” 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.”
“A staff member who worked at a facility for disabled people in Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture, has been arrested for allegedly beating a resident of the care home to death in March of this year.”
“ “We hope to make a success of the Paralympics and leave a legacy by making our society an easier place for anyone to live,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who chairs the conference, said at the opening of the meeting.”
” “I can’t go outside for fear of public eyes,” one such individual was quoted as saying. Consultations from parents also increased, the Tokyo-based nonprofit support group ‘Rakunokai Lila’ said.”
“The revised law on promoting the employment of people with disabilities gives the labor ministry the power to urge state organs and municipalities to take corrective action if it finds them to have reported false employment rates of disabled workers.”
“I was curious as to how a disabled person like myself – my feet are of different sizes (my left is wider and a little shorter than my right) – might give the correct shoes size to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Organizers. There wasn’t, initially at least, a way to communicate the relevant information on the form provided.”
“As a member of the team, Tanigaki will join discussions on improving barrier-free access ahead of the summer games.”
“”We’re nowhere near the number. There’s no denying that we’re behind schedule,” said a representative of a Japanese disability organization.”
“The man was not using paid services at the facility, such as meal provision, newspaper delivery and room cleaning, and doctors were not visiting him, so the facility workers did not routinely check on him.”
“Two women who underwent forced sterilization in Japan decades ago appealed Friday a district court ruling that denied a damages suit despite determining the country’s now-defunct eugenics protection law was unconstitutional.”
“After a court in Sendai reports that forced sterilization was unconstitutional but awarded no damages, NHK made a report,, here is an extract from it. Apologies for the sound quality at certain points in the video.”
“A Japanese court determined on Tuesday 28th May that the now-defunct eugenics protection law that mandated the government to stop people with intellectual disabilities from reproducing was unconstitutional, but it dismissed a damages suit filed by two women who underwent forced sterilization.”
“[F]ull recording was conducted in 3,479 of a total of 4,979 cases of questioning on suspects mainly with intellectual disabilities in fiscal 2018.”
“Japan’s minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games says he will work harder to provide information about the event.”
“Yumi Suzuki said, “If you have not experienced this kind of discrimination the disabled have received, than you cannot understand it.” ”
“In a statement from Panasonic, Juichi Hirasawa, senior vice president of ANA, said, “ANA’s partnership with Panasonic will make Narita Airport more welcoming and accessible, both of which are crucial to maintaining the airport’s status as a hub for international travel in the years to come. The robotic wheelchairs are just the latest element in ANA’s multi-faceted approach to improving hospitality in the air and on the ground.” “
“In 2015, about 5.2 million people in Japan had dementia, and this number is estimated to rise to about 7 million in 2025. For those 65 and older, 20 percent have dementia. The dementia prevalence rate increases with advancing age, so the morbidity rate is expected to continue to rise thereafter.”
“Japan’s National Personnel Authority announced on the 18th May that it will carry out a national government employee’s employment examination for persons with disabilities in 2019. Applications will be accepted in June in response to the problem of the employment of disabled people in central ministries and agencies identified in 2018 when 754 people passed in the first examination for disabled people, and the ratio for the number of applicants was about 12 times smaller.”
“The bill revising the Employment Promotion Act for Persons with Disabilities, which includes measures to prevent the government from interpreting the criteria arbitrarily when hiring people with disabilities in response to the central government ministries’s problem of employment of disabled people The ball was voted on and unanimously passed to the House of Councilors.”
“As of 2012, dementia patients accounted for about 4 percent of people between the ages of 70 to 74 and the rate of such patients aged 75 to 79 was around 14 percent, according to a government estimate.”
“A woman in her 30s was found floating on a bath tub while bathing at around 5 pm on the 11th May according to Edogawa Ward officials. The woman was taken to the hospital but was confirmed dead.”
“Hiromi Nakano, the president of the NPO, pointed out that “I want the country to understand the actual situation and review the penal code.” “
“While athletes will take center stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, volunteers — able-bodied and disabled — are expected to play a significant role in supporting spectators and others who will flock to the games.”
“A total of 293 cases, or 7.3 percent, resulted in deaths, while 427 cases, or 10.6 percent, left patients with a high chance of permanent disabilities.0
“Three years ago, 19 people were killed and 27 people were seriously injured at a the facility for disabled people in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. A former staff member of this facility is charged with the crime and a journalist sought to have a dialogue with him.”
“The decision comes after the ministry’s survey following the deadly torrential rains in western Japan and the earthquake that caused a complete blackout in Hokkaido last year found that more than 100 of the hospitals do not meet either of the criteria.”
