Japan's 'invisible' disabled artisans fight for spotlight

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TOKYO — In a trendy Tokyo neighbourhood, customers browse the wares at Majerca, a shop stocked with handmade items from scarves to glassware, all produced by people with disabilities.

The shop, and the workshops where the items were produced, are part of a small but burgeoning movement in Japan aiming to promote work by people with impairments.

That's a huge loss for society, according to Ms Miho Hattori, who works with some of the producers at a workshop that supplies Majerca. It is not the main source of income for the workers, who are entitled to government support, and the figure is about the national average for people with intellectual disabilities, according to the welfare ministry.

Majerca passes about 60-70 per cent of product revenue back to producers and Mr Fujimoto says he encourages artisans to value their work and demand fair pay, not just charity. It has organised pop-up shops at glitzy department stores, showcasing its colourful apparel next to products from top makers such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton.

Heralbony says its workers receive a licensing fee of at least five per cent of an item's price, and sometimes 10-30 per cent, exceeding the local industry average of three per cent.Welfare workers say social stereotypes hinder work opportunities for people with impairments, but they also blame Japanese law.

 

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