Audrey King's trip to Japan Diary

Tokyo Conference & Book Signings - DAY NINE

Tokyo Conference
Today was the day of JVUN’s second international conference. Wheelchair accessible vans picked us up at our hotel, the Keio Plaza Hotel, and drove us to the conference at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center. I didn’t have to give a big speech this time. It was Adolf’s turn! All I had to do was be part of the afternoon panel discussion to explain and answer questions about life with disability in Canada. If you’d like to know what Adolf said in his speech, just check out his website at www.independentliving.org


Tokyo audience listening to our panel discussion


Adolf presenting the "keynote" speech with his assistant, Matt.


Our panel -Adolf, me, Joan and the Tokyo presenter. Note the two jumbo video screens behind us!

There were so many people and so many wheelchairs, it was difficult to get in and out of the auditorium. Naoki, a social work professor that I met in Toronto last winter, brought many of her university students so they could learn about living with a disability in other countries of the world too. One of her students has muscular dystrophy and uses a ventilator all the time. He can not talk or breathe on his own but he goes to university and is getting a degree in social work.

Tokyo Independent Living Centres
Tokyo has 22 Independent Living Centres (ILCs) and I’m sure most of their members must have been at the conference. The place was packed! ILC’s are support organizations run by and for people with disabilities. We have many ILCs in Canada, but only one in Toronto.

  • Which JVUN conference had the biggest audience? Sapporo or Tokyo?
  • Who gave the Tokyo "keynote" address & what did he say ? (HINT: Check out his website)


Takahiro Hanada (JVUN staff member) and Hiromi Ebihara (Mistress of Ceremonies) are very happy the conference is over!


Signing a book for Hiromi

Signing & Shaking Hands
When the conference was over I signed more "Lint in Your Bellybutton" books and shook so many hands my fingers were getting sore!


Shaking hands


Signing books


Shaking more hands!


Signing even more books!

Signing & Shaking Hands
Some people handed me their book backwards, expecting me to sign inside the "back" cover of their book! That’s funny, I thought. I wonder why!


But isn’t that the "back" of the book!

  • Do you know why some people expected me to sign the back of their book?
  • Just signing a copy of my book wasn't enough. What else did people want me to do?


Naoki (social work professor), her student & his attendant


Kimiyo and I exchanging books with Keiko Higuchi, the Tokyo conference moderator

Kimiyo, the artist!
At the conference I discovered that Kimiyo is an artist too. She gave me a published book of her drawings and we each autographed our own books to give to each other. Cool! Isn’t it amazing what people with disabilities CAN do no matter how disabled they are?

  • What are some of the "amazing" things that people with disabilities CAN and are doing in Japan? (HINT: Look through all the previous episodes of Japan Trip Diary)

When the conference was over the wheelchair van took us back to the hotel. I’m sure you’re probably thinking we went everywhere by accessible wheelchair van, right? Well, you’re wrong! Next week I’ll tell you how we got around in Tokyo. You’ll also discover that our "George of the Jungle" CAN swing like a monkey in the middle of a Tokyo subway train! Ha! Ha!

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