Animals in JAPAN | ZENOAQ [Nippon Zenyaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.]

This Month [August 2010]

Service Dogs in Japan

The service dog training and certification system in Japan is one of the most advanced systems in the world. Whereas many countries have a multitude of training organizations that supply a large number of service dogs for people with disabilities, Japan is slightly different. In order to train service dogs the organizations must have more than a local business license. They need to register themselves as a social welfare entity and must show proof of having a working relationship with a human medical expert, either in the form of an employee or a consultant. How do prospective users go about contacting a training organization and getting a working dog? The process in itself is very sophisticated which is what makes the Japanese system so unique. The first step is to consult with the relevant office of the local/regional government. This means that the person with the disability will first contact the Welfare and Disabilities Division of the prefectural government to inform them of his/her desire to obtain a service dog. The personnel of the division will inform them of ways to choose a reliable training organization as well as give out information concerning subsidies available from the government to cover the costs. The person is then encouraged to contact a training organization and to visit their facilities. This is a very important step in the process and the would ?be user is advised to take their time in choosing an organization that they feel the most comfortable with. When an appropriate organization is chosen the official system states that the organization should make a home visit to gather more information on the lifestyle of the would-be user to decide on what type of dog would best fit the person and the environment. As this step is included in the information that is given to the person during the initial enquiry, should the chosen training organization skip over this process, questions will no doubt be raised. After this process the person with the disability may apply for a government subsidy. Every prefecture has a subsidy system for assisting people with disabilities acquire a service dog. In reality the cost is not charged to the user by the training organization so the money goes directly to the organization to compensate for the costs incurred in placing a service dog with the applicant. After the organization chosen by the applicant has found a suitable dog for him/her and conducted basic training, the law stipulates that the organization must then put the applicant through what is called "joint training", or real life training for the end user. During this time the recipient will learn how to manage his/her dog as well as to give the appropriate care needed for the dog within the parameters of their living environment. The period for this training as written in the law is a minimum of 40 days for mobility service dogs.
Some training organizations will choose to conduct a part of this training in their own training center and then to move into the home environment of the recipient during the latter part of the training. Others will conduct this part of the training entirely within the home environment of the recipient. There have also been cases in Japan where the pair have spent a part of this training period in a medical rehabilitation facility where the medical experts were able to observe and evaluate their activities and to give pertinent advise about the efficacy and safety of methods being used to instruct the recipient in how to manage the dog. The final step for service dog placement in Japan is the official certification. All guide dogs, mobility dogs, and hearing dogs in Japan must be officially certified by an organization designated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labor. As mentioned before in this column, these 3 types of service dogs are the only kind written into the law to be given free access to public facilities. The certification process consists of a providing the necessary documentation for review and an actual test to evaluate the person-dog pair from various angles. Human medical experts will evaluate the safety of the dog and its movement for the person with the disability and dog training experts will evaluate amongst other things animal welfare considerations and reliability of the dog's movements. Furthermore both the training organization and the certifying body have a responsibility to follow up whenever their arises a necessity to do so.
This in a nutshell is the system currently being used in Japan for the placement of service dogs for people with disabilities. Some have criticized is as being overly strict and complicated but if we are thinking in terms of both human and animal welfare and well-being the process is indeed necessary.

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