“A total of 68 percent said they are either “very excited” or “excited” about the Tokyo Paralympics.However, 38 percent of respondents said the event is unlikely to increase the understanding of people with disabilities…”
“”When the games end, we’ll continue,” Toshio Yamada, the Japanese Para-Sports Association executive director, said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.”
“Investigators said the suspect admitted to stabbing the public servant but has made nonsensical remarks in regard to a motive. The police will judge whether he can be held criminally responsible.”
“According to police, the suspect, who works at a university, slashed his son in the neck with a knife at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, while they were in a car parked on a vacant plot of land in Wakabayashi Ward.”
“Funago, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, cannot speak and communicates instead by having an assistant track his eye movements along a “communication board” that displays letters.”
“Both the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies will start at 8 p.m., while the first gold medal will be awarded on Aug. 26 in the women’s cycling individual pursuit.”
“Shigeo Yoshihara, former Japanese Paralympian with visual impairment, said after the test competition, “I didn’t know which bus to ride, so I think it would be safer if there is a volunteer to guide.” ”
From Jiji Press August 11th 2019 TOKYO – New Japanese political group Reiwa Shinsengumi is ready to cooperate with otherContinue Reading
“Under the current legislation, people with severe disabilities are eligible for publicly funded assistance for daily activities such as bathing and eating. They are only required to cover up to 10 percent of the costs themselves.”
“In a move to limit athletes’ exposure to severe heat, the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games marathon will start at 6:30 a.m., half an hour earlier than originally planned, sources revealed Monday.”
“As the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approaches, we’re seeing more diversity in the media. Opportunities are blossoming in the entertainment industry for people with disabilities.”
“A recently elected pair of Japanese lawmakers with severe physical disabilities entered parliament for the first time on Thursday to attend an extraordinary session.”
“Since there was no ramp at the main entrance, recently elected Yasuhiko Funago of Reiwa Shinsengumi, who has ALS had to enter via the rear entrance.”
“Kanagawa prefectural police said Thursday they have arrested a 29-year-old man of no fixed occupation on suspicion of kidnapping a 15-year-old intellectually disabled girl from a shopping mall.”
“The 1964 Paralympics were officially known as the “International Games for the Physically Handicapped,” but the Tokyo event marked the first time that the term “paralympics” came into wide, albeit then unofficial, use. It is now considered by the International Paralympic Committee to have been the second Paralympics after the 1960 Rome Games, which were also called the Paraplegic Olympics.”
“Eiko Kimura, 54, of the political group Reiwa Shinsengumi, also voiced concern over the current welfare service system for people with disabilities, as commuting and other economic activities by them are not covered through public aid under the current system.”
From Kyodo & Jiji via The Japan Times July 28th 2019 The Upper House on Sunday started renovation work forContinue Reading
“ “The wheelchair Mr Funago is using seems larger and heavier than the standard wheelchair politicians have used before,” a Diet spokeswoman told AFP.
”So we’ll ask him what is necessary and the parliamentary committee for rules and administration will discuss the matter.” ’’
“A controversial book about the 2016 massacre at a care home in Kanagawa Prefecture for people with mental disabilities can be found at public libraries in 25 of the country’s 47 prefectures, a Jiji Press survey has found.”
“ ”Until this point, no one had thought that people with severe physical disabilities would become politicians.” ”
By Barrier Free Japan July 26th 2019 Friday 26th July 2019 will mark the third anniversary of the killing andContinue Reading
” “I won’t claim that I’m unable to take criminal responsibility,” said the accused, who was indicted on charges including killing 19 residents of Tsukui Yamayuri En, in Sagamihara, in an interview with Jiji Press.”
Written with extracts from From NHK Jiji Press & The Mainichi July 22nd 2019 SAPPORO, Hokkaido – A 24-year-old ‘visiting’Continue Reading
“The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that a further five sports will be broadcast live from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, bringing the total number to a record 21 disciplines from 19 sports.”
“The government will give compensation to 22 people who underwent forced sterilization under a now-defunct eugenics law but do not have direct records of the surgery, in its first such approval, a committee said Monday.”
” The historic election of Yasuhiko Funago, 61, a new candidate for the Reiwa Shinsengumi political group who is largely paralyzed due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was assured at the count for the July 21 House of Councillors election.”
“In the Gunma E-Sports Festival on Aug. 31, four five-member teams will battle it out in multiplayer online game “League of Legends,” vying for a grand prize of 1 million yen ($9,300), according to esports association of Gunma Prefecture, which is organizing the event.”
“The suspect at the center of Japan’s worst mass killing in almost 20 years told police that his work was plagiarized and that he used gasoline to torch the renowned Kyoto Animation studio, killing 33 people.”
“The euthanasia system is not compulsory for the whole nation, but only for people who want to use it. It is not something that is uniformly imposed on the whole nation like the consumption tax increase. People who do not want to use should ignore it and not use it.”
“Eiko Kimura, who has cerebral palsy, did not even know how to buy train tickets when she chose to move out of a facility for the disabled and live in a Tokyo suburb at 19. She kept her head down to avoid rude stares from strangers then.”
“”In 2035, one out of three people in Japan will be elderly, aged 65 or older. Barrier-free is an important perspective for urban development in Tokyo, where the number of elderly will increase,” Koike said in an interview with Jiji Press.”
“Two men were sentenced Tuesday to 12 months in prison each, suspended for three years, for professional negligence resulting in death, after a mentally disabled man died from heatstroke after being left in a welfare facility service vehicle for around six hours in 2017.”
“OSAKA — More than 80% of municipalities in three western Japan prefectures that saw high casualties in last summer’s torrential rain disaster have since failed to update or review the way they implement assisted evacuation lists for residents that would have difficulty fleeing on their own, such as the elderly or people with disabilities, a Mainichi Shimbun survey has shown.”
“Hotel operators in Tokyo have been slow to respond to the calls from the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments to step up the introduction of barrier-free guest rooms ahead of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in the Japanese capital, leading to complaints by some wheelchair users that there are not enough rooms they can use. Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, central Tokyo, is one exception.”
“A remark made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a Group of 20 dinner that the installation of elevators at Osaka Castle was a “big mistake” has been criticized as lacking consideration for disabled people and especially inappropriate ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics next year.”
“A man temporarily arrested on suspicion of confining his eldest son, who has severe intellectual disabilities, has expressed mixed feelings about the incident in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun.”
“A total of 66.3 percent of people with illnesses or disabilities in Japan said they have difficulties balancing work and treatment or working with their handicaps, a government report showed Tuesday, indicating a lack of workplace support for them.”
“An increasing number of prefectural governments and ordinance-designated major cities in Japan are expanding the scope of disabled people qualified to take exams for regular jobs at the public-sector offices to include those with mental or intellectual disabilities. Previously, the job exams had been available to people with physical disabilities.”
“With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games fast approaching, Japanese broadcaster NHK has revealed a “four pledge” goal to provide their audience with high-quality services that would help shape the future of the public media of 2020 and beyond.”
“Taking a cue from soaring world prices for vanilla, a farm in Okinawa has started cultivating the valuable spice in an initiative aimed at boosting employment of disabled and low-income workers in Japan’s southernmost prefecture.”
“All Nippon Airways Co. will start accepting online ticket reservations from people with disabilities, dropping the requirement that they notify the airline of their assistance needs by phone or email, people close to the matter said.”
“Although Osaka Castle was mostly destroyed by fire due to chaos caused by the Meiji Restoration 150 years ago, the tenshukaku (the tallest tower) was faithfully restored about 90 years ago to how it was in the 16th century,” Abe said at the dinner he hosted Friday as chairman of the G-20 summit in Osaka. “But they made only one big mistake — they went so far as to install elevators.”
“Japan’s health ministry plans to create a panel on noninvasive prenatal testing as early as this summer, informed sources said Saturday. It will be the first time in 20 years for the ministry to launch a committee for discussing prenatal testing-related measures.”
“To deepen an understanding about the “lack of understanding” that people with autism and other intellectual disabilities experience in their daily lives, the NPO ‘Nuturing Society Connecting Hands in Sanda City’, an NPO that holds workshops in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture (amongst other places), for disabled people and their families has been formed. “
“Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced on the June 18th that there were a total of 102,318 disabled people who got a job through jobseekers magazine ‘Hello Work’ in the whole country in 2018, a record high This is an increase of 4.6% from the previous year.”
“The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has announced that it will expand the scale of clinical research on the utilization of PGT-A, or preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies, for fertility treatment.”
By Barrier Free Japan June 21st 2019 33-year-old arrested over attack on Osaka Prefecture policeman In response to questioning, IimoriContinue Reading
“In response to the problem of the employment of disabled people by the central ministries and agencies, the revised Employment Promotion Act for Disabled Persons, including measures to prevent recurrence, passed unanimously at the General Assembly of the House of Councilors on June 7th. There were 15 incidental resolutions made by the upper house. Enforcement begins on April 1st, 2020 with some exceptions.”
“According to the prefectural police, Iimori has received psychosomatic treatment and was issued a mental disorder certificate. The police will examine whether Iimori can be held criminally responsible.”
