Welcome back to our virtual journey into Japan! In the last article Mihoko and I discussed employment for people with hearing loss in Japan. Let us go further and delve into the issues of social benefits and activities of deaf and HoH organizations in Japan.
Karina: Upon what state benefits can people with hearing loss in Japan rely?
Mihoko: There are two levels: If you have hearing loss between 70 dB and 89 dB, you will get varying degrees of the government's financial assistance (depending on whether or not you get a hearing aid) towards the cost of the hearing aid or cochlear implant (CI). The funding assistance is minimal, and it just barely covers the cost of the least expensive conventional type of hearing aid. Imagine-- I received only $800 for one hearing aid that cost me about $2,500! And then there is the matter of purchasing the other hearing aid.
There is no governmental assistance for the mobile phone, unfortunately. If you have hearing loss that is equal to or greater than 90 dB, then you are eligible for more assistance for fax systems, attendant care and supplemental income (similar to disability pension). Free transportation varies depending on each prefecture (district). In Tokyo, if you are approved as "legally" deaf or hard of hearing, which means you have a hearing loss that is equal to, or greater than 70 dB, you'll obtain a special ID card with which you can get free fare for Tokyo Municipal Subway systems. For other subway or transportation systems, you still have to pay the entire cost. Also, if you are traveling over 100 km (about 62.14 miles) or further, your rail fare will be 50% off, but not for a reserved seat or special express ticket. There are so many other smaller discount systems, like at museums, but they vary depending on where you live. And these assistance programs change every year depending on the government's budget. Overall, any funding for medical, social welfare and education costs have been getting slimmer each year.
Karina: What is the educational system like for the deaf and hard of hearing in Japan? How about employment prospects for deaf and hard of hearing workers?
Mihoko: There is a Special-Ed school (or program) for deaf and hard of hearing children up to high school. There is only one college that specializes in teaching deaf or blind people in Japan. A majority of hard of hearing kids go to mainstream school. They may receive speech class outside of school*.
Karina: Do you have organizations for the deaf? If so, what are these organizations and what are they responsible for?
Mihoko: I'm not sure how they call themselves in English, but there is a National Association for the Deaf in Japan. They have a strong voice in the country, and helped make sign language interpreters included in the UN Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities. They really focus on sign language and want to establish a national institution to research sign language.
Karina: What about organizations for the hard of hearing?
Mihoko: We have Zennancho, the All Japan Association of Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened People. There are not so many members. To my knowledge, there were about 6,000 members some years ago. This organization is a national one; each prefecture has its own local chapter. Zennancho also has its young adult division, and generally, those who are 35 or younger can join it. There are too many activities to list. But right now, we're trying very hard to make the government implement the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities by revising the old laws in order to meet the UN guidelines. They ratified the Convention last April, but the government hasn't done anything to implement it. Other projects we are working on include but are not limited to: setting up a one-stop center for the Hard of Hearing, expanding the captioning system for all broadcasting systems, hospital, medical, post office and bank outreach -- and more -- to educate them on hearing loss issues.
Karina: What has been the biggest achievement of these organizations by now?
Mihoko: I think it is the nationwide petition that made most of our primetime TV programs (for instance, news shows), captioned. We went to the UN Convention to voice our needs and helped include communication systems such as real time captions and texts in the statement.
Karina: What would you like to improve for Japanese deaf and hard of hearing people?
Mihoko: Encourage young, especially working adults and high school or college students, to be more proactive, self-educated and become their own self advocates. To gain more self-esteem. Find good peer support.
As an endnote to my conversation with Mihoko, Kubota Yoshiko, another delegate at the IFHOH Congress who was there with Mihoko, echoed her words. She said: "Sometimes people with hearing loss think their hearing loss is shameful and hide their hearing aids from the rest, especially those who do not have an official disability status. There is no notion of self-advocacy in Japan. So I wish to introduce this idea to people with hearing loss in the near future."
*Author's note:
In deaf schools, education begins at kindergarten, and ends in a non-degree course for graduates (3 to 20 years old). A recent change in schoolgoing age means that classes for children who are up to three years old are being introduced in deaf schools because of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program, which was unveiled recently (facts contributed by Kubota Yoshiko).
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