“Standards far removed from the real life of people with disabilities”: Japan’s Lawyers Call for Review of Disability Certification Standards

From bengo4.com

July 11 2025

TOKYO – On July 10, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) issued a statement from its president calling for a review of disability certification standards and the creation of a fair system in response to the problem of increasing non-payment of disability pensions. The measure was taken in response to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showing that the proportion of non-eligible mental disorders in fiscal 2024 was about twice that of the previous year, and the statement pointed out that “inappropriate judgments were suspected.”

According to a survey report published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s Pension Bureau on June 11, the proportion of non-eligible new claims in fiscal 2024 was 13.0%, the highest level ever. For mental disorders, the figure increased from 6.4% in fiscal 2023 to 12.1% in fiscal 2024, about double, and the proportion of people certified below the mental disorders guideline also increased from 44.7% to 75.3%.

● “Disability certification standards based on a medical model and far removed from the actual living conditions of people with disabilities”

In a statement, the JFBA pointed out that “one of the fundamental factors behind the occurrence of what is suspected to be arbitrary non-payment of benefits this time is the disability certification standards based on a medical model and far removed from the actual living conditions of people with disabilities.” They called for “immediate improvement to the current situation in which the rights of those who are entitled to benefits are unfairly violated.”

The JFBA strongly urges the government to “establish an expert review committee within the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to consider various issues such as disability certification standards,” and to “establish a fair system in which transparency in disability pension judgments is ensured, payment or non-payment is not left to arbitrary judgment, and the right to receive disability pensions is not unfairly violated.”