For Japan, the Convention on the

According to the 2009 Report of

Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, adopted at the UN
session in 2006 and signed by
Japan in 2007, provided a
significant impetus for developing
this type of education. Since that
time, Japan began to build a
legislative framework for a barrier-
free environment, an
inclusive education system at all
stages of schooling, and
patronage programs for people
with disabilities.
the Japan Ministry of Education…
there are 1,026 special needs
school in Japan. The schools are
separated into the five disability
categories: 84 schools for visual
impairment, 116 schools for hearing
impairment, 619 schools for
cognitive disorder, 282 schools for
physical disabilities, 124 schools for
health-related children (Nagano
and Weinberg, 2012).

YEAR 2006
DEVELOPMENT OF

The five disability categories to

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN
receive special education in Japan
listed in the Enforcement Order for
School Education Act, Article 22.2
are: visual impairment, hearing

J A P A N impairment, cognitive disorders

(not including ADHD or LD),
physical disabilities and health-
related conditions.
Regular elementary and junior-
THE LICENSE OF SCHOOLS FOR
high schools have seven
SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION
different kinds of special
support classes according to IN 2006
the types of disabilities. Besides,

recent years have witnessed the

increasing number of resource
License of the schools for
room systems available, in the blind
which children with special License of the schools for
needs receive special lessons the deaf
several hours per week while License of the schools for
they remain enrolled in regular the intellectual disables,
classes. Because of the increasing
physically disabled,
number of students with
health impaired
multiple disabilities, the single
category school in year 2006

IN 2007

changed. In 2007 schools for

REVISING THE SCHOOL special needs education

already accepts students with Require the basic

EDUCATION LAW
several kinds of disabilities knowledge and
and work as a center of understanding of ALL
IN YEAR 2007 education for children with disabilities .
disabilities in each local Ensure the teacher's
community. specialty on more

particular disabilities.

In January 2016, there were

1,612 students at Musashino,
MUSASHINO

468 of whom were autistic.
The Musashino Higashi Kiyo Kitahara, who founded
HIGASHI GAKUEN
the school with her husband,
Gakuen, located in Tokyo’s
a very special school developed the method called
Musashino city, is a school
Daily Life Therapy, which first
which reminds us that promotes self-care skills, then
each person makes a self-reliance and
difference. When the independence and finally, full
school opened as a social integration.
As of March 2016,
941 autistic
kindergarten in 1964 there
students have graduated from
was one student there who
Musashino. Of those, 53% are
was later diagnosed as now working in ordinary
autistic. That child was the workplaces, 36% are at
catalyst that launched the sheltered workshops and 10%
have gone on to advanced
school founders’ work to
schools, such as colleges,
develop a suitable
technical schools or vocational
educational approach for training centers.
such children.