Medical Foundation Ends Disability Support Services in Miura City after Mayor’s Social Media Remarks

By Barrier Free Japan, extract from The Kanagawa Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan

January 7 2026

Miura City, Kanagawa Pref -It was learned on the 6th that the medical corporation foundation “Aoyama-kai” has decided to end two disability consultation support services under contract with the city at the end of March and has notified the city. The relationship of trust with the city was damaged by Mayor Kaichi Deguchi’s social media posts during last year’s mayoral election and the subsequent response, and the foundation has decided that continuing the services any longer is difficult. The city is considering countermeasures for April and beyond to avoid impacting users.

The two services being ended are the city’s Disability Core Consultation and Support Center and the city’s Disability Consultation and Support Service. The former has been operated by the foundation since 2022 in accordance with the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act. It plays a central role in providing consultation and support to persons with disabilities and their families, strengthening ties with consultation support providers to enhance consultation functions throughout the region. There is only one such center in the city.

The latter consultation and support service has been operated by three businesses, including the foundation, since 2014. The center provides consultations to people with disabilities and their families about issues they face in their daily lives, procedures for using welfare services, and the future, and provides support to ensure they receive the services they need.

According to the city, general consultations about issues and other problems in fiscal 2012 totaled 7,114, about 1.7 times the number from two years ago, and more than half of these were handled by Aoyama-kai, which has dedicated staff who are particularly knowledgeable about mental disorders.

News reports do not explicitly state what the controversial social media remarks made by Deguchi are; although it was widely reported that during the election period that Deguchi, an independent candidate who went on to defeat the LDP endorsed candidate, made some social media comments suggesting that employees of the city social welfare council were being subjected to power harassment. Some city council members later objected to these comments.