{"id":6413,"date":"2025-07-08T17:45:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T08:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sports-tokyo-info.metro.tokyo.lg.jp\/tokyoforward2025-legacy\/?post_type=supporter&p=6413"},"modified":"2025-07-08T17:45:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T08:45:40","slug":"miura-hiroyuki-en","status":"publish","type":"supporter","link":"https:\/\/www.sports-tokyo-info.metro.tokyo.lg.jp\/tokyoforward2025-legacy\/en\/entertainer\/miura-hiroyuki-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiroyuki Miura \uff08PLUSVoice, Inc. President and Representative Director\uff09\uff5c Realize the \u201ctrue communication\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

It all started with the worst MC of his life<\/h2>\n

\u2015\u2015What kind of services does PLUSVoice, Inc. mainly provide? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000PLUSVoice, Inc. provides communication service which utilizes ICT (Information and Communication Technology) so that deaf people do not have trouble communicating anytime, anywhere. One of them is the “proxy telephone service”. For example, if you want to make an appointment at a beauty salon, but only the phone number is listed, if you use this service, a sign language interpreter will stand between you via videophone, convert the remarks of both parties into sign language \u21c4 audio, and deliver it in a relay format. In addition, the “Remote Sign Language Interpretation Service” for corporations and governments can be used when there are people who cannot hear at the counter of a store. By simply placing a pop-up with a code that leads to the service at the counter, our sign language interpreter operator or local government interpreter will interpret the conversation between the customer and the staff via video call. Since it is a service that can be reassured by both parties, it is currently installed at many points of contact such as government agencies, local governments, and major companies.<\/p>\n

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◼Proxy telephone service<\/a><\/p>\n

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◼Remote Sign Language Interpretation Service<\/a><\/p>\n

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Want to convey your \u201cthoughts\u201d.
\nSupporting deaf communication across locations
\n* Image courtesy of PLUSVoice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2015Why did you come to support deaf people?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000It all started with an incident at my previous MC job. After graduating from university, I joined an insurance company and worked as a salesman in my hometown of Sendai. But I wanted to do a job where people would say “thank you,” so I started working as a freelance MC in parallel with an insurance company. I used to work in sales for an insurance company, so I always liked talking. In the end, I continued to work for insurance companies and as an MC for about 10 years. One time, I got a job as a wedding officiant, and the bride was deaf. The two of them met at a sign language circle, and many of the attendees were deaf, and the entire venue was already in sign language. It was my first experience.<\/strong><\/span> At that time, there was a motto to make the audience laugh at least three times at the wedding reception, but that didn’t work at all (bitter laughs). I felt alienated, frustrated that I couldn’t do anything, and all kinds of emotions mixed in, and it was the worst MC of my life. But strangely enough, even though I had never interacted with deaf people before, I became interested in deaf culture when I saw people happily speaking in sign language in front of me, and I thought, “Sign language sounds interesting.”<\/strong><\/span> From there, I began to study sign language on my own.<\/p>\n

\u2015Self-taught! Your experience as an MC at that time must have been a very vivid experience for you. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000In the meantime, I quit my job at an insurance company and started working in the event business. It was around the time that mobile phones that could use e-mails appeared, and we started planning a campaign to distribute PHS free of charge. At that time, I suddenly thought, “For deaf people who cannot obtain sound information, the e-mail function may be useful.” When I actually gave the PHS to the deaf, they were very happy with it. After all, it’s revolutionary to be able to get in touch with someone right away from your family or on the go.<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom there, we began to seriously sell handsets that were equipped as standard equipment with features that were easy for them to use, such as a vibrator function, direct e-mail, and a text transmission function that could be used anywhere in Japan or overseas, in order to create a mobile phone terminal that was easy to use for deaf and hard of hearing people in earnest. This was a response that exceeded expectations, and in no time at all, we had about 6,000 users nationwide. However, there were also heartless voices such as “preying on welfare”, and sales for mobile phone terminals stopped. But I want to do something for users all over the country… Therefore, I thought that it would be possible to solve the problems of deaf people by involving companies and governments, rather than selling things to deaf people. Taking this opportunity, I closed my MC business and established PLUSVoice,Inc. in 1998 when I was 35 years old.<\/p>\n

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Wants to do a job where people say \u201cthank you\u201d.
\nThe motivation was always simple<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2015\u2015How did systems such as proxy telephone services lead to the commercialization of these systems? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000This also started with my experience one day. One night around the year 2000, I received an e-mail from a deaf friend who lived far away, saying, “Miura, please help me!” When I connected the video phone and asked what his request was in sign language, he told me that his lab, a dental technician, was leaking gas and that he wanted me to call the fire department. I hurriedly called 119 and interpreted the face-to-face exchange between the fire department and him by video phone from far away Sendai. This event has led to create the proxy telephone services and remote sign language interpretation services.
\nSince 2002, we have been providing telephone relay services with subsidies from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (NiCT).
\n*From the official website of PLUSVoice,Inc.\uff1ahttps:\/\/plusvoice.co.jp\/company\/award.php<\/a><\/p>\n

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The reality of being left out of information
\nIssues highlighted from disaster-stricken areas<\/h2>\n

\u2015\u2015You have also provided a lot of support to deaf people in disaster-stricken areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000The first time PLUSVoice,Inc. provided support to the disaster-stricken areas was the Tokaimura JCO Nuclear Criticality Accident that occurred in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1999. At that time, there were no subtitles on TV like there are now, so deaf people couldn’t get information about the accident and went out without knowing what was going on.<\/strong> <\/span>That’s why we sent a fax to about 100 deaf users living in this area and asked them not to leave their homes. This was also covered in the news, but the situation was like that even 25 years ago.
\nIn the wake of the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, we worked with Microsoft to set up a mailing list to provide information. In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Kumamoto Earthquake, and the torrential rains that have occurred in various parts of Japan in recent years, we provided support through remote sign language interpretation and telephone relay. In particular, immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, we provided free proxy telephone services and remote sign language interpretation services to deaf people in the three prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. Later, when I got stuck in supporting through volunteers, the Japan Foundation took over the support project. In 2019, the telephone relay service became a public infrastructure, fulfilling a long-cherished dream.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015You have been to the disaster-stricken areas, but what is the actual situation surrounding deaf people in the disaster-stricken areas? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000When the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck in January last year, I went to the site the next day. Normally, it would take about 2 hours by car from Kanazawa city to Okunoto, but it took 12 hours due to the road being cut off and the road conditions being bad. In particular, the houses in the Suzu City area were badly damaged, and I was worried that they might be buried alive, so I went around to the houses of the deaf one by one to look for them. Even if you call out their names loudly around the shelter, deaf people cannot hear. In addition, the deaf person could not communicate with anyone when they found them, and they looked anxious without knowing the situation. There are still many deaf people who will be left behind.<\/strong> <\/span>Thinking that this was not a fuss about providing remote interpretation to disaster victims, we worked with the prefectural government, the Information Center, the All Japan Federation of the Deaf, and others to create a place to gather deaf people at 1.5 evacuation centers (evacuation centers that temporarily accept people with special needs, such as the elderly), and transported them by car. However, in the end, they couldn\u2019t go home as their house collapsed, so I supported them until they found a secondary shelter and moved there.<\/p>\n

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Disaster Prevention Agency Building in Minamisanriku Town,
\nMiyagi Prefecture at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
\nThe call for condemnation is also inaudible to the deaf<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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In the case of the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on New Year\u2019s Day 2024, he arrived at the site the next day.
\nWe are confronted with the fact that there are still many issues to be addressed<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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It took 12 hours to get from Kanazawa City to the Okunoto area<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\u2015\u2015Japan is a country prone to earthquakes. There is no guarantee that major disasters will not occur in the future, so that is an issue. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000I think it is necessary to make it more widely known that there are means of communication, such as proxy telephone services and remote sign language interpretation services. That way, for example, if you call the police in a traffic accident using a telephone relay service or our proxy telephone service, or if you get sick and call an ambulance, you can talk to the police or paramedics in sign language through a sign language interpreter. After all, for deaf people, there are some things that can only be communicated in sign language. If the environment in which these services are used becomes commonplace, it will be less likely that they will be left out of information and isolated due to lack of communication in the event of an earthquake or emergency that may occur in the future.
\nI want people to know more about the current situation that “even if you can’t hear, you can communicate anytime, anywhere.” I think that’s what we need to do now.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Interpretation services to be used daily and casually
\nI want to break the stereotypes of the parties involved<\/h2>\n

\u2015\u2015What is the reason why communication methods such as proxy telephone services and remote sign language interpretation services are not yet widely used? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Miura<\/strong>\u3000I think a major factor is that many people are not aware of the needs of service (= communication).<\/strong><\/span> For example, when I go to a bank and ask a staff member, “Are you having trouble communicating with deaf people?” they say, “I don’t have any problems.” This is because they can use written communication. On the other hand, the same is true for the deaf people themselves. In short, they feel that \u201cthey only need to convey their requests without communicating deeply with the other party\u201d, and they do not realize that they are moving away from the framework of “real communication” that exists daily. Normally, it is natural for people to talk to each other, but in a bad way, I feel that we have become accustomed to each other’s environment.<\/strong> <\/span>Of course, I think there are many silent majorities of deaf people who say, “I’m not used to it! I have no choice but to do it\u201d.
\nHowever, of course, there are people who notice this, and when they use the service, they say, “I was able to talk to a familiar face for the first time” and “It was fun to talk with the driver when I got in a taxi.” However, there are still many people who are not sure what it is.
\nLaunched in 2023, Enkaku+, a service for individuals, allows users to connect to a sign language interpreter operator from PLUSVoice,Inc. immediately from their smartphones. In addition to emergency response in the event of trouble, it also handles a wide range of situations, such as a small chat with a hearing person or ordering at a restaurant. There may be a stereotype among deaf people that they can only use sign language interpretation services when they are really in trouble, but that is not the case. I hope that more people will become more aware of the importance of communication, and that the world will change to a world where these services are used daily nd casually.<\/strong><\/span>
\nEven if you can’t speak a foreign language, you can communicate in each other’s language using the functions of your smartphone. Despite this, communication with deaf people is often done in written communication. This is not verbal communication. “Japanese” and “Sign Language”. There’s always a way to communicate quickly.<\/p>\n