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Presenter(s)
Naoki Sakakibara
UDIT Inc.
7-14-21-A1 Midori-ku Nagatsuta
Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-0027 Japan
Email: sakaki@udit.jp
Tatsuo Seki
INSTAC (Information Technology Research and Standardization Center)
Email: seki@jsa.or.jp
1. Introduction
New Japanese Industrial Standard JIS X 8341-(4) will be publish in 2005. It is Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities -Information and communications equipment, software and services- Part (4): Telecommunications. JIS X 8341-1:2004 Part 1: Common Guidelines, and JIS X 8341-2:2004 Part 2: Information processing equipment, was published in 20 May 2004. and JIS X 8341-3:2004 Part 3: Web content, was also published in 20 June 2004. These guidelines are constructed based on ISO/IEC Guide 71 (JIS Z 8071), Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities.
2. Background
The Guidelines are designed to promote easy access to telecommunications services by older persons and persons with permanent and/or temporary disabilities (hereunder collectively referred to as persons with disabilities). Through these Guidelines, Working group aims to encourage the incorporation of accessible design principles into the design, development and distribution of telecommunications equipment and services, thereby helping to extend user-friendly telecommunications equipment and services to all users (including older persons and persons with disabilities) and promoting the balanced development of the telecommunications sector in Japan.
Japan has a rapidly aging society, which means that older persons and persons with disabilities will likewise be coming into increasing contact with telecommunications equipment and services. For this reason, it is important to ensure that persons with disabilities or restricted physical or cognitive abilities have equal access to telecommunications equipment and services.
In order to keep pace with these changes in the marketplace and in wider society, it is to the ultimate benefit of both consumers and suppliers (in these Guidelines, gsuppliersh includes retailers and vendors) for telecommunications equipment and services to be accessible to all users. Accessibility is achieved by incorporating universal design principles into the design and development process and striving to develop telecommunications equipment and services that are user-friendly for all. To this end, the Guidelines describe the main issues faced by older persons and persons with disabilities in attempting to use telecommunications equipment and services, and set out general principles and strategies for resolving such issues. The Guidelines also list useful design and development considerations, along with reference information and evaluation techniques.
3. JIS X 8341-(4)
JIS X 8341-(4) is developing based on "Telecommunications Accessibility Guidelines for Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities, 2nd Editionh. These Guidelines on telecommunications equipment and services have been produced independently by the Info-Communications Access Council, based on Notification No. 515 dated October 30, 1998, from the then Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), entitled Principles of Accessibility of Telecommunications Equipment for Persons with Disabilities.
JIS X 8341-(4) consists of the following sections. They are:
Introduction
1 Scope
2 Normative references
3 Definitions
4 General principles
5 Planning, development, design and evaluation processes
6 Requirements for terminal devices
7 Support initiatives
Annex 1 (regulation) Examples related to Web content Annex 2 (informative) related standards
References
Cell Phones
[Communications and Information network Association of Japan] http://www.ciaj.or.jp/e.htm
[Info-communication Access Council](Japanese) http://www.ciaj.or.jp/access/
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