Introduction

Since all people age and eventually experience a decline in physical and mental functions, accessibility is a significant issue that affects all of humanity. This research explores practical ways of applying advanced science and technology so that all individuals, including people with disabilities and older adults, can live safely, comfortably, and with peace of mind in 21st-century society. The ultimate goal is to help build a comprehensively inclusive future society.
My research and practice are guided by the belief that the most important thing for people with disabilities and older adults is to fulfill their functional needs in daily life. Although accessibility and universal design have received growing attention in recent years, the perspectives of users, especially those with disabilities and older adults, are often insufficiently considered, resulting in mismatches between user needs and technological solutions.
To address these gaps, it is essential to: (1) identify the diverse needs of people with disabilities; (2) communicate these needs to researchers and developers; (3) provide appropriate information and coordination to users whose needs match existing solutions; and (4) train professionals to carry out these tasks. Moreover, to ensure the stable supply of accessible technologies, we must shift from viewing them as “special technologies for special populations” to recognizing them as technologies that will eventually benefit everyone in an aging society.
By accumulating the scientific evidence needed to advance accessibility and universal design, this research seeks to promote a society where people of all physical and mental conditions can live with dignity, autonomy, and peace of mind.

■Research on Accessible Reading for people with disabilites
・Research Objective: To collect basic data for realising accessible reading for people with print disabilitie
- Title: Actual situation of digital textbooks for students with low vision in Japan, NAKANO Yasushi (International Conference on Low Vision Program and Proceedings), 45-103 2019
■Basic Research on Font Legibility
Research Objective: To clarify the conditions for fonts that are easily readable by people with disabilities and the elderly
- Title: Development of a Readable Hangul Font for People with Low Vision: Evaluation of Hangul Fonts Readability with the Use of Paired Comparison Scaling, NAKANO Yasushi, HAN SungMIn, & MORISAWA Takeshi. (ISEP2017 International Symposium on Education and Psychology-fall Session), 104-113 2017
■Research on Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Visual Impairement in Examinations
Research Objective: To clarify the basis for reasonable accommodations for visually impaired individuals taking exams
- Title: Practical study on test accommodations for students with visual impairments based on scientific evidence, NAKANO Yasushi (Impact), 8, 29-31, 2020

Areas of Research

・Development of inclusive education programs focusing on the social model of disability and empathetic communication.
・Research on assistive technologies and workplace accessibility to promote employment opportunities for people with visual impairments.
・Education on understanding disabilities from the perspective of human rights and social models, aiming to foster an inclusive society.
・Designing inclusive societies through both physical environments and social welfare systems for people with disabilities.

Social Contributions

・This research proposes reasonable accommodations based on psychological insights to ensure that individuals with visual impairments can take exams fairly without altering their fundamental nature, thereby enhancing the fairness of educational assessment.
・This research contributes to inclusive education by promoting accessible textbooks and learning materials, creating an improved learning environment for students with visual impairments.
・This research fosters educational participation and social inclusion of students with visual impairments in mainstream classrooms through the development of ICT-based support tools.