Deaf Rights Advocate Prepares for Historic Deaflympics in Tokyo

As the head of an organization advocating for the rights of deaf people, Daigo Ishibashi sees the upcoming Deaflympics in Tokyo as a significant opportunity to raise public awareness about the challenges faced by the deaf community in Japan. Born deaf, Ishibashi has been fighting discrimination and prejudice, working to change a society where people with hearing disabilities are often mistreated and urged to adapt to the standards of the hearing majority.

Ishibashi, the president of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, acknowledges that Japan is "steadily advancing" towards becoming a more inclusive society, but he also recognizes that more work lies ahead to improve the situation for deaf people. The Deaflympics, which will take place from November 16th to 26th, 2025, will put the spotlight on deaf people and athletes, providing a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to raise awareness.

Born in Shimane Prefecture, Ishibashi has witnessed and experienced unfair treatment of people with hearing impairments since his childhood. He was strongly encouraged to practice oralism, the use of spoken language and lipreading, to communicate when he attended regular schools. Ishibashi later taught himself sign language and joined the deaf rights movement, contributing to the enactment of Japan's first sign language ordinance in Tottori in 2013.