Chiba man with cerebral palsy loses lawsuit over discontinuation of disability welfare benefits after age 65

From The Tokyo Shimbun

May 18 2021

CHIBA – Masakatsu Amami (71), a patient with cerebral palsy in Chiba City, said that it was unreasonable that the disability welfare benefits based on the Comprehensive Support Law for Persons with Disabilities were discontinued at the age of 65 and that the transition to long-term care insurance caused self-pay. On the 18th, the Chiba District Court dismissed the claim, saying that the city’s disposition was legal, in a proceeding that asked the city to cancel the decision. The plaintiffs will appeal the decision.

The issue concerned the operation of a provision that gives priority to nursing care insurance when similar services are available to support the disabled.

Giving the reasons for the decision, Chief Judge Toshio Uchino pointed out, “Allowing people to arbitrarily choose between the benefits of the Support Law and long-term care insurance is contrary to the basic concept of social security, which gives priority to social insurance over publicly funded systems.