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.
The Saitama Prefectural Government has announced that, in fiscal 2025, it received a total of 284 reports and notifications concerning abuse of people with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals in the prefecture, an increase of nine from the previous fiscal year. Of these, nine cases, two more than the previous year, were officially determined to constitute abuse. According to the announcement on the 21st, six of the nine cases involved physical abuse, three involved psychological abuse, and one involved neglect or abandonment.
A Nippon Foundation survey found on August 23rd that 76.5% of people diagnosed with developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or with mental illnesses, said they had never disclosed their diagnosis during their job search. The main reason was concern that doing so would put them at a disadvantage, such as being rejected for a job. The survey targeted people who did not have a disability certificate and had sought employment through standard recruitment channels.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that 41,174 people were sent to hospitals by ambulance for heatstroke nationwide in July, as many locations recorded temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius or higher. Among those taken to hospitals, 24,769 were aged 65 or older, accounting for more than 60 pct of the total. Seventy-nine people were confirmed dead.
The Miyagi Labour Bureau, Sendai city government and the Miyagi branch of the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers will jointly call on employers and economic organizations to strengthen efforts to promote and maintain employment of people with disabilities, prefectural officials said Monday. The initiative comes amid scrutiny of the provision of disability welfare services in Sendai.
A Nippon Foundation survey found on the 23rd that 76.5% of people diagnosed with developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or with mental illnesses, said they had never disclosed their diagnosis during their job search. The main reason was concern that doing so would put them at a disadvantage, such as being rejected for a job. The survey targeted people who did not have a disability certificate and had sought employment through standard recruitment channels.
Japan’s Princess Aiko on Friday interacted with people at a medical and welfare facility in the city of Maibara in the western prefecture of Shiga. At the facility, the princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, observed a rehabilitation session for children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy.
Twenty-four days after the Kumamoto Earthquake, the number of welfare facilities reported to have suffered damage had risen to 1,854, according to figures reported as of August 19. The damage included cracked walls, power outages and disruptions to water supplies.
Japan’s Princess Aiko on Friday interacted with people at a medical and welfare facility in the city of Maibara in the western prefecture of Shiga. At the facility, the princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, observed a rehabilitation session for children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy.
Late on the night of October 25, 2024, a 20-year-old university student was assaulted by a group of people in a park in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, and lost his life. For approximately two hours, he was punched and kicked more than 100 times. He was stripped naked, and his hair was even set on fire. Most of the six men and women involved in the attack were teenagers. Moreover, many of them did not even know the victim. The alleged ringleader, defendant Yuto Kawaguchi, was 18 at the time of the crime. In court, testimony focused on his upbringing. A medical expert who assessed him testified that he had “an IQ of 58, indicating a mild intellectual disability, and mild hearing impairment.”
It was learned on the 19th that, in February this year in Kyoto City, a male home-care worker who was assisting a man with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and who lived alone left the man’s home for about two and a half hours in order to play pachinko. In April, the city officially recognized the incident as abuse under the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities. Calling it “an issue involving the man’s life and safety,” the city also ordered the home-care service provider employing the caregiver to take measures to prevent a recurrence and make other improvements.
It was learned on the 19th that, in February this year in Kyoto City, a male home-care worker who was assisting a man with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and who lived alone left the man’s home for about two and a half hours in order to play pachinko. In April, the city officially recognized the incident as abuse under the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities. Calling it “an issue involving the man’s life and safety,” the city also ordered the home-care service provider employing the caregiver to take measures to prevent a recurrence and make other improvements.
The “18-Year-Old Wall” refers to a phenomenon where the governing legislation for receiving welfare services shifts at age 18 from the Child Welfare Act to the Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act. Because of this legal switch, individuals are often unable to access the same services they received prior to turning 18, creating significant disruption in daily life for both the individual and their family.
Regarding the wooden reconstruction of the Nagoya Castle keep, Nagoya City is aiming to install a vertical lifting device, while disability organizations are calling for the installation of a large elevator. The two sides remain at odds, but Nagoya City says it hopes to present an overall plan for accessibility, including the lifting equipment, by February 2027.
Regarding the wooden reconstruction of the Nagoya Castle keep, Nagoya City is aiming to install a vertical lifting device, while disability organizations are calling for the installation of a large elevator. The two sides remain at odds, but Nagoya City says it hopes to present an overall plan for accessibility, including the lifting equipment, by February 2027.
Princess Kako said:
“First, I would like to express my deep condolences to those who lost their lives in the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake and the August 2026 Chiba Torrential Rain, and offer my heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by these disasters.”
According to the complaint, Runa (a pseudonym), who was 16 at the time, was arrested in June last year on suspicion of assaulting a user at a disability welfare facility in Hyogo Prefecture. She was held in custody for 18 days. Runa was released and subsequently not prosecuted. However, her family says that she developed PTSD and an eating disorder due to the stress caused by the interrogation, during which investigators allegedly pressured her to confess, saying things such as, “Do you want to go to a juvenile detention center?” About five months later, she died in a state of severe malnutrition.
A complaint has been accepted against police officers and a prosecutor in a case in which the bereaved family alleges that the death of a 16-year-old girl was caused by an unlawful arrest and interrogation. According to the complaint, Runa (a pseudonym), who was 16 at the time, was arrested in June last year on suspicion of assaulting a user at a disability welfare facility in Hyogo Prefecture. She was held in custody for 18 days. Runa was released and subsequently not prosecuted. However, her family says that she developed PTSD and an eating disorder due to the stress caused by the interrogation, during which investigators allegedly pressured her to confess, saying things such as, “Do you want to go to a juvenile detention center?” About five months later, she died in a state of severe malnutrition.
The defendant, 29-year-old Kai Takahashi, a former employee of the Kushiro disability support facility Tsurugaoka Gakuen, is accused of assaulting four residents by kicking them around the waist and face and slapping them in the face, among other acts, up until March 2026. One of the victims was a 58-year-old male resident at the time.
On the 12th, the Matsuyama Labour Standards Inspection Office referred a 63-year-old woman, the de facto representative of Godo Kaisha Slow, a company operating a disability welfare service facility in Nishi-Ishii, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, to the Matsuyama District Public Prosecutors Office. The company and the woman are suspected of violating Japan’s Minimum Wage Act by failing to pay an employee’s wages.
According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.
According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.
As a shortage of helpers supporting the daily lives of people with disabilities becomes increasingly severe, an emergency public meeting was held in Oita on August 11th, where supporters and others voiced their concerns over the difficult situation. According to the organizers, since the revision of long-term care service fees in 2024, service providers have been withdrawing from the sector and suspending services one after another. The groups said they plan to call on the national government to improve working conditions and take other measures to address the problem.
Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.
Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.
Kobe City confirmed three cases of abuse of people with disabilities at psychiatric hospitals in fiscal year 2025, with the hospitals required to submit improvement plans, the city said.
The Sendai city government said on Friday 7th August that it has suspended the designation of a disability welfare service provider for three months after finding that the operator improperly obtained its designation and received benefits despite failing to meet staffing requirements.
Barrier Free Japan