As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics draw ever closer, more people in Japan are taking courses in a pidgin form of sign language called International Sign as a means of communicating with hearing-impaired visitors from overseas.
The courses are expected to improve communications standards and enhance volunteers' skills in a country sorely lacking the human resources to provide quality International Sign interpretation.
During an intermediate class administered by the Japan International Sign Language Interpreters & Guides Association (JIIGA) recently in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, instructor Takeshi Sunada, 58, communicated with his students using various sign language vocabulary.