“The users are the victims”: After ‘Kizuna Holdings’ Scandal, 1,280 Disabled Service Users to Lose Jobs

By Barrier Free Japan

April 18 2026

OSAKA- News NTV reported on April 16th that following four Osaka branches of an Employment Support Agency ran by ‘Kizuna Holdings’ had their license and designation revoked, 1,280 service users with disabilities will lose their jobs and they also face discrimination when applying for new ones.

On March 27th, Osaka City revoked the designation of a business operated by a subsidiary of the welfare-related company “Kizuna Holdings,” based in the city, after determining that it had received excessive additional payments for employment support for people with disabilities. The amount of the improper payments is said to total approximately ¥15 billion nationwide.

‘Mr. Inoue’ – a pseudonym – a facility user spoke to News NTV saying:

“Kizuna Holdings hasn’t suffered any damage, but we are the ones struggling. They are the embodiment of insincerity…When I look for new work, I’m often asked, ‘Where did you work before?’ When I tell them it was a Kizuna Holdings facility, they say, ‘Oh, there. That means you were complicit in the crime. You’re an accomplice,’ and then tell me not to come back. But the one truly in the wrong is Kizuna Holdings, the users are the victims.”