The cast on the 2nd day sessions.

The 7th Challenged Japan Forum (CJF)2001 International Symposium in Mie was held on November 1-2, 2001 at Hotel Shima Spain Mura in Mie Prefecture. The CJF has been positively supporting the people with disabilities (so-called challenged because of their challenging tasks given by God) to promoting their job opportunities for their independence with self respect. "!Cambiamos la socieda!" was the catch phrase this time meaning "Let's make a change to our society!" in Spanish. Positive signs and steps for changing themselves and reforming their society are seen among the challenged and the government, academic, and industrial leaders in the regions. Here is a brief report on CJF in Mie.
(By Masahiko Nakawa, journalist. Photos by Tsutomu Murakawa)

Faces of the CJF. A debate among the reforming governors chaired by Nami Takenaka, so called "Namine" heated over two hours. Left to right: Nami Takenaka, Gov. Masayasu Kitagawa(Mie Pref.), Gov.Yoshiko Shiotani(Kumamoto Pref.), Gov. Akiko Domoto(Chiba Pref.), and Gov. Hiroya Masuda(Iwate Pref.)

The CJF2001 site this time was decided by a strong request by Gov. Kitagawa of Mie Prefecture. He stressed on the following at the opening of the forum.

"Today the social structures believed absolute may collapse unexpectedly in a blink. In social welfare, it has been promoted with the idea of supporting underprivileged people with disabilities. On the other hand, it has somehow strained the protection of human rights and individual dignity. Ms. Nami Takenaka, chairperson and the founder of Prop Station, a social welfare organization has been proposing in those ten years to protect the equal opportunity and human rights for the people with disabilities. They are the new challenges to be carried out in the new society. I participated in the CJF several times, and became anxious to invite the next CJF to our Mie Prefecture, and wanted to host an epoch-making forum. Today I am happy and honored to declare the opening of the CJF2001 in Mie ."

The session was followed by a keynote speech by Ms. Nami Takenaka. She powerfully spoke with conviction which once moved Gov. Kitagawa to host the forum here. Here are her points.

The challenged people like my daughter, born with serious disabilities require full cares and big amount of money. When the country becomes poor or the people are poor in their heart, it will become difficult for those weak people to survive in such a society.

On the other hand, many challenged people are willing to work and find a role to contribute in their community as independent people, and many of them have potential abilities. However, the Japanese society has been processing them as a batch of disabled people requiring full protection and support. Their desire to be independent with self respect and to contribute as members of their community(as workers, consumers, taxpayers, and so on) has not been taken into consideration.

In today's aging society with reducing birth rate, we are concerned if we can bear the burden of securing their social and welfare insurances.

Some potential growth of skills of the challenged are expected by adopting IT based trainings. IT is an important key to survive in the aging society. Practically we should increase more job opportunities for the challenged to be given according to their skills. This will lead them to live with self respect and contribute to their community.

Nami Takenaka is the core of CJF, a unique nonpartisan cooperative system of government, academic, industrial and private sectors(including NPO ). The circle has been spreading over the administrative and political leaders overseas as well as the local and central governments.

The next keynote speaker was Ms. Donna Ann Welton, Director, Nagoya American Center, and Consul, U.S. Consulate, Nagoya.

In Japan you have been trying to secure equal opportunity as the result of their protective policies for the people with or without disabilities, trying to make the fair result. In the United States, the social structure has been built to secure fair and equal opportunities to all people for working and independent social life.

Ms. Welton introduced important information on policies and social systems for the people with disabilities in the United States including the equal employment opportunity issues for our further study. In addition, she stated that over 2,500 innocent people might have become the challenged suffering from the aftereffects of fatal injuries caused by the terrorists attacks on September 11. "We may say that we are all challenged as we can no longer enjoy our life as before." She concluded.

Keynote speaker. Ms. Donna Ann Welton, Consul, the U.S.Consulate, Nagoya, and Director, Nagoya American Center chats with Mr. Toru Tanii, the Executive Committee of CJF in Mie. Mr. Tanii is dreaming of studying in the United States in the near future.	A new staff at Future System Consulting, Ms. Satowa Ikeuchi in her presentation. Her speech was followed by brief comments of Mr. Yasufumi Kanemaru, President of Future System Consulting, and a senior staff conducted her trainings and a colleague of Ms. Ikeuchi.

Ms. Rie Kubo(left), a picture book writer just made her debut, appealed her strong wishes never giving up her dreams while Mr. Ikutoshi Yoshida, a digital artist always kept smiling with his profound talks.	At a sales counter outside the conference hall Ms. Rie Kubo's debut work books and other artworks and panels of the challenged caught visitors eyes.
Mr. Kazuya Hosoda(left), in charge of accessibility system at Microsoft, and Mr. Tadashi Mori, translating manuals via telework at his home in Nagasaki. They both stressed the important role of close communication.	The challenged people from Asia studying in Japan also participated in the forum. Ms. Wang from China, and Ms. Cucu Saidah from Indonesia attracted the audience in their fluent Japanese speeches and their eagerness for studying.

The challenged people working for IT industries presented their report in the next session. Ms. Satowa Ikeuchi(quadriplegics-working quads)a challenged engineer of Future System Consulting Co., LTD(the New Media introduced Future System Consulting Company as one of top running IT firms in its last issue) introduced her own experience of her first training when she was accepted by Future System Consulting. She finished her presentation with the following comments. "I'm not happy to be called "challenged" because I feel a kind of pressure by this term that I really have to find something for further challenging. I hope that there will be more challenged people working so that it will become nothing particular for us to work among the people without disabilities."

Ms. Rie Kubo( working quads), a picture book writer recently made her debut, told that not only her creative works but her life style itself has dramatically been changed by adopting PC and Internet in her works.

Mr. Ikutoshi Yoshida( working quads), a digital artist spreading his world of artistic expression impressed the audience by adding the following words after his struggling and unsteady feeling for the future by having disabilities. "You feel more challenging spirit and creative powers by having something weak . Having a kind of disability with you or not makes no difference in your creative activities."

Mr. Tadashi Mori(lower legs plegia), a staff of Microsoft Co., LTD translating manuals at SOHO basis, and Mr. Kazuya Hosoda(totally blind), also a staff of Microsoft in charge of accessibility system, told the audience through their experiences that work is severe irrespective of your disabilities.

A session chaired by Mr. Makoto Naruke, (Former President of Microsoft) four leaders from the central government ministries supporting the CJF discussed reforming of their policies on the challenged. Minister Chikara Sakaguchi of Health, Labor and Welfare, and Ms. Seiko Noda, a member of the House of Representative, Joined the session via TV conference system from Tokyo.	Mie Prefecture is promoting to supporting employment for the challenged. Mr. Satoru Okamoto, a staff at Information Procedures Dept., Regional Promotion Division of Mie Prefecture, with his dyed brown hair is a unique model representing a new generation.
There were many challenged people among the audience listening to the performers earnestly. (From left) Mr. Yasufumi Kanemaru, president of Future System Consulting Co., Ms. Takenaka, Chair, Prop Station, and Gov. Masayasu Kitagawa, Mie Prefecture.

Ms.Yoshiko Shiotani, Gov.of Kumamoto Pref.

It is highly expected that the challenged people may get rid of barriers with prospective use of IT technologies as their tools. Therefore, I have been inviting more challenged and advanced age people to participate in IT programs and trainings. In Kumamoto Prefecture we have established a NPO named "Next Kumamoto" and started a telework to promoting employment opportunities for the people with disabilities as a model project for fiscal 2002.

In 2002, an Abilympic(a nationwide competition games for the people with disabilities) will be held in Kumamoto. It is important for the challenged to be positive to appeal themselves in their community. I would like to share their willingness and act together to reforming themselves which will lead the community people to understand the challenged people, then to change their society.

Ms.Akiko Domoto, Gov. of Chiba Pref.

I often ask my staff to listen to the people concerned more carefully. Then, the staff says "Let's call the person in charge at the facility to comec" It is contrary. He should show an attitude to visit the people concerned at the facility and listen to their voices. Of course it is important for the people at the facility to express their real voices. Such actions from the regional community should be able to change the system of the central government.

After listening to the voices of the challenged people today, I have strongly felt that we have to amend the concept our facilities that they are for the people unable to work, or the people should not work there. In the IT society today it is possible to secure useful information and get a self support while receiving cares.

I believe that it is one of our responsibilities to revise the environment of the facility reflecting the need of the times.

Mr. Hiroya Masuda, Gov. of Iwate Pref.

We have welfare workshops at various places in Iwate Prefecture, and they were just relying on the subsidies. Now, we are changing them to be independent. To manufacture salable items, a networking and thorough marketing are inevitable.

IT is the best way to do them, of course. We are active to adopt IT based network to make our regional community survive.

In the regional government we have actual sites where troubles are seen sometimes. However, because of them we have advantages over the central government. Our policies are appropriate and practical. We will try our best efforts to improve our regional community.

Mr. Masayasu Kitagawa, Gov. of Mie Pref.

Large volume and high speed submarine optical fiber cables are linking Shima area and overseas. An IT based project named "Shima Cyberbase Project" has started in hopes of promoting a world level information network base in Mie Prefecture. Among our activities there is a program utilizing IT technologies to support employment promotion and securing self support for the people with disabilities.

As a result of Tokyo's overconcentrated administrative and business facilities there have been serious subsides in the regional ground. The regional governments having reforming mind shall collaborate to change our social systems from the region. Instead of being careful not to make a mistake, a positive attitude to go ahead and correct any mistakes is more appropriate. A fair competitiveness among the regional governments will definitely activate our community for prospective social reform.

I felt some similarities between the challenged people working in the IT industries and the reforming governors changing their regions although they seem to live in the different world. What is common among them may be the challenging spirit. They really are the challenged. There is no difference between them by gender, with or without disabilities, and whether they are bureaucrats or private sectors.

The cast on the 1st day sessions.