IT revolution must benefit all: NGO

Whether information technology is utilized for the benefit of all or merely as a business tool is a major challenge Japan faces in implementing an IT society, Nami Takenaka, president of Prop Station, said Monday.

"This is the era of the IT revolution and I think Japan is facing a kind of watershed," said Takenaka, whose nongovernment organization holds seminars to equip disabled people with computer skills that will help land them jobs.

"That is, will IT really be used so that people can be proud of (themselves) and participate in society, or will it merely be used as a business tool."

Takenaka said this would be a major discussion point at the upcoming two-day USA-Japan symposium on IT and the disabled that commences in Tokyo on Aug. 30.

This year's forum - backed by Prop Station, an officially recognized welfare corporation - is the sixth of its kind in Japan.

The meet will feature guest speaker Dinah Cohen, director of the U.S. Department of Defense's Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program, which is intended to eliminate barriers for people with disabilities and to increase their representation in the department.

Takenaka said the objectives of the Department of Defense and Prop are very similar.

"When I first met (Cohen), I asked her why the DoD was helping the disabled and she said 'the first step of defending the home country is to enable every citizen to live with pride,'" Takenaka said. "I empathized with her words because our motto is 'Making a Japan where the challenged can be taxpayers.' I believe IT will help these people find work."

Prop holds six seminars per week at its facilities in Osaka and Kobe to provide computer training for disabled people that will make them more employable. Thousands more have access to the seminars via the Internet.

So far, some 400 people have graduated from the NGO's courses, with over 50 landing jobs.

The conference was also held to promote Takenaka's book, which was recently published in English by The Japan Times under the title "Let's Be Proud: The Challenged are Changing Japanese Society."