Annex I
Biographical data form of candidates to human rights treaty bodies
(Please respect the specified amount of lines when completing this form)
Full Name:
Date and place of birth:
Working languages:
Dr. ISHIKAWA Jun
28 September 1956; Toyama, Japan
English and Japanese
Current position/function:
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Chair, Commission on Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Cabinet Office,
Government of Japan (2012 - present)
Professor, Department and Graduate School of International Relations, University of
Shizuoka, Japan (1997 - present)
Project Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology,
University of Tokyo, Japan (2015 - present)
Representative Director, Association on Higher Education And Disability - Japan
(AHEAD-Japan)
Main professional activities:
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Dr. Ishikawa is a scholar of sociology and disability studies and the founder of the
Japan Society for Disability Studies. Throughout his career, Dr. Ishikawa has contributed
greatly to academic thinking, including on identity politics and the sociology of emotion.
Dr. Ishikawa is also a developer of assistive technology. Being blind himself, he has
developed numerous software applications such as screen readers, Japanese text-to-Braille
and Braille note-taking devices, and GPS navigation systems. He has also provided technical
training to the blind in developing parts of Southeast Asia.
Dr. Ishikawa is the inaugural chair of the independent national monitoring framework
of the implementation of the CPRD. In this capacity, he has been working very closely with
civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities.
Educational background:
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1981:
B.A. in Sociology, University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters, Tokyo, Japan
1983:
M.A. in Sociology, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and
Sociology, Tokyo, Japan – concentrated on Social Science
1987:
University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, Tokyo, Japan
– withdrew from the doctoral program with the completion of course requirements
Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned:
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Dr. Ishikawa participated in the 7th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the
CRPD, the Civil Society CRPD Forum and UNDESA Forum in 2014. He also attended the
8th Session of the Conference of States Parties in 2015 and spoke on the importance of
persons with disabilities taking an active role in disaster prevention and response.
One of Dr. Ishikawa’s areas of focused research is Assistive Technology, including
the improvement of information accessibility. He has participated on several occasions at the
World Summit of the Information Society, and presented a report on how accessibility can be
achieved through the coordination of universal-design and technical assistance.
Dr. Ishikawa delivered a lecture on the use of information technology devices to assist
students with disabilities at the UNESCO Asia Summit in 2016.
List of most recent publications in the field:
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Disability Studies Made Easy, "International Standards of ICT and Participation of
People with Disabilities" (co-edited, Minerva Shobo Ltd., 2014)
Accessible Knowledge - Disability and New Horizons of Learning, "Chapter 3, Support
for Students with Disabilities and Disability policy" (co-edited, Kyoto University
Press., 2014)
Special Needs Education Handbook No. 57, "The Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and Basic Act for Disabled Persons" (co-edited, DAI-ICHI HOKI Co.
LTD., 2014)
How to make the future - what we should do now, "Information accessibility for
persons with disabilities" (co-edited, Iwanami Shoten Ltd., 2013)
Invisibles and visibles : Disability Studies of Sociability and Assistance (Igakushoin
Ltd., 2004)
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