A wheelchair user boards a train with the help of JR-affiliated personnel in December 2019 at JR Oitadaigakumae Station in Oita. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
When Natsuko Izena wrote about railway staff discouraging her from taking a trip to an unstaffed station, her aim was to foster greater understanding about accessibility issues for wheelchair users.
But her post was soon met with disparaging comments that called her “selfish” for imposing demands on the rail line.
Izena, 38, is a columnist from Kawasaki who uses an electric wheelchair to get around.
She had set out on April 1 from JR Odawara Station in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, to Kinomiya Station in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. But at the station in Kanagawa, a staff member told her that Kinomiya Station only has stairs and is not staffed, she wrote on her blog.
Railways to reduce train services in Tokyo area amid fresh COVID-19 emergency msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
107 victims of 2005 fatal train derailment in Hyogo remembered Today 04:01 pm JST Today | 04:04 pm JST AMAGASAKI, Hyogo
West Japan Railway Co (JR West) officials on Sunday placed flowers at a memorial site for 107 victims of a train derailment in 2005 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
Since the accident, a memorial service has been held each year, attended by relatives of victims and JR West officials. But due to the coronavirus, no service was held last year and again this year.
JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa placed flowers at the site and observed a minute of silence at 9:18 a.m., the exact moment the derailment occurred on a section of the JR Fukuchiyama Line between Tsukaguchi and Amagasaki stations, Fuji TV reported.
Ticket to ride: Disabled passengers face added burden from a lack of smart cards Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
A father (far right) and his disabled child pass through a manned ticket gate to get discounts for travel fares at Tsukishima Station in Tokyo in January 2020, while a person in an electric wheelchair who is traveling with the pair waits inside the ticket gates. | KYODO
Kyodo Apr 25, 2021
For most, the convenience of riding trains with the swipe of a smart card is taken for granted. But for disabled people in the Tokyo metropolitan region, that change has yet to come.