May 26, 2020

New Video Released to Raise Awareness about the Help Mark

In July 2017, the Help Mark was added to the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), and has become popular with municipalities across the country.
To further encourage consideration to be shown to those who carry “Help Marks,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has produced a multilingual promotional video.

1. About the Help Mark

Tokyo Metropolitan Government developed the Help Mark in FY 2012 to aid people who may require additional consideration or help, even if it may not be visible from their appearance. This includes people with prosthetic limbs or joint replacements, people with internal disabilities or incurable diseases, and people in the early stages of pregnancy. The Help Mark makes it easier for them to receive the support they need, as it lets the people around them know that they need to be shown extra consideration.

2. About the promotional video

• The video explains what you should do if you come across someone with a Help Mark
• There is a 15 second version and a 30 second version
• In addition to Japanese, 3 different versions of the video have been produced in English, Chinese and Korean, with both subtitles and audio in each language.

3. More about the video

• In order to make a video that will be easily understood and leave an impression on viewers of all ages and language backgrounds, the video sets out scenarios where a Help Mark may be used with a flip-book style animation that only uses music and sound effects.
• In order for the Help Mark to stand out and leave a greater impression, it is colored red, while everything else is drawn in black and white.

Text is only present in the final frame.

4. How the video will be used

The video will be featured on the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health’s website along with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s official video channel, Tokyo Douga( External link ). It will also be available for other municipalities and private businesses to use. It is also anticipated that it will be shown at various events, including those affiliated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health’s website (in Japanese)

Please click here for the original Japanese press release.

Inquiries (in Japanese only)

Planning Section Disabled Persons Programs Division Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health Phone: 03-5320-4147