The airline Toki Air, which launched flights last month, posted a notice on its website for passengers, saying that some of the expressions could lead to misunderstandings, saying that people with disabilities are uniformly required to be accompanied by an escort. I understand what the Ministry of Transport has pointed out. In response to this, the company changed the content and commented that there was no intention to discriminate.
Toki Air, an airline based at Niigata Airport that began service on the 31st of last month, has posted on its website a notice titled ``Customers who require assistance,'' which states that ``Customers with intellectual or developmental disabilities are not required to be accompanied by an attendant. Please bring someone with you," it said.
Regarding this issue, it has been learned that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism pointed out on the 8th of this month that there is a risk of misunderstanding if people are uniformly required to be accompanied by a companion based on their disability.
In response to this, the company changed the description, and after the change, it now refers to people with intellectual disabilities or developmental disabilities as ``those who cannot properly understand safety explanations,'' and ``those who are unable to take care of themselves.'' In this case, a companion is required to ride with you in the seat next to you.
The Act to Eliminate Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities prohibits business operators from treating people without disabilities simply because they have a disability. "It is not clear what level of disability requires a person to be accompanied. We have determined that there is a risk of misunderstanding."
Toki Air commented, ``We did not intend to discriminate, and the wording was incorrect, so we changed it. Although there were no direct inquiries from the company, we apologize if some people were hesitant about boarding.''