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KAWASAKI — The government of this city in Kanagawa Prefecture has apologized to a man after the driver of a bus in the municipal transportation system refused to let him board using a recognized app to prove his disability status.
After the Kawasaki City Bus driver refused to let the 53-year-old man board, he lodged a complaint that he had been denied service despite the city’s transportation bureau accepting the use of the “Mirairo ID” app, which is used in lieu of paper certification. The Kawasaki Municipal Government has apologized to the man, saying that it was “a lack of awareness on the part of the driver.”
On the afternoon of Aug. 26, the man attempted to board a bus in front of Kawasaki Station to get to his site of work as a home tutor. The driver told him he needed to use a disability certificate, and even covered the fare box with his hand when the man explained that he should be able to use the app.
Since other passengers were waiting to board, the man decided to give up and wait for a bus driven by a different driver, which he then took to get to his workplace.
The privately developed app was released in 2019 to allow those with disabilities to not need to carry around their physical disability certificate. There are over 300,000 registered users, and the app can be used at around 4,000 businesses nationwide. Kawasaki City Bus has accepted it since July 2021, and even promotes it as such on its website.
The man has chronic renal failure and undergoes dialysis, making his disability invisible despite holding the highest level of physical disability status. He uses the app due to its ability to link with his “My Number” ID to make things go easier for getting disability-based discounts and other things.
The man was also reportedly initially refused the use of the app two weeks earlier by a female city bus driver. After some discussion, he was granted the disability discount, but it cost him some time to board.
The man has reportedly been able to use the app without issue several times on private and public bus services within metropolitan Tokyo. He said, “The response by Kawasaki City Bus was unusual, and there must be other disabled people who were similarly unable to board buses. There may be many who have suffered psychological damage as a result of the unreasonable treatment.”
Osaka-based Mirairo Inc., which developed and provides the app, commented, “It is distressing that trouble is occurring. We’re reminded that we must do more to expand awareness (of the application).” The company said that it hears similar complaints of rejected use around once or twice a month. It has reportedly responded each time including by asking businesses to inform their employees again.
In 1977, large-scale protests were held over the public bus operator’s refusal to allow people in wheelchairs with cerebral palsy to board, which became known as the “Kawasaki bus struggle.” This became an impetus for the progression of rights for those with disabilities. However, in 2021 a wheelchair user was refused boarding by a driver, resulting the following August in the transportation ministry slapping the city with a 30-day suspension from operating the bus, showing that problems have continued to occur in recent years.
(Japanese original by Shinji Kurokawa, Tokyo City News Department)
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The original Japanese article was written based on information received via “Tsunagaru Mainichi Shimbun,” a submission form for journalism on demand. If there are any subjects you’d like us to cover, please contact us via: https://mainichi.jp/tsunagaru/
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