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.
It has become clear that group homes for people with disabilities operated by Megumi Co., Ltd., headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, are overcharging food costs, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has also revealed that they are also fraudulently charging fees for welfare services for the disabled.
About 68,000 people aged 65 and over in Japan are estimated to die alone at home unnoticed annually, data collected by the National Police Agency indicated Tuesday.
Preliminary police figures showed 21,716 people nationwide died “lonely deaths” from January to March. Nearly 80 percent of that number, or 17,034 people, were aged 65 and over.
The police agency is expected to continue collecting the data as part of government efforts to tackle the issue, as the country is grappling with a rapidly greying society.
A unique genetic mutation was found in more than 70 pct of certain kidney cancer patients in Japan, a higher percentage than in other countries, an international team of researchers said Tuesday.
Its cause is unclear, and there is a high possibility that unknown carcinogenic factors are involved, said the team of researchers, including from the National Cancer Center Japan. The finding was published in the British science journal Nature on May 1.
How can we support the lives of elderly evacuees in disaster-affected areas? This is a challenge that Japan faces as a whole as its population ages.
Four months have passed since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in central Japan. In the Okunoto region that was hit directly by the quake, close to half of the residents are seniors. Elderly care facilities that have supported the welfare of local residents also sustained major damage.
The NHK TV 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 a disability in a special drama for “Diversity Month.” Although she is confused, she begins to interview, during which she meets Haru (Yui Wago), a high school student in a wheelchair. She feels a strange attraction towards Haru, but she rejects her, saying, “She doesn’t want her disability to be taken advantage of.”
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. on Friday withdrew its consolidated earnings forecasts for the business year to December 2024, citing difficulties in assessing the impact of a scandal involving its supplement products containing “beni koji” red fermented rice.
Japanese Environment Minister Shintaro Ito on Wednesday apologized for ministry staff switching off the microphone for two speakers from groups of Minamata disease sufferers abruptly at a meeting earlier this month.
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 or being assisted in the bath, and touching female patients’ breasts.
Japan is forecast to have 5,866,000 elderly dementia patients in 2050, up over 1.4 million from 2022, an estimate showed said on Wednesday 8th May.
In line with the COVID-19 downgrade in May 2023, Japan stopped counting all COVID-19 cases nationwide and began receiving COVID-19 case reports from about 5,000 designated medical institutions.
According to the health ministry, the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the week through April 21 declined for the 11th consecutive week.
In response to an increase in the number of consultations with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s office on developmental disabilities, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s support center will begin offering on-site consultations in the Tama region this month. This month, there are 17 days for those under 18 and 31 days for those 18 and older, and up to three groups per day can be consulted if reservations are made by phone or e-mail by 3:00 p.m. on the day before the on-site consultation is scheduled.
In response to the issue of a group home in Esashi Town in southern Hokkaido where a mentally disabled resident was suggested to undergo sterilization procedures, the Hokkaido government plans to strengthen support measures for people with disabilities who wish to get married and raise children.
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 or being assisted in the bath, and touching female patients’ breasts.
“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 your job.’”
“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 your job.'”
A ceremony to mark the 68th anniversary of the official recognition of Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by polluted industrial wastewater, was held on Wednesday in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. “Many people are still suffering from symptoms without relief,” Toshio Kawabata, 73, said in a speech. He became eligible for support provided under the special law for the Minamata disease relief program that was enacted in 2009.
A Japanese government panel is reviewing the system allowing food products to be labeled as having specific health benefits, in the wake of deaths and hospitalizations of users of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s dietary supplements containing “beni koji” red yeast rice.
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.
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.
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 Representatives seat. On April 23rd it was reported that someone was arrested for attacking a staffer working for Ototake.
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.
Three employees at an Osaka Prefecture care facility were arrested on April 25 on suspicion of repeatedly assaulting a resident with physical and intellectual disabilities who died this March.
The suspected abuse cases were found by child consultation centers across the country, with victims temporarily taken into protective custody in 19 of the total cases, while some of the victims, often called “second-generation followers,” sought support for their self-reliance or advance to the next level of education.
Tokyo police on Tuesday turned over to prosecutors a 41-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a staff member of Lower House by-election candidate Hirotada Ototake during a campaign speech.
The average premium rate at corporate health insurance societies in Japan is projected to hit a record high of 9.32 pct in fiscal 2024, according to the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen. Reflecting an increase in contributions to the medical care services for the elderly, the rate is expected to rise 0.05 percentage point from the previous year, which ended in March, the group of health insurance societies for employees of large corporations and their families said Tuesday.
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.
Sunday 21st of April marked twenty five days until The Para Athletics World Championships will be held in Kobe, Japan from May 17th – May 25th at the “Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium”.
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. On April 19th, the Osaka High Court ordered the government to pay pensions to all eight people, stating that it was illegal to deny them pensions.
The health ministry and the National Institute of Health Sciences said on the day that at least two compounds not normally found in the supplements were detected in an analysis of ingredient samples.
The draft plans seek to take infection prevention measures flexibly to lessen the impact on social and economic activities while calling on local governments and hospitals to sign accords to conduct pandemic response drills in ordinary times.
A Japanese man who lost his wife and daughter in a high-profile accident involving a runaway car driven by an elderly man five years ago says he hopes to “leverage (through dialogue) the victimizer’s experience to prevent traffic accidents.”
The bereaved man, Takuya Matsunaga, 37, is slated to hold a meeting shortly with the elderly man, Kozo Iizuka, 92, who is serving a prison term over the incident.
A Japanese district court Thursday ordered Resonac Holdings Corp. to pay 104 million yen in damages to people claiming to suffer from Niigata Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by mercury poisoning.
The judge rejected the claim against the government while ordering Resonac to pay 4 million yen to each of the 26 plaintiffs identified as disease victims. His ruling was read out by another judge Yusuke Suzuki.
“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”
“There may be cases where businesses cannot fully accommodate the desires of people with disabilities. In such instances, it’s worth considering mechanisms to facilitate dialogue and compromise between the parties involved.”
Last year, there were 15 cases of erroneous issuance through the system. Although the system operator took corrective measures, including fixing the program, the latest problem occurred. Some of those errors included some individuals’ disability welfare and health-related information being ‘linked’ to the wrong My Number account. The most recent case of such a mistake was reported by Aichi Prefecture in March 2024 when 95 new cases of incorrect linking were confirmed.
On April 5th, a Taiwanese national with a physical disability attempted to board a Taiwan-bound flight of low-cost carrier (LCC) Peach Aviation (headquartered in Osaka Prefecture) at Naha Airport in Okinawa, but was denied boarding because the battery in their electric wheelchair was not visible from the outside. They complained that this was a discriminatory response, as airlines differ in their response to the issue of visual confirmation of batteries.
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 Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. supplements.
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Friday that it will not give a recommendation on author Hirotada Ototake in the April 28 House of Representatives by-election in the Tokyo No. 15 constituency. The LDP, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, was considering whether to support Ototake as a recommended candidate after giving up fielding its own candidate for the constituency.
Health problems linked to 18 food items with functional claims have been reported in Japan other than those allegedly caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. supplements, the government said Friday.
About 40 percent 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. According to the results of the survey released by the Children and Families Agency, over 60 pct of surveyed institutions have family caregivers stay with hospitalized children in at least 75 pct of cases.
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 congenital tetra-amelia syndrome, he wants to “help people in need through the power of politics.”
A man has died following an accident involving his suit jacket getting caught in an escalator at a station in Ibaraki Prefecture, police said Wednesday 27th March.
The body, billed as the Japanese version of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be called the Japan Institute for Health Security and will integrate the current National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine.
Health issues among three of the deceased also included hypertension, hyperlipidemia and rheumatism, while the medical history of the remaining two are unknown, the ministry said at a joint press conference with the Japanese Society of Nephrology.
Author of ‘No One’s Perfect’, Hirotada Ototake said on Monday 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 congenital tetra-amelia syndrome, he wants to “help people in need through the power of politics.”
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 disabilities in Japan.
As spring and the next fiscal year arrives, some changes and new policies that may affect the elderly and people with disabilities in Japan will be rolled out. Public subsidies related to the coronavirus will change, limits on overtime for doctors will be imposed and backed by penalties. Fees paid to nursing care providers will go up 1.59% overall and the revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities will come into effect.
Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical says water accidentally leaked into a tank making “beni-koji” red yeast rice supplement and other products’ ingredients at its factory. But the company says it remains unknown whether the leak has anything to do with the kidney and other health problems among those who took supplements and other products with “beni-koji” ingredients.
“Knowledge about the issue of leprosy has not sufficiently spread in society,” the ministry said in a report summing up the survey. “Prejudice and discrimination (against former patients and their families) still exist, so the situation is serious.”
Barrier Free Japan