Resident at support facility for people with disabilities in Gunma Prefecture dies, staff member arrested on suspicion of injury

By Barrier Free Japan with extracts from NHK

October 6 2022

GUNMA – A part-time staff member at a support facility for people with disabilities in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture has been arrested on suspicion of injury after he pushed a man who was staying at the facility and injured him.

The man later died, and the police are investigating the details. The part-timer denies the charges.

According to the police, on September 19th, firefighters were informed that Nyoki Nakayama, 59, a resident of the Group Home ‘Fluffy Shibukawa’, a support facility for people with disabilities in Shibukawa City, was unconscious. 

Mr Nakayama was taken to hospital, but died on October 1st.

The police examined the body and found that the cause of death was compression of the brain due to haemorrhage. The police interviewed the staff at the facility and arrested a part-time employee of the facility on the evening of October 4^th.

The suspect was arrested, and is suspected of having injured Mr. Nakayama by pushing him with both hands on the night of the 18th of September and causing him to fall.

In response to the police investigation, he denied the charges by stating, “I pushed the victim away from the place because I was trying to remove the equipment of the facility, but I didn’t push him.” examines the situation at that time.

In an interview with NHK, the operating company of the support facility for persons with disabilities commented, “Currently, we are investigating and we do not know the details. We will consider future measures after confirming the facts.”