History of the educational system for people with disabilities in Japan

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the history of the educational system for people with disabilities in Japan, which has changed enormously over the centuries. At first, it was the responsibility of the family to care for a child with a disability, who was often stigmatized and deprived of any form of education, as was the family itself, which was often stigmatized for the mere fact of having a child with special needs. The situation changed only at the end of the 19th century due to establishing foreign contacts with other countries. It was thanks to them that Japan started implementing education for children with disabilities. At first special schools for blind and deaf children were established. At the very end, children with intellectual disabilities were included in special education. Starting from 2006, mainly thanks to education reform, children with disabilities are to integrated with peers and placed in mainstream schools. Statistical data, government documents, legislative documents and school curricula will be used in this article.