Survey shows 29% of people with disabilities have a “bad impression” of disability employment agencies in Japan

From Barrier Free Japan

July 15 2023

JAPAN – In early July, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the results of its investigation into the employment agency business for people with disabilities. 

Disabled employment agency services provide employment opportunities and jobs to persons with disabilities on behalf of their employers. General Partners Co., Ltd, which develops social businesses centered on employment support for people with disabilities, conducted a questionnaire survey on the employment agency business for people with disabilities.

While the employment agency business for persons with disabilities provides workplaces and jobs for persons with disabilities on behalf of employers, it has been criticised by some as being used to formally achieve the legally mandated employment rate.

When asked about their impression of businesses that employ people with disabilities on their behalf, about 29% said they had a bad impression, while 13% said they had a good impression, a difference of nearly twice as much. By disability type, about 19% of those with physical disabilities had a bad impression and 17% had a good impression, a difference of 2 percentage points. On the other hand, about 42% of the respondents with mental disabilities answered that they had a bad impression, while about 6% answered that they had a good impression, a difference of 36 points, indicating that the impression of employment agencies for people with disabilities is poor among the mentally disabled.