The first subject of this issue is wheelchairs, which comprise one of the more expensive items of equipments used by persons in need of care. Wheelchairs are essential pieces of equipment for the physically disabled, invalids and persons who have trouble walking due to old age, and the number of persons using or requiring wheelchairs in Japan, with its rapidly graying population, looks set to climb in the years ahead. Manual wheelchairs are manufactured and distributed by companies such as wholesalers specializing in medical equipment, bed makers and bicycle manufacturers. Powered wheelchairs are more high-priced, and are made by manufacturers such as automakers.
Wheelchairs are basically means of movement for persons with physical disabilities.
As a result of the aging of society in recent years and the development of the infrastructure, social and psychological barriers faced by the disabled are being eroded, people are growing increasingly willing to go out by wheelchair, and the number of wheelchair users is growing. As the above figures show, the level of imports is increasing year by year. Practically no Japanese wheelchair makers have expanded overseas, however, and in most cases imported wheelchairs are manufactured overseas on an OEM basis. OEM production has been especially high in Taiwan over the past decade or so. Imports from Europe and North America are generally high-priced products.