Service Dogs in Japan
Service Dogs in Japan
I am curious about the possibility of Japan’s service dog laws improving/changing to also include cognitive, neurological, and mental health(psychiatric service dogs).
I realize that at the moment service dogs in Japan are only for persons with physical disabilities but I believe that with the growing concerns of the mental health of the younger generations and future generations, it would make sense to one day include service dogs for related disabilities.
- 2 Replies
In Japan, there is a law for service dog acceptability and, by its definition, only a vision aid dog, a hearing aid dog and a physical support dog are the service dog. All other kinds of dogs are not recognized as service dog regardless of the foreign situation. Majority of hotels/transports/museums, etc follows this definition.
I checked the issue in a couple of year ago. I think the situation is not so different from then though I think this situation/issue should be addressed properly and timely.Hopefully the combination of advocates, lawmakers, and health care workers will bring the matter up for discussion and future policy change.
Service dogs for those with less visible disabilities would be a life changer for many and reduce the burden on care workers where service dogs could do the job or assist and allow care workers to help more people and have more flexible schedules.
Log in to reply.