Kyoto Man with Disabilities Left Alone for 2½ Hours While Caregiver Played Pachinko

From The Mainichi Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan

August 19 2026

KYOTO – It was learned on the 19th that, in February this year in Kyoto City, a male home-care worker who was assisting a man with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and who lived alone left the man’s home for about two and a half hours in order to play pachinko. In April, the city officially recognized the incident as abuse under the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities. Calling it “an issue involving the man’s life and safety,” the city also ordered the home-care service provider employing the caregiver to take measures to prevent a recurrence and make other improvements.

Caregiver: “Because I hit a winning streak…”

According to the city, the man has difficulty walking independently and expressing his thoughts verbally, and therefore requires assistance. In late February, a passerby found the man leaving his home alone and attempting to cross a nearby road by crawling. Police officers who arrived after being called to the scene took him into protective custody on the road.

During this time, the caregiver had left the man unattended at home, taking an unauthorized break from his duties, and had gone to play pachinko. He returned about two and a half hours later, but the man was no longer there. At the entrance, he found a note from the police informing him that the man had been taken into protective custody. At the caregiver’s request, the police arranged for the man to be taken back home. However, the caregiver did not report what had happened to either his employer or the man’s family.

Later, a caregiver from another home-care service who was assisting the man found the police note inside the man’s home and contacted his family. The family then confirmed the facts with the police and informed both the caregiver’s employer and the city.

The caregiver reportedly had been playing pachinko until immediately before going to the man’s home to provide care. In interviews with the city and others, he explained: “I got a winning result, so I went to the man’s house while keeping my seat at the pachinko parlor, then immediately took a taxi back to the parlor. I thought I could hide it.” He also reportedly said that “the same thing may have happened in the past.”

Classified as “neglect”

The city determined that the caregiver’s actions constituted “neglect” (abandonment or leaving the person unattended) under the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities. It also determined that causing the man severe anxiety constituted psychological abuse. The city instructed the service provider to take steps to prevent a recurrence, including thoroughly implementing staff training. The caregiver subsequently resigned.

This is the first time in Kyoto City that a caregiver’s unauthorized absence during a shift has been officially classified as abuse, making it an extremely unusual case.

The city’s Disability Health and Welfare Promotion Office said, “Leaving someone unattended for two and a half hours is an issue that can put their life at risk. We want the service provider to thoroughly implement measures to prevent this from happening again.”