April 3, 2026 Publication of "Information Accessibility Good Practices 2025"

　To create a society where everyone can enjoy the benefits of digital utilization and lead a fulfilling life, ensuring the information accessibility of ICT devices and services is crucial. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has solicited good practices for information accessibility as a new initiative from FY2023. The purpose of this initiative is to:
(1) Make products that consider accessibility widely known to the general public, and
(2) Encourage companies and organizations that specifically focus on information accessibility and their efforts. After a review of these practices, MIC has decided to announce 17 products and services as "Information Accessibility Good Practices 2025."

Note: The published materials are in Japanese only.

1. ICT devices and services selected as good examples in 2025

• ※The products published as "Information Accessibility Good Practices" were evaluated based on the documents submitted by the applicants and presentations from the companies. However, they were not reviewed from the perspective of actual operability.
• ※The selected products are also available on the Information Accessibility Support Website（https://www.actnavi.jp/products_service_db/ ）

2. Overview of solicitation and announcement

• （1）Solicitation period：Friday, September 12, 2025 to Friday, November 14, 2025.
• （2）ICT devices and services that satisfy all of the requirements set forth in (i) to (iii):
  • (i) ICT devices and services designed with consideration for information accessibility※
    ※Information accessibility refers to ensuring that everyone, regardless of age or with or without disabilities, can easily access, use the information they need and communicate. The target products shall be ICT devices and services for the general public, for persons with disabilities and their caregivers and for elderly people and their caregivers, which are designed with consideration to information accessibility.
  • (ii) The ICT devices and services mentioned in (i) above must be developed, manufactured, and sold by a company as its own products and must meet one of the following criteria: (If a company incorporates technologies, components, software, etc., from other companies into its final product, that product is eligible for application.)
    • (a) Personal computers (products that comply with JIS X 8341-2)　
    • (b) Web content applications (products that comply with JIS X 8341-3/WCAG 2.1)
    • (c) Telecommunications equipment (products that comply with JIS X 8341-4*)
    • (d) Office equipment (products that comply with JIS X 8341-5)
    • (e) Interactive software (product that comply with JIS X 8341-6)
    ※Telecommunication equipment refers to “the equipment that the users of telecommunication services directly operate in the facilities on telecommunication”. In addition, even if the products and product groups of new concept that do not fall under the conventional telecommunication equipment shall fall under (c ), if they have the features included in the conventional telecommunication equipment.
  • (iii) ICT devices and services must be sold or provided to businesses or consumers at the time of application. Additionally, as this applies only to features that have already been implemented, the ones currently under development shall not be included in the evaluation.
• （3）Review: The documents and presentations submitted by the applicant companies will be evaluated based on the evaluation items (*)
• （4）Review results: Seventeen products were published as good examples.
  ※Evaluation items
  • (1) Consideration of information accessibility in products
  • (2) Development based on the needs of stakeholders
  • (3) Efforts to ensure information accessibility as a company policy

3. Overall evaluation by the review committee

　This is the third year for implementation of "Information Accessibility Good Practices”. This fiscal year, we reviewed materials submitted by organizations and their online presentations. Through the review process, we were able to sense the sincere attitude toward social contribution and their high aspirations for the realization of a universal society. All members of the review committee were deeply impressed by their work and express their sincere respect.

　This fiscal year, we selected a wide range of 17 products and services. Most of them aimed for problem solving essential for daily lives and social participation including movement, employment and contracts. The lineups strongly impressed that a wide range of stakeholders started to regard realization of “ society where no one is left behind” as their own issue.

○ Evaluation item (1) Consideration of information accessibility in the product

　This year, we could see many products for which cutting-edge technologies such as generative-design AI and sensing technologies are commercialized as alternative means for vision and hearing. Initiatives to use technologies such as image recognition and vibration notification etc. to enable an understanding of the surrounding situations were highly evaluated.

　In addition, it deserves special consideration that multiple products for elderly people were submitted for the first time since this initiative began. As were evident in these products, for elderly people and those who are unfamiliar with ICT products, their following efforts were highly evaluated: their design were intuitive and easy to handle for everyone by lowering the barriers to use digital technologies such as deliberately adopting physical buttons and eliminating the need for operation itself.

○ Evaluation item (2) Development based on the needs of stakeholders

　The following efforts were highly evaluated: the attitude of the developers of the products and services to find the stakeholders’ “realistic difficulties” and develop their solutions not only by listening their requests but by getting deeply involved in their real-life situations. Additionally, the efforts are also highly evaluated as the “co-creative” ones as a good practice not only to provide the products one-sidedly but also to promote the stakeholders’ social participation to create opportunities where the stakeholders can proactively be involved through user communities and develop the services together.

○ Evaluation item (3) Efforts to ensure information accessibility as a company policy

　Company-wide and organizational efforts to develop a roadmap led by senior management and to require all employees to attend the training not limited to engineers.

　Furthermore, this year, the following efforts across organizational boundaries were remarkable: the applicant organizations’ strengthening collaboration with external ones and sharing and providing collected barrier-free information with society as open data. Such activities aiming for improving overall standard level of information accessibility throughout industries and society were highly evaluated as embodying social responsibility toward realization of universal society.

○ Key areas for further consideration in the future

　This fiscal year, many services that deal with “movement” were selected such as walking support applications, barrier-free map and sharing movement situations etc. These services are essential for expanding stakeholders’ range of activity. On the other hand, further consideration and measures are required for safety upon using the services such as appropriate information provision including possibility of misrecognition etc.

　In addition, it will become important to manage personal behavior history and images etc. as the products and services get deeply involved into the users’ lives and their convenience is increased. Regarding “consideration for privacy” as the two sides of the same coin with convenience, as it will become more and more important for the future, from the perspective of protecting the dignity of the stakeholders, we would like to expect sincere response and technical ingenuity.

　The publication of good practices, as in the previous fiscal year, will help publicize ICT products and services that consider information accessibility, as well as the positive efforts of companies and others involved. This will expected to contribute to the realization of a society in which a diverse range of people, including people with disabilities, can enjoy the convenience of using digital technologies and lead fulfilling lives. We have great hopes for the continuous expansion of efforts by companies and other organizations to improve information accessibility in the future.

4. Review committee members (in alphabetical order)

• （1）Academic experts

• SAKAKIBARA Naoki, associate professor, Seisen University
• SSHIRASAWA Mayumi, Professor at Research and Support Center on Higher Education for the Hearing and Visually Impaired, Tsukuba University of Technology
• SNAKAMURA Kenryu, senior research fellow, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
• SMIYAGI Manabi, associate professor, Research Center for Higher Education Support for Persons with Disabilities, Tsukuba University of Technology
• SYAMADA Hajime, professor emeritus at Toyo University

• （2）Industrial organizations

• Communications and Information Network Association of Japan (CIAJ)
• Japan Business Machine and Information Systems Industries Associations (JBMIA)
• Web Accessibility Infrastructure Committee (WAIC)

• （3）Organizations for the handicapped

• All Japan Association of Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened People (Zennancho)
• Japanese Federation of the Deaf
• Japan Federation of the Visually Impaired

5. Information Accessibility Self-Evaluation Form

　The "Information Accessibility Self-Evaluation Form (Self-Evaluation Form)" is required to be submitted as an application document for "Information Accessibility Good Practices 2025." The form is used by companies to self-assess whether their ICT devices and services meet information accessibility standards and to announce the results. It also serves as a reference for companies, public organizations, or individuals with disabilities when selecting ICT devices and services. The MIC is working to promote the use of this form in both the public and private sectors.