Chapter V. Building the Foundations for a Comfortable Living Environment (including barrier-free town planning, housing, transportation, information services, crime and disaster prevention and other measures to enable persons with disabilities to move about freely outside the home and at work)
Section 2.Measures Supporting Comfortable Living for Persons with Disabilities
Chapter V. Building the Foundations for a Comfortable Living Environment (including barrier-free town planning, housing, transportation, information services, crime and disaster prevention and other measures to enable persons with disabilities to move about freely outside the home and at work)
Section 2.Measures Supporting Comfortable Living for Persons with Disabilities
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Various measures are promoted in order to ensure that persons with visual, hearing, and other disabilities - often at a huge social disadvantage in terms of acquiring and communicating information - can swiftly and accurately acquire information and can access means of communicating information. These include dispatching volunteers for Braille, reading, and sign language as well as making sign language interpretation available in welfare offices. Support is being given to the proactive efforts of broadcasters, including closed captioning.
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To assist persons with visual impairments in acquiring information, a Braille information network for newspaper articles are constructed and information on food and nutrition is provided through cassette tapes as well as large-print and Braille books. Consideration is also shown for persons with disabilities in regard to voting; for example, candidate lists for national elections are created in Braille, and sign language interpretation is introduced for election broadcasts by candidates.
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In connection with postal services, postage rates for certain mail sent or received by persons with disabilities are reduced or eliminated. Postal Savings Account Statements Braille Service is available, and Braille Cash Cards Service for Postal Savings Accounts is issued. Notices regarding postal life insurance policies are also sent out in Braille, and Braille layouts have been posted at policyholder welfare facilities.
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An emergency "110 fax service" and a fax network are introduced to prevent crimes against persons with disabilities, and police officers trained in sign language are stationed at koban (small police offices). Police departments provide officers training programs on sign language, nursing care, and communication with persons with disabilities and support officers' participation in volunteer activities.
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The government is pursuing a number of disaster-prevention measures for persons with disabilities. These include support for local government projects and emergency infrastructure projects that improve protection against disasters.
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Measures for protecting persons with disabilities and others from landslide disasters are given high priority, and detailed disaster-related information is provided through flood hazard maps and other methods.
(Principal measures implemented)
- In December 2002, revisions were made to the Guidebook for Voluntary Organizations on Disaster Protection. These revisions recommended the creation of disaster-prevention plans that include assistance for foreign residents, elderly persons, persons with disabilities and others at a particular disadvantage during emergencies. Greater coordination with other volunteer activities during emergencies was also encouraged.
- The Law for Promotion of Measures for Protecting against Landslide Disasters in Districts on Alert came into effect in April 2001. The law sets out a licensing system for the development of facilities for people who are vulnerable to landslide disasters in districts on alert.
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