CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1

United Nations

Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities

Distr.: General
9 September 2022
ADVANCE UNEDITED
VERSION
Original: English

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Twenty-seventh session

Concluding observations on the initial report of Japan*
I. Introduction
1.
The Committee considered the initial report of Japan (CRPD/C/JPN/1) at its 594th
and 595th meetings (see CRPD/C/SR.594 and 595), held on 22 and 23 August 2022,
respectively. It adopted the following concluding observations at its 611 th meeting, held on
2 September 2022.
2.
The Committee welcomes the initial report of Japan, which was prepared inaccordance with the Committee’s reporting guidelines, and thanks the State party for the
written replies (CRPD/C/JPN/RQ/1) to the list of issues prepared by the Committee(CRPD/C/JPN/Q/1). It also acknowledges the additional written information provided to
the Committee.
3.
The Committee appreciates the fruitful and sincere dialogue held with the large
high-level State party’s delegation, which was diverse and multisectoral and included
representatives of relevant government ministries. The Committee also appreciates theparticipation of the Chair of the Commission on Policy for Persons with Disabilities.

II. Positive aspects
4.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the State party to implement theConvention since its ratification in 2014, such as the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or
Otherwise Print Disabled, in force since 2019.
5.
The Committee notes with appreciation the legislative measures taken to promote
the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular the adoption of the:(a)Act on the Promotion of Measures Concerning Acquisition and Use ofInformation and Communication by Persons with Disabilities (2022);(b)
Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Act No.
65 of 2013) and its amendments (Act No. 56 of 2021), obligating public and private
businesses organisations to provide reasonable accommodation for persons withdisabilities;(c)
Act on Facilitation of the Use of Telephones for the Persons with
Hearing Impairments (Act No. 53 of 2020);(d)
Act on the Provision of Lump-sum Compensation to Persons Who Received
Eugenic Surgery under the Former Eugenic Protection Act (2019);*

GE.22-

Adopted by the Committee at its twenty-seventh session (15 August-9 September 2022).

CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1(e)
Act on Promotion of Smooth Movement of Older Persons and Disabled
Persons (Barrier-free Law), amended in 2018 and 2020, promoting accessibility standards;(f)
Act to Further the Improvement of Reading Environments for Visually
Impaired Persons (2019);(g)
Act on the Promotion of Comprehensive and Integrated Measures for the
Realization of a Universal Society (2018);(h)Act on Cultural and Artistic Activities by Persons with Disabilities (Act No.
47 of 2018);(i)
Employment Promotion Act of Persons with Disabilities (Act No. 123 of
1960) and its amendment in 2013, expanding the coverage of the statutory employment
obligation for persons with disabilities to include persons with psychosocial disabilities in
addition to persons with intellectual and physical disabilities and obligating to ensure
reasonable accommodations.
6.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken to establish a public policy frameworkfor promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, including the:(a)Handling Directions of Courts for Eliminating Discrimination against
Persons with Disabilities (2022);(b)

Fourth Basic Program for Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2018;(c)

Guidelines on Reasonable Accommodation (2016);(d)

Everyone’s Public Website Operational Guidelines;(e)Guidelines for employers for non-discriminatory treatment and equal
opportunities for persons with disabilities in employment, adopted in 2015;(f)
Establishment of the Commission on Policy for Persons with Disabilities, as
an entity in charge for monitoring the implementation of the Convention;(g)
Prefectural and Municipal Government Programs for Persons with
Disabilities.

III. Principal areas of concern and recommendations
A.

General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)
7.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Lack of harmonization of disability-related national legislation andpolicies with the human rights model of disability as contained in the Convention bypertaining a paternalist approach to persons with disabilities;(b)
Perpetuation of medical model of disability across legislation, regulation andpractice, including the disability qualification and certification system, which, on the basisof impairment and capacity assessment, promotes the exclusion of persons who require
more intensive support, persons with intellectual, psychosocial or sensory disabilities fromdisability allowances and social inclusion schemes;(c)
Derogatory terminology, such as “mentally incompetent”, “mental
derangement”, and “insanity”, as well as discriminatory legal restrictions, such as
disqualifying clauses, based on “physical or mental disorder”;(d)Inaccurate translation of the Convention into Japanese, particularly, of theterms “inclusion”, “inclusive”, “communication”, “accessibility”, “access”, “particularliving arrangement”, “personal assistance”, and “habilitation”;(e)Regional and municipal gaps in providing necessary services and assistanceto persons with disabilities in the communities, including mobility support, personal
assistance and communication support.

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8.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Harmonize all disability-related national legislation and policies with theConvention recognizing all persons with disabilities as subjects of human rights on
equal basis with others, including through ensuring close consultation withrepresentative organisations of persons with disabilities, in particular, persons withintellectual and psychosocial disabilities;(b)
Review its legislation and regulations to eliminate elements of medical
model of disability, including the disability qualification and certification system, toensure that all persons with disabilities, regardless impairment, receive the required
support in the community for having equal opportunities in society and full social
inclusion and participation;(c)
Abolish derogatory language and legal restrictions, such as disqualifying
clauses, based on “physical or mental disorder”, within its national and municipal
legislation;(d)Japanese;

Ensure that all terms of the Convention are accurately translated into(e)Take necessary legislative and budgetary measures to eliminate theregional and municipal gaps for providing necessary services and assistance topersons with disabilities in the communities, including mobility support, personal
assistance and communication support.
9.

The Committee is further concerned about:(a)Insufficient involvement of persons with disabilities through theirrepresentative organizations in consultations concerning legislation and public policies,
including those carried out by the National Consultative Council of Persons with
Disabilities, and the municipal and inter-municipal committees on accessibility;(b)
Lack of comprehensive response to the stabbings occurred in 2016 at the
Tsukui Yamayuri-en facility, located in Sagamihara, mainly owing to eugenic and ableist
mindset in society;(c)
Limited awareness of the rights recognized in the Convention among the
judiciary and justice sector professionals, policy- and lawmakers at the national andmunicipal levels, as well as teachers, medical, health, building design and social workers,
and other professionals in connection with persons with disabilities.
10.
Recalling its General Comment No. 7 (2018) on Article 4.3 and 33.3:
Participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, throughtheir representative organizations in the implementation and monitoring of theConvention, the Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Ensure active, meaningful and effective consultations with the diversityof representative organizations of persons with disabilities at national and municipal
levels, including through the means of alternative communication, accessibility andreasonable accommodations, in public decision-making processes, paying attention toself-advocates with disabilities and organisations of persons with intellectual
disabilities, persons with psychosocial disabilities, autistic persons, women withdisabilities, LGBTIQ+ persons with disabilities, persons living in rural areas, andthose requiring more intensive support, including in the implementation andmonitoring of and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals;(b)Review the Tsukui Yamayuri-en case aiming at combating eugenic andableist attitudes and legal liability for promotion of such attitudes in society;(c)With the close involvement of organizations of persons withdisabilities, provide systematic capacity-building programmes on the rights of persons
with disabilities and the obligations of the State Party under the Convention, for the
judiciary and justice sector professionals, policy - and lawmakers, teachers, medical,
health and social workers, and all other professionals in connexion with persons withdisabilities.
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11.
The Committee notes that the State party has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to
the Convention. It also notes with concern the State Party’s interpretative declaration
related to Article 23 paragraph 4 of the Convention.
12.
The Committee encourages the State party to ratify the Optional Protocol to
the Convention, and withdraw its interpretative declaration related to Article 23
paragraph 4 of the Convention.

B.

Specific rights (arts. 5–30)
Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)
13.

The Committee is concerned that:(a)
The Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities
does not include multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, and is concerned
about the limited scope of the definition of persons with disabilities;(b)
The denial of reasonable accommodation is not recognized as a form of
discrimination on the ground of disability in all areas of life;(c)
There is no accessible complaint and redress mechanisms for victims of
disability-based discrimination.
14.
The Committee, in line with its general comment No. 6 (2018) on equality andnon-discrimination, recommends that the State party:(a)Review the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with
Disabilities to prohibit disability-based discrimination, in accordance with theConvention, including multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination on the
grounds of disability, sex, age, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation
and any other status, and the denial of reasonable accommodation;(b)
Adopt the necessary measures to ensure that reasonable accommodation
is provided to all persons with disabilities in all areas of life, including in the private
and public spheres;(c)
Establish accessible and effective mechanisms, including judicial andadministrative procedures, for victims of disability-based discrimination, and provide
them with comprehensive redress, and sanctions against the perpetrator.
Women with disabilities (art. 6)
15.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Lack of sufficient measures to promote gender equality in disability-related
legislation and policies, such as the Fourth Basic Programme for Persons with Disabilities,
and to promote the rights of women and girls with disabilities in gender equality legislationand policies, including the Fifth Basic Plan for Gender Equality;(b)

Lack of specific measures to empower women and girls with disabilities.

16.
The Committee recalling its general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls
with disabilities and targets 5.1, 5.2 and 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals,
recommends that the State party:(a)Adopt effective and specific measures to ensure equality and prevent
multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination against women and girls withdisabilities in its gender equality policies, and mainstream a gender perspective into
its disability-related legislation and policies;(b)
Take measures to empower women and girls with disabilities, ensuringthat all their human rights and fundamental freedoms are equally protected, andincluding their effective participation in the design and implementation of thesemeasures.

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Children with disabilities (art. 7)
17.

The Committee observes with concern the:(a)
Early identification and rehabilitation system, as regulated by the Maternaland Child Health Act, directing children with disabilities, through their medical
examination to their social segregation, hindering them from community and inclusive life
prospects;(b)Lack of clear recognition of the right of children with disabilities to be heard,
and to express their views freely on all matters affecting them in all relevant laws, including
the Child Welfare Act;(c)
Lack of full prohibition of corporal punishment of children, includingchildren with disabilities, in home, alternative care and day care settings, as well as
insufficient measures to prevent and protect children with disabilities against abuse andviolence.
18.
With reference to the Joint Statement of the CRC and CRPD Committees on
the rights of children with disabilities (2022), the Committee recommends that theState party:(a)Review the existing legislation with the aim to recognize the rightto full social inclusion of all children with disabilities and take all necessary measures,
including universal design and reasonable accommodations, inter alia, alternative andaugmentative methods of information and communication, to ensure their fullenjoyment of the general childcare system from their earliest age on an equal basiswith other children;(b)
Recognize the right of children with disabilities to be heard, and to
express their views freely on all matters affecting them on an equal basis with otherchildren, including in judicial and administrative proceedings, and to be provided
with disability and age-appropriate assistance and communication in accessible
formats to realize that right;(c)
Fully and explicitly prohibit the corporal punishment of children,
including of those with disabilities, in all settings, and strengthen measures of
prevention of and protection against abuse and violence of children with disabilities.
Awareness-raising (art. 8)
19.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Insufficient efforts and budgetary allocation to raise awareness about the
dignity and rights of persons with disabilities in society and in the media;(b)
Discriminatory eugenic attitudes, negative stereotypes and prejudicestowards persons with disabilities, persons with intellectual disabilities or persons withpsychosocial disabilities;(c)
Insufficient participation of persons with disabilities in the preparationof awareness-raising initiatives, such as the “Barrier-Free Mindset” textbook, andinsufficient evaluation of these measures.
20.

The Committee recommends that the State Party:(a)Adopt a national strategy to eliminate negative stereotypes, prejudicesand harmful practices against persons with disabilities, including close participationof persons with disabilities in its formulation and implementation, and periodic
evaluation;(b)Strengthen measures to develop and adequately fund awareness-raisingprogrammes on the rights of persons with disabilities for the media, the general public
and families of persons with disabilities.

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Accessibility (art. 9)
21.

The Committee notes with concern the:(a)Limited strategies to harmonize accessibility obligations at all levels toembed universal design standards and to encompass all domains;(b)
Little progress in ensuring the accessibility to information and theaccessibility of schools, public transportation, apartments, and small-scale shops, inparticular, outside major cities;(c)
Insufficient awareness-raising and training for architects, designers, andengineers concerning accessibility standards and the universal design under theConvention.
22.
Recalling its general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility, the Committee
recommends that the State party:(a)Implement an action plan and accessibility strategy, in close consultation
with organizations of persons with disabilities, to harmonize accessibility across alllevels of government, to embed universal design standards, and ensure theaccessibility of, inter alia, buildings, transportation, information and communication,and other facilities and services open or provided to the public, including those outsidemajor cities;(b)Enhance continuous capacity-building programmes on universal design
and accessibility standards for architects, designers, engineers, and programmers.
Right to life (art. 10)
23.
The Committee is concerned about the reports on the cases of deaths of persons withdisabilities resulted from the:(a)Lack of safeguards of the right to life of persons with disabilities,
including lack of consideration of their will and preferences as regards the non-start and/or
continuation of their medical treatment, including in palliative care;(b)Physical and chemical restrains in the condition of involuntary hospitalisationon the bases of impairment;(c)
It is also concerned by the lack of statistics on the causes and circumstancesof and independent investigation on the deaths in psychiatric hospitals.
24.
The Committee recommends that the State party, in consultation withorganisations of persons with disabilities and independent monitoring mechanisms:(a)Explicitly recognize the right to life of persons with disabilities
and ensure the respective safeguards, including the expression of their will andpreferences and the required support for it, as regards their treatment, including inpalliative care;(b)Prevent any form of involuntary hospitalisation and treatment on
the bases of impairment of a person and ensure necessary support to persons withdisabilities in community-based services;(c)
Conduct thorough and independent investigation on causes andcircumstances of the cases of deaths in psychiatric hospitals.
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)25.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Limited protection under the Basic Act on Disaster Management for therights of persons with disabilities of privacy and non-discrimination, including the denial ofreasonable accommodation;(b)
Lack of accessibility of evacuation shelters and temporary housing insituations of risk and humanitarian emergencies;

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CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1(c)Insufficient consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities toplan, implement, monitor and evaluate processes of disaster risk reduction and climatechange, including earthquakes and nuclear plant disasters;(d)Limited accessible information on situations of risk, disaster, andhumanitarian emergencies, including accessibility of emergency alert system for persons
with intellectual disabilities;(e)
Lack of implementation of the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015-2030” in the Kumamoto Earthquake, Northern Kyushu Heavy Rain
Disasters, West Japan Heavy Rain Disasters and Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake;(f)Lack of disability-inclusive response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including
access to information, vaccines, health services and other economic and social programmes,
and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic for persons with disabilities who are stillin institutions.
26.

The Committee recommends that the State Party:(a)Amend the Basic Act on Disaster Management to reinforce the rights ofpersons with disabilities to privacy and non-discrimination, including the denial ofreasonable accommodations, and issues related to disaster prevention and reduction
and situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies;(b)
Ensure that shelters, temporary housing and other services provided insituations of risk and humanitarian emergencies are accessible and disabilityinclusive, taken into account age and gender;(c)
Build resilient communities engaging the whole community, including
persons with disabilities and their families into disaster prevention and reduction
planning, by developing individual emergency plans and support systems based oncommunity focal points, identifying gathering points, emergency shelters, andevacuation routes that are safe and accessible;(d)Ensure that in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, allpersons with disabilities and their families can receive the necessary information inaccessible formats and on the appropriate devices;(e)
Ensure that disaster risk reduction plans and strategies and policies on
climate change at all levels are formulated with persons with disabilities and explicitly
respond to their specific needs in all situations of risk, in accordance with the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;(f)
Mainstream disability in its COVID-19 response and recovery plans,
including in respect of ensuring equal access to vaccines, health services and othereconomic and social programmes to tackle the negative impact of the pandemic, andadopt measures to deinstitutionalize persons with disabilities in times of emergency
and to provide them with appropriate support to live in the community.
Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)
27.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Legal provisions that deny the right of persons with disabilities to equal
recognition before the law by allowing the restriction of their legal capacity, in particular,of persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, based on assessments of theirmental capacity, and by perpetuating substitute-decision making systems, under the Civil
Code;
(b)
Basic Plan on the Promotion of the Use of the Adult Guardian Systemapproved in March 2022;(c)
Use of the term “the best interest of a person” within the Guidelines for
Support for Decision-Making Relating to the Provision of Welfare Services for Persons
with Disabilities of 2017.

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28.
Recalling its General Comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before thelaw, the Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Repeal all discriminatory legal provisions and policies with a view toabolishing substitute decision-making regimes, and amend the civil legislation toguarantee the right of all persons with disabilities to equal recognition before the law;(b)
Establish supported decision-making mechanisms that respectautonomy, will and preferences of all persons with disabilities, regardless the level ormode of support they may require.
Access to justice (art. 13)
29.

The Committee notes with concern the:(a)Provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Criminal
Procedure, restricting access to justice for persons with disabilities under substituted
decision-making regimes, those in residential institutions, as well as persons withintellectual and psychosocial disabilities by reason of the perceived lack of their litigation
capacity;(b)
Lack of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations in civil, criminal
and administrative proceedings to ensure effective participation of persons with disabilities,
and the lack of accessible information and communication for them;(c)Physical inaccessibility of courts, judicial and administrative facilities.

30.
The Committee recalls the International Principles and Guidelines on Access toJustice for Persons with Disabilities (2020) prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Sustainable Development Goal 16, target 3,
and recommends that the State party:(a)Repeal legal provisions that restrict the right of persons withdisabilities to participate in judicial proceedings, and recognise their full capacity toparticipate in judicial proceedings in all roles on equal basis with others;(b)Guarantee procedural and age-appropriate accommodations in all
judicial proceedings for persons with disabilities, regardless the impairment of theconcerned person, including coverage of the litigation charges for accommodations,and access to official information and communication about proceedings in accessible
formats, including information and communication technologies, captioning, autism
referent persons, Braille, Easy Read and Sign language;(c)Ensure physical accessibility of court buildings, judicial andadministrative facilities, particularly, by means of universal design, to guarantee
equal access to judicial proceedings for persons with disabilities on equal basis withothers.
Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)
31.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Legislation that allows the involuntary commitment in psychiatric hospitals
and involuntary treatment of persons with disabilities, based on their perceived or actual
impairments or dangerousness, as legitimated by the Act on Mental Health and Welfare for
the Mentally Disabled;(b)
Lack of safeguards to protect the right to informed consent of persons withdisabilities, including vagueness of the definition of informed consent, as regards the
hospitalization.
32.
The Committee recalls its Guidelines on article 14 of the Convention (2015) andthe recommendations issued by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (A/HRC/40/54/Add.1) and calls upon the State party to:(a)
Recognise the involuntary hospitalisation of persons with disabilities as
discrimination on the grounds of impairment, amounting to the deprivation of liberty,
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and repeal all legal provisions allowing for the deprivation of liberty throughinvoluntary hospitalisation of persons with disabilities on the basis of actual or
perceived impairments or dangerousness;(b)
Repeal all legal provisions that legitimize non-consensual psychiatrictreatment on the grounds of perceived or actual impairments, and establish amonitoring mechanism to ensure that persons with disabilities are not subjected toforced treatment and have access to the same range, quality and standard of healthcare on equal basis with others;(c)Ensure safeguards, including advocacy, legal and all other necessary
assistance, to protect the right to free and informed consent of all persons withdisabilities, regardless their impairment.
Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment (art. 15)
33.

The Committee observes with concern the:(a)Forced treatment, including seclusion, physical and chemical restrains, forced
medication, forced cognitive and electroconvulsive therapies, of persons with disabilities in
psychiatric hospitals, and legislation legitimating such practices, including the Act on
Medical Care and Treatment for Persons Who Have Caused Serious Cases Under theCondition of Insanity;(b)Lack of scope and independency of the psychiatric review boards for
ensuring the prevention of and the reporting on forced and ill-treatment in psychiatrichospitals;(c)Lack of independent monitoring systems to investigate violations of therights of persons with disabilities who receive forced treatment or are long-term
hospitalized, and lack of complaint and appeal mechanisms in psychiatric hospitals.
34.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Abolish all legal provisions, legitimating forced treatment of
persons with psychosocial disabilities and leading to their ill-treatment, and ensure,that any intervention, as regards persons with psychosocial disabilities, is based onhuman rights and obligations under the Convention;(b)
Establish, in cooperation with representative organizations of persons
with disabilities, an effective independent monitoring mechanism for the prevention ofand reporting on any forms of forced and ill-treatment of persons with disabilities in
psychiatric settings;(c)
Set up accessible mechanisms to report cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment in psychiatric hospitals, establish effective remedies for victims, and ensure
the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators.
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art. 16)
35.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Reported sexual violence and domestic violence against children and womenwith disabilities, in particular, persons with intellectual or psychosocial or sensory
disabilities, and those placed in institutional settings, and the lack of their protection against
sexual violence and remedies for them;(b)
Lack of scope and effectiveness of the Persons with Disabilities Act on thePrevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities and Support for Caregivers, precluding
the prevention of, the reporting and investigation on violence against persons withdisabilities, including children and women with disabilities, in educational, medical andcriminal justice settings;(c)Lack of accessible support services for victims, accessible information andreporting mechanisms, including independent reporting systems in residential institutions,

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and the lack of expertise, accessibility and reasonable accommodations, in the judicial
processes related to sexual violence;(d)Absence of representatives of organisations of persons with disabilities in the“Study Group on Criminal Law Related to Sexual Crimes”, established by the Ministry ofJustice in 2020, regarding sexual crimes against children and persons with disabilities.
36.
In line with its statement issued on 24 November 2021 calling to take action toeliminate gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities, now, andwith targets 5.1, 5.2 and 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee
recommends that the State party:(a)Carry-out the fact-finding investigation on sexual violence and domestic
violence against girls and women with disabilities and strengthen measures forcombating all forms of violence against children and women with disabilities,
providing them with accessible information about the complaint and redress
mechanisms available to them, and ensuring that these acts are promptly investigated,that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished, and that remedies are provided forvictims;(b)
Review the Act on the Prevention of Persons with Disabilities andSupport for Caregivers for extending the scope of prevention of violence against
persons with disabilities in all settings, and for establishing measures to investigate
violence and abuse against persons with disabilities and to their remedy;(c)Develop strategies at all levels to ensure the accessibility of victim
support services, information on support services and reporting mechanisms,
including in residential institutions, and to provide professional development
programmes for the relevant judicial and administrative officers on the human rights
model of disability, accessibility and reasonable accommodations, in the judicial
processes;(d)Ensure the meaningful participation of representatives of organisationsof persons with disabilities in the “Study Group on Criminal Law Related to Sexual
Crimes”.
Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)
37.

The Committee observes with concern:(a)
The compensation system, as set out within the “Act on the Provision of
Lump-sum Compensation to Persons Who Received Eugenic Surgery, under the Former
Eugenic Protection Law” (1948-1996), that establishes a low compensation for persons
with disabilities subjected to eugenic surgeries without their consent, omits support to theaccess to information to victims with disabilities, and provides statutes of limitations to five
years;(b)
Reports of sterilizations, hysterectomies and abortions without the free
and informed consent of women and girls with disabilities.
38.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)
In close cooperation with organisations of persons withdisabilities, revise the compensation system to the victims of eugenic surgery under
the former Eugenic Protection Law, for ensuring identification of all cases, contingent
compensations for all them, including by means of support, along with augmentative
and alternative methods of communication, to access to information, and by notlimiting the application period, in order that all victims are expressly apologized andproperly redressed;(b)Explicitly prohibit forced sterilizations, including hysterectomies, andforced abortions of women and girls with disabilities, raise awareness of forced
medical interventions as harmful practices, and ensure that the prior and informed
consent of persons with disabilities is given for any medical and surgical treatment.

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Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)
39.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)
The article 5 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act thatallows denial of entry to the State party to persons with intellectual or psychosocial
disability;(b)
Insufficient provision of reasonable accommodation and accessibility of
information at the Immigration Services Agency, including enough number of qualified
interpreters.
40.

The Committee recommends that the State Party:(a)Revise Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee
Recognition Act, which allows denial of entry to persons with psychosocial or
intellectual disabilities;(b)
Ensure the provision of reasonable accommodation when required andaccessibility of information at the Immigration Services Agency, including enoughnumber of qualified interpreters.
Living independently and being included in the community (art. 19)
41.

The Committee observes with concern:(a)Perpetuation of institutionalization of persons with intellectual disabilities,
persons with psychosocial disabilities, elderly persons with disabilities, persons withphysical disabilities and those who require more intense support, in particular living
arrangements outside community, and of children with disabilities, particularly, children
with intellectual, psychosocial or sensory disabilities and those who require more intense
support, through the Child Welfare Act, in various types of facilities, depriving them family
and community life;(b)
Promotion of institutionalization of persons with psychosocial disabilities andpersons with dementia in psychiatric hospitals, both public and private, particularly, thecontinuance of indefinite hospitalisations of persons with psychosocial disabilities in them;(c)Limited opportunities for persons with disabilities to choose their place ofresidence and where and with whom to live, including for those, dependent on parents andliving in their homes, and those, placed in particular arrangements such as group homes
under the Act on the Comprehensive Support for the Daily and Social Life of Persons with
Disabilities;(d)Lack of a national strategy and legal framework for the deinstitutionalizationof persons with disabilities residing in residential institutions and psychiatric hospitals, andtheir independent living in the community on an equal basis with others, including therecognition of their right to autonomy and full social inclusion;(e)Insufficient support arrangements for persons with disabilities for living
independently in the community, including accessible and affordable housing, in-homeservice, personal assistance and access to services in the community;(f)
Assessment schemes for granting support and services in the community thatare based on medical model of disability.
42.
With reference to its General comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently
and being included in the community and its Guidelines on Deinstitutionalisation(2022), the Committee urges that the State party:(a) Takes expedited measures to end the institutionalisation of persons withdisabilities, including children with disabilities, by redirecting its budgets allocations
from the placement of persons with disabilities in residential institutions towards
arrangements and supports for persons with disabilities for living independently inthe community on an equal bases with others;

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CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1(b) Review all cases of persons with disabilities hospitalized in psychiatrichospitals to cease any indefinite hospitalization, ensure their informed consent andfoster their independent living along with the required mental health support in thecommunity;(c) Ensure that persons with disabilities have opportunity to choose theirplace of residence and where and with whom they live in the community and are notobliged to live in a particular living arrangement, including group homes, and enable
persons with disabilities to exercise choice and control over their lives;(d) Launch, in consultation with organisations of persons with disabilities, alegal framework and national strategy with time-bound benchmarks, human,
technical and financial resources, aiming at the effective transition of persons withdisabilities from institutions into independent living in the community on an equalbasis with others, including the recognition of their right to autonomy and full social
inclusion, and obligations for prefectures to ensure its implementation;(e) Strengthen support arrangements for persons with disabilities for theirliving independently in the community, including the independent, accessible andaffordable housing outside any type of congregated premises, personal assistance,user-led budget, and access to services in the community;(f) Revise existing schemes of assessment for granting support and services
in the community for ensuring that they are based on human right model of disability,
including the assessments of barriers in society for persons with disabilities and theirrequired support for their social participation and inclusion.
Personal mobility (art. 20)
43.

The Committee is concerned that:(a)Legal restrictions do not allow using community living support services forpurposes such as commuting to and from work or school, or for an extended period;(b)
Insufficient access to quality mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies
and forms of life assistance and intermediaries for persons with disabilities, in particular, inregions outside of major cities.
44.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Eliminate the restrictions under the Act on the Comprehensive Support
for the Daily and Social Life of Persons with Disabilities to ensure unrestrictedpersonal mobility of persons with disabilities in all regions;(b)Reinforce efforts to ensure that necessary mobility aids and assistive
devices and technologies are affordable for all persons with disabilities, including bypromoting local repairs, providing government and tax subsidies, and waiving taxes
and custom charges.
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (art. 21)
45.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Lacks in providing information and supporting communication of all persons
with disabilities, including those with more intensive support, such as the deafblind;(b)
Barriers faced by persons with disabilities in gaining access to public
information and communication, including on television programmes and websites, andgaps among local governments;(c)
The lack of recognition in law of Japanese sign language as an official
language, lack of training of sign language and lack of sign language interpretations accrossall areas of life.
46.

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The Committee recommends that the State party:

CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1(a)Develop legally binding information and communication standards at alllevels to ensure the accessibility of information provided to the public, including on
websites, television and media services;(b)
Allocate sufficient funding for the development, promotion and use ofaccessible communication formats, such as Braille, deafblind interpretation, sign
language, Easy Read, plain language, audio description, video transcription,
captioning and tactile, augmentative and alternative means of communication;(c)
Recognize in law Japanese sign language as an official language at thenational level, promote access to and the use of sign language in all areas of life, andensure the trainings and availability of qualified sign language interpreters.
Right to privacy (art. 22)
47.
The Committee is concerned that information about persons with disabilities
may be collected without neither their consent nor reasonable purpose by service providers
within private and public sectors, and that confidentiality and the protection of privacy of
persons with disabilities are not fully ensured by existing legislation, including the My
Number Act and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information.
48.
The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its legislation on
data protection for persons with disabilities by ensuring that it is processed either on
the basis of the personal, free and informed consent of the data subject or other
legitimate non- discriminatory basis laid down by law, and that it is collected for
explicit, specified and legitimate purposes and not processed in a way incompatible
with those purposes, that it is processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner,and that the data subject has a right to an effective remedy.
Respect for home and the family (art. 23)
49.

The Committee notes with concern the:(a)Provision of the Civil Code (Article 770), discriminating persons on the
grounds of their psychosocial disability as setting it as condition of divorce;(b)
Separation of children with disabilities from their families and their
institutionalization in particular living arrangements on the basis of their disability.
50.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Repeal discriminatory provisions against persons with disabilities,
including Article 770 Paragraph 1 item iv of the Civil Code that sets psychosocial
disability as a condition of divorce;(b)
Recognise the right of children with disabilities to family life and renderappropriate assistance, including early intervention and inclusive support, to parentsof children with disabilities, including to parents with disabilities, in the performanceof their child-rearing responsibilities to prevent families from being separated on
the basis of disability, and, when the immediate family is unable to care for them,undertake every effort to provide them alternative care within the community in a
family setting.
Education (art. 24)
51.

The Committee is concerned about the:(a)Perpetuation of segregated special education of children with disabilities,
through medical-based assessments, making education in regular environments inaccessible
for children with disabilities, especially for children with intellectual or psychosocial
disabilities and those who require more intensive support, as well as the existence of special
needs education classes in regular schools;(b)Denials to admit children with disabilities to regular schools due to its
perceived and factual unpreparedness to admit them, and the ministerial notification issued

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CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1

in 2022 by which students in special classes should not spend their time in regular classes
for more than half of their school time;(c)disabilities;

Insufficient provision of reasonable accommodation for students with(d)Lack of skills of and negative attitudes on inclusive education of regulareducation teachers;(e)Lack of alternative and augmentative modes and methods of communicationand information in regular schools, including sign language education for deaf children, andinclusive education for deafblind children;(f)Lack of national comprehensive policy, addressing barriers for students withdisabilities at higher education, including university entrance exams and the study process.
52.
Recalling its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive educationand the Sustainable Development Goal 4, target 4.5 and indicator 4 (a), the Committee
urges that the State party:(a)
Recognize the right of children with disabilities to inclusive education
within its national policy on education, legislation and administrative arrangementwith the aim to cease segregated special education, and adopt a national action planon quality inclusive education, with specific targets, time frames and sufficient budget,to ensure that all students with disabilities are provided with reasonableaccommodation and the individualized support they need at all levels of education;(b)
Ensure accessibility to regular schools for all children with disabilities,
and put in place a "non-rejection" clause and policy to ensure that regular schools are
not allowed to deny regular school for students with disabilities, and withdraw theministerial notification related to special classes;(c)Guarantee reasonable accommodations for all children with disabilities
for meeting their individual educational requirements and ensuring inclusive
education;(d)Ensure training of regular education teachers and non-teachingeducation personnel on inclusive education and raise their awareness on the humanright model of disability;(e)
Guarantee the use of augmentative and alternative modes and methodsof communication in regular settings of education, including Braille, Easy Read, sign
language education for deaf children, promote the deaf culture in inclusive
educational environments, and access to inclusive education for deafblind children;(f)
Develop a national comprehensive policy, addressing barriers forstudents with disabilities at higher education, including university entrance exams andthe study process.
Health (art. 25)
53.

The Committee notes with concern the:(a)Barriers faced by persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls withdisabilities, persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, in accessing health-careservices, including inaccessible health-care facilities and information, lack of reasonableaccommodation, and prejudices about persons with disabilities across professionals in thehealth sector;(b)
Segregation of psychiatric care from general medical care, as provided by the
Mental Health and Welfare Act for the Mentally Disabled, and the lack of sufficient
community-based, health services and support;(c)
Limited measures to ensure access, on an equal basis with others, to quality,
age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health services and sex education for all persons
with disabilities, particularly women and girls with disabilities;

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CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1(d)Insufficient medical expense subsidies for persons with disabilities, including
those with more intensive support.
54.
Taking into account the links between article 25 of the Convention and targets
3.7 and 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that
the State party:(a)Ensure quality and gender-sensitive health-care services for all persons
with disabilities, including by ensuring the implementation of accessibility standards
and the provision of reasonable accommodation by public and private healthproviders;(b)Guarantee that information is provided in accessible formats for persons
with disabilities, including in Braille, sign language and Easy Read, regarding healthservices;(c)Integrate a human rights- model of disability into the training of healthprofessionals, emphasizing that all persons with disabilities have the right to free andinformed consent for any medical and surgical treatment;(d)Develop, in close consultation with organizations of persons withpsychosocial disabilities, non-coercive, community-based mental health support, andadopt the necessary legislative and policy measures to dismantle systems that separate
mental health care from general medical care;(e)Ensure that high-quality, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive
health services and comprehensive sexuality education are inclusive of and accessible
to all persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities;(f)
Establish a mechanism of medical expense subsidies based on the
person’s capacity to cover the costs, and expand these subsidies for all persons withdisabilities, including those with more intensive support.
Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)
55.

The Committee notes with concern:(a)
The shortage of comprehensive and cross-sectoral habitation andrehabilitation services, particularly to support children and outside of major cities;(b)
The emphasis of the medical model in habilitation and rehabilitation
programmes, and differences in support based on type of disability, sex and region.
56.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Adopt measures to secure access to comprehensive and cross-sectoral
habilitation and rehabilitation services, programmes and technology, within theircommunity, and in all the State party;(b)
Expand habilitation and rehabilitation systems, taking into account thehuman rights model of disability, and ensure that all persons with disabilities haveaccess to these services based on their individual requirements.
Work and employment (art. 27)
57.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)
The segregation of persons with disabilities, particularly persons withintellectual or psychosocial disabilities, in sheltered workshops and employment-related
welfare services, with low wages and limited opportunities to transition to the open labour
market;(b)
Barriers to employment faced by persons with disabilities, including
inaccessible workplaces, the insufficient support and individualized accommodation in boththe public and private sectors, limited mobility assistance and information provided to
employers about the capabilities of persons with disabilities;

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CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1(c)
Gaps in the local governments and the private sector concerning theemployment rate system for persons with disabilities, as provided by the Act for the
Promotion of Employment for Persons with Disabilities, and lack of a transparent andeffective monitoring mechanism to ensure its implementation;(d)Restrictions concerning the use of personal assistance services for persons
who require more intensive support at work.
58.
The Committee recommends that, in line with target 8.5 of the Sustainable
Development Goals, the State party:(a)Enhance efforts to speed up the transition of persons with disabilities
from sheltered workshops and employment-related welfare services to the open
labour market in the private and public sectors, with equal remuneration for work ofequal value, in an inclusive work environment;(b)Ensure that the built environment of workplaces is accessible andadapted for persons with disabilities and provide employers at all levels with training
on respecting and applying individualized support and reasonable accommodation;(c)
Reinforce affirmative measures and incentives to encourage and ensure
the employment of persons with disabilities, particularly persons with intellectual or
psychosocial disabilities and women with disabilities, in the public and private sectors,
and establish an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure its appropriate
implementation;(d)Remove legal provisions that restrict the use of personal assistance for
persons who require more intensive support at work.
Adequate standard of living and social protection (art. 28)
59.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Insufficient social protection scheme, including provisions to coverdisability-related expenses, to ensure access for persons with disabilities and their families
to an adequate standard of living;(b)
citizens;

Disability pensions are significantly low compared to the average income of(c)
Limited progress related to accessibility standards applied to private andpublic housing.
60.
Taking into account the links between article 28 of the Convention and target
1.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State
party:(a)Strengthen the social protection system to guarantee an adequate
standard of living for persons with disabilities and cover additional disability-related
expenses, particularly for those who require more intensive support;(b)
Review the provisions concerning the amount of disability pensions in
consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities;(c)
Establish legally binding accessibility standards that applied to private
and public housing, and ensure its implementation.
Participation in political and public life (art. 29)
61.

The Committee notes with concern:(a)
The limited accessibility of voting procedures, facilities and materials and theinsufficient elections-related information, according to the diversity of persons withdisabilities;(b)
Barriers to participate in political life and public administration, to holdoffice and perform public functions, particularly for women with disabilities.

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CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1

62.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Amend the Public Offices Election Act, to ensure that voting
procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understandand use for all persons with disabilities, along with accommodation of election-related
information, including election broadcasts and campaigns;(b)Ensure that the participation of persons with disabilities,
particularly women with disabilities, in political life and public administration is
promoted, they can effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all levelsof government, by facilitating the use of assistive and new technologies, and providing
personal assistants.
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (art. 30)
63.

The Committee is concerned about:(a)Limited accessibility at tourist locations and entertainment facilities;(b)
Barriers to access television programs, cultural activities, and electronic
publications;(c)Restrictions on participation in sporting events, in particular, as regards
persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind.
64.

The Committee recommends that the State party:(a)Enhance efforts to ensure accessibility at tourist locations andentertainment facilities, including those of a small scale;(b)
Secure the access to television programs and cultural activities inaccessible formats, and strengthen measures to implement the Marrakesh Treaty toincrease the availability of accessible published works;(c)Ensure the access to sport activities for all persons with disabilities,
including the provision of reasonable accommodation.

C. Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)
Statistics and data collection (art. 31)
65.
The Committee notes with concern the:(a)Lack of comprehensive disaggregated database on persons with disabilities,
covering all areas of life;(b)
Overlook of persons with disabilities in residential institutions andpsychiatric hospitals in surveys conducted.
66.
Recalling the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability and theDevelopment Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development policy marker on the inclusion and empowerment of persons withdisabilities, the Committee recommends that the State party develop data collection
system and data base on persons with disabilities at all areas of life and disaggregatedby a range of factors, such as age, sex, type of impairment, type of support theyrequire, sexual orientation and gender identity, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, placeof residence, including residential institutions and psychiatric hospitals.
International cooperation (art. 32)
67.
While noting the Japan International Cooperation Agency Thematic Guidelines on
Disability and Development (2015), the Committee is concerned that mainstreaming of
disability in international cooperation projects is not fully applied, and related strategies
and programmes are not developed in close consultation with organizations of persons withdisabilities under the human rights model to disability.
68.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

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CRPD/ C/JPN/CO/1(a)Mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in its implementationand monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels, in close
consultation and active involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities;(b)Strengthen its cooperation for the implementation of the Asian andPacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities 2013-2022 and the Incheon Strategy to“Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific.

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CRPD/C/JPN/CO/1

National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)
69.

The Committee is concerned that:(a)
There is no national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles
at the State Party;(b)
The Commission on Policy for Persons with Disabilities, established as themonitoring mechanism of the Convention, is in Cabinet Office, has a limited scope andinsufficient representation of the diversity of disabilities and gender balance among its
membership.
70.
The Committee recommends that the State party take into account its
guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their participation in the workof the Committee and establish a national human rights institution with a broad
mandate on the protection of human rights and adequate human, technical andfinancial resources, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, and, within its
framework, strengthen the formal capacity of the Commission on Policy for Persons
with Disabilities, and guarantee independence, the representation of diversity ofdisabilities and gender balance among its membership for monitoring theimplementation of the Convention.

IV. Follow-up
Dissemination of information
71.
The Committee emphasizes the importance of all the recommendations
contained in the present concluding observations. With regard to urgent measuresthat must be taken, the Committee would like to draw the State party’s attention to
the recommendations contained in paragraphs 42, on living independently and being
included in the community, and 52, on inclusive education.
72.
The Committee requests the State party to implement the recommendations
contained in the present concluding observations. It recommends that the State party
transmit the concluding observations for consideration and action to members of theGovernment and Parliament, officials in relevant ministries, local authorities andmembers of relevant professional groups, such as education, medical and legal
professionals, as well as to the media, using modern social communication strategies.
73.
The Committee strongly encourages the State party to involve civil society
organizations, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities, in the
preparation of its periodic report.
74.
The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding
observations widely, including to non-governmental organizations and organizationsof persons with disabilities, and to persons with disabilities themselves and membersof their families, in national and minority languages, including sign language, and inaccessible formats, including Easy Read, and to make them available on thegovernment website on human rights.
Next periodic report
75.
The Committee requests the State party to submit its combined second, thirdand fourth periodic reports by 20 February 2028 and to include therein informationon the implementation of the recommendations made in the present concluding
observations. The Committee also requests the State party to consider submitting theabove-mentioned reports under the Committee’s simplified reporting procedure,
according to which the Committee prepares a list of issues at least one year prior to
the due date set for the report of a State party. The replies of a State party to such alist of issues constitute its report.

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