What are the key factors for enhancing accessibility? Reasons why Niigata Aji no Ren Honpo chose to implement UniWeb.

2024/10/29

Please tell us about your past experiences and your current work.

Mr. Asakawa:
I joined Iwatsuka Seika and oversaw overall production, including sales, product development, and production management. I have been the representative director of Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo since June of last year.

Ms. Okamura:
I joined as a new graduate and experienced the order department, where I interacted directly with customers, and general affairs. I've been in charge of WEB for the past eight years, covering all aspects of the web except for social media (e-commerce, newsletters, advertising).

 

When did you learn about web accessibility?

Mr. Asakawa:
I was aware of the revised Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities that took effect in April, but I learned the details about web accessibility when Mr. Nojiri spoke at an event in Niigata.

Ms. Okamura:
I learned about it when Mr. Nojiri spoke about web accessibility at the ecbeing seminar held at the end of last year.

 

What prompted you to consider web accessibility compliance?

Mr. Asakawa:
We have a physical store in Nagaoka City, Niigata, where we have installed panels to confirm intentions using pointing and written communication with people who have hearing impairments. I thought it was necessary to address this on our website as well.

Ms. Okamura:
There is a background where the provision of reasonable accommodations* is mandated for businesses. We were already working on this in our physical store, but we received feedback that visually impaired customers were placing orders using screen readers in our online shop, and that the text was too small to read, so I wanted to respond to this immediately.

* Provision of reasonable accommodations
If a person with a disability expresses the desire to 'remove social barriers', then necessary and reasonable measures should be taken to remove those barriers within a range that does not impose an excessive burden.

 

Have you considered addressing accessibility in-house? If so, what reasons led you not to implement it in-house?

Ms. Okamura:
I learned at the seminar at the end of last year that implementing UNIWEB would make it easy to address accessibility, so I did not consider spending money to develop from scratch in-house.

 

When introducing Uni-Web, did you compare and evaluate other accessibility tools?

Ms. Okamura:
I didn't consider other companies' services either. Accessibility was already equated with UNIWEB. After the meeting, I was able to see the test site on the same day, which allowed me to envision what would happen if we implemented UNIWEB, and that was also a decisive factor.

Mr. Asakawa:
I learned about UNIWEB at an event in Niigata, and when I mentioned it to Ms. Okamura, she was already aware of it, so our discussions moved quickly. I wanted to respond quickly, and the fact that we could support accessibility with just one line of code was appealing, so I didn't consider other company services.

 

Why did you choose to implement UNIWEB? Please also tell us how you became aware of UNIWEB.

Mr. Asakawa:
The ease of implementation was a major deciding factor, and being able to respond quickly was also a huge help.
Additionally, since UNIWEB is already used by many major sites, I was able to explain it to Ms. Okamura while referencing those real examples, which sped up understanding.

Ms. Okamura:
Being able to see the test site on the same day allowed me to quickly grasp a concrete image. The fact that it could be tried easily without taking too many days was very appealing. The simple process that allowed me to feel results quickly was beneficial in moving forward with the implementation.
Thanks to such rapid responses, the overall picture became clear, and I felt the low barrier to implementing the system.

 

Do you have any future goals?

Ms. Okamura:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, orders through the web have increased dramatically, and we are strengthening our efforts to respond to this. In addition to telephone and fax orders, we are focusing on improving the accessibility of our website to ensure that elderly individuals and those with disabilities can use it comfortably. For instance, we are adjusting text size and color contrast for better readability, and introducing voice guides and simple navigation features to create a site where individuals with visual or hearing impairments can order without confusion. Additionally, we believe it is important to provide an intuitive and easy-to-understand interface that is usable for all generations. We will continue to strive to improve accessibility so that all customers can receive services fairly.

Mr. Asakawa:
Currently, we are offering campaigns and coupons, and we are enhancing our efforts such as voice guides to properly convey information to individuals with visual impairments. For example, we plan to incorporate text designed to be compatible with screen reading software so that campaign information and coupon codes can be obtained without relying on visual cues, as well as a voice guidance feature for important promotions.

However, there are still many areas where we are not yet adequate, and accessibility technologies and services are evolving every day. We believe it is essential to constantly catch up with these new technologies and trends and work on improving our entire website. Our aim is not only to ensure comfortable access for individuals with visual impairments but also to take into account those with hearing and physical disabilities by providing a high degree of usability and diverse access methods.

Moving forward, we will continue to strengthen accessibility measures tailored to user needs and strive for further improvements so that everyone can fairly utilize benefits such as campaigns and coupons. By working to create a website that is convenient and easy to use for all users, we aim to provide valuable services to an even greater number of customers.

 

Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo Co., Ltd.
Representative Director: Shinichi Asakawa

After joining Iwatsuka Seika, I was involved in overall manufacturing, including sales, product development, and production management. Utilizing these experiences, I became the representative director of Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo in June 2023.

 

Planning Department: Keiko Okamura
I joined Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo as a new graduate and was assigned to the order department, where I directly interacted with customers. I later gained experience in various roles, including general affairs. Since 2016, I have been responsible for all web-related activities (excluding social media, including e-commerce, newsletters, and advertising) as the WEB担当 and contributed to digital strategy and online business promotion.

 

《Uni-Web Implementation Site》

UNIWEB has been implemented in Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo Co., Ltd.

By clicking on the icon, an accessibility menu appears, allowing users to switch text-to-speech features and screen contrast with just one button.

 

Niigata Aji no Noren Honpo Co., Ltd.

Location: 1027-4 Nanyo 1-chome, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture
Representative: Shinichi Asakawa, Representative Director
URL:https://www.ajinoren.co.jp/

 

About Uniweb

UniWeb provides web accessibility features "on the day of deployment" by simply adding a single line of code to all web services.

In order to achieve equal website services for all, we want to put users in various situations, such as those with visual impairments or those who temporarily lose the use of their hands due to injury, in a position to understand correct information through various uses such as voice reading and contrast changes.

Site:https://hellouniweb.com