[News article] Sign language demanded for deaf students

[daisuke@yahoo.com]

Dear all,

I think many of you are having a good time in Montreal.

In late May, in Japan, deaf children and their parents petitioned the Japan
Federation of Bar Associations that their education should be given in Japanese
Sign Language (JSL).  This action was reported by a leading English paper in
Japan, The Japan Times, and you can read the article online at:

        http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20030611b7.htm

Once you read the article, you may realize how underdeveloped deaf education in
Japan is, and I personally think that it is a shame.

In the meantime, Ms. Midori Okamoto, who is one of the petitioners and whose
opinion is also found in the news article, talked about this petition at a SIG
meeting of the Japan Federation of the Deaf conference held on June 7, and
emphasized that a strong support should be needed from the JFD.  Some people are
planning to form a group to support the petition, but, according to them, whether
the JFD can support the group is still unclear, although the JFD is the "sole
national organization for the Deaf" (from JFD's web page,
http://www.jfd.or.jp/en/about.html).  I personally think that this may be a
"Japanese way" in a sense, though, and people supporting the petition want some
support also from abroad, from those who know the value of sign language well
enough.


Daisuke


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