Curious about Japan, the second most technologically advanced country in the world after the US (and the country with the third largest economy in the world, after the US and China)? I am. How about their accommodations for people with hearing loss? Their outlook on life for people with disabilities?

The strong work ethic of the Japanese people, along with their commitment to education, highly developed aesthetic sense and love of nature fascinated me years ago. At the IFHOH Congress I met young Japanese hard of hearing girls, and we had conversations about Japan in a shared language - English. Our efforts were somewhat successful, because we had to resort to a simplified version of English in order to understand each other. Luckily, Mihoko Kusachi, a Japanese social worker and counselor for people with disabilities, generously helped us to paint a full picture of contemporary Japan.

Mihoko is 42, and is a hard of hearing Japanese social worker who has studied and worked in both San Francisco and Hawai'i. Having found out about her U.S. study, I naturally wondered about her U.S. experiences as a person with hearing loss.

Mihoko: A few HoH mentors I met in my twenties really helped me grow as a person with hearing loss. Also, traveling/living in different countries and being exposed to people from all over the world with or without disabilities really helped me to gain a wider scope of my own disability in a cultural context. I also speak Mandarin, and have traveled to China, Europe, Russia and the United States many times, and I have lived in Australia.

Karina: How many hard of hearing and deaf people are there in Japan today?

Mihoko: Statistics say that there are 6 million Japanese who have some degree of hearing loss, including profound deafness. Of this, two thirds are seniors who are 65 or older. Twenty percent of that 6 million figure -- that is, 1.2 mln -- require some form of written communication that does not depend on speech/listening.

Karina: If there is a clear distinction between hard of hearing and deaf citizens in Japan, what is it?

Mihoko: There is a medical difference: those with hearing loss degree of 90-95 dB or more are considered to be medically deaf. Those who have loss between 41-89 dB are considered hard of hearing. Apart from this, there is a cultural difference: regardless of the medical perspective, if you consider yourself as belonging to Deaf culture, use sign language as your primary language, and learned speech/writing as your second language, you can call yourself "Deaf." There are many Japanese youths who function in Japan as "hard of hearing," but then in the US, they use ASL and function as "Deaf."

Karina: What is, in your opinion, the biggest challenge for both the deaf and hard of hearing communities in Japan now?

Mihoko: The lack of advocacy skills. Only a small number of us, like those involved with Zennancho, the All Japan Association of Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened People, work on helping change laws, policies, obtaining more funding, and so on. Lots of young Japanese deaf and hard of hearing people don't know where to seek help, or how to advocate for their own needs due to their lack of self-esteem. And the Japanese government is very stubborn, old-fashioned, and unfamiliar with the world's movement toward equal access to employment, human rights and other aspects as outlined in the recently ratified UN Convention of People with Disabilities.

Karina: Are there quotas for hard of hearing and deaf people at workplace or at universities and laws that allow HoH or deaf individuals to study?

Mihoko: Due to the current legislation and quota system, companies are supposed to hire people with disabilities, and keep that percentage at 1.6-1.8% of the entire amount of employees, depending on the size of the company. However, this is not strictly implemented as Japan is known to have many "ideal," not "practical" laws that have a quality assurance function (like Ombudsmen) and strong implementation requirements like in the US (otherwise they get punished by fines, suspended, and so on). Lots of larger Japanese companies prefer to get away with this quota system by paying fines. And the government doesn't mind much. Remember, the 1.6-1.8% quota is not just for deaf and hard of hearing; it includes people of all kinds of disabilities. I don't have data on what percentage is reserved for people with hearing loss, if any. For the universities, there is no special quota. The 1.8% should apply to any large institution that has a large number of employees (about 500 or 1,000), including universities.

Karina: How do deaf and HoH people enter the job market, then? Are there any tricks they can use to get a job?

Mihoko: Due to the quota system, there is a special entry for people with disabilities. They are protected in this entry system but at the same time, lots of larger companies set up a smaller company that is affiliated to the parent company just to meet the 1.8% quota, then hire people with disabilities and send them all to this affiliated small company to have them do only simple, menial jobs. This is somewhat like a "workshop" firm, segregated from the regular working environment and society. There are, of course, some people with disabilities who work seriously at regular companies, such as myself, and who day in day out have to advocate for our needs to successfully function in the hearing environment.

So you have two choices: if you want protection and only want to work with people with disabilities, you reveal your hearing loss and get a job that may or may not be what you really want to do. Or you just get a job you want like anyone else -- going through phone calls, taking exams, going to job interviews, etc. In the end, it's up to you if you reveal your disability to your prospective employer or not.

In the next part of the interview, you can read about the achievements and challenges for Japanese people with hearing loss. Stay tuned!

SOME FACTS ABOUT JAPAN:

Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than California
Population: 127,288,416 (July 2008)
Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
Government type: constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government