People with vision disabilities face delays getting a guide dog because of a shortage of funds and fewer volunteers, reports Asahi Shimbun.
Currently around 900 service dogs active and there is a waiting list of approximately 3,000 people wishing to use their services, it is proving difficult to expand the number of active dogs.
According to data from the National Committee of Welfare for the Blind in Japan, the number of active guide dogs in the country, as of the end of March 2019, had decreased by 13 to 928, the ninth consecutive year this figure has fallen. Compared to Europe and the United States, there is still a huge shortfall and measures are now being discussed on how to increase the number of dogs to meet the needs of the visually impaired who require their services.
“Countermeasures, such as strengthening promotional campaigns, are essential,” said Yoshio Matsunami, a senior official of the Yokohama-based Japan Guide Dog Association.
Eye Mate Inc., an organization based in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward that raises guide dogs, said 219 canines were working for their owners in fiscal 2018 after leaving the organization, compared with 314 in fiscal 2009.
The organization was founded by Kenichi Shioya, who developed more than 1,100 guide dogs throughout his life, including Champy, Japan’s first domestically produced guide German shepherd.
Guide dog candidates spend an entire year at ordinary households two months after their birth to gain emotional stability and adapt to life with humans. Then they undergo training.
