Rie Saito

Rie Saito (斉藤 里恵, Saito Rie, born February 3, 1984) is a deaf Japanese politician and author. She wrote a best-selling book about her experience working at a host club, where she communicated with patrons using a notepad and pen.

Early life

Saito was born on February 3, 1984 in Aomori, Japan. She lost her hearing after contracting meningitis as an infant.[1] According to her autobiography, "Hitsudan Hostess", she was a juvenile delinquent throughout her teens.[2]

Career

In 2007, Saito moved to Tokyo and began working as a hostess in a high-end club in Ginza. She communicated with her patrons using a notepad and pen, and became the most popular hostess at the bar. She published "Hitsudan Hostess" in 2009.[2] The book was adapted into a television drama starring Keiko Kitagawa in 2010. In 2010, Saito gave birth to a child in Hawaii and wrote a book about that experience as well.[3]

Saito ran for office in 2015, and was elected to Tokyo's Kita Ward Assembly. Some of the systems in the legislature had to be changed to provide Saito equal access to what was being said. Basically, when a hearing person spoke into the microphone, a speech to text software would convert it to text displayed on a tablet. A person who isn't able to speak would be able to reply by typing their comment into the system, which would read it out loud.[2] While the system works well when someone is giving a scripted speech, the speech to text software had a harder time keeping up with conversational committee meetings.[1]

Saito ran for the House of Councillors in 2019, representing the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Her goal was to reduce barriers for the disabled, much like Yasuhiko Funago and Eiko Kimura, who ran at the same time. However, Saito was not elected.[4] She ran for her old seat in the Kita Ward Assembly in May 2020,[5] but didn't win that election either.[6]

References
  1. Osaki, Tomohiro (2019-07-17). "Candidates with disabilities hope to lay foundation for inclusive Diet in Upper House election". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  2. Kodera, Atsushi (2015-05-21). "Tokyo's Kita Ward adopts hearing and speaking aids to help legislators with disabilities". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  3. Saitō, Rie, 1984-; 斉藤里恵, 1984- (2010). Hitsudan hosutesu haha ni naru : hawai yori rokujūichi no aikotoba to tomo ni (Shohan ed.). Tōkyō: Kōbunsha. ISBN 978-4-334-97624-8. OCLC 651896595.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "立憲・斉藤里恵氏落選見込み 元「筆談ホステス」 比例：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  5. "都議補選 ４選挙区とも自民：東京新聞 Tokyo Web". 東京新聞 Tokyo Web (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  6. "都議補選　自民４議席独占　／東京". Mainichi Daily News (in Japanese). 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
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