KYOTO ¨C In the closing months of World War II, people with disabilities in Japan, like their able-bodied neighbors, desperately sought shelter from relentless air raids.
¡°I couldn¡¯t move my hands or legs because of the sounds of machine gun fire,¡± recalled Isao Shirahata, an 89-year-old resident of the city of Kyoto, who is visually impaired. ¡°Such a terrifying thing must never happen again.¡±
Shirahata was born with low vision due to glaucoma. As a child, he lost sight in his left eye after accidentally striking it on a bicycle brake lever, leaving him with only limited vision in his right eye.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.