Masaya MINEI *1
This paper was written in 2014. I have never had the opportunity to publish it. Now it's finally time to publish it.
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On September 28, 2007, the Japan Government signed the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities（CRPD）, at the moment of the first cabinet of prime minister Shinzo Abe、a coalition government of Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. However, it needed seven and a half years for the Japan Government to ratify it. It is on January 20, 2014 under the current second Abe Cabinet. Because the government had to amend many laws and rules related to its ratification. It was during the time the cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a coalition government of Democratic Party Japan, Social Democratic Party and People’s New Party made in September 2009, that this amendment process has started. This government established the Committee for Disability Policy Reform *2 in Cabinet Office in December 2009 and encouraged the amendment procedures. The feature of this committee was that persons with disabilities concerned and their families were over the half of members. It was a landmark in Japan.
Based on the reports made by this committee, two major laws were amended and two important laws were enacted newly. Amendment of Basic Law for Persons with Disabilities of 2011 covers people with incurable diseases which were not included before. The new legislative measures were the Law for comprehensive support in the daily living and social life of persons with disabilities of 2012 and the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities Law of 2013 .An Act for the Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities was amended in 2013.
The most strict conflict occurred among that committee and the Ministry of Education (MEXT henceforward) around the article 24 .
Though the Japan Government has already ratified the CRPD, it does not have the policy and system to realize its article 24 on inclusive education. This is one of big problems for promotion of inclusive education in Japan.
This paper firstly overviews the system and policy for education of students with disabilities. Secondary I examine some of movements, practices and theories for inclusive education which has derived from the principle, “children who learn together learn to live together” or “ co-education” based on the strong group actions against the enforcement of compulsory separate education for mentally and physically disabled students enacted in 1979. Finally I point out some issues in order to develop theory of inclusive education based on Disability Studies.
An overview of public education system and special needs(support) education in Japan
The public education established in 1872 aimed to maintain and strengthen the Regime of Japanese Emperor (Tenno), grounded on industrial capitalism, and continued until the defeat of the world war Ⅱ. In this system, children had duties to receive education as a subject of Tenno. A special school for students with disabilities was almost limited to the blind and the deaf students. There were only a few special schools for other disabled students, and some special classes were established in ordinary schools. After that war, Japan designed the post-war public education system along the 1946 Report of the United States Education Mission to Japan and the 1946 Japan Constitution. The basic education law and the school education law were enacted in 1947. The Constitution (article 26) provides “All people shall have the right to receive an equal education correspondent to their ability, as provided by law. All people shall be obligated to have all boys and girls under their protection receive ordinary education as provided for by law. Such compulsory education shall be free.” and the Basic Education Law*3 (article 3) clarifies that people shall all be given equal opportunities to receive education according to their abilities, and shall not be subject to discrimination in education on account of race, creed, sex, social status, economic position, or family origin. The new japan school system had some features:
― 9 years schools for compulsory education*4 ( 6 years primary school and 3 years junior high schools)
― 3 years high school and higher education (4 years university and 2years college) ― the enforcement of coeducation system with boys and girls
Students with disabilities also have the opportunity to be educated in the segregated schools or classes as a compulsory special education. However, compulsory education system for students with disabilities except the blind or the deaf children did not realized at that time. It had been delayed until 1979. In addition, there was a compulsory school attendance exemption/deferment system. For these reasons, many students with disabilities had lost their opportunities to be educated.
This Japan special education system has a big problem originally. For the 1947 school education law (article 71) provided “special schools aim at educating the students with disabilities and supplying the knowledge and skills to redeem their deficiencies.” In other words, children with disabilities were recognized as those with deficiencies. Such special education system in Japan had continued until 2007, and was changed to special needs education system in April 2007. Since the national achievement test was revived at the same time, the parents who wish making their children with disabilities go to the schools or classes for special needs education rather than the ordinary schools or classes have increased in number. The numbers of those schools and classes as well as Tsukyu*5 classes
Table 1 Numbers of special schools and classes, and their students (2013)
(1) the numbers of students in special schools include the students from kindergarten department to upper secondary department
(2) the numbers of students in special classes were in a primary school and junior high school
Unlike Italy, in Japan a local public entity has the responsibility to provide primary and secondary education. The commune has to establish public primary and junior high schools, and the prefecture builds public senior high schools and schools for special educational needs. But state funds also are considerably used for the expense of the teacher salary and the improvement of institution facilities. Of course in Japan there are private schools, but the private schools for the disabled are very rare.
Movement of making it compulsory for the parents to get their students with physical, intellectual or other disabilities attend the special schools (Yogogakko Gimuka henceforward)
As in the 1960s, along with the high economic growth in Japan the expansion of school education, especially the post-secondary education, proceeded. At the same time, the movements for setting up more special schools for compulsory education of the students with disabilities except the blind and the deaf arose and developed gradually. At that time this type of special school was called Yogogakko in Japanese.
The movements had two big tides. One was based on a traditional special education theory that focused on the social adaptation of children with disabilities, and the central members are the groups of parents, teachers and/or scholars seeking for the development of special education.
Another one was based on the theory and the thought of a group which had criticized the traditional theory of special education because it could not ensure the education for children with severe or multiple disabilities. The group is “Zenkoku Shogaisha Mondai Knenkyukai (Zenshoken）” (Japanese Society for the Problems of the Handicapped) established in 1967. The scholars and experts have leadership of this organization. They campaigned passionately for the necessity of special schools and classes for children with disabilities based on the following thought:
Any serious disabled children have possibility to develop as human being and if so, we have to ensure their developments. Those children also are entitled to develop and learn
In Japan, this is known well as the principle of ensurement of human development . The basis is the cognitive psychology of Piaget's and Vygotsky's studies etc..
While being opposed each other, these two tides commonly depended on the medical model of disability and recognized the segregated special schools and classes as an indispensable system for the students with disabilities. In addition, it was not the persons with disabilities but the researchers, experts and teachers to have taken a central role in both organizations. As a result of these movements, in 1974 the government proclaimed a cabinet order to enforce the special schools for children with disabilities except the blind and deaf as compulsory education from April in 1979 . And it was really enacted.
Critical actions against the movements above
The criticism against for the movements seeking Yogogakko Gimuka and enlargement of the Yogogakko had appeared since “ Zenkoku Aoi Shiba No Kai” *6 had started the intercept against it. Increasingly many other groups participated in this action, and “ Zenkoku Shogaisya Kaiho Undo Renraku Kaigi; Zenshoren” (The National Liaison Conference for Liberation Movement of the Disabled) was established in 1976. They had done very hard counter actions, such as a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Education or a 500-kilometer walking demonstration traveling from Shiga prefecture to Tokyo.
Instead of traditional and substitutive actions by the pacific groups such as Zenshoken etc., this organization that was constituted of persons with severe disabilities who were confined in the facility or home long aimed at action to acquire their independent life in their own fights against the discrimination. Of course Zenshoren criticized and resisted strongly against the Yogogakko Gimuka. They claimed it is nothing other than discrimination to the disabled. The groups which were performing activities in some local communities to ask for children with disabilities entering a neighborhood regular school also joined this resistance movement. The one of them was "Child Problem Study Group" estabilished in 1972 which Mutsuharu Shinohara*7 who is a critical psychologist took the lead. He criticized strongly not only the traditional special education theory, but also the principle of ensurement of development with identifying himself to thoughts and minds of children and their parents who were forced to attend to special schools and classes, therefore could not go to neighborhood regular schools . Of course he fought against the Yougogakko Gimuka.
These counter movements affected many teachers who were practicing in their schools*8 . It produced teachers who criticizes the policy of Japan Teachers' Union (JTU; in Japanese Nikkyoso) that had continued the movement of the Yogogakko Gimuka and the increase of special schools during 1960s.
One of key persons was Sayo Kitamura*9, a teacher of the special class in a junior high school in Tokyo those days. When she had just begun to work in the special class with mission to educate the students with disabilities, he was said by them "Teacher, you have also failed in an examination" At that time she was made recognize the real condition under which the special classes were located. Since its time she continues saying, "Don't divide children" and encouraging practices of inclusive education in the regular classes and parents seeking them. JTU organized in 1947 holds the national [ education research meeting from 1952 every year. Although it is a place and opportunity which teachers interchange their educational practices in every subcommittee, for many years in the subcommittee related to education for the students with disabilities the dispute intense controversies had been disputed between the teachers sided with Zenshoken and those sided with Zenshoren.
One of the bases of such critical theories and practices in Japan is the normalization idea derived from Europe, and another is a Japanese original principle , "To learn and grow up each other would be the first step to the eliminating discrimination”
Fights for entering in a neighborhood regular school
Under influence of these critical movements around the country, the parents’ actions seeking to get their children attend the neighbor ordinary schools against the placement measure to a special school or class by a local board of education became more active .
In 1975, Kazumi Asai, a blind girl, could attend a regular class in a neighborhood ordinary public school through the strong request of the parents. It was the first case in Japan, but is exceptional case. After the primary schools, she went to a public junior high school. When she decided to enter a public high school, she and her parents negotiated with the Saitama prefectural board of education about how to take entrance examination. It resulted in using Braill, extending time and taking it in another classroom.
Then such cases like this in Japan have increased gradually, but they were formally cases out of law.
Koji Kanai with cerebral palsy caused by suspended animation birth in 1969, required to want going to the neighborhood regular school with his younger brother. It was in 1978 and he was the second grade of the special school. His parents responded to his wish and asked for his transference of school to the commune board of education. However, his wish was refused by the board and the elementary school, especially the teacher group. For he could not give up the wish, he begun going to this school Of course, since this action was not accepted in formal, he could not but learn in front of school gate every day. Although nationwide supports to this action, his hope to go to the school was not realized.
In the process of this activity one young supporter was arrested and he became the accused in criminal trial. Although Koji’s action was not quarreled directly in this trial, Tokyo High Court pointed out the following contents by the judgment issued in February in 1981.
It is desirable to establish the opportunity for the collaborative relationship between the disabled and persons without disabilities as early as possible. In other words, it will be too late to realize it at the stage of social adult education after schooling, and what the collaborative relationship would have already established in a process of the school education is expected. Given this consideration, the education for the students with disabilities should be the ideal to provide as general education in the integrated conditions alongside of offering special education to develop their abilities according to the degree of their impairments. Although the wish both of him and parents to attend the neighborhood elementary schools couldn’t be realized, he could enter regular junior high school five years later .
The example with which I was concerned as a supporter was the Nagasaki*10 lawsuit. It was an administrative litigation for which the parents of a girl with cerebral palsy, who had an experience of growing up with peers in private regular kindergarten, sued in order to enter her in a public regular school against the decision for placement by boards of education and Ministry of Education. It started in 1982 and was the first lawsuit for the entering in regular school of child with disability in Japan.
"The National Network for the Entering the Children with Disabilities in Regular Schools(Zenkokuren)” formed in 1981 supported this suit, which was advocated by very excellent lawyers . In this trial, it was claimed that the compulsory of entering the student in special school for reasons of disability by the education administration bodies broke the Constitution of Japan. Finally it resulted in reconciliation in conclusion that Mika would belong to a special class, but learn with her friends in a regular class with the half of a week. Megumi Yamazaki with paralysis of limbs who could move only the thumb of right and had lived as a wheelchair user was eager to go to a regular junior high school in Hokkaido. Because she wanted to never repeat the life like that she learned almost lonely with a visiting teacher during her primary school ages. In December 1990, she and her parents requested her attending regular junior high school and learning and living with her friends to the board of education. Although they and many supporters continued to negotiate with the boards, her request could not be admitted. Consequently she was registered in a special class constituted of only herself and was not admitted the learning with other students except during the period.
Therefore, she and her parents sued City, City Board of education and a junior high school in July 1991 in order to cancel the register in a special class and to pay 1 million yen alimony. But they could not win and their request couldn’t be allowed. Court judged that parents had no right to decide their child’s entering school, but the board of education had power to decide it. In every case tried in this way, we could not win to acquire the conclusion that admitted the right of the decision making of the disabled themselves and their parents and could change the separate special education system. In practice we could find many students with disabilities studying in regular classes against the guidance of the boards of education or under their admission. However their existences were exceptional in the public education system until middle of 1990s in Japan.
From the term of integration to one of inclusion in education
It came to be known even in Japan that in the world the movement toward integrated education is main internationally with being recognized the 23rd article of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities 6 of 1993, etc.. All over the country, the communes and their board of education increasingly became to admit the entering in ordinary schools or classes with respect of intentions of the disabled themselves and their parents.
Machida City in Tokyo (Kanto region) and Toyonaka City in Osaka (Kinki region) are the typical examples. However, in these two cities, how to admit the entering in schools of the students with disabilities is different. While the former usually admit the registration in a regular class and learning with peers in it, the latter register them in a special class and admit their learning in a regular class actually. The reason of the latter system is a way to acquire many posts of teacher.
I translated the 1994 Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education and a Framework for Action of the UNESCO into Japanese*12 in 1996 for the first time in Japan. And I introduced and disseminate the term and concept of inclusive education actively. For I thought that this term and concept was very similar and close to the principle “Children who learn together learn to live together without any discriminations” that we had continued to mention for a long time along the fight for liberation movement of the disabled described above.
Since in November 1989 the anti-mainstream group to which many teachers sided Zenshoken belong, JTU adopted a policy formally to promote "symbiosis and coeducation". One of the 2005 fiscal year’s policies of JTU was "to create the education which aims at symbiosis and the coeducation and to aim at the creation of an inclusive school"
The Comprehensive Education Research Institute established by JTU in 1990 published the reports about the promotion of inclusive education in 2000, 2003,2007 and 2012. The report of 2007*13 proposed the prospects as followed:
In Chapter 6, we proposed four suggestions in regards to working toward inclusive education: (a) To diversify teaching approach rather than to solely depend on the teacher-directed whole group instruction; (b) To value and encourage cooperative learning in class; (c) To strengthen teacher's three roles, including attending to individual students' needs, promoting friendships among students, and building a class as a community; and (d) To rethink curriculum based on the ideas of universal and flexible needs-based curriculum that does not disconnect any child from her or his learning community.
The DPI Japan meeting of the organization consisted of eight national organizations and many local organizations established in 1986 aims at independent living and the human rights of the disabled and has promoted, at first the integration in education and then inclusive education. The DPI Japan played key role for organizing “The Network for Promotion of Inclusive Education” organized in 2008. Now this network acts very hardly for establishment of inclusive education system and disseminations of its practices. "The Japan Association Japan Society for Disability Studies” *14 was established October 2003. It aims to promote and disseminate the study on disability studies focusing on the social and cultural view, and interaction and cooperation of members. In my view, it dose not necessary deal with inclusive education as central theme. We cannot find papers on the theoretical study of inclusive education in its journal. But I think a lot of members have positive view about the thought of inclusive education.
Although the Zenshoken has stood on negative position for the integration in education for long time because it has promoted the separate special education system based on the principle of ensurement of development since its origin, recently it has come to support “inclusive education” only in the words. It proposes the following education reform in a pamphlet of 2010, “The proposal for education reform of the children with disabilities; towards for construction of inclusive school and community".
The education movement for the children with disabilities as human rights developed in the latter of the 20th century has realized the Yogogakko Gimuka of 1979, enriched the systems of post-secondary education or the dormitory education etc. and developed education practices in the world such as teaching-learning activities connected to the sciences and human lives including the children with most severe and/or duplicate disabilities The issue of the education reform for the students with disabilities should be recognized not only as the problem of special needs education, but also as holistic reform of school education. In particular, it is developed as a creation of inclusive school which guarantees the children’s right of learning without any discrimination and exclusion related to the creation of inclusive society where all people can live and act without discrimination.
But I can't possibly evaluate this proposal as the same as inclusive education undermined deeply by the thought of “the liberation from discrimination” and “co-living and co-learning” which we are seeking.
Conflict over the inclusive education of the article 24 of the CRPD
Increasingly the term of inclusive education becomes to be used by many disability organizations, teachers and scholars. Especially since the CRPD becomes to be close-up, even the Japan Ministry of education uses this them. However, as mentioned earlier, the Ministry of education does not recognize the inclusive education itself correctly. Because it continues to promote special needs education in segregated conditions based on the medical model of disability. Like the Zenshoken it also use the term of inclusive education only in words. This is proved by the following report written by The Central Council of Education of the MEXT.
For the formation of a symbiosis society (in Japanese, Kyosei Shakai), the idea of the inclusive education system based on the CPRD is important and it is necessary to advance the special needs education steadily.
In inclusive education system, t is important to equip the various, flexible structure under which the most appropriate education to the children with individual needs from the points of view of independence and society participation can provided while we seek the co-learning opportunity in the same place. For this reason it is necessary to prepare a series of “variable places of learning” such as regular class, resource class and special needs class in the elementary and junior high school, and special needs school.
At a glance you can see that Japanese MEXT couldn’t stop using the term in order to ratify the CRPD. However, in real it is true for the MEXT to promote and enrich the special needs education.
On the other hand, we criticized that we could not find the sufficient arguments about the protection of the right of the disabled and the standpoint to change radically the special education grounded on the medical model of disability in this report and the report abandoned the idea of the CRPD that the persons with disabilities decide and exercise the how to live and how to learn by themselves like the persons without disabilities.
Conclusion
In Japan, the policy to promote special education in earlier time and in later the special needs education has been adopted and developed Although Japanese government ratified the CRPD at last in 2014, it would not change the traditional standpoint to continue the policy to maintain the special needs education by strange interpretation of the article 24 on the assumption of existence of special schools and classes.
Theory and movement for inclusive education has been revealed as an opposite response against the Yogogakko Gimuka from the early 1970s. The organization of the disabled themselves seeking independent living in the community rather than at the facility has played the central role in this movement.
Since 1990s, in opposition to the traditional special education theory and the principle of ensurment of development, we have some attempts the theory and practice of “ co-living and co-learning “advocated in Japan to the theory and practice of inclusive education proposed by many international organizations.
As described above, the history of disability studies in Japan is not so long and the theoretical development of inclusive education based thereon is not sufficient. So it would be necessary to investigate the following issue in order to develop the theory and practice of inclusive education in Japan: how to interpret and deepen the implications of human rights approach and the development of the children with disabilities. Because the Zenshoken also claim that the disabled have a human right to development, and the principle of ensurement of development is based on medical /individual model as well as human rights approach.
I do agree and support Simona D’Alessio (2011) points that human rights approach in education requires a thorough understanding of its implications for policy-making and schooling rather than abstract ideas of human development and full potential. But in Japan it is necessary to argue more and more about human rights approach on social model.
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*1: Professor of Senshu University which is private and located at Tokyo and Kawasaki-city. I visited Italy for the first time in 198 . I have an experience of staying one year from 4/1992 to 3/1993 in Milan and researched the ‘integrazione scolastica in Italia’. I translated the Frame Law n.104/1992(Legge-quadro per l'assistenza, l'integrazione sociale e i diritti delle persone handicappate) in Japanese and introduced it in Japan. Associate Professor Reiko Ichiki also keeps to investigate the ‘integrazione scolastica in Italia’.
*2: According to the statement by Katsunori Fujii, on behalf of Japanese Government, this was renewed as the committee for disability policy from April 2012. It focused on strengthening of function and authorization. (http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/twg/escap_020316/fujii_eng.htm) We have required not an elimination act of discrimination but an antidiscrimination law like England and etc., but Japan government has not accepted it. The correct name is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
*3: We have required not an elimination act of discrimination but an antidiscrimination law like England and etc., but Japan government has not accepted it. The correct name is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
*4: Japan compulsory education consists of two obligations. One is the parents’ obligation to get their child go to the primary or junior high school, other is the commune’s obligation to establish those schools.
*5 Tsukyu class is commonly called “resource room,” is a place where special instruction is given to students with relatively mild disabilities enrolled in elementary or lower secondary schools
*6: It is a national group of people with cerebral palsy established 1973. We can understand this organization in a paper, ”Development of Disability Studies in Japan: A Brief Outline” written by Osamu Nagase. See, “Disability Studies Quarterly Summer 2008, Volume 28, No.3” http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/116/116
*7: At that time, He was a professor of Wako University(private). We can know his thought in details in a book review ‘ “Ideological critiques of the mainstream special education discourse on "protecting the educational rights of children with disabilities": Focusing on human reciprocity, or ensuring development? ’ by Maho Suzuki. Please see “Disability Studies Quarterly Summer 2008, Volume 28, No.3” http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/119/119
*8: In Japan teachers of public schools should be transferred periodically. In my view, this is a unique system around the world.
*9: She is an author who has written many books.
*10: This is one of prefectures in Kyushu Region.
One of them visited Italy in April 2014 and investigated with her peers the policy and practice of the ‘integrazione scolastica ’.
*11: One of them visited Italy in April 2014 and investigated with her peers the policy and practice of the ‘integrazione scolastica ’.
*12: As at this time I could not translate the word “inclusive” into Japanese itself, I only exchanged it by katakana notation. Now in Japan this katakana notation of “inclusive” is usually used.
*13: We can know its summary by this URL in English: http://www.kyoiku-soken.org/official_e/research/2009/01/19113351.php
*14: See this URL: http://www.disabilityworld.org/04-05_04/news/japansds.shtmlm One of representative members is Masatsugu Hori, a professor of Kumamoto Gakuen University who has an experience of studying in England.
Reference ( only in English)
D’Alessio, Simona. (2011) Inclusive Education in Italy, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 143 and 144.
The National Institute of Special Education(2005) Special Education in Japan
http://www.nise.go.jp/cms/resources/content/835/Special_Education_in_Japan.pdf
The National Institute of Special Needs Education Introduction Video for Special Needs Education in Japan]
http://www.nise.go.jp/cms/12,0,34,147.html
MEXT. Special Needs Education
http://www.mext.go.jp/english/elsec/1303763.htm MEXT(2012).
Policy Trends of Special Needs Education in Japan http://www.nise.go.jp/cms/resources/content/6232/20120611-152632.pdf
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