International Association for Universal Design

September 30, 2003 Press Conference was held.

On Tuesday, September. 30, a press conference was held in the Marunouchi Building in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, announcing the establishment of the "International Association for Universal Design." 116 people (98 representing a company, 100 from the media) participated. We would like to thank those who came to the press conference.

His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito, who is to become the Patron, participated in the press conference. From the Preparatory Committee,

Takuma Yamamoto, Representative of the Preparatory Committee
(Chairman Emeritus, Fujitsu Ltd.)
Kazuo Toda, Representative of the Preparatory Committee
(Executive Vice President, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.)
Akira Morimoto, Preparatory Committee Member
(Director & Managing Executive Officer, Sekisui House, Ltd.)
Shirou Nakamura, Preparatory Committee Member
(Senior Vice President, Design, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.)
Mitsuo Kawaguchi, Representative Manager of the Preparatory Committee
(General Manager, Design Division, Hitachi, Ltd.)

participated.
We explained

the purpose of its establishment
the overall plan for its activities
the participating companies’ expectations for IAUD

etc. in preparation for the establishment on Nov. 28.

Based on his own experience, His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito indicated Japan's excellence in its technical capabilities and in its ability to manufacture delicate products, and he also mentioned the importance of design.

He encouragingly said, "There are no completely disabled people or completely healthy people. Universal Design is to think of a product which is easy to use for everyone from a child to an elderly, regardless of his native language or his custom. The product must also be comfortable to use for a disabled person. I will be thinking about UD taking welfare and sports into account, but I would like you to think about UD from your own point of view."

A reporter asked, "Why is IAUD written 'yu-ni-vaa-sa-ru' instead of 'yu-ni-baa-sa-ru' in Japanese?" To this question, Prince Tomohito took his microphone himself and explained, "I strongly requested that it be written that way. If we are going to manufacture something that breaks the language barrier by UD, we should adopt 'yu-ni-vaa-sa-ru' which is closer to the English pronunciation. If we pronounce the word 'yu-ni-baa-sa-ru,' a native English speaker would not understand it."

Fully-packed press conference room

Greetings by Mr. Yamamoto, and His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito

Mr.Toda explained the purpose of its establishment