E’s CAFE Opens in TamaEmployment for persons with disabilities as part of Hataraku NIPPON Project

As part of its Hataraku NIPPON Project, The Nippon Foundation is supporting Para SC Esperanza, an NGO that combines sports with support for persons with disabilities. One of the group’s projects is E’s CAFE, Japan’s first cafe and sports dining bar designed to support employment for persons with disabilities, which opened on March 1 in Tama in western Tokyo.

The exterior is modeled on an overseas sports clubhouse and the interior is on a par with similar restaurants for the general public, giving the employees a sense of pride in their work and enriching their lives.

Employment opportunities for persons with disabilities tend to be limited to simple operations in factories or workshops. The average monthly wage for a person doing this kind of “Type A” work^*1 is 66,412 yen,^*2 and combined with the disability pension that these workers receive, this enables them to lead a lifestyle at the same level as a person in regular employment.
E’s CAFE aims to pay its employees more than 100,000 yen, however, with the goal of becoming a model for social welfare businesses nationwide. In addition to being a sports-themed restaurant and bar with the same level of quality as similar establishments targeting the general public, E’s CAFE aims to maintain its operations without government subsidies, thereby changing the current image of support for employment for persons with disabilities.

In addition to providing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, E’s CAFE intends to make maximum use of its location, next to a public futsal court on the same floor of the New City Tama Center Building, by functioning as a gathering place for CP football^*3 teams and as a base for the popularization of para sports. By combining eating and drinking with sports, men and women of all ages, with and without disabilities, can enjoy themselves without distinctions based on age, sex, or physical condition, and E’s CAFE hopes to develop into a facility that is able to strengthen bonds among a broad range of society.

Before the opening, Para SC Esperanza and The Nippon Foundation held a press conference and reception at E’s CAFE on February 27. In his remarks, The Nippon Foundation President Takeju Ogata noted that a normal society is one in which everyone – young and old, male and female, disabled and non-disabled – can live regular lives. He expressed his hope that the cafe would be a first step in mobilizing Japan and local communities toward the creation of this type of framework.

Para SC Esperanza is engaged in a variety of activities, primarily through CP football, to promote para sports and social activities for children with disabilities. The Hataraku NIPPON Project is working to create models that support employment for persons with disabilities throughout Japan, with the aim of changing the employment situation for persons with disabilities. The project currently supports approximately 30 businesses across the country.