Japan’s Transit System Gets Serious About Disability Access
Trains and subways in Tokyo and other cities have long posed a challenge for disabled riders. As Japan prepares to reopen to tourists, here’s what’s changed.
Japanese athlete Masaaki Suwa demonstrates the new barrier-free fare system inside the Tokyo Metro in August 2021. Japan's efforts to improve accessibility and inclusion were spurred by Tokyo’s selection to host the 2020/1 Olympics and Paralympics.
Photographer: Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images
In many respects, Japan’s extensive network of rail stations is a triumph of contradictions. Chaotic, yet possessing its own internal logic that provides a striking degree of order. Heavily trafficked, but still able to remain remarkably clean.
This is perhaps most evident in how it serves riders who are disabled. For all its success as a modern marvel of high-speed mass mobility, Japan’s rail system has historically been perceived as inaccessible for those with physical disabilities.