Japan is gettings its first Starbucks “signing store.” The new coffee shop will open in Tokyo with 25 staff members, 19 of whom are deaf and hard of hearing. This will be Starbucks’ fifth signing ...

As Tokyo hosts the Deaflympics, organizers hope to further gains made in the realm of greater inclusivity throughout Japan.

Some 3,000 athletes from over 70 countries and regions are slated to compete in the first Japan-held Deaflympics.

Adam Kosa, the president of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, speaks during an interview with Kyodo News on Sept. 30, 2025, in Budapest, Hungary. (Kyodo) TOKYO (Kyodo) -- With Japan ...

To ensure information accessibility through sign language, we have been researching technologies for producing video images of sign language using CG (hereinafter referred to as “sign language CG”).

Its hands are a tad too rubbery and you won’t mistake it for a human, but an android from Toshiba can effectively mimic a sign language interpreter. Shown off at the Ceatec 2014 tech fair outside ...

“It didn’t matter if the sign said ‘flesh’ or ‘fresh’ or ‘meat,’” recalls Dougill, a professor at Ryukoku University, who has researched the use of English in Japan. “It was just there to catch people ...

With Japan set to host the Deaflympics for the first time next month, the head of the games has expressed hopes for greater sign language use in the country, saying it is at a “turning point” for ...