By: Nafees, Melissa, Carly, & Elisa Japan: Disability & Employment

Japan in General

Traditional Roles

1945 – Japan Surrenders

1946– New Japanese Constitution Article 27 All people shall have the right and obligation to work Article 13 All of the people shall be respected as individuals. Their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall… be the supreme consideration in legislation and in other governmental affairs. Article 14…there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin Article 98 The treaties concluded by Japan and established laws of nations shall be faithfully observed

Japanese National Laws  Constitutional (1946): Article 27 – right and obligation to work  Physically Handicapped Persons’ Employment Promotion Law(1960): Quota system (Gov. 2.1%, Private w/63+ employees 1.8%)  Employers must annually report the number of disabled workers they employ to the Public Employment Security Office (PESO). Levy and Grant System Grants for work facilities, employment management, vocational adjustment, ability development, etc.  Statutory  Set in 19 th century

Disability Laws in Japan Cont…  Employment Countermeasures Law(1966):  Improve training and find employment by: Vocational training facilities Training and Equipping Guidance Workers Funding Adjustment Training Subsidizing Employee Training  Human Resources Development Promotion Law (1969):  Develop Vocational Skills 13 Vocational Ability Development Schools for PWD.  Employment Insurance Law (1974):  Provides unemployment benefits and social security to individuals who have lost their jobs. Persons with disabilities receive additional days of payment.

Disability Laws in Japan (Cont.)  Fundamental Law for Persons with Disabilities(1970):  Definition of Disability (Article 2) “Persons whose daily life or life in society is substantially limited over the long term due to a physical disability, mental retardation or mental disability”  Discrimination (Article 3) “No one shall be allowed to discriminate against persons with disabilities or violate their rights and benefits on the basis of disability”  Article 14 State must provide vocational guidance, training and employment referral to enable disabled persons to engage in appropriate occupations according to their abilities.  Article 15 The State shall give disabled individuals priority in employment in occupations which are suited for them.

U.S. Disability Laws  Americans with Disability Act (1990)  Title I (Employment)-“No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to...  Job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.”  Reasonable accommodation unless undue hardship  Americans with Disability Act Amended (2008)  Clarifies who is covered by the ADA  Broader definition of disabled Mitigating measures, including assistive devices, auxiliary aids, accommodations, medical therapies and supplies (other then eyeglasses and contact lenses) have no bearing in determining whether a disability qualifies under the law

U.S. Disability Laws (Cont.)  Rehabilitation Act (1973)  Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in: Programs conducted by federal agencies Programs receiving federal financial assistance Federal employment Employment practices of federal contractors.  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)  Responsible for enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws Prohibits discrimination on the basis of: Race, Color, Religion, Sex (including pregnancy), National Origin, Age (40 or older), Disability, Genetic Information, Lawsuit

Japanese Law v. American Law Comparison

Integration into the Workforce  The Physically Handicapped Persons Employment Promotion Law for Japan Quota System Levy and Grant System  The PESO Employer must annually report the number of disabled people working for them  The ADA Qualified Individual Reasonable Accommodation Undue  The EEOC Issues regulations and are responsible for enforcing federal laws Japanese LawAmerican Law

Intentions  Article 27 of the Japanese Constitution All people have the right and obligation to work  Focus on employment, not ensuring equal treatment in the workplace  Title I of the ADA Employers with 15 or more employees have to provide qualified individuals with disabilities: An equal opportunity to benefit from a full range of employment Japanese LawAmerican Law

Unemployment & Social Security  Employment Insurance Law  Social security  Pension system  Health services  Personal social services  SSDI  SSI  Unemployment Benefits  Welfare Japanese LawAmerican Law

Definition of Disability  According to the Disabled Persons Fundamental Law: A person whose daily life of life in society is substantially limited over the long term due to physical disability, mental retardation, or mental disability.  Americans with Disabilities Act: An individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity Japanese LawAmerican Law

Miscellaneous  Definition of Terms:  The ADA defines terms extensively while Japan does not  ADA gives employers multiple defenses that justify discrimination under certain circumstances  The government for Japan provides training in vocational ability development schools

International Arena?  International Law  Process Signing Ratification  “Hard” and “Soft” laws Hard Law ICCPR, ICESC, CRPD Soft Law Standard Rules

Progression of Laws  Japanese Law  Began in 1960s Disability Employment Quota  1970 Disabled Person’s Fundamental Law  Social Welfare Laws  United Nations Law  No mention of disability during foundational laws  Decade of the Disabled in 1982 Raised Awareness  Standard Rules in 1993 Soft Law  CRPD in 2006 Hard Law  Social Model/Structural Equality Laws

Convention on the Rights of PWD (2006)  Article 1  Equality  “Persons with Disability”  Inherent Dignity  Mirror Rights from: ICCPR, ICESR, CAT  Specifically for full realization by persons with disabilities.  Article 9  Access to roads, buildings, and information  Article 27  “right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with other”

Japan’s Future in International Context  Ratified UN Bill of Rights  Not the optional protocols  Already obligated through Customary International Law  Reluctance to agree to human rights documents  Often contain universal freedoms and guarantees  CRPD  Signed but not Ratified Unlikely to happen soon But if it does: International treaties supreme over domestic law  Employment Situation unlikely to progress  Japan illustrates the dangers of premature progressive measures

Does the quota system work?

 General  Number of persons with disabilities ~5.6 million Number employed: 845,000 Close to 50% of working age (15 to 65).  Mild Disability 28.8% in sheltered workshops  Profound Disability 75% in sheltered workshops  Intellectual Disability (age 15-59)  Number of persons with intellectual disabilities ~224,300 Number employed: 138,100  Mild intellectual disabilities 33.8% regularly employed  Profound Intellectual Disabilities 4.5 % regularly employed Does the quota system work?

Significance  Japan is unlikely to ratify the CRPD anytime soon  CRPD calls for equality in the workplace  Japanese laws stop at participation Desegregation difficult  1979 U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women  Equal Employment as decisive issue  Ratified in 1985