Recent Progress and Future Challenges in Disability Student Services in Japan.

要旨

The Japanese government passed an anti-discrimination law, the Act on the Elimination of Disability Discrimination, in June 2013 (to be enforced April 2016) and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in January 2014. Prior to ratification of the CRPD, the Japanese government had begun to construct an inclusive educational system in 2012. Before this systematic change, no legal obligation existed to provide support or accommodation for students with disabilities (SWDs). Only a limited number of Japanese institutions of higher education (IHE) have offered such accommodations, similar to those found in the United States and some EU countries, and the number of SWDs has also been at the low level (0.42% against all students in all IHEs in Japan). However, this systematic change has been spreading recognition of SWDs’ needs among Japanese IHEs. In this article, we review the ongoing change in Japan in light of the legal background of disability student services, looking at changes in enrolment numbers of SWDs, examples of accommodations for SWDs in Japanese IHEs and other changes, and other preparations among IHEs for offering reasonable accommodation to SWDs.

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