Disability News Japan

A woman in her 80s died after her neck became trapped under the handrail at the bottom of an escalator at a supermarket in Nishitokyo on Wednesday June 12th 2024. The incident follows an incident in March at JR Mito Station, northeast of Tokyo, in which a man in his 70s died from suffocation after his suit jacket became ensnared in an escalator handrail. Following the incident in Nishitokyo , it w...

A woman in her 80s died on Wednesday 12th June after her neck became trapped under the handrail at the bottom of an escalator at a supermarket in Tokyo, police said, in the latest accident of its kind in recent months. Security camera footage from the store in Nishitokyo, western Tokyo, shows the woman fell as she attempted to lift the walker she was using as she approached the bottom of the escal...

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced that it will allow disabled people to live with their children until they find a new home, in addition to its previous policy of "not expecting" disabled people to raise their children in group homes (GHs). The ministry has notified local governments nationwide in relation to the issue of disabled people undergoing sterilization procedure...

Japan's parliament enacted on Wednesday an amended law stipulating government assistance for young people who provide daily care for family members. The revised law to promote support for child-nurturing and youth development was approved by a majority vote of the ruling bloc at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber. Episode Notes: ‘Japan Amends Law to Give...

The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children. According to the police, at around 2:00 p.m. on the 27th of this month, a 69-year-old man w...

As Japan’s Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Forced Sterilization, ‘Junko Iizuka’ Speaks by Michael Gillan Peckitt

Don’t panic! North Korean overlords won’t be here soon! On a serious note, the alert was broadcast on NHK at around 22:47 on Monday 27th May 2024. Residents of Okinawa were advised to take shelter and the advisory was later lifted.

The 2024 World Para Athletics Championships which was held from May 17th to May 25th ended on Saturday. Barrier Free Japan went to the entrance of the stadium and found it to be accessible. Not all did find it accessible though, and a woman - she never gave her name - with her husband and daughter, a daughter who has cerebral palsy. Kyodo reported: “But another Kobe resident in her 50s said that t...

A woman in her 70s died at her home in Nagoya's Meito Ward, and her severely disabled son in his 40s, who lived with her, was found in a weakened state on the 14th of this month. The Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships is the first time the Para Athletics World Championships has been held in an East-Asian country. Barrier Free Japan had a look at the entrance to the stadium on May 21st. E...

Japan’s Supreme Court will take measures to accommodate disabled plaintiffs in five damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, including setting up ramps for wheelchair users, it was learned Thursday. It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale. The Supreme Court’s Grand Bench is scheduled to h...

The NHK TV drama ‘Percent’ premiered on Saturday 11th May on NHK G. The drama concerns Mirai (Miku, Marika Ito) who joins a TV station because she admires their drama production, and one day, her project is accepted for the first time. Her joy is short-lived, however, when her programming manager Fujitani (Satoshi Hashimoto) tells her to change the character of her main character to a person with...

The president of National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital apologized on May 2 after confirming that male employees sexually abused patients who have severe mental and physical disabilities. The hospital has not taken any administrative action against the five employees who are suspected of abuse. The employees abused patients by stimulating their pubic areas while they were sleeping...

“The work was far from professional agriculture, and most of the time was spent on breaks. If there was a harvest, I would do it, but there were days when I just watered the crop. In those cases, it only took about 30 minutes, and I had five or six hours of free time. Some people were on their cell phones or listening to music, and had a lot of free time. They told me that ‘coming to the farm is y...

Author of ‘No One’s Perfect’, Hirotada Ototake who ran as an independent in Tokyo’s 15th district in a by-election for a seat in House of Representatives on Sunday 28th April, came in fifth, about 30,000 votes behind the winner. In a post on ‘X’, formerly Twitter, Ototake stated on April 28th: “I was unsuccessful this time. I blame it all on my own lack of ability.” Episode notes: https://barrierf...

On April 27th Kobe City started to literally ‘fly the flag’ – put out flags in Kobe City – heralding the Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships to be held from May 17th – May 25th. An event titled ‘PARAgrressive Day’ was held in various locations in Kobe. Barrier Free Japan made some videos! As of the evening of April 28th 2024, Hirotada Ototake is set to lose the by-election for a House of...

Eight years ago, eight patients living in Osaka, Nara, etc. filed a lawsuit against the government after their long-term basic disability pension was discontinued, and all of them won, but they were subsequently rejected again by the government. Since the payment was made, they filed a second complaint. A second court case was held in which the same eight patients with type 1 diabetes, whose bodie...

“In Japan, the idea of a right to move is missing. It is not a problem only for people with disabilities. In rural areas, public transportation declines for business reasons and elderly people who cannot drive a car are inconvenienced,” said wheelchair user Hideto Kijima (45) after he was was forced to crawl up a set of stairs to the plane on the now defunct ‘Vanilla Air’ LCC in June 2017. Vanilla...

About 40 pct of Japanese medical institutions accepting hospitalizations of children ask family members to stay around the clock with them in certain circumstances, a government survey showed Friday 12th April. Following the initial concerns with ‘beni koji’ supplements, problems linked to 18 food items with functional claims have been reported in Japan other than those allegedly caused by Kobayas...

Author of ‘No One’s Perfect’, Hirotada Ototake said on Monday April 8th that he will run as an independent in the April 28 House of Representatives by-election in the Tokyo No. 15 constituency with the backing of Tomin First no Kai or ‘Tokyoites First Party’, a political organization closely linked to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike that he serves as deputy leader. Ototake said that as one who has con...

A disability news-related digest from the first few days of April 2024 in Japan, the beginning of the fiscal year. Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. says that water leaked “into ‘beni-koji’ production tank in past.” Japan’s Health Ministry conducted a poll that revealed 35% of people are prejudiced against ex-leprosy patients and 2024 brings changes regarding policies about health and for people with d...

There were 7,637,967 ambulance dispatches in Japan in 2023, the highest figure since comparable data became available in 1963, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a preliminary report. From the previous year, ambulance dispatches increased 5.6 pct. The agency also said a record 6,639,959 people, up 6.8 pct, were transported by ambulance. Episode Notes: ‘Japan Saw Record Ambulance Dispa...

Well, the tsunami warnings and advisories for Okinawa are lifted, of course we still have to be cautious and be aware of the possibility of further earthquakes. We breath a sigh of relief!

At around 8:58AM on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 there was an earthquake near Taiwan, the exact magnitude of which is still be determined, but it was between 7.4 and 7.7. The earthquake also registered in Japan and a tsunami warning was issued for Okinawa. It has since be reduced from a warning to an advisory, but caution is still advised.

The Japanese government has raised the legally required ratio of employees with disabilities in the private sector to 2.5 percent or higher starting on April 1. The labor and welfare ministry says the number of people with disabilities working at private firms has been on an upward trend. It estimates the figure to be more than 1.1 million as of June 2023. Episode Notes: ‘Japan raises ratio of emp...

An office that provides after-school day care services for children with disabilities has been subject to administrative sanctions for falsifying support plans for the children. According to Kumamoto City, ‘Banana Land’ had falsified dates and other information about the support plan, using the parent’s seal or stamp without permission. Episode notes: 'Kumamoto Day Care Service for Children with D...