Growing up, Daisuke Kasayanagi set some stringent goals to never be in a wheelchair.

“I had to do rehabilitation every day. It is so hard to keep my muscle strength,” said disability rights advocate Daisuke Kasayanagi. “But I realized that I couldn't walk anymore.”

From practicing walking up and down the stairs to carrying heavy weights around his home, Kasayanagi’s parents and himself tried everything they could to ‘cure him.’

“Disability rights are generally not accepted in society,” Kasayanagi said. “People still think people with disabilities are very selfish. I was always told that you shouldn't be disabled, that you should be cured and you have to do your best to overcome your disabilities.” 

Making the decision at 29 years old to finally commit to using a wheelchair, Kasayanagi became more confident and more mobile than ever. He had left his career to join his current organization as the assistant secretary-general of the Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples’ International.

“I received grants from the [Duskin Leadership Training Program] to come to the U.S. for that year of this training,” Kasayanagi said. “I’d like to bring it back to Japan to contribute to the development of the disability movement in Japan.”

Kasayanagi’s fellowship with the Center for Disability Rights collaborates with the Centers for Independent Living in Japan.

“We have sibling centers in Japan who are arranging attendance services, supporting people, transitioning into the community and doing that grassroots work that supports disabled people while advocating for a more accessible society,” CEO of Center for Disability Rights Bruce Darling said. “The conversation was in the United States, we're very good at innovating. The Japanese know how to bring things to scale.” 

Working alongside Kasayanagi, Bruce Darling hopes the CDR’s mission not only makes strides in Rochester, but globally.

“We have bipartisan legislation named after disabled woman who moved from Tennessee to Colorado so that she could live in freedom. It's an honor to move that legislation,” Darling said. “But the folks in Japan are watching this because they believe that this piece of legislation can become the framework that other countries can use to address institutionalization as well.”

Never imagining he would be in the position he is in today, Kasayanagi hopes his story inspires others to never give up.

“I never dreamed that I would come to the States until a few years ago because I couldn't speak English at all,” Kasayanagi said. “My mother passed away in 2012. But I believe she's so happy to see me now from the sky. And [I’m] grateful to everyone in the United States who is supporting me.”