Survey on Web Accessibility Compliance After Legal Reforms by Company Size

2024/10/30

Kiva Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Kota Nojiri), which provides the web accessibility tool 'Uniweb' (https://hellouniweb.com), conducted a survey on web accessibility compliance after legal reforms targeting 649 men and women aged 20 to 60.

Table of Contents

◾️Summary of Findings

Are You Complying with Web Accessibility?
26% of large and medium-sized companies reported that they are compliant with accessibility, while only 6% of small businesses reported compliance.
On the other hand, 66% of large and medium-sized companies and 86% of small businesses reported that they are 'not compliant,' indicating a significant delay in addressing accessibility issues in small businesses.

What prompted you to implement web accessibility?
The most common reason for implementation was 'because the company thought it was better to comply,' at 44%, followed by 'due to the amendment of the law to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities' at 38%. Other important factors included improving brand image (32%) and differentiation from competitors (27%).
Some companies implemented compliance due to reasons such as 'increased sales,' 'competitors of the same scale are compliant,' and 'for recruitment purposes.'

How did you address web accessibility?
54% of large companies are 'handling it in-house,' while 15% have implemented web accessibility tools. In medium-sized companies, 40% have 'contracted a web accessibility consulting firm,' followed by 26% handling it in-house.
39% of small businesses are 'handling it in-house,' and another 39% have 'implemented web accessibility tools,' indicating that in-house handling or tool implementation is the mainstream approach.

What are the reasons for considering web accessibility?
In large companies, 'lack of responsible personnel' (36%) was the top reason, and the same was true for medium-sized firms, indicating that although there is an intention to comply, resource constraints are a challenge. In small businesses, 'not needing to comply immediately' (26%) was the primary reason, reflecting a general lack of resources and sense of obligation.

What are the reasons for not complying with web accessibility?
In large companies, the most significant reason is 'compliance is not mandatory' (26%), indicating that the lack of explicit legal requirements is a barrier to web accessibility measures.
In medium-sized companies, 'not knowing how to comply' (25%) was the top reason, suggesting a lack of knowledge about implementation methods for web accessibility.
In small businesses, the biggest reason was 'lack of responsible personnel' (23%), but 'not needing to comply immediately' (19%) was also significant, indicating that resource constraints coupled with a low priority for accessibility compliance are common in small businesses.

◾️Discussion

From the above survey results, the following realities regarding web accessibility compliance can be observed.

'Lack of responsible personnel' is a primary reason even for large companies, highlighting that despite their size, adequate personnel and resources for addressing accessibility are lacking. Moving forward, establishing dedicated accessibility teams or outsourcing may become crucial strategies.
The use of 'web accessibility tools' is noticeable among small and medium-sized businesses, regarded as a means to supplement resource shortages for in-house compliance. In companies with many absent responsible personnel, the efficient introduction of tools may become the mainstream approach to accessibility compliance and is likely to proliferate.

The amendment to the law against discrimination against persons with disabilities, effective April 1, 2024, mandates 'reasonable accommodation' for private companies, making accessibility compliance urgent, especially for large companies. The establishment of dedicated teams and the use of outsourcing are expected to accelerate compliance. Furthermore, the implementation of web accessibility tools in small and medium-sized enterprises is anticipated to address resource shortages, leading to a standardized trend in accessibility compliance across industries and company sizes.

◾️Survey Overview

Survey Method: Internet Research / Conducted by: Kiva Inc.
Survey Target: Men and Women Aged 20 to 60 Nationwide
Sample Size: 649 People
Survey Period: September 27, 2024 - October 8, 2024
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Please include our credit (e.g., Kiva Research) when quoting or reprinting this release.

◾️What is Web Accessibility?

It is not a special accommodation only for the disabled or elderly, but anyone can be in the same situation as a disabled person.

Temporary injury or illness (e.g., car accident with arm in cast and unable to use arm, eye disease with eye patch and blindness, etc.)
Age-related changes
Age-related vision loss (presbyopia, lens changes (yellowish, dark, blurred vision, etc.))
Eye diseases common in middle-aged and older adults (cataracts, glaucoma, etc.)
*About half of the patients in their late 70s have cataracts with yellowing changes.
Age-related hearing loss
Foreign travelers (if a foreigner who does not understand Japanese is struck by an earthquake while traveling, can he/she obtain evacuation information, etc.)

Reference: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Accessibility of Websites, etc. Required of Public Organizations
https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000543284.pdf

◾️About UniWeb

UniWeb supports 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.

◾️ Kiva Corporation

Representative: Kota Nojiri, President and Representative Director
Location : 3-12-5 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo +SHIFT TSUKIJI 7F
URL :https://kiva.co.jp/
Business :