered groups: implications of survey research on self-advocacy groups in Japan. Disability & Society, 19, 627-646.

Ideally group members who have intellectual disabilities should have power in their self-advocacy groups, leading to groups that can be considered 'self-advocate centered.' Currently, not all self-advocacy groups can be considered self-advocate centered because group advisors have an overwhelming influence on group decisions. This article assumes that establishing self-advocacy groups in which members truly control the agenda and make key decisions is one of the most effective methods to empower people with intellectual disabilities. This study identifies factors useful in identifying 'self-advocate centered' groups, and especially focuses on the relationship between self-advocates and advisors. It is based on a quantitative research project conducted in Japan. According to the results of the research, though relational transformation between self-advocates and advisors was commonly seen in many self-advocacy groups, conflicts between them were scarcely observed. The meaning of relational transformation without conflicts is considered, along with the concepts of independence and interdependence.

Valentine, J. (2002). Naming and narrating disability in Japan. In M. Corker and T. Shakespeare (Eds.), Disability/postmodernity: embodying disability theory, 213-27. London and New York: Continuum.

Yoda, H. (2002). New Views on Disabilities and the Challenge to Social Welfare in Japan, Social Science Japan Journal, 5, 1-15.