Disability Statistics: Current Status and Future Directions

In response to Japan’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2014) and the adoption concerning disability statistics at the 49th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (2018), strengthening disability statistics in Japanese government surveys has recently become a pressing issue. In this paper, we first review domestic and international trends surrounding disability statistics in Japan. We then compare traditional disability statistics with those based on newly introduced survey items, and organize the challenges and possibilities for future disability statistics. According to the most recent data, there are 11.65 million “institutionally recognized persons with disabilities,” compared to 14.3 million persons with disabilities (aged 15 and older) under international comparison criteria. However, because the definition of “disability” differs between the two categories, only 35% of individuals are counted in both. The definition of disability is closely tied to the concept and scope of disability policy; thus, the use of international common standards must be distinguished from domestic policy evaluation. Nevertheless, traditional disability statistics exhibit differences in target populations and survey responses. It is therefore necessary to clarify various disability concepts, including international comparison criteria, and to utilize them appropriately in analysis.