Japan builds the best sidewalks in the world. I’ve been there twice — every path, every corner, beautiful, immaculate, built to incredibly high standards. Yellow tactile paving for people with visual impairments is everywhere. Sidewalk levels aren’t too high, making it easier to build ramps — and they build wide, full-width ramps that even everyday pedestrians use without realizing it.
It’s not just because of strict laws and enforcement. It’s because Japan has a culture of “Shokunin Katagi” (職人気質) — the craftsman’s spirit that believes just meeting the standard is “shameful.” You must always exceed the standard. And “Omotenashi” (おもてなし) — a spirit of care and hospitality that extends to public spaces, designing for everyone from the start. Japan invented tactile paving 61 years ago. Now over 100 countries, including Thailand, have adopted it.
[Thailand 🇹🇭]
We have plenty of laws and ministerial regulations, but “enforcement is weak.” Central Bangkok sidewalks have improved a little, but if you really measure them, they’re barely passable. As for everywhere else, including the provinces — don’t even hope. Trees, telecom cabinets, signs, and poles of all kinds still clutter the walkways. Ramps are sometimes built correctly, sometimes not. And that’s not even counting motorcycles riding on sidewalks, illegal street vending, and all sorts of other activities taking over the footpaths.
The scene we’ve all grown numb to: people with disabilities having to wheel themselves on the road because the sidewalks are unusable. Accidents, injuries, deaths — happening all the time.
A person with a visual impairment once told me, “I barely felt like I had a disability when I was in Japan…but the moment I came back to Thailand, I instantly became a person with a disability again.”
This isn’t complaining. I believe every citizen, including myself, wants to see the day when our sidewalks are good enough for everyone to travel conveniently, safely, and with equal dignity. Japan has already proven it can be done — if you truly commit to it.
I always say, in the end, the people who will push for change are us — all of us.
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Source: MLIT Japan, กรมส่งเสริมฯ คนพิการ, สื่อท้องถิ่น