Photo/Illutration Yoshito Dobashi in Utsunomiya on Nov. 16 (Photo by Takuji Hiraga)

UTSUNOMIYA--An expert in transportation planning is pushing for Japan to beef up its services for people with disabilities on public transportation and better evaluate their utilization.

A new study by Yoshito Dobashi, a visiting professor at Utsunomiya University, suggests trains with priority seats for elderly people, those with disabilities and expectant mothers are not as effective as designating seating exclusively for them.

Priority seats are installed on all trains for people with special needs, but exclusive seats are available only on the trains operated by the Sapporo Municipal Subway in the capital of Hokkaido.

Dobashi conducted a field survey that revealed that exclusive seating is more often occupied by those in need than the priority seats.

The 53-year-old published his findings in a joint research paper last year and received the Academic Award from the Japanese Association for an Inclusive Society.

Dobashi has long advocated for better services for people with disabilities, but it was not until he suffered from an irreparable injury that his mission began.

Dobashi lived in Sapporo until he graduated from high school, but he did not know about exclusive seating at the time. 

After graduating from university, he worked at a bank before joining the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.

In 1998, while working in Fiji, he was severely injured in a traffic accident and disabilities remained in his left leg.

When Dobashi was studying in Britain after the accident, he was assisted by locals who accompanied him and carried his bags as he walked with a cane.

But when he returned to Japan, he found priority seats were often fully occupied by regular passengers and that many riders neglected to offer any assistance to others.

It made him wonder why Japanese people obey traffic lights while they turn a blind eye to those in need on the transit system, he said.

He said he strongly felt a need to find out why Japan has yet to achieve "barrier free at heart."

In 2015, Dobashi had recurring symptoms in his leg and required major surgery, prompting him to leave his job at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

He enrolled in graduate school at Utsunomiya University in 2017 to dedicate himself to researching barrier-free design in traffic infrastructure.

He obtained his doctorate last year and took a job as a visiting professor at the university's School of Regional Design.

Dobashi advocated for exclusive seating in his paper, arguing they are more effective. But he stresses that just changing the name is not enough to make a difference.

About 20 years ago, the Yokohama Municipal Subway and Hankyu Corp. launched new efforts attempting to designate all seats as priority seats.

But their attempts proved ineffective, effectively ending the projects.

"Even though barrier-free facilities were built in Japan, no measures have been taken to assess their effectiveness," Dobashi said.

The number of elderly residents, who account for nearly 30 percent of Japan's population, continues to increase every year.

And while a portion of the population is made up of people with disabilities, exclusive and priority seats still only consist of about 20 percent of all train seats.

The special seats are also often located at the corners of train cars.

Dobashi said he feels strongly that barrier-free facilities in Japan are not designed based on scientific grounds.

In Utsunomiya, the light rail transit (LRT) system will start operation in 2023.

"I hope people can make use of the opportunity and change their attitude to create a barrier-free environment," Dobashi said.

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