A study on the actual situation of the use of the internet by persons with disabilities and on the securing of accessibility to information for such persons

• Project/Area Number: 14510230
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Technology
• Principal Investigator: MUNEOKA Mitsuaki Tokyo University of Technology, School of Media Science, Professor, メディア学部, 教授 (60329175)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KOMORIYA Kumi Katayanagi Advanced Research Laboratory, Researcher, 嘱託研究員 ; MURAKAMI Yasujiro Tokyo University of Technology, School of Media Science, Assistant Professor, メディア学部, 専任講師 (10350505)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2003
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2003)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,500,000); Fiscal Year 2003: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000); Fiscal Year 2002: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
• Keywords: handicapped persons / internet / information technology (IT) / accessibility to information / fundamental human rights / social participation / barrier-free of information / communications

Research Abstract

From the standpoint that accessibility to information is an important right among the fundamental human rights, the study aimed at investigating the real state of the use of information, in particular, the use of the internet, by persons with disabilities and probing appropriate means to secure accessibility to information for such persons.
In the first year of the study, study efforts were dedicated to the analyses of relevant literature and to conducting an extensive questionnaire survey of persons with disabilities for the purpose of finding the actual situation of the use of IT, the internet for communication, and social participation by persons with disabilities.
In the second year, the detailed analysis of the data obtained through the survey in the first year was conducted, depth interviews to handicapped persons concerning the use of information and accessibility to information were undertaken, and interviews to experts in information technology to find the directions of relevant technology being developed were conducted. In addition, a comparative analysis of legal and policy measures in Japan and western countries, especially the States, was carried out.
Based on the results of the foregoing analyses, the following items were discussed and covered in the final report of the study ; the present situation of persons with disabilities in Japan ; the current status of and trends in support measures for persons with disabilities ; media behavior of persons with disabilities (ownership of cellular phone, utilization of the internet, etc.) ; the present status of and trends in support measures by public organizations for handicapped persons to develop abilities to use IT ; the present status of and desirable directions of legal bases to secure accessibility to information for persons with disabilities. Also, economic issues related to securing accessibility were discussed.
Finally, problems to be solved for enhancing the accessibility of persons with disabilities to information were sorted out, and measures to secure accessibility to information for such persons were discussed and proposed.