The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday 28th September that the number of influenza cases reported by around 3,000 designated medical institutions nationwide between Sept. 14 and 20 averaged 8.48 per institution. The figure was 1.53 times higher than the previous week, continuing an upward trend and approaching the “alert” level of 10 cases per institution.
According to the corporation, the male employee in his 50s, who worked at a support facility in the prefecture, embezzled a total of over 6.7 million yen from the deposited funds of 12 residents over roughly nine years, from February 2017 to March of this year. He operated by submitting forged receipts to make it appear as though he was making authorized purchases on behalf of the residents.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. is considering going private, with a consortium of Japanese and British investment funds having proposed acquiring the company and overhauling its management, strengthening its quality-control operations, since health problems linked to its supplements containing “beni koji” red yeast rice came to light in 2024.
Rion Co., a Japanese manufacturer of hearing aids and medical equipment, said Thursday it will provide free replacement hearing aids or repairs to people whose Rion devices were lost or damaged in Typhoon No. 25. The company said the assistance will be available regardless of when the hearing aids were purchased for people affected by the typhoon in areas covered by the Disaster Relief Act.
Among 9,641 students who were identified as having, or suspected of having, a developmental disability and who met one of the following criteria—(1) were enrolled in a special-needs class; (2) were enrolled in a regular class and used tsukyu resource-room instruction when necessary; or (3) were enrolled in a regular class and had requested or received consultations about support—1,278 were not attending school. Across the overall sample, 4,788 of 129,014 students were not attending school.
Three more people had been newly confirmed dead in the eastern Japan prefectures of Chiba and Kanagawa by Wednesday afternoon after heavy rain from Typhoon Dujuan, the 25th typhoon of the year, caused flooding and landslides. The death toll from the typhoon had thus risen to 10 as of 6:30 p.m., while four other people were missing. Members of the Self-Defense Forces, the prefectural police and local fire authorities continued their search operations.
The death toll from Typhoon Dujuan that hit eastern Japan earlier this week rose to nine Wednesday with the discovery of a woman confirmed dead in Kanagawa Prefecture and a man from a submerged vehicle in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, local authorities said. The search continues for four people who are still missing after the storm brought heavy rain and flooding to a wide area of the prefecture.
was learned on September 19 that the number of people waiting to use the “Daily Living Independence Support Program,” provided by social welfare councils across Japan for people with dementia, intellectual disabilities and other conditions, totaled 3,931 in fiscal 2025. This was about 1.4 times the 2,868 recorded in fiscal 2024. The main reason for the sharp increase is a shortage of social welfare council staff in the face of growing demand for the service. The government plans to expand the program to elderly people who have no relatives they can rely on, making it an urgent priority to strengthen the system.
Needy households in Japan live on an average food expenditure of less than 500 yen per person a day amid lingering inflation, according to a survey by Save the Children Japan, a nongovernmental organization. The survey, conducted in June, covered 8,736 parents nationwide who applied for food assistance from the organization. All of them provided valid responses online or by telephone.
According to the prefecture, the abuse occurred on the afternoon of Aug. 21. The resident had accidentally soiled himself and taken a temporary shower before completing his regular bath. He subsequently returned to the changing room twice more and attempted to remove his clothes. The staff member slapped him while trying to stop him.
Ahead of Respect for the Aged Day in Japan on Monday, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation warned of accidents involving nursing beds or wheelchairs and urged elderly people to review proper usage with their families and care workers. According to NITE, there were 43 nursing bed accidents affecting elderly people between 2016 and 2025, including 23 cases in which users’ bodies were caught in handrail and other gaps.
A 47-year-old man with a mental disability who worked at a farm in Kawasaki operated by a company involved in the so-called “disability employment business” has been recognized as suffering a work-related illness after developing a lung condition that he says was caused by his duties, it has been learned. The man was hired as an employee of a hospital in Kawasaki, but did not work at the hospital and instead performed agricultural work at the farm. It is unusual for a disabled worker employed through a disability employment business to have been recognized as suffering a work-related illness. The case highlights concerns over safety management and other issues at workplaces operated by such companies.
While the Tokyo Deaflympics in 2025 have helped boost public awareness of the sporting event, there remain issues that need to be tackled almost a year on. According to the survey, 24.3 pct of respondents aged 20 and over said that they knew of the Tokyo Deaflympics, before the competition was held last November. The recognition rate rose to 55.4 pct in 2026.
Japan’s welfare ministry on Friday began considering a plan to raise nursing care insurance premiums for high-income earners aged 65 or older from fiscal 2027. Under the latest proposal, the ministry plans to raise the highest rate, applied to people with annual incomes of 7.2 million yen or more. It also plans to divide lower-income brackets into smaller categories to curb sharp increases in premiums when people move into a higher rate bracket.
A 58-year-old mother accused of drowning her severely disabled 29-year-old daughter in a water-filled plastic storage container at their home in Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, has expressed regret over the incident. During a Chiba District Court hearing, A described her daughter as “my life, my everything” and said she wished she could “turn back time.” She also apologized to her daughter, saying, “B-chan, I’m sorry. Every day, I apologize to B-chan and pray for her soul… With everyone’s help, I’m living… B-chan, I’m truly sorry.”
Patients with rare diseases and under prolonged treatment will be exempt from a new Japanese system that imposes additional out-of-pocket payments for prescription drugs that are similar to over-the-counter medicines, the health ministry indicated Wednesday.
In an Osaka neighborhood long known as a home for day laborers, elderly residents with no family to rely on are arranging their funerals in advance — and making sure they are there to see one another off.
A former 31-year-old employee of a disability support facility in Kushiro, Hokkaido, was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, after being convicted of assaulting residents at the facility. The court said Abe’s actions were “vile and malicious” and had undermined trust in care workers, but noted that he had expressed an intention to apologize and was showing remorse.
According to the prefecture, the abuse occurred on the afternoon of Aug. 21. The resident had accidentally soiled himself and taken a temporary shower before completing his regular bath. He subsequently returned to the changing room twice more and attempted to remove his clothes. The staff member slapped him while trying to stop him.
A former 31-year-old employee of a disability support facility in Kushiro, Hokkaido, was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, after being convicted of assaulting residents at the facility. The court said Abe’s actions were “vile and malicious” and had undermined trust in care workers, but noted that he had expressed an intention to apologize and was showing remorse.
More than 30 percent of unmarried people aged 18 to 34 in Japan do not wish to have children, the highest percentage since comparable data became available in 2002, a government survey showed Friday, raising concerns that the country’s already low birthrate could decline further.
Japan’s Yui Kamiji won the U.S. Open women’s wheelchair tennis singles title on Saturday, securing her second straight U.S. Open title and marking her 13th Grand Slam singles title. In Saturday’s wheelchair women’s singles final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, top seed Kamiji beat second seed Diede de Groot of the Netherlands 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to claim the title.
A non-profit organization (NPO) based in Yamaguchi City has fraudulently received at least approximately 19.43 million yen in benefit payments from four municipalities, including Yamaguchi City, without employing a “service management supervisor” as required by the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act. The disciplinary action was decided on the 10th and takes effect on September 29th. The sanctioned entity is the NPO “felice,” which operated the employment support facility “Ayu no Sato” in the Yoshiki-Sahata district of Yamaguchi City.
More than 30 percent of unmarried people aged 18 to 34 in Japan do not wish to have children, the highest percentage since comparable data became available in 2002, a government survey showed Friday, raising concerns that the country’s already low birthrate could decline further.
The number of children who died from abuse in Japan in fiscal 2024 rose by 12 from the previous year to 77, an expert panel of the Children and Families Agency said Thursday. Excluding family suicide cases, the figure stood at 50, including 34 who died before reaching 1 year old. The number of children who died within 24 hours after birth came to 17.
Hyogo Prefecture will distribute leaflets to about 450,000 households in 12 municipalities from November to raise awareness of compensation available to victims of forced sterilization under Japan’s former Eugenic Protection Law.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has, for the first time, indicated that nursing-care insurance premiums can be fully exempted when elderly people, including those with dementia, go missing and their families continue to be responsible for paying the premiums. The ministry has notified local governments across Japan of this policy.
Osaka City has restricted the opening of new Type-B employment support facilities for people with disabilities, amid a rapid increase in their numbers and concerns over the quality of services. The move is aimed at preventing an excessive increase in facilities and ensuring adequate oversight and service quality.
Hana, a woman in her 30s who provides home-visit care to people with disabilities (@kgw206012793791), has another side to her work. She is also the owner of ‘Love Suketto’, a dispatch-style adult service exclusively for people with disabilities. After witnessing the deeply impersonal way sexual needs were addressed for some people with severe disabilities, care worker Hana became determined to challenge the stigma surrounding disability and sexuality. In 2021, after gaining firsthand experience in Japan’s adult-services industry, she launched a mobile service specifically for people with disabilities. Her story offers a rare look at the practical, emotional and social barriers faced by disabled people seeking intimacy, while also raising difficult questions about dignity, choice, consent and access to sexual services.
A victim of attempted murder in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, in 2002 and his wife are advocating for the removal of the statute of limitations on such crimes. The country abolished the statute of limitations for heinous crimes such as murder through law amendments in 2010. Still, the revisions do not cover attempted murder. “Would it have been better if I had died?” said Yoshitaka Yasuda, 61, who was left severely disabled in the 2002 case.
Hyogo Prefecture will distribute leaflets to about 450,000 households in 12 municipalities from November to raise awareness of compensation available to victims of forced sterilization under Japan’s former Eugenic Protection Law.
Japan has entered the influenza season, the health ministry said on Friday 28th August, marking the second earliest start since 1999, when the infectious disease control law went into force. In the week to Sunday, the number of flu patients reported by some 3,000 designated medical institutions across the country stood at 1.11 per institution. A reading of 1 or higher suggests that flu season has begun. The earliest start of flu season was recorded in 2009, about a week earlier than the ongoing season, excluding 2023, when the outbreak continued yearlong.
After witnessing the deeply impersonal way sexual needs were addressed for some people with severe disabilities, care worker Hana became determined to challenge the stigma surrounding disability and sexuality. In 2021, after gaining firsthand experience in Japan’s adult-services industry, she launched a mobile service specifically for people with disabilities. Her story offers a rare look at the practical, emotional and social barriers faced by disabled people seeking intimacy, while also raising difficult questions about dignity, choice, consent and access to sexual services.
In 2023, a 36-year-old woman was charged with causing injury after allegedly making her husband consume methanol, resulting in impaired vision. The Otsu District Court found her not guilty, saying that it could not rule out the possibility that her husband had consumed the methanol himself.
“It was irresponsible to leave and run away when he could have predicted the risk of collision with the following car,” Judge Yuko Ito of Tokyo District Court said. “The degree of accusation is high considering that he was a professional driver.” Ito added that the accused fault was not serious because he had turned the steering wheel after seeing the victim about 30 meters before the collision.
Workers’ compensation claims involving mental disorders surged by 46.9% from the previous fiscal year, reaching a total of 1,121 cases. Tokyo accounts for more than one-fifth of the nationwide total (4,958 cases).
In the aftermath of the Kumamoto Earthquake, a new support center is working to reach people with disabilities who have been left without assistance and are unable to speak up for themselves. With many still isolated in their homes and surrounded by the destruction, local and national support organizations are joining forces to identify those in need and deliver help where government support has yet to reach.
In the aftermath of the Kumamoto Earthquake, a new support center is working to reach people with disabilities who have been left without assistance and are unable to speak up for themselves. With many still isolated in their homes and surrounded by the destruction, local and national support organizations are joining forces to identify those in need and deliver help where government support has yet to reach.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on August 31st that it plans to introduce regulations, including mandatory notification requirements, for businesses that provide workplaces for people with disabilities to be employed by companies. The move comes after reports of inappropriate practices, including businesses effectively leaving the management of disabled employees entirely to outside operator.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on the 31st that it plans to introduce regulations, including mandatory notification requirements, for businesses that provide workplaces for people with disabilities to be employed by companies. The move comes after reports of inappropriate practices, including businesses effectively leaving the management of disabled employees entirely to outside operators.
Japan has entered the influenza season, the health ministry said on Friday 28th August, marking the second earliest start since 1999, when the infectious disease control law went into force.
In the week to Sunday, the number of flu patients reported by some 3,000 designated medical institutions across the country stood at 1.11 per institution. A reading of 1 or higher suggests that flu season has begun.
The earliest start of flu season was recorded in 2009, about a week earlier than the ongoing season, excluding 2023, when the outbreak continued yearlong.
The Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Masami Okino, has rejected an appeal by a visually impaired couple who sued Kanagawa Prefecture for damages, arguing that police officers who responded to an emergency call unlawfully entered their home without their consent. The decision was dated the 26th. The ruling by the Tokyo High Court, which had rejected the couple’s claim, is now final. The High Court found that the couple had consented to the officers entering their home and overturned a March 2024 ruling by the Yokohama District Court, which had ordered the prefecture to pay the couple ¥275,000 in damages.
The number of residents in facilities for people with disabilities across Hokkaido is on a declining trend, reaching a record low of 9,026 in fiscal year 2024 according to the latest statistics, an investigation by the prefecture and other sources revealed. However, the pace of this transition falls far short of government targets, prompting experts to point out that “the national government must outline a concrete roadmap.”
The Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Masami Okino, has rejected an appeal by a visually impaired couple who sued Kanagawa Prefecture for damages, arguing that police officers who responded to an emergency call unlawfully entered their home without their consent. The decision was dated the 26th. The ruling by the Tokyo High Court, which had rejected the couple’s claim, is now final. The High Court found that the couple had consented to the officers entering their home and overturned a March 2024 ruling by the Yokohama District Court, which had ordered the prefecture to pay the couple ¥275,000 in damages.
The victim sustained minor injuries to his face, but the facility initially treated the incident as an accident. During the subsequent investigation, it was also discovered that the same employee had assaulted another man in his 20s who attended the facility as a day user. The employee denied both allegations of assault. However, based on interviews with other staff members and other findings, the facility concluded that abuse had occurred and dismissed him as a disciplinary measure in July.
Evacuee life poses various challenges for those with disabilities, the elderly and other vulnerable people following last month’s massive earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto. Keisuke Wakiyama, a 49-year-old evacuee with hearing loss living at an evacuation center in the city of Kumamoto, said he initially went without food because he was unaware that disaster relief goods were being handed out.
According to the prefecture, at the company’s Reiwa Takenoko-no-Sato day-care service facility for people with disabilities in Anan City, it created false records stating that a full-time nurse was assigned to the facility even though no such nurse was actually present. The company did this between June 2024 and February 2026, fraudulently receiving approximately ¥690,000 in care benefit payments.
Evacuee life poses various challenges for those with disabilities, the elderly and other vulnerable people following last month’s massive earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto. Keisuke Wakiyama, a 49-year-old evacuee with hearing loss living at an evacuation center in the city of Kumamoto, said he initially went without food because he was unaware that disaster relief goods were being handed out.
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