04:10Despite its small size, Shojo Cafe Bar in Osaka on a regular basis breaks the ice between people using speech-to-text displays to enable conversations between its deaf staff and customers.
Footage filmed on Tuesday displays shows customers actively interacting with the cafe's staff by using sign language or speech-to-text displays for conversation while enjoying the charming atmosphere and beverages.
"This cafe and bar is operated by deaf people," one of the cafe employees, Hiroaki Ienaga, explained. In addition, this place allows everyone to commune regardless of whether they are deaf, hearing, foreign, or all."
The speech-to-text displays, which transform spoken sentences into text, gained particular praise from staff members for making dialogues 'convenient and easy'.
"It is one of the communication tools that can be used equally and enjoyably by everyone, breaking down the barriers between able-bodied people and hearing-impaired people, and also by people not only from Japan but also from other countries," Shohei Nakajima stated.
According to Haruna Matsumoto, CEO of POSSIBLE Inc. under which the cafe operates, Shojo Cafe Bar was designed with the idea of fostering 'more communication'.
"We started this cafe with the hope that people will use digital technology to communicate more actively. We also received many applications from hearing-difficulty people who wanted to work in the cafe, like, I also want work in this kind of cafe, so we opened this with such two reasons," she stated.
Opened on August 10, Shojo Cafe Bar is POSSIBLE Inc.'s second establishment of this kind. The previous, Shojo Cafe, also employs deaf or hard-of-hearing people, however, it adheres to a policy of total silence - no music or conversation. Such an approach is believed to help customers experience the world from the perspective of the deaf or hard of hearing.
Breaking the sound barrier! Japanese cafe uses AI for communication between deaf staff and customers
Despite its small size, Shojo Cafe Bar in Osaka on a regular basis breaks the ice between people using speech-to-text displays to enable conversations between its deaf staff and customers.
Footage filmed on Tuesday displays shows customers actively interacting with the cafe's staff by using sign language or speech-to-text displays for conversation while enjoying the charming atmosphere and beverages.
"This cafe and bar is operated by deaf people," one of the cafe employees, Hiroaki Ienaga, explained. In addition, this place allows everyone to commune regardless of whether they are deaf, hearing, foreign, or all."
The speech-to-text displays, which transform spoken sentences into text, gained particular praise from staff members for making dialogues 'convenient and easy'.
"It is one of the communication tools that can be used equally and enjoyably by everyone, breaking down the barriers between able-bodied people and hearing-impaired people, and also by people not only from Japan but also from other countries," Shohei Nakajima stated.
According to Haruna Matsumoto, CEO of POSSIBLE Inc. under which the cafe operates, Shojo Cafe Bar was designed with the idea of fostering 'more communication'.
"We started this cafe with the hope that people will use digital technology to communicate more actively. We also received many applications from hearing-difficulty people who wanted to work in the cafe, like, I also want work in this kind of cafe, so we opened this with such two reasons," she stated.
Opened on August 10, Shojo Cafe Bar is POSSIBLE Inc.'s second establishment of this kind. The previous, Shojo Cafe, also employs deaf or hard-of-hearing people, however, it adheres to a policy of total silence - no music or conversation. Such an approach is believed to help customers experience the world from the perspective of the deaf or hard of hearing.
Despite its small size, Shojo Cafe Bar in Osaka on a regular basis breaks the ice between people using speech-to-text displays to enable conversations between its deaf staff and customers.
Footage filmed on Tuesday displays shows customers actively interacting with the cafe's staff by using sign language or speech-to-text displays for conversation while enjoying the charming atmosphere and beverages.
"This cafe and bar is operated by deaf people," one of the cafe employees, Hiroaki Ienaga, explained. In addition, this place allows everyone to commune regardless of whether they are deaf, hearing, foreign, or all."
The speech-to-text displays, which transform spoken sentences into text, gained particular praise from staff members for making dialogues 'convenient and easy'.
"It is one of the communication tools that can be used equally and enjoyably by everyone, breaking down the barriers between able-bodied people and hearing-impaired people, and also by people not only from Japan but also from other countries," Shohei Nakajima stated.
According to Haruna Matsumoto, CEO of POSSIBLE Inc. under which the cafe operates, Shojo Cafe Bar was designed with the idea of fostering 'more communication'.
"We started this cafe with the hope that people will use digital technology to communicate more actively. We also received many applications from hearing-difficulty people who wanted to work in the cafe, like, I also want work in this kind of cafe, so we opened this with such two reasons," she stated.
Opened on August 10, Shojo Cafe Bar is POSSIBLE Inc.'s second establishment of this kind. The previous, Shojo Cafe, also employs deaf or hard-of-hearing people, however, it adheres to a policy of total silence - no music or conversation. Such an approach is believed to help customers experience the world from the perspective of the deaf or hard of hearing.