Mainichi creates video on how to assist visually impaired people at train stations

TOKYO -- A video explaining how to talk to and guide visually impaired people at train stations has been created by The Mainichi Newspapers Co.

The video was unveiled on the Mainichi Shimbun's video news website on Dec. 3, the start of the Week for Persons with Disabilities, which promotes understanding of people with impairments and their activities in society.

For people with visual impairments, station platforms are considered to be like "bridges without railings," and visually impaired people fall from platforms almost every year. Especially at stations without platform doors, it is important for surrounding people to be considerate, but many able-bodied people do not know how to support the visually impaired. The 90-second video introduces how to talk to visually impaired people and what to do in an emergency situation, with illustrations, voice-overs and subtitles.

There is also a 15-second version, which the city of Yokohama's transportation bureau will broadcast on digital signage inside trains on two lines for a week from Dec. 6. The Saitama Municipal Government will broadcast the video on a large screen installed in front of the ticket gates at JR Saitama-Shintoshin Station from Dec. 3.

In addition, Tokyo's Toshima Ward welfare association for visually impaired people and other organizations have made posters of some of the video illustrations. These posters are being displayed at Tobu Railway Co.'s Ikebukuro Station and other locations.

The video is available on the Mainichi Shimbun's video news website at https://video.mainichi.jp/detail/video/6279867089001 (in Japanese)

(Japanese original by Ayako Yamagata, Tokyo Staff, Braille Mainichi Department)