Accessibility for deaf people is often framed as a technical problem: captions, devices, apps, systems. But for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, the real barrier is rarely technology.
It’s willingness to:
- Communicate differently.
- Pause, adapt, and meet someone halfway.
- Stop asking, “Can you lipread?” and start asking, “How can we communicate?”
During my recent trip to Japan, this difference became impossible to ignore.
Ikigai in Communication
In Japanese culture, ikigai roughly translates to “a reason for being.” It sits at the intersection of what you care about, what you’re good at, and what your community needs.
Ikigai isn’t about compliance — it’s about purpose, intention, and consistency.
I explored this in my article about my visit to Japan and tactile paving for blind pedestrians, which became a nationwide standard not because of laws, but because people believed it mattered. That same sense of purpose appeared in everyday communication.
Communication Beyond Language
Japan is not systemically deaf-friendly, to my knowledge and based on my experience as a deaf visitor.
For example, public announcements are not captioned, and many businesses still ask customers to call, send faxes, or mail letters.
Yet, paradoxically, I experienced less friction communicating with locals than I often do in the U.S.:
- Not because Japan has better laws.
- Not because people are more aware of deafness.
- But because, moment to moment, people were willing to communicate.
When I explained I was deaf and could not lipread — especially in a culture where masks were already common before COVID and remain in use — most locals did not argue, mumble, or insist on continuing to speak. They reached for phones, translation apps, or pen and paper.
Many locals approached communication with intention. They didn’t treat access as an inconvenience; they treated it as a natural part of interacting with another human being.
This willingness — the intent to make communication work — mattered far more than technology or formal systems.
Foreigner vs. Deaf: A Complicated Insight
One realization stayed with me: I began to wonder whether people were accommodating me primarily because I was a foreigner, not because I was deaf.
In many interactions, Japanese speakers used speech-to-text or translation apps that converted spoken Japanese into written English. This worked beautifully — but it raised a deeper question:
- If I were fluent in Japanese and typing to them in Japanese, would they have responded the same way?
- Would they have typed back in Japanese, or spoken Japanese into a speech-to-text app to generate Japanese text?
I don’t know.
This question highlights a key insight: accessibility often depends not just on needs, but on perception.
In the U.S., deaf people are often asked to lipread, told it’s inconvenient to write, or expected to adapt to inaccessible systems.
In Japan, even without systemic deaf-access laws, the instinct to try created a better experience. I suspect this mindset is closely tied to ikigai — acting with purpose, even without formal obligation.
Learning Languages as a Deaf Person
I’ve loved languages since childhood and never saw deafness as a limitation. I’m bilingual in Russian and English, fluent in ASL, with working knowledge of French and Russian Sign Language. I’m currently studying Spanish with the goal of fluency and recently began learning Japanese, after earlier experiences studying Chinese.
When traveling, I like to learn a bit of the local language. Japanese relies on three different writing systems, each with its own visual logic. I mastered Hiragana, Katakana, and about 50 Kanji (many recognizable from my Chinese studies).
For now I read and write in Japanese very slowly. It is easier for me to memorize Japanese words and phrases in romaji (Latin characters) and speak them aloud. When I write in Japanese, I think of words phonetically in romaji and then convert them into characters. For more complicated conversations, I relied on auto-translation to communicate with locals in Japan.
Deaf people are not poor communicators — we are often exceptionally skilled — but what fails us is not language itself, but systems built around sound with no backup plan.
The Problem With “PA in Progress”
One of my biggest pet peeves while traveling by plane is the phrase on a seat-back screen:
“PA announcement in progress.”
No real time captions.
Just a reminder that something important is happening — for everyone except us.
This perfectly captures performative accessibility: infrastructure exists, technology exists, but the will to make access real does not.
I experienced this on a Japanese airline with polite, friendly staff — similar to U.S. or European carriers — where the customer service was excellent, but accessibility for deaf travelers was still overlooked.
Telecommunications and the Illusion of Access
Many businesses worldwide still expect everyone to communicate by phone. In the U.S., deaf people are routinely pointed toward TTY or relay services — only after explaining that we cannot use the phone — as if these represent modern access.
They do not.
Most deaf and hard-of-hearing people prefer:
- SMS/messaging apps
- Web chat
- Real-time texting
- Direct video calls with captions and built in chat
I explore this in more detail in my article on why TTY and relay are technically compliant but functionally flawed.
For example, I ran into those issues while researching hotels in Japan before booking. Many refused to accommodate my needs as a deaf guest. Out of around 50 hotels I contacted via email or online form — exhausting work — most were phone-based only, and many didn’t even reply. Deaf guests shouldn’t have to fight for basic access; these accessibility services should be offered automatically. I was lucky to find just three hotels willing not only to fully accommodate my multiple accessibility needs but also to communicate via WhatsApp and LINE instead of phone calls during my travel. Of course, those were the hotels where I stayed.
What Japan Taught Me
Japan didn’t offer flawless systemic deaf access, but it showed me something more valuable:
- People didn’t debate my needs
- They didn’t test my abilities
- They didn’t ask me to adapt first
They focused on making communication work.
For example, I enjoyed a guided tour at a samurai museum and narration from a host at a tea ceremony using my speech-to-text app. I may have been able to handle my own accessibility using just this tool, but it was not enough — I needed a good internet signal and close proximity to the speaker. I appreciated that the museum guide and tea ceremony host ensured a strong internet signal, maintained proximity, and periodically asked if I could follow them.
I saw the same mindset reflected in Japan’s approach to accessibility for blind people, particularly the widespread use of tactile paths — something that deeply impressed me and that I wrote about in my article on my experiences in Japan.
In contrast, in the U.S., even after masks disappeared, I am still routinely asked if I can lipread — despite clearly requesting written communication. That difference is not about policy. It’s about mindset.
Accessibility Is a Human Skill
Accessibility for deaf people is not just captions or compliance. It is:
- Designing communication paths that don’t depend on sound
- Training staff to respond with flexibility
- Offering multiple communication options by default
This applies far beyond travel. It affects banking, healthcare, customer service, events, and everyday business interactions.
Disabled travelers are often overlooked not because solutions don’t exist, but because accessibility is treated as optional. Accessibility for deaf customers works the same way.
Make Accessibility Part of Your Organization’s Ikigai
This past July, marking the 35th anniversary of the ADA, I stood in the same spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
As a deaf person B2B accessibility strategy consultant, I carry a dream too:
- Accessibility as a business advantage: communication that includes every customer, every time.
- Deaf customers’ needs met proactively: multiple communication options offered by default — no negotiation, no friction.
- Purpose-driven execution: accessibility that is intentional, consistent, and measured — never performative.
Accessibility is not just about awareness; it is about willingness — a deliberate choice your organization can make today, guided by purpose, intention, and ikigai.
If you lead customer experience, digital products, or accessibility strategy, I work with organizations to embed accessibility into core operations — strengthening customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand trust while moving beyond checkbox compliance and reducing legal risk.
Make accessibility authentic. Make it purposeful. Make it part of your organization’s ikigai.
Contact me today to transform your customer experience — and gain a competitive edge.
