“High quality therapeutic care is necessary!”: Kochi Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities Concerned Over Facility Closure Plans

By Barrier Free Japan Extract from Kochi News

June 2 2025

Sukumo City, Kochi Pref – Due to deficits and declining population a facility for children with developmental disabilities plans to close; parents cry out, “High quality therapeutic care is necessary.”

There is a growing possibility that the Hata Hope House Daycare Center “Tsukushinbo” (60 registered children) in Sukumo City, which provides therapeutic care for children with developmental disabilities, will close at the end of this fiscal year, and parents in the Hata area are calling for reconsideration. According to the social welfare corporation “Tosa Hope House” (Nangoku City), which runs the facility, the reasons for the closure are the long-running deficit and the expected decrease in users. Parents have submitted 6,247 signatures to the corporation, citing the facility as “high quality therapeutic care and necessary for the community,” and calling for its continuation.