Disability News Japan

Not ‘disability news’ exactly, but a powerful earthquake registering Shindo 7, the highest on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, rocked Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on Monday 1st January 2024.  The temblor struck around 4:10PM, registering 7.6M.   According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, a total of 30 people were killed and 48 people in six prefectures were injured in the qu...

As If The New Year Should Tremble To Begin… by Michael Gillan Peckitt

After more than 400 years, the iconic Nagoya Castle is under siege, this time by those wanting to make it more accessible to wheelchair-users and those who are determined to keep it as original as possible. At a town hall meeting on the planned reconstruction of the castle here on June 3, a man scolded a wheelchair-user. “Don’t confuse equality with your selfishness,” the man said. “How dare you b...

A 27-year-old employee of a support facility for people with disabilities in Miyazaki City was arrested on the night of December 22nd on suspicion of assault after allegedly punching a resident in his 50s this month. Miyazaki City has revealed that this employee has been confirmed to have committed abusive behavior towards a total of five residents, and has decided to issue administrative guidance...

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced on December 20th that the number of cases of abuse against people with disabilities confirmed by prefectures and municipalities in fiscal 2022 was 3,079, an increase of 386 from the previous year, setting a new record high. The incident appears to have come to light partly because the government is requiring businesses to take measures to pre...

On December 18th, the Nagoya City Citizen Debate Committee held its fourth meeting on the issue of discriminatory comments made against disabled people during a citizens’ debate on the Nagoya Castle wooden restoration project. The city presented a draft of the interim report, which it aims to publish by the end of the year, and the committee members expressed their opinions. The meeting was closed...

On 15th December, the Osaka Prefectural Police arrested the manager (32) of a welfare facility for the disabled in Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture, on suspicion of assaulting a 48-year-old woman by dragging her and knocking her to the floor. He denies the charge, saying he dragged the woman but made a slight mistake in the part where he knocked her to the floor. The police will investigate the poss...

Mark was a historian, whose specialism was disability policy and related social movements in Japanese and global contexts. He studied Japanese Studies at University of Pennsylvania, and at the time of his death on December 16th 2022 he was Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Tokyo. Before he died, Mark was working on a new project; a charity that would help organisations such as governments &...

In preparation for the next fiscal year's revision of compensation for welfare services for persons with disabilities, Kyosaren, a Tokyo-based national organization that supports persons with disabilities, submitted a petition signed by 1,411 organizations to Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Keizo Takemi on December 8th, requesting a positive revision of basic compensation in light of the sev...

Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the parents of a boy from Kawasaki City against a lawsuit in which they sought damages from Kanagawa Prefecture and the city on the grounds that it was illegal for the boy to be designated to a special-needs school on the grounds of severe disability. Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/12/11/kawasaki-parents-of-severely-disabled-boy-los...

The Maebashi District Court has ordered a man who made a post on an anonymous bulletin board on the Internet to pay 960,000 Yen in damages to a man with severe disabilities. Kazuaki Hyodo, a man with severe disabilities from Maebashi City, was seeking approximately 1.95 million yen in damages from the man who made the post, in Tokyo, for suffering mental pain after being defamed on an anonymous bu...

To coincide with Disabled Persons Week, which started on the 3rd December 2023, the "Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities 110 Hotline'' is being held, where lawyers provide free consultations for people with disabilities and their families. Every year, the three bar associations in Tokyo hold consultation sessions during Disability Week, where lawyers provide free consultations to people with...

Creating a fun haven for children with disabilities hoping to see wildlife is a global effort that has lasted over a quarter century. And it is spreading widely among Japanese zoos, albeit normally as a one-day event as they embrace the twilight by opening their gates at night or reserving entire days exclusively for those with special needs and their families. Episode Notes: Dreamnight program en...

At a daily-life care facility for people with severe intellectual disabilities in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, a staff member was found to have posted a photo of a user defecating on a LINE group used for business communication. The pictures of users’ faces had been doctored in a manner that could be interpreted as teasing. The city’s Disability Welfare Division is investigating the possibili...

Three men with intellectual disabilities filed a lawsuit asking a ranch owner’s family and the city to pay a total of approximately 94 million yen in damages, alleging that they were abused at the ranch where they lived and worked for many years (in Eniwa City, Hokkaido). The first hearing was held on November 28th at the Sapporo District Court (presiding judge Yuji Fuse). The defendants, the mana...

In response to the issue of Megumi, a nationwide operator of group homes (GH) for people with disabilities, having been found to have misappropriated food expenses from people with disabilities at 139 GH facilities in Aichi Prefecture, including those operated by Megumi, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Keizo Takemi announced at a post-cabinet meeting on November 24th that he would take measu...

On November 22nd, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced through a press release that it is offering 200 tickers for spectators who have visual impairments for free for the Paris Paralympic Qualifier IBSA Judo Grand Prix which is to be held on Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th December 2023 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. “IBSA Judo Grand Prix Tokyo 2023", the qualifying round for the 2024 Pari...

On November 20th, a defense team supporting former members of the religious group Jehovah’s Witnesses held a press conference and stated that many second-generation parents who were raised by believer parents have experienced abuse from their parents.  Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/11/20/many-second-generation-jehovahs-witnesses-in-japan-experienced-abuse-by-their-parents-lawyer...

On Tuesday 21st November 2023 North Korea was suspected of attempting to launch a spy satellite or a ballistic missile. Here are the sounds of NHK reporting it at around 22:55.

Group homes for people with disabilities operated by a company in Minato Ward, Tokyo, are being audited by the national and local governments for allegedly overcharging food expenses. A support group for the disabled has set up a consultation service, citing widespread concern among users and their families. Megumi, which is headquartered in Minato Ward, Tokyo and operates group homes for the disa...

A Kyoto Prefectural Police Officer, who was arrested for stealing cash from the scene of an investigation, told police that he had visited other homes of elderly people with dementia under the guise of crime prevention guidance and stole cash, according to interviews with investigators. The police are investigating whether there are any additional crimes, but in an interview with an investigator,...

Prime Minister Kishida has instructed his cabinet ministers to quickly study the need to prevent “care leavers” from quitting their jobs for nursing care or nursing reasons, with the aim of submitting the necessary amendments to the law in next year’s ordinary Diet session. In an effort to strengthen measures against dementia, the government has established the “Council for Realization of a ‘Happy...

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced in a press release on November 7th that it “will carry out various initiatives in conjunction with ‘Disabled Persons Week’ from December 3rd to 9th in order to give Tokyo residents an opportunity to learn about and think about disabilities and people with disabilities.” According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government website ‘Heart-to-Heart Handshake’, a...

Incidents with people using wheelchairs, especially elderly people using wheelchairs, seem to be reported more often in Japan. Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/11/07/kansai-railway-line-suspended-due-to-collision-with-wheelchair-user/ https://barrierfreejapan.com/2018/09/17/wheelchair-using-man-killed-at-kobe-railway-crossing/

According to the Kanagawa Prefectural Disability Services Division, the employee said that he was on his way to take another resident for a medical checkup when the resident spoke to him repeatedly, and that he assaulted the resident because he was in a hurry and his medical checkup time was approaching. Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/11/05/employee-at-kanagawa-care-facility-for-...