There is an initiative called "quiet hour" to adjust the sound and lighting of stores and facilities so that people with hyperesthesia who are sensitive to sound and light can spend comfortably.
In Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the initiative is expanding, with the local junior chamber of commerce playing a central role in holding about 20 stores.
1 hour on Thursday shopping in a quiet environment
"Quiet Hour" is when some of the lights in the store are turned off to make it darker than usual, or the background music in the store is turned off to create a quiet state.
This is an initiative that considers people who feel stress when going out due to "hypersensitivity" that reacts sensitively to sound and lighting.
This initiative is now spreading in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Supermarkets in the city, which began this initiative in August of last year, turn off music and announcements for one hour from 4:00 to 5:00 pm on Thursdays so that customers can shop in a quiet environment.
According to the supermarket, while some shoppers said, ``It's easier to shop with the sound,'' on the other hand, ``I couldn't shop with my child because he was sensitive to sound, but this time I decided to go shopping with him. I will come shopping with you."
Yutaka Gibo, the manager of the Nakaya Sagamihara Onuma store, said, "In the store, there are many sounds that make people want to buy, such as 'It's cheap. It's cheap.' However, even if we do quiet hours, there is no effect at all."
At the center of the initiative is the Junior Chamber International Sagamihara. Based on the murder of persons with disabilities that occurred seven years ago, the initiative was started in the midst of thinking that we should deepen our understanding of people with disabilities.
Members visited one by one, from large-scale commercial facilities in the city to individual shops, and called for cooperation.
At first, there were voices from the management saying that it would be a nuisance to the customers, but when I asked if they could work on it as much as possible, such as "lower the sound" or "darken the lights", I participated. It is said that the number of stores has increased.
It's been about a year since we started working on it.
Currently, it has spread to 19 stores such as supermarkets and bookstores.
A system that can be tackled locally
Sayaka Yagi, chairman of the Sagamihara Junior Chamber Community Co-existence Committee, said, "Quiet hour must be done in terms of areas, not points. There are strong lights and loud noises on the way to the store where the event is being held. It is necessary to have a system that can involve the whole region and work together."