Iga's Ueno Sign Language Circle holds disaster-prep session on emergency toilets, interpreted in sign language and tactile signing for Deaf and DeafBlind participants
Realizing that Deaf people who need sign language interpreters often can't take part in ordinary disaster drills and talks, so key information never reaches them, the Ueno Sign Language Circle in Iga, Mie Prefecture, held a disaster-prep session in September on using emergency portable toilets and on cleaning and hygiene after a disaster. About 30 people attended the talk by disaster-prevention specialist Genichi Mitsuhashi, with sign language interpreters and DeafBlind interpreter-guides relaying it in sign language and tactile signing. The circle has held a themed disaster-prep session every year since taking a fire department first-aid course four years ago.
