38 cases of suspected abuse at facility for people with disabilities in Kanagawa Prefecture’s Aina Yamayuri En facility: Abuse has been the norm for 10 years

From The Yomiuri Shimbun

October 11 2024

KANAGAWA – On October 10th, a third-party committee that had been investigating a series of cases of abuse by staff at the Aina Yamayuri En, a prefectural support facility for people with disabilities in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, released an interim report. A total of 38 cases suspected to be abuse were confirmed going back about 10 years, with 11 users abused and nine staff members abusing them, and the committee pointed out that “abuse had become the norm.”

According to the report, the abuse continued from around 2014 until last year, and included the following acts: hitting users on the head and ankles with a mallet in what was called “Hammer Chance”; forcing users to drink large amounts of fluids in what was called the “Sakazuki Challenge”; and making users run down the hallways and do squats under the pretext of dieting and exercise.

In addition, staff piled sweets into bowls and said things like “We’re going to feed you now,” or yelled abuse at users, calling them “go die” and “you’re useless.” Other staff members sometimes looked on with a laugh.

Even when suspected abuse was reported, senior staff members did not check the facts, and only transferred the relevant staff members, threatening problematic staff with disciplinary action. The report pointed out that “a culture of concealment was rampant throughout the organization.”

Last November, a male staff member assaulted a resident in his 20s at the facility, causing serious injuries including a broken right leg. A third-party committee made up of seven lawyers and others was commissioned by the social welfare corporation that runs the facility to conduct interviews with staff members between January and September.