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Action Research on Municipal Disability Policies
in a Rural City in Japan*,**Masakuni Tagaki
Osaka Prefecture University

Abstract
This study describes the development of municipal disability policy in arural area in Japan over a 13-year period. The study employed action
research using data from two disability councils, hosted by the Toyooka city
government in western Japan, to evaluate the achievement of three goals ofcommunity activities: task, relationship, and process. I acted as an advisor
to the councils from 2005 to 2017; as a result, the councils accomplishedtheir task and relationship goals. Examples include issuing a manual fordisaster preparedness and a campaign to promote bus use in collaboration
with the city government’s transport section and outside organizations.
Process goals were only partly accomplished. The consensus meetings might
have prompted people with disabilities to share their experience with eachothers. Overall, however, the involvement of people with disabilities indisability policy development was limited, and the initiative for these
activities came from city officials and social workers.

* This study was supported by a Grant-Aid for Scientific Research, grant number 25780341
from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
** I deeply appreciate the support by the Toyooka officials and the member of the TMC andthe TCSCL.

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1 Introduction
I implemented an action research design project to examine the development of an action plan for disability policy during a series of meetings ofmunicipal councils (MCs) in a rural city in Japan. MCs are responsible fordeveloping policy and services for people with disabilities (PWDs). I
employed sense-making theory, which is based on the narratives of themembers of an organization and Ross’s (1955) three community organizational aspects – tasks, processes, and relationships – to develop an indepth understanding of group dynamics with respect to members’ experiences and organizational development. 1
Over the past 20 years, the administrative role of Japan’s municipal
governments in disability policy has been expanding (Ozawa & Ohshima,2012), as Japan has established many new disability policies in a wide rangeof fields (see Table 1).

1

According to the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan (2016), approximately 8.6
million Japanese people (nearly 7% of the total population) have physical or intellectual
disabilities or mental disorders. This study employs the “disability” terminology used by theJapanese government.

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The Disabled Persons’ Fundamental Law (Japanese Law No. 84),
amended in 2007, states that every municipal government in Japan must
devise a basic action plan (BAP) for disability policy. The Services andSupport for Persons with Disabilities Act of 2005 (Japanese Law No. 123),
states that every municipal government must provide an action plan for thedevelopment of disability services (APDDS) for PWDs. A BAP deals
broadly with disability policy in a variety of fields, such as disability service,education, employment, and medical care. It promotes a barrier-free urban
development plan and improvements in public attitudes toward PWDs forpromoting the participation of people with disabilities in social activities. In
contrast, an APDDS focuses on the timing of the provision of disability
services, such as in-home support, daycare, and respite care, and job
training. Both BAPs and APDDSs include disability services and employment; the latter is more concrete.
PWDs value employment as a means to participate in society andenjoy economic independence (Tagaki, 2016). A 2016 survey by the
Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare estimated the number of employed
PWDs at approximately 500,000, or nearly 5 % of the total. Employment
for PWDs is available in both the public (central, municipal, and local) andprivate sectors.
Public interest in the needs of PWDs has increased over time. In
a recent public survey of people’s attitudes toward PWDs, approximately
60% of respondents reported that they have helped PWDs (Cabinet Officeof Government Japan, 2017). Nevertheless, 83.9% of the respondents statedthat prejudice or discrimination exists against PWDs, which is similar to the
83% reported by a 2007 survey (Cabinet Office of Government Japan,
2007, 2017).
1.1 MC for Disability Policy and MC for Support
for PWDs’ Community Lives
Local government is required by law to launch the Council on Support of
PWDs’ Community Lives (the CSCL). MC is an organization tasked with
developing a BAP and an APDDS at the municipal level. In general, a MC
is comprised of academic professionals, welfare or health professionals,
representatives of public organizations, high-ranking municipal officials, and110

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PWDs. MCs often conduct surveys and hold short public hearings to collectthe opinions of local PWDs for municipal governments. According to the
Cabinet Office (2014), 80.4% and 62.0% of municipal governments conducted surveys and provided hearings, respectively. Members of MCs
discuss the results of these surveys and hearings and develop suggestions
for education, employment, community work, disability sports, and thepromotion of citizen’s interests in disability issues as input into BAPs and
APDDSs.
The task of CSCLs is similar to that of MCs, but it focuses onmore concrete issues about PWDs’ lives in the community lives. It does notdirectly discuss BAPs and APDDSs; rather, it provides its opinions to theMCs. The background of the membership is similar to that of MCs.
However, those who hold practically related positions are apt to participate.
1.2 Issues in Drafting BAPs and APDDSs
A major issue in drafting BAPs and APDDSs is the method municipal
governments employ to enhance discussion among MC members and tocollect residents’ opinions about disability policy. There are no major or
frequent discussions among MC members or hearings provided for local
welfare or disability organizations (Tagaki, 2006). A shortage of participation
by PWDs in the MC is another issue. According to the Cabinet Office(2014), only 11% of the members of local disability organization are PWDs,
of whom 95% have physical disabilities. This means that the membershipof people with intellectual disabilities or mental health issues is low.
Tagaki (2006) found that MC members with disabilities are often
reluctant to discuss their personal interests in disability or share theiropinions about other types of disability with other members. Further, insufficient discussions across the types of disability might occur because thedisability welfare system addresses three disability categories: physical,
intellectual, and mental. Physical disabilities encompass four categories:
mobility, visual, hearing and speech, and internal (e.g., heart disease, kidneydisease, or other chronic illnesses that result in disability).
MC members have difficulty finding common ground across thedifferent types of disability within this system. When they try to findcommon needs, they tend to be compelled to discuss their personal exper-

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iences in detail. However, Japanese society considers disability a private
matter that should not be discussed with people with different disabilities(Iwakuma, 2003). Therefore, MC members with disabilities might be
reluctant to share their experiences with each other. Additionally, thisbehavior may reflect the Japanese tradition of respecting or valuing
harmony (Iwakuma, 2014), which encourages conflict avoidance andpromotes agreement. According to Tagaki (2006), a few municipal governments (e.g., Yao City, 2003) conduct interviews with the same members
several times during the fiscal year to solve these issues. This might be more
effective than a single interview in promoting discussion and collecting wellconsidered opinions; it might even encourage participation by PWDs inpolicymaking. However, only some of the important elements of the
discussions are integrated successfully into BAPs or APDDSs. Local
officials are responsible for determining which of the matters that have been
discussed in the interviews should be incorporated into policy.
1.3 Researchers’ Contribution to Welfare Policies
in Municipal Governments
Researchers who work for universities are requested to be intensively
involved into municipal policies such as welfare, public health, improvementof environmental contamination, or promotion of public transportation(Matsumiya, 2011; Sugioka, 2007). Although academics do not have theadministrative power to make policies, they are expected to manage MC
meetings with local officials, help local residents to find and solve welfare
issues, and network with appropriate actors in community. Researchers
involvement is not based on “university professor to non-academic”(Koshikawa, Mihara, & Yamamoto, 2011), but as a mutual or collaborative
relationship (Yoshimura, 2010; Pak, Hirano, & Hosaka, 2011). They are notexpected to provide residents and welfare professionals with a single
method to solve regional problems. Pak, Hirano, and Hosaka (2011) andFujii (2015) remarked that the series of MC meetings is an important placein which participants could redefine existing problems, identify new issues,
and agree on a method to solve them. Pak, Hirano, and Hosaka (2011)
suggested that MC members, including academics, community workers, andresidents, could discover a new self and be empowered through the112

Tagakiintensive discussions that occur in drafting a community welfare plan2 in aseries of MCs. For example, a professor had to reanalyze issues in acommunity he had researched because the residents and other professionals
did not support his earlier conclusions from his observations.
Rural cities that have no higher education organizations do nothave these benefits, and academic involvement is limited. If they ask
academics to participate in MCs, they need more time and a budget foraccommodation and transport; therefore, it is difficult to conduct intensive
exchange. Most universities are located in urban areas such as Tokyo,
Nagoya, Osaka, or other prefectural capitals.
1.4 Three Dimensions of Community Organizations
Community organization theory (Ross, 1955) is useful as a tool to examine
the process by which a researcher and members participate in MCs. Ross
(1955) argued that three organizational dimensions are important toconsider when researching a community organization: task, process, andrelationship. Achievement of the goal of each of the three dimensions will
result in an effective action plan for social welfare policies and communitybased welfare activities in Japan (Nishio, 2010).
According to the primary research conducted in Japan (Institutefor Community Social Work in Japan, 2005; Kayama, 2010; Nishio, 2010),
the task goal is to solve a concrete community task in a certain area, and theprocess goal is to deepen residents’ participation in welfare activities or theircapacity to solve community problems. In contrast, the relationship goal isto establish collaboration with organizations that are outside their own
activities, or network with related groups and activities in a certain area.
Kayama (2010) remarked that we should value both the task goal and therelationship goal as the basis for community work, although the task goal
tends to be highly valued and other two goals tend to be regarded as side
effects.
Tagaki (2007a) analyzed a series of residents’ meetings held by alocal government in a rural city in western Japan that spanned nearly two
2

Each prefecture and municipal government is required to launch a community welfare
plan in accordance with the Social Welfare Act (PL. 45). This plan covers diverse fields,such as policies for PWDs, older people, child rearing, public assistance for the poor, and amethod of networking of those who are involved in community practice.

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years from the perspective of these three aspects. He employed action
research methodology (Sugiman, 2006) and sense-making theory (Weick,1995). This meeting began after the BAP for fiscal year 2002 was issued
because some members of the Toyooka MC considered the collection of
information from local PWDs and discussion with them was consideredinsufficient. Many attendees had disabilities and the MC included an
academic, a medical doctor, social worker, and Toyooka officials. The task
goals were establishing a newsletter, developing a website, creating a forum
on disability issues in the city, and supporting employment opportunities for
PWDs. However, the Tagaki (2007a) discovered that the goals of themeetings were not accomplished because members’ active participation waslacking and meeting preparation, such as setting the agenda and documentation, was inadequate. Tagaki (2007a) pointed out that his role as a
researcher was to understand the members’ discussions, whereas themembers’ role was to describe their experiences accurately. He suggested
further that researchers in this field should focus on members’ narratives
about matters they believed should be discussed to provide local governmental officials with suggestions for disability policy. Despite the failure of
the residents’ meeting, it is noteworthy for its remarks on a researcher’s roleand its methodology (Tagaki (2007a).
1.5 Action Research and Narrative Theory
In addition to Ross’s theory (1955), the current study employs action
research (Lewin, 1948) and sense-making theories (Weick, 1995), which are
based on the application of narrative theory to group dynamics in organizational development. Each theory is appropriate for analyzing the resultsof fieldwork that includes intensive interaction between members and a
researcher. Sense-making theory is appropriate for examining member
involvement in the meetings on disability policies at behavioral or linguistic
levels.
Nagata (2013) observed that Lewin (1948) focused on groupdynamics in organizational development, such as the dynamic relationshipbetween leadership and the prevention of human error. Lewin influenced
research into children’s development and learning through activity theory(e.g., Engestrom, 1987). This approach has been employed in studies of114

Tagakiresidents’ participation in community organizations (Hanny & O’Connor,
2013) and health professionals in local governments (Noro, 2012). Thesestudies examined the development of members’ perceptions of theiractivities as well as the outcome of their activities. Accordingly, I argue that
Ross’s (1955) three organizational aspects are closely tied to Lewin’s (1948)
action research.
This type of action research has been used in Japan to learn about
individuals in communities using sense-making theory (Weick, 1995).
“Sense-making” is a process by which people give meaning to theirexperiences retrospectively through narrative. Weick (1995) developed thetheory to analyze narratives in decision-making processes, such as the
problem-solving, judgment, or determination processes in organizations.
Decision-making is a product of the sense-making process because
decisions are based on meaning. For example, if an organizational member
states that his/her decision-making led to a positive result, that narrative isthe process of giving meaning retrospectively to the decision-making
process. Weick (1995) was greatly influenced by Bruner’s (1986) narrative
theory, pointing out that organizational sense making is a process thatcreates policy for future behavior, rather than merely recalling past eventsor interpreting experiences. Further, sense making is not an individual’s
inner monologue, but a social dialogue that develops in response to others’
agreements or objections (Miyamoto & Atsumi, 2009; Yamori, 2008). Some
examples of action research using Weick’s (1995) theory include investigations of conflict among residents during the merger of two municipal
governments (Higashimura, 2006) and the reconstruction of disaster areas(Miyamoto, 2015). The sensemaking theory is a suitable tool for analyzing
MCs in this study.
People begin to notice self-evident norms in the process of sense
making, or to use explicit stories to explain what they have implicitly
understood (Sugiman, 2006). Instead of teaching PWDs professional
academic knowledge, action research with sense making teaches them how
to make sense of their as well as other members’ actions and opinions,(Tagaki, 2007a). Therefore, sense-making theory is consistent with thecurrent trend of using narrative analyses in disability studies (Smith &Sparkes, 2008). Bruner (1986) proposed that people think paradigmaticallyto understand so-called scientific truth, and construct meaning from theirexperiences through narratives. Although Bruner (1986) stated that theseAction Research on Municipal Disability Policies

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two ways of thinking are reciprocal, narratives focus on sense making. In
addition, disability narratives correspond to illness narratives (Kleinman,
1988), which relate to how the meanings of PWDs differ from those ofexperts.
Moreover, sense-making theory is useful for researcher reflections
on his/her own position in a project. As mentioned above, significant
interactions occur between investigators and research subjects in action
research studies. Oliver (1997) argued that, regardless of research design,
researchers are incapable of adopting a neutral stance – opposing thepositivist paradigm that researchers can maintain objectivity. In action
research, descriptions of fieldwork and data analyses are influenced by (ifnot based on) researchers’ perspectives (Sugiman, 2006). This suggests that
researchers who use action research should reflect on their personal values,
as well as the roles expected of them by their research subjects. Researchers
who have used action research point out that member involvement depends
to some extent on the nature of the particular research project (Seekins &White, 2013; Yamori, 2010).
I studied the development of disability policy in the municipal
government examined by Tagaki (2007a), as new national or municipal
disability policies were established after the conclusion of the former
residents’ meeting. Tagaki (2007a) provided an analytical framework for theeffective municipal disability policy, even though the residents’ meeting was
not managed successfully. Akita(2013) and Yatsuzuka (2013) suggested that
action researchers should study the same research field for a long period:
this might enable them to obtain new findings about research objects that
had been examined previously. A study of the current development of
disability policy in Toyooka might provide us with new lessons about
managing the residents’ meetings, which was regarded as unsuccessful in thepast.
This study’s main objective was to understand the developmental
process of MCs from the perspective of the three goals explained by Ross
(1955). The second objective was to examine the role and function of anaction researcher in the Mcs.

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Tagaki2 Method
2.1 Context
Toyooka City, Hyogo, Japan. Toyooka city is a provincial city in the northernpart of Hyogo prefecture or western Japan, established in 2005 by themerger of one city (the former Toyooka)3 and five towns (Hidaka, Izushi,
Kinosaki, Takeno, and Tanto). Toyooka is 200 km from the Osaka urban
area by train. Toyooka’s population is approximately 83,000, of whom
nearly 5,000 (about 6 % of the population) have disabilities (Toyooka City,
2017). The population of Hyogo prefecture is 5,500,000, of whom 170,000(about 3 % of the population) live in northern Hyogo. Toyooka is the main
town in the northern part of Hyogo prefecture and there are many schools,
two higher education schools, a large hospital, a small prefecture airport,
and branches of central and Hyogo prefecture governments.
The Toyooka Municipal Council for Disability Policy from 2005 to 2017. Table 2
shows the effective periods of BAPs and APDDSs in Toyooka. The BAPs
and APDDSs were discussed at the Toyooka MC for disability policy(TMC). The TMC’s objective was to launch and evaluate the progress of
BAPs and APDDSs. The frequency of holding the TMC was usually two
per year, but this increased to five or six in the years when upcoming BAPsor APDDSs were discussed. Members were delegates from welfare or
disability organizations, residents groups, professionals who work indisability support, and an academic (the author). The disability policy
section of the Toyooka government managed the TMC. There areapproximately 20 members, each with a two-year term, although members
can be reappointed.
Action plans, which were based on the results of surveys of residents with disabilities, their parents, a hearing for PWDs, and opinions
issued by the CSCL, were implemented.
3

Even though the current city name and the former city name are the same, the former
Toyooka city and the other five towns have been legally terminated as municipal governments.
However, more than half of the entire population and public facilities such as central or
municipal government, hospitals, schools, and stores are located in the former Toyooka area.
The Toyooka area is regarded as the central part of the current city for this reason.

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Toyooka CSCL. The Toyooka government launched CSCL (the TCSCL)
pursuant to the Services and Support for Persons with Disabilities Act of2006 in 2010. The committee consisted of a main committee, a subcommittee, and several groups. The main committee held meetings twice a118

Tagakiyear and subcommittee meetings were held approximately once a month.
The membership of the main committee is similar to that of TMC: an
academic, delegates from welfare and disability organizations, residents
groups, and professionals in disability support. Many members participatedin both the TMC and the main committee.
The total number of members is currently 20, with a two-yearmembership term, although members can be reappointed. Subcommittee
membership is restricted to those who have professional knowledge andexperience as practitioners but not those in managerial positions. Subcommittee members held observer status at meetings of the maincommittee. The author is a vice chairperson of the main committee.
My position in the Toyooka government. I was involved in the former Toyooka
Disability Council from FY 2002 to 2004, before the election of the current
Toyooka government, and from 2005 to the present. As of August 1, 2018,
I had been in charge of the TMC for 17 years. I lived in the Osaka urban
area, approximately 200 km from Toyooka city, which was my hometown.
Toyooka officials requested my active involvement in the TMC and themain meetings of the TCSCL as an advisor.
2.2 Data Collection
My continuing participation in the TMC made me realize that my involvement was worth analyzing and, in 2005, I determined that the
management of the TMC was suitable subjects for an action research
project. I cannot specify the exact start date of this study because myinterest in disability policy grew gradually. Yamori (2010) stated that it is notalways possible to identify the beginning and end dates of action research
projects.
The data used in this study include field notes, handouts, emails,
transcripts of the TMC’s and the TCSCL’s proceedings released on the
Toyooka city website, and publications issued by the Toyooka government.
In my field notes, I noted the progress at each meeting, key members’
statements, member discussions, my own reflections, and member reactions.
In this study, I have analyzed the development of the TMC from FY 2005

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to 2017 from the beginning of Toyooka city to the end of the fourth-term
APDDS.
2.3 Data Analysis
My analysis of meeting process considered written resources, such as
handouts delivered by Toyooka officials, my e-mails with the officials, andmy field notes. Records of my interventions in all processes were extracted
from the sources and my involvement in the meeting process was clarified.
I employed the KJ method, a type of bottom up qualitative method developed by a Japanese ethnologist, Jiro Kawakita (1967), to identify thecharacteristics of my interventions. Kawakita adapted this method fromCharles S. Peirce’s notion of abduction, which relies on intuitive thinking
processes to identify explanatory hypotheses (Scupin, 1997). The KJ
method contains some general steps: reading transcripts carefully, extracting
quotations from the transcripts, assigning a code (a summary label or index)
to each quotation, developing categories by grouping codes, and summarizing categories and relationships among them.
I applied this standard KJ procedure. First, I extracted quotations
from the transcripts and field notes, 185 and 64 quotations from the TMC
and the TCSCL, respectively. I linked the same number codes to them. The
quotations were each three or four sentences long. Second, I provisionallygrouped and organized the coded quotations and summarized them into
about eight categories in the TMC and six in the TCSCL. Except for
remarks on the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with
Disabilities (the Act) (Japanese Law No. 65), the following categories weregenerated: elaboration of member’s discussion, clarification of the TMC’srole, acknowledgement of members’ practices, explanation of social
research, and PWDs’ negative involvement in disability policy. Table 3
includes a detailed explanation of each category.

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Nochi (2013) suggested that there are similarities between the KJ
method and grounded theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Bothdevelop connections among categories using codes generated fromsegmented text data. However, there are differences between them. The
goal of the grounded theory methodology is to develop and integrate
categories logically into a theory, whereas the goal of the KJ method is tocreate new connections between ideas or concepts that might create
contradictory or illogical categories. Nochi (2013) suggested that the KJ
method is suitable for analyzing self-narratives because narratives tend toinclude many contradictions or inconsistencies. The KJ method is uniqueto Japan, where it is a popular qualitative analytical method in many fields,
including developmental psychology (Sato, Hidaka, & Fukuda, 2009) andgerontology (Fukui, Okada, Nishimoto, & Nelson-Becker, 2011).

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2.4 Ethical Considerations
Before submission, I asked Toyooka officials, key members of the TMC,
and the main committee to review the draft. The ethics committee of therelevant university approved the study protocol.

3 Results
3.1 Overview of Disability Policy Development in Toyooka City
First, I present the process of disability policies as five phases across time
(Table 2): the launch of the TMC and establishing the basis for municipal
disability policy (the first term); opening a rehabilitation center for children
with disabilities and the launch of the committee for networking service
providers (the second term); the establishment of the main agencies fordisability support (the third term); and the development of various disability
service providers and advocacy of PWDs (the fourth term). This classification is based on policies related to the TMC and TCSCL.
Over the thirteen-year period, the TMC and TCSCL haveaccomplished the following tasks and goals: issuing booklets that focus on
issues that had not been discussed well, such as a development record bookor disaster manual; collecting the opinions of residents with disabilities
through diverse methods such as a series of consensus meetings, gatheringsof parents with children with disabilities, and the promotion of employment
such as opening a cafeteria. Disability awareness publicity was progressed
through material on the Toyooka city official website and the city monthly
newsletter. Some actions were carried out jointly with other section, forexample, the bus campaign was a joint promotion with the with the public
transportation section.
3.2 My Role as a Researcher
At the request of Toyooka officials, I acted as an advisor for the TMC andthe TCSCL. I believed that we should examine disability policy development in a rural city such as Toyooka, as it appeared that many discussions

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Tagakiwere based on cities in urban area. Toyooka officials did not provide clear
guidance about my role or what types of policies they wanted to implement.
At the start, my role appeared to include the management of the twoorganizations, promoting exchanges of opinion among members andorganizing the results, introducing advances in policies in municipal
governments of urban areas or changes of national policy, and advising
members about social research methods. They knew that I had been involved in many municipal disability policies other than in Toyooka city,such as the Osaka urban area, and expected me to use these experiences ofadvanced policies and social research. I introduced to them policies thatwere implemented in other municipal policies regarding the enactment of
the Act. I asked all members of the two organizations to provide written
documents outlining their views, to deepen discussions among members.
I provided them with suggestions about social research including,for example, sampling method, the importance of well selected questionnaires, qualitative methods such as the wording of interview guides, andanalysis. I explained the theoretical differences of quantitative and qualitative methods. I always gave them similar advice, including to any Toyooka
officials who conducted any research. In particular, I was intensively involved in the consensus meetings that were held in FY 2006 and FY 2011.
As my involvement proceeded, I asked the members to identify
the issues about mild disability in relation to my impairment, and PWDs’
passive participation in the policy process, compared with municipal
governments in urban areas. Further, I gave the members a sense of thesignificant implications of their welfare practice that were not well understood by them. Overall, I believe that I was regarded as a key member ofboth of the organizations. The meetings were often held with my schedulein mind.
The author might be regarded as being familiar with the distinctive
regional affairs in Toyooka. Managerial officials often remarked that theauthor originally was from Toyooka when they ntroduced me to othermembers living in Toyooka or neighboring cities.

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3.3 Launch of the TMC: FY 2005 to 2006
Policy Development. The main policy for this term was the launch of the TMC
on disability policy to draft the BAP and the APDDS for the upcoming
term. Toyooka city was a new municipal government created by the mergerof a neighboring city and five towns; therefore a new BAP was needed eventhough the former Toyooka city had already issued one.
Toyooka officials were concerned that there was gap in theavailability of disability services such as the attendant or guide-helpers thatwere available in the former municipality. The TMC and the disability
section conducted a study tour for members to visit welfare facilities for
PWDs in Toyooka city. The aim of the tour was for members to understandthe actual situation of disability service provision in all parts of the city.
My Involvement. Toyooka officials asked me to advise them on developing
and issuing the BAP and APDDS. I drafted questionnaires to gather
residents’ opinions as requested by the Toyooka officials. They accepted mydraft.
I suggested a series of consensus meetings as a means to gather theopinions of PWDs who did not belong to any disability organization,
because they had few opportunities to express their views. I urged them tomake detailed preparations, such as setting an agenda, estimating the flowof the meeting, and considering how attendees should be grouped. I chaired
the consensus meetings, and asked for their cooperation (see Table 4,section 1). While my suggestions appeared to be accepted by members
during discussions, others appeared not to understand what type of opinion
should be sought at the meetings. I could not give them a clear answer tothis question, and asked them to discuss it freely. The background to thesesuggestions was the lesson I learned at earlier meetings, where I experienced
a lack of meeting preparation at a series of residents’ meetings held for FY
2003 to FY 2004 in the former Toyooka city (Tagaki, 2007a).
The main issues that emerged from the consensus meetings were
the need for a disability organization that attracts younger PWDs andfosters their mutual understanding, setting up more places where PWDs
could spend time during the day, improving the accessibility of public
facilities and transportation, promoting PWDs’ active engagement in124

Tagakideveloping disability policy, promoting of employment, and increasing
public understanding of PWDs. Some of the suggestions were included in
the BAP and the APDDS. Conducting the consensus meetings wasfavorably evaluated by members of the Toyooka Congress. Opinions thatwere not carried into policy were described at a chapter in the record of theresults of the consensus meetings.

Additionally, I suggested that the slogan of the BAP should include
words about "oriental storks’ restoration." I meant this to signify that social
welfare policy had a strong relationship with environmental policy in thesense that both value diversity of life, and the slogan might appeal to thoseAction Research on Municipal Disability Policies

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who were interested in environmental policy only. My suggestion was
accepted.4
3.4 Opening a Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities andCommencement of Disability Service Providers' Activities: FY 2007 to
2008
Policy Development. A rehabilitation center for children with disabilities was
opened in FY 2008. There were no similar centers for children with disabilities in northern Hyogo prefecture: they had to visit a center in southern
Hyogo prefecture that was two hours away. Therefore, the establishment of
the current center was beneficial for them. Building the rehabilitation centerfor children with disabilities was a joint project of Toyooka city and thetown of Shin-Onsen, drawing on funding from the national government’s
special financial support for newly merged municipal governments.
A disability and development record book was issued for parents
whose child experienced any disability. Parents write notes on his/her
situation or special needs in the book. If their child advances or enters a
new school, they hand the record book to the assigned teacher, after school,and nursery school, promoting the teachers’ understanding of the situationin the previous school.
My Involvement. My main engagement in the term was advice about social
research. In FY 2008, Toyooka city held TMC meetings four times to draft
the APDDS for the upcoming term through focus group interviews with
PWDs.
3.5 Launch of the TCSCL for Networking Service Providers: FY 2009 to
2011
Policy Development. The TCSCL was launched for networking disability
service providers in Toyooka city. Toyooka officials and I discussed the
4 The slogan was “A city for every citizen smiling with oriental storks.” This was employedby the first-term BAP and the first to four-term APDDSs (Toyooka City, 2009). However, theslogan was changed in the second-term BAP.

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Tagakimembership of the TCSCL, organizational relationships between the main
meeting and sub-meetings, and management of the meetings. I urged themto understand the need for an experienced coordinator and meeting
preparation such as setting an agenda, estimating the flow of the meeting,and grouping attendees. I suggested that a group of PWDs themselves was
not a requirement at that time; this could be organized after the basicorganizations of the CSCL were well established, even though there weresome remarks from officials about the values of such a group (Kasahara,2011).
Toyooka City undertook semi-structured interviews with 280 individuals with severe disabilities who did not use any disability services. The
primary issues that emerged at the interviews were satisfaction with theircurrent lives, job seeking, anxiety about the shortage of medical doctors in
Toyooka city, and their economic burden (Toyooka city, 2010).
Additionally, a Nonprofit Organization set up and managed a farmwhere people with developmental disabilities planted vegetables, as a place
where they could get together and obtain employment skills. I supported the
manager’s idea that this activity would be a model of connection between
welfare activity and environmental action, before the farm was in operation.
My Involvement. In FY 2011, Toyooka city held seven TMC meetings to draft
the upcoming third-term APDDS and the amended BAP. Toyooka city
undertook questionnaire surveys and a series of consensus meetings with
PWDs. I suggested that we needed joint action to solve some issues such as
public transportation or evacuation facilities that are issues for many citizens
the elderly.
I sought to elaborate members’ comments such as “evaluation,”
often mentioned as a role of TCSCLs. I realized that its meaning was
unclear, and I suggested to the members that we needed to invite an
external reviewer to examine the disability services provided by welfareorganizations, referring to a model in Osaka city.
In addition to these remarks, I emphasized the importance of mild
disability issues (see Table 4, section 2).

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3.6 Establishment of Main Agencies for Disability Support:
FY 2012 to 2014
Policy Development. The Toyooka Main Center of the Consultant for PWDs
was established in 2014 to provide PWDs with consultation or information
on welfare services and promote cooperation among service providers
across difference of types of disabilities. The Center took up the role of theCenter for Abuse Prevention for PWDs, launched in 2012.
The TCSCL published brochures on actions that should be takenin the event of a disaster and advance preparation in cooperation with awelfare organization. The brochures were delivered to students withdisabilities and members of welfare institutions.
Social workers at the rehabilitation center for children withdisabilities hosted twice-yearly meetings where mothers of children withdisabilities could share their experiences with each other. The mothers
commented that they could share their concerns with each other and obtainlessons from older mothers who had children with similar disabilities.
Disability awareness activities were conducted through diverse
media such as the Toyooka city monthly newsletter and broadcasting on
community FM radio. An explanatory article about each type of disability
and the experience of employees with disabilities was published.
Policies for the employment of PWDs were developed. The newly
built cafeteria in the main city hall was operated by a welfare organization.
My Involvement. In FY 2012, I noted the concern about PWDs’ insufficientparticipation in the disability policy process (see Table 4, section 3).
In FY 2014, the TMC issued the upcoming fourth-term APDDS.
I appreciated CSCL members hosting the gathering of mothers of children
with disabilities, and proposed a classification of participants (see Table 4,section 4). However, I informed the members of my concern that the
TCSCL was attempting to manage too many projects, and they should select
only important projects.

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3.7 Development of Various Disability Service Providers andAdvocacy of PWDs: 2015 to 2017
Policy Development. The main policies in the current term have been the
promotion of awareness of the Act, the development of various disability
services, and many meetings to distribute BAPS and APDDSs.
I undertook a number of actions to promote understanding of theAct. I delivered six two-hour lectures on the Act to Toyooka officials. The
disability section delivered a brochure about the Act to the attendees at mylectures, and members of the TMC or the TCSCL, and published an article
in Toyooka city’s monthly publicity material in hardcopy and online.
Members of the TMC and the TCSCL talked about their interest in the law.
Except for these activities, there were no developments on the matter.
The TMC hosted a campaign to promote the use of a local bus asa joint project with the public transportation section of Toyooka city. They
intended that this campaign would contribute to sustain public transport for
PWDs and older people. Cars are a typical means of commuting in local
cities like Toyooka. Welfare organizations’ workers sought to use buses inthis campaign, as a similar activity had been held for Toyooka officials.
Passenger numbers have decreased dramatically on many bus routes. Bus
companies were in financial deficit and obtained financial assistance fromthe local government. Some routes have become obsolete.
My Involvement. At the fourth meeting of the TMC in 2016, I suggested ascheme that dealt with matters of Act in the upcoming BAP (see Table 4,section 5).

4 Discussion
4.1 Accomplishment of Task and Relationship Goals
We can conclude that the TMC and TCSCL accomplished their task andrelationship goals. The opening of cafeterias, the publication of the disastermanual and development record book, a campaign to promote bus use,

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farming, and agriculture for people with developmental disabilities areexamples of completed tasks.
Cafeterias in public facilities such as city halls, residents’ centers,
and municipal library are popular projects managed by welfare organizations(Kubota, 2000; Sugioka & Hatakeyama, 2016; Toyama, 2017). A cafeteria
in a city hall was important in promoting public awareness of disability
issues. High-ranking officials such as congresspersons, mayors, and vicemayors, as well as general officials had meals there and saw PWDs cooking
in the kitchen. These cafeterias are policies in terms of the Act on Priority
Procurement Promotion for Persons with Disabilities of 2012.
We might argue that issuing the disaster manual, promoting bus
use, and farming were carried out sections other than the disability, andtherefore relationship goals were accomplished. Issuing the disaster manualwas obviously based on lessons of repeated disasters such as The Great
Eastern Japan Disaster in 2011, the series of torrential rain and flooding
every year, and the Great Hanshin-Awaji Disaster in 1995. The essence ofthe manual is that the special needs of PWDs should be considered, and
PWDs and residents should prepare for emergencies, because municipal
government might be unable to help residents due to the destruction of
local government facilities and injuries to local officials.
The promotion of bus use was a unique project in a rural city. Bus
companies in the countryside were in financial deficit and obtained financial
assistance from the local government. Some of the routes have become
obsolete. Private cars are a major means of transport in a rural city likeToyooka, where trains and buses are often unavailable. The maintenance ofbus routes has been the subject of recent attention, because many older
people have given up their car licenses and now need public transport.
The farming initiative is a pioneering project, as agriculture has
begun to be regarded as a workplace for PWDs in the past five years. The
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (2017) has valued collaborative projects between farming and welfare activities. Moreover, farming
is a response to the restoration of oriental storks and related environmentally friendly agriculture policy that Toyooka city has actively progressed. It might be argued that oriental storks’ restoration could beconnected to disability policy as social diversity (Tagaki, 2015).

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4.2 Accomplishment of Process Goals
We can conclude that TMC and CSCL partially accomplished their process
goals, based on my fieldwork. Achievement of their process goal means thedevelopment of residents’ or PWDs’ sense of solidarity, rather than a mere
expression of their opinions on disability issues to the Toyooka city government. Interviews with PWDs in 2010 were significant because those who
did not use disability services had had few opportunities to talk about theirliving situation.
The most worthwhile method was the series of consensus
meetings, as they were places where members with diverse disabilities could
share their experiences despite their different disabilities. Iwakuma (2014)
pointed out that the culture of respecting “harmony” could prevent PWDs
from active discussion in Japan. To solve this problem, the meetings wereeffectively managed by Toyooka officials and me, through mechanisms suchas selecting agenda items and displaying mutual respect.
Some scholars have suggested a hierarchy of disability (or impairment) in social positions (Charlton, 1998; Reeve, 2004), meaning that other
PWDs consider an individual with a particular disability as a person who
possesses a “real” disability. A hierarchy would likely be an obstacle toachieving collaboration or solidarity among the members of the consensus
meetings; however, I did not observe this phenomenon, which might be due
to my emphasis on mild disability.
A limitation of the meetings was that they lasted less than one year
for the sole purpose of developing and issuing the BAP. Members cannot
help discussing policies that they wanted to add to upcoming the BAP,
rather than talking solely about their daily experience. Therefore, they were
not able to have a sense of belonging to the disability community beyond
their differences (Gill, 1997; Milner & Kelly, 2009). If meetings were held
during the monitoring period, members would have sufficient time and noneed to worry about this and they would be able to talk comfortably about
their experiences.
The focus group interviews were conducted only once every twoor three years for each particular disability; this is insufficiently frequent toshare experiences. Such meetings might be effective for PWDs to elaborate
their own experience explicitly, but they did not have the opportunity toAction Research on Municipal Disability Policies

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exchange their experience with others who did not share their particulardisability. Each focus-group interview was conducted with participants who
experienced similar disabilities. Similar problems might be applicable togathering of parents with children with disabilities: although they reported
sharing their experience, the frequency of meetings is not high.
4.3 Management of the TMC and the TCSCL by Members,
Toyooka Officials, and a Researcher
Role of Toyooka officials and council members. We observe that local officials,
welfare professionals, and I all led the TMC and CSCL, and served in thiscapacity, and all kept in mind our roles and its limitations. Local government officials are more influential in making progress at MC meetings andbringing the meetings to a conclusion rather than council members, oracademics. Social scientists rarely have a strong influence on disability policy
in Japan’s central or municipal governments, particularly compared togovernmental officials (Mizumoto, 2009).
However, Toyooka officials might consider discussions in TMC
and CSCL as significant, as they understand that not all discussion themes
could be carried into local policy due to budget constraints or central andprefectural government rules. In the personnel allocation system of Japanese public officials, local government officials are required to transfer fromone section to another one every four to five years, except for staff
employed as social welfare professionals. For this reason, local government
officials often do not have the opportunity to become intimately familiar
with disability policy matters (Kurihara, 2007).
Toyooka officials played an important role, setting the agenda andsupporting the meeting. Their involvement in the meetings was more active
in TMC than CSCL. Welfare professionals actively progressed the CSCL
meetings.
The difference in the degree of officials’ involvement in TMC and
CSCL is due both to the legislated purpose of the organizations andorganizational issues. CSCL’s organizational structure was different fromthat of the TMC. TMC had a main committee only, except for the year
when a series of consensus meetings was held. CSCL had a subcommittee
or small discussion group as well as the main committee. There were many

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Tagakikinds of participants in the whole of the CSCL. In this sense, the CSCL
fulfilled its primary role of being a place in which welfare professionals withdiverse backgrounds met regularly and discussed their issues.
My Role as a Researcher. I attempted to manage several aspects of both
meetings, including elaboration of members’ discussions, clarifying both
meetings’ roles, emphasizing that members’ practices were valuable, eventhough they were not advanced when compared to practices in urban areas,
explaining social research, and PWDs’ negative involvement in disability
policy.
Regarding elaboration of member’s discussion, I intended myremarks to shed light on members’ sense making of their experiences as
PWDs, based in the sense-making theory. I asked the members of both
meetings to explain their values or norms, which they might not be awareof themselves.
We should consider the roles of my three properties: being an
academic, sustaining physical disabilities, and being a former resident of
Toyooka. These aspects might be accepted favorably by members; myadvice will be based on both academic knowledge and real experience as aperson with a physical disability. There is some criticism that a university
professor’s advice is general, and does not reflect regional characteristics(Tagaki, 2007b). However, as my hometown is Toyooka, Toyooka officials
might consider that they avoid such common criticisms. In the event, I did
not encounter any criticism on this issue.
However, because of my lack of current Toyooka city residency,
I had no prompt official way to implement members’ suggestions as policy.
In particular, I did not attend sub-meetings in CSCL that were held
monthly. Some members might not agree with my suggestion about anexternal review system such as that in the Osaka urban area. Further, theymight think that I do not have any real experiences of people withintellectual or mental disabilities.

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5 Conclusion
We can conclude that both the TMC and CSCL completed their task andrelationship goals. We can argue that the CSCL was able to contributedirectly to disability policy in contrast to the TMC. The two goals wereinteractive, as some projects were conducted with sections other thandisability sections or with disability organizations in Toyooka city. We
should remember that relationship goals have two aspects: inside and outside a certain municipal government or disability or welfare organization.
Process goals were partly accomplished; as both TMC and CSCL
sought PWDs’ involvement in disability policy development were interested
in sharing their experience, and activities were developed successfully tosome degree. However, the activities did not continue to the point that
PWDs began to develop solidarity that extended beyond their different
disabilities. The disaster manual and the bus campaign might be beneficial
to people with various disabilities, but PWDs did not actively participate in
the dissemination processes.
Officials should notice each method’s benefits and limitations. As
I remarked repeatedly, no group consisting of PWDs was launched,although similar groups existed in other cities such as Sakai and Osaka. If
Toyooka officials were to launch such groups, they would need to preparea meeting scenario, define members’ roles, and appoint and experienced
coordinator with sufficient human resources and budget. Respect fordiversity does not mean enforced agreements; members could agree todisagree and subsequently find a common ground on which to appeal tolocal government. Despite the different needs of people with different
disabilities, the sense of belonging to the disability community might protect
PWDs from isolation in communities in their daily lives.
Local officials should clarify what role an academic should play –coordination, leading social research, or simply providing up to date social
policy knowledge. Every academic has certain characteristics – current residence, sustaining a disability or not, and their specific area of academic
knowledge. A researcher does not know the detail of the whole area. Local
government in a rural area has difficulty in involving appropriate academics
but ICT, for example, video conferencing, might overcome this problem.

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Further studies are required on this topic. TMCs and MISCs arecontinuing in 2017; we should analyze the development of the two councils.
Second, interviews should be conducted with key personnel in each council,
to examine what kind of involvement is preferable.

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