NIPPONIA

NIPPONIA No.19 December 15, 2001

Special Feature*

Municipal Services at the Store Counter

In Japan, a resident certificate is sometimes needed for official purposes. The city of Ichikawa revolutionized one of its services when it began issuing and delivering the certificates to neighborhood convenience stores in April 1997. Residents just phone the municipal office to request a certificate, and then pick it up on the way home from work, when it's convenient for them. Ichikawa is in Chiba Prefecture and borders the Tokyo metropolis.

Work or school commitments prevent some residents from visiting a municipal office during regular hours. So city officials looked long and hard at how they could offer some services any time of the day or night, and came up with a solution involving convenience stores. They decided to begin with resident certificates, and asked stores in the city to participate in the project. Lawson and Daily YAMAZAKI agreed.

The city took another step in April 2000, when it installed computer terminals in Lawson stores to permit access to information and some municipal services. As one example, you can now use a terminal in a Lawson store anywhere in Japan to reserve space in one of Ichikawa's community centers.

This Lawson store in Ichikawa is conveniently situated near a station, so one or two people are bound to come here every day to pick up their resident certificates. The store is Lawson's Minami Yahata 5-chome branch.


A computer terminal used to reserve space in a community center and to obtain information on municipal services.

Convenience Extends to the Physically Challenged

All kinds of people pass through the doors of a convenience store every day, and not all of them come just to shop.

For many years, Watanabe Keiji has called for greater autonomy for people with disabilities. He lives in Hachioji, a city in the metropolis of Tokyo.

"Convenience stores are a big help for the physically challenged. For example, goods are delivered on pushcarts and hand trucks, so there are no steps at the entrance-that is a big help for us in wheelchairs. I like FamilyMart best, because all of their stores have automatic doors."

The stores are always open, which gives an extra sense of security. If Watanabe comes home late and his caregiver is away, he stops off at a convenience store and asks a customer for help. "Nobody ever refuses. They all gladly go with me to open the door to my house, and even help me get into bed. So you see I live at my own pace, even without my caregiver."

Watanabe Keiji says that convenience stores are very accessible to wheelchair users. The only problem is the refrigerator doors that have to be opened to get something to drink. Try sitting in a wheelchair and opening the heavy door to pull out a bottle-it can't be done.

Watanabe with some of his friends.

NIPPONIA