Starbucks to open 1st signing store in Japan

image from Starbucks.com

Starbucks Coffee is opening its first store in Japan with baristas who know sign language. The store will open on Saturday in Kunitachi, a city in the western part of Tokyo. Nearly the entire staff of 25 is deaf. This will be the fifth "signing store" for the company Others are located in Malaysia, the US and China. Read more here.

The history of Japanese Sign

The first Japanese school for the blind and deaf was established in 1878 in Kyoto. Teachers used sign language for instruction. Thereafter, a number of organizations were set up around the country for the deaf and for those wishing to learn the language. The Japanese Federation of the Deaf in Tokyo eventually published a lexicon in 1969 called Watashitachi no Shuwa (Our Sign Language), the first attempt to catalog common sign language expressions used nationwide.

Sign Language Gets Boost in Japan

The ruling assembly in the Tottori region of Japan has officially recognized Japanese sign and is requiring local governments to promote and use it. This is the first time this has happened in Japan, according to the Global Post. More than 20 million yen ($200,000) is being set aside to provide sign language lessons for people living in the region. The Tottori governor was a sign language interpreter when he was in college at the University of Tokyo, according to Japan News.

Japanese Pianist

A partially deaf Japanese pianist is performing this summer in the U.S. 80-year-old Fuzjko Hemming was declared a prodigy in her teens in Tokyo, but her music career was put on hold when she discovered she did not have citizenship to any country. Hemming eventually became a classical music star in her 60s when a documentary of her life was filmed. Her album La Campanella has sold more than 2 million copies and four of her albums have received Classical Album of the Year awards at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. She will play in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and New York during her U.S. tour. For more information click here.

Teaching English in Japan

A deaf woman in Japan has gotten a teaching license for English. Misato Fujiwara will begin teaching deaf students this coming week at Aichi Prefectural Nagoya School for the Aurally Disabled. She was the first deaf student to graduate from Nagoya Gakuin University. The school had all the speeches and announcements during her graduation last month interpreted in sign language. The president of the school acknowledged Fujiwara in his speech saying, "what makes a difference in your life are courage and willingness to change."

Coffee and a Pencil

A new documentary by deaf Japanese filmmaker Ayako Imamura will debut next month in Tokyo. Coffee and A Pencil is about competitive surfer Tatsuro Ota. The 49-year-old deaf man runs a Hawaiian goods shop in Kosai, where both pro and amateur surfers come to find new boards, order repair work or just hang out. Ota offers a cup of coffee to every visitor - and a pencil with which to write notes, since few people in Japan know sign language. He learned the value of hospitality from his parents who entertained guests in their home with magic shows. The 67 minute film includes touching moments, such as Ota consoling a young surfer who bursts into tears after losing a competition. Filmmaker Ayako Imamura has created more than two dozen short films about the lives of deaf people in Japan and her latest offering is being translated into English, so it can be submitted at film festivals in the U.S. The 32-year-old Nagoya native studied filmmaking at the California State University at Northridge.
Kohi to Enpitsu (or Coffee and A Pencil in English) will play for two weeks in Shinjuku, Tokyo starting March 10. For more information, visit here.

Robot Signer

Honda has unveiled its newly updated humanoid robot. The Japanese company says Asimo is now able to move without being controlled by an operator. First introduced in 2000, the device has steadily developed to the point where it can run and walk on uneven slopes and surfaces, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects. One of its new features is the ability to perform sign language, as shown in the video below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Diabetes and Hearing Loss

People with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have hearing loss. That's the finding of a review of 13 studies. While the connection between the two have been known for some time, no one realized just how high the risk was, according to a researcher from Tsukuba University Hospital in Ibaraki, Japan. The findings were presented today at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.

Text to Sign Video System

Japanese researchers are developing an animated sign language translation system to improve sign language broadcasts for deaf viewers. NHK Science & Technology Research laboratories says will automatically convert Japanese words into gestures. and deliver them through an avatar in what appears to be a virtual newsroom. Here is a video explanation.

Amazing Race: Show 3

The third episode of this season's Amazing Race includes a deaf contestant. Luke and his mother, Margie arrived in 8th place. Best friends Zev & Justin took first place on the CBS show for this leg of the race while father and son Mike and Mel were eliminated. The teams journeyed to Japan where they dressed as warriors, shot bow and arrows, and searched in mud for frogs while being pelted by onlookers.

The writer for an Illinois newspaper is rooting against Luke and Margie, hoping they will be eliminated next because of Luke's "annoyance." You can read the column here.

OneYear Ago.. A First For Japan

Japan’s first school dedicated to the use of sign language opened in Tokyo one year ago and teaches about 40 students. It’s the effort of a nonprofit organization called Bilingual Bicultural Education Center for Deaf Children. Japanese sign language has long been unofficially used by deaf people in Japan to communicate because the focus has been oral education. Until last year, the education ministry had rejected requests to use of sign language and the BBEC had to ask for donations at fundraisers and over the Internet.

Miss Universe

The Japanese beauty crowned Miss Universe 2007 has a connection with the Deaf Community. Riyo Mori learned American Sign Language when her host guardian in Canada began suffering from hearing loss. She began volunteering to work with Deaf children, especially art activities. She passed on her crown last night to Miss Venezuela in Vietnam who was selected Miss Universe 2008.

A First for Japan

Japan’s first school dedicated to the use of sign language is now open in Tokyo and teaching about 40 students. It’s the effort of a nonprofit organization called Bilingual Bicultural Education Center for Deaf Children. Japanese sign language has long been unofficially used by deaf people in Japan to communicate because the focus has been oral education. Until last year, the education ministry had rejected requests to use of sign language and the BBEC had to ask for donations at fundraisers and over the Internet.

The Horseradish Fire Alarm

Your next smoke alarm could alert you to trouble by sending off a strong odor. Researchers at Japan’ Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital say their research shows the smell of horseradish can usually wake people from the deepest sleep and they say it is especially effective in waking up people who are impaired people. The equipment seals the odor inside a can and sprays them out when triggered by smoke. The product could be on the market in two years.