Disability groups protest against Osaka Metropolis plan, concerned about welfare service disparity

By Barrier Free Japan, extracts from Jiji

October 7 2020

OSAKA – On October 7th, groups of people with disabilities in the city gathered in front of the city hall to hold an opposition rally about the “Osaka Metropolis Plan” to abolish Osaka City and reorganize it into four special wards. Approximately 200 people with disabilities in wheelchairs handed out fliers, saying that there was a risk of disparity in the welfare services received by the special wards, and protested that “declining services are directly linked to life.”

In Osaka City, there are many disabled people who live alone with the help of helpers using the public service “Severe Home-visit Care”. When the city plan is realized, it is left to the discretion of the special wards to what extent the helper use is permitted. In the system plan of the city plan, there is only a statement that “the necessity and validity will be thoroughly examined and efforts will be made to improve” for general administrative services, and the details have not been decided.

Koji Onoe (60), the representative director of the NPO “Chubu” (Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Tokyo), which supports the lives of about 30 people with severe disabilities, said, “The dismantling of about 2.7 million people in Osaka will eliminate economies of scale. Especially there is a risk of disparity in services depending on the financial strength of the ward. ”

Kenji Fuchigami (52), the representative of the independent living center “Movement” (Tennoji-ku, Tennoji-ku, Tokyo), which supports about 30 people, said, “If the welfare service is devalued, it will directly lead to the lives of people with disabilities who are living on the edge.” Appealed.