The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry plans to strengthen the barrier-free law by making it obligatory for public buildings to install handrails and other facilities needed by senior citizens and the physically impaired, ministry sources said Wednesday.
The ministry plans to revise the Accessible and Usable Building Law and send a bill containing the new requirements to the Diet in March, the sources said.
The current law, which took effect in 1994, only requires owners of new public buildings -- including department stores, theaters and hotels -- to "make efforts" to incorporate barrier-free facilities.