Two severely-disabled candidates win seats in Japan upper house vote

A woman takes a photo with Reiwa Shinsengumi's disabled candidate for Japan's July 21 upper house election Yasuhiko Funago, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at his election rally in Tokyo, Japan, July 12, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Two wheelchair-bound candidates won seats in Japan's upper house vote on Sunday, media projections showed, a sign of changing attitudes towards disabled people in a country where they have long been encouraged to stay in the shadow.

Yasuhiko Funago, a vice president of a company that provides elderly and patient care, has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurological disease in which patients gradually lose control of most of their muscles.