The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is doing everything possible to get people to marry and help reverse Japan’s declining population. To that end, it’s provided a list of matchmaking parties and even launched an official Tokyo dating app. However, one recent controversy where an “official” matchmaking party rejected a disabled man raises questions about equal opportunity and fair treatment.
Mildly disabled man rejected for not being “healthy”
A 44-year-old man living in Tokyo, who has a mild intellectual disability, works full-time at a food retail store. He has no issues with everyday conversations and lives independently, cooking for himself. In the past, he has even dated several women.
One day, he applied for a matchmaking party hosted by a nonprofit in Tokyo. The event aimed to connect singles in their 30s and 40s looking for marriage. He said he felt secure signing up because the event the Tokyo Metropolitan Government listed the event on its official marriage portal.
The man registered mid-July for a matchmaking party in August. Worried about his disability, he contacted the organizer. “I have a mild intellectual disability, but I work full-time. Can I participate?”
20 minutes later, the organizer replied, saying, “According to our terms, the event is only open to individuals who are mentally and physically healthy. We will cancel your registration.” They also requested, “Please delete this email, and we will discard your information.”
“I gathered the courage to share my disability, and this is how they responded,” the man told reporters. He figured there was a chance that women at the event might shirk from his disability. At the same time, he felt deeply disappointed that the organizers didn’t even give him a chance.
Organizers initially defended themselves
The organizer’s representative explained why they denied the man’s participation. They said, “Participants with intellectual disabilities could cause complaints from others. We made this decision to ensure the event runs smoothly.”
They added, “As a nonprofit, we cannot provide support for participants with disabilities. We’ve run the event this way for over ten years. The Tokyo government’s website has featured it multiple times.”
However, their long-standing policy raises concerns about whether they’re prioritizing “smooth operations” over inclusivity and the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Tokyo gov tells matchmakers to cut it out
In response, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government commented, “The organizer’s terms limiting participation to those in good mental and physical health are not problematic. However, they failed to communicate properly with the participant who disclosed his disability. They should have asked if he needed any support to participate.”
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said it asked the organizer to address the issue. After this request, the organizer of the matchmaking party re-evaluated its stance.
Initially, they defended excluding the man with a disability due to concerns about complaints from other participants. Later, they stated, “We now believe we should not exclude participants based on whether or not they have a disability.” They added, “If a participant discloses a disability in the future, we will ask what kind of support they need and carefully consider their participation.”
The organizer abruptly reversed their stance, but their earlier discriminatory actions remain troubling. Furthermore, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s inability to prevent this exclusion from the outset also raises serious concerns about their commitment to protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
Discrimination is against Japanese law, actually
The Japanese Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, effective since April 1, 2016, aims to eliminate discrimination based on disability. The law was revised in 2021 and again in April 2024. The latest revised law requires businesses to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
These accommodations are not limited to those with disability certificates but also cover individuals with physical, intellectual, or mental health conditions, or any impairment that limits daily or social activities. The revised law mandates that business operators, retailers, individual entrepreneurs, volunteer groups, and others must provide accommodations to the disabled.
In other words, rejecting, excluding, or denying services to someone based on their disabilities is discriminatory and violates the law. Therefore, the matchmaking party’s rejection of the man with a mild intellectual disability clearly violated the law.
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改正障害者差別解消法が施行されました Cabinet Office
