Activities for Improving Web Accessibility

In response to the growing number and diversity of persons using the Internet, the role of Websites has become more important as can be seen in electronic applications. Government agencies and local governments have started to develop Websites that can be easily accessed by more persons, including older persons and persons with disabilities, in accordance with the u-Japan plan formulated based on the Disabled Persons Fundamental Law as well as the government policies such as New IT Reform Strategy. Improvement of a model such as "Operation model for public Website" is a part of this initiative. To address this trend, Fujitsu formulated the Fujitsu Web Accessibility Guidelines in 2002. Since then, Fujitsu has made various efforts to promote Internet use, such as the free distribution and sales of diagnosis tools, and the sales of Web accessibility assistance tools. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines-the de facto international standards-was revised in the latter half of fiscal 2008, and JIS X 8341-3-the equivalent Japanese Industrial Standard-will be revised in 2009. This paper reviews Fujitsu's activities for improving Web accessibility to date, mainly from the viewpoint of human-centered design, and proposes future issues and directions.