AusLeisure

The Tokyo Legoland Discovery Centre has issued a formal apology for denying access to a deaf guest and pledged to revise its entry policies.

Teacher Tsuyoshi Abe was denied access to the retail-based attraction in April this year when he and his two children were informed in writing that the Centre’s policy requires any disabled guests to have at least one accompanying, non-disabled support guest. As nobody in Abe’s party could hear, the staff explained, they were unable to grant them access to the park.

According to the policy written on Legoland Discovery Centre Tokyo’s website, the reason they don’t permit entry is because without an accompanying guest an all-deaf party wouldn’t be able to hear any emergency alarms and so the park would not be able to guarantee their safety.

With Abe’s children asking why all the other children could play inside when they couldn’t, Abe as a teacher for the deaf, and a representative for children’s support groups at his school, took it upon himself to reach out to the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, who took the issue straight to the Japanese Government.

As a result, the Japanese Government identified that refusing a disabled customer access to a store, park or service without a helper violates the Act for Eliminating Discrimination Against People with Disabilities.

As of last month, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry formally request the company to “work hard to better understand the law and implement changes accordingly”.

A formal apology from a Merlin Japan Entertainment representative followed.

Image: Tokyo Legoland Discovery Centre.

5th February 2018 - LEGOLAND MALAYSIA TO EXPAND WITH NEW SEA LIFE AQUARIUM

18th October 2017 - MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS PERFORMANCE IMPACTED BY TERROR FEARS 

22nd July 2017 - POOR TICKET SALES SEE LEGOLAND JAPAN REDUCE OPENING DAYS

18th April 2017 - LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTRE OPENS IN MELBOURNE

14th January 2017 - LEGOLAND WATERPARK OPENS IN DUBAI 

15th November 2016 - INVESTMENTS IN CHINA’S THEME PARKS DRIVING ASIAN TOURISM 

27th May 2016 - ASIAN THEME PARKS LEAD GLOBAL ATTRACTIONS INDUSTRY GROWTH 

27th April 2016 - MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS MARKS FIVE YEARS OF OPERATIONS IN AUSTRALASIA 

3rd March 2014 - MADAME TUSSAUDS TO OPEN IN BEIJING, LEGOLAND TO BE DEVELOPED IN DUBAI

Share your news. If you have industry news that you’d like us to include in Australasian Leisure Management, or if you have any ideas of new industry topics that you’d like us to focus on, then please just contact us at leisure@ausleisure.com.au with details. We rely on industry contributions, and remember, our content is not paid for advertorial.

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.