Kawasaki Disabled Man Hired as “Hospital Employee”Actually Worked on Farm; Develops Lung Disease, Receives Worker’s Compensation

From Extract from The Yomiuri Shimbun

September 19 2026

Kawasaki – A 47-year-old man with a mental disability who worked at a farm in Kawasaki operated by a company involved in the so-called “disability employment business” has been recognized as suffering a work-related illness after developing a lung condition that he says was caused by his duties, it has been learned. The man was hired as an employee of a hospital in Kawasaki, but did not work at the hospital and instead performed agricultural work at the farm. The Kawasaki Labour Standards Inspection Office recognized the condition as work-related in July.

It is unusual for a disabled worker employed through a disability employment business to have been recognized as suffering a work-related illness. The case highlights concerns over safety management and other issues at workplaces operated by such companies.

According to the man and the labor union supporting him, he signed a part-time employment contract in summer 2024 with Next One, a disability employment business based in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, and worked at a farm the company operates in Tama Ward, Kawasaki, where he was involved in growing vegetables and other tasks.

The company subsequently proposed that he become a part-time employee of Sogo Takatsu Chuo Hospital in Kawasaki’s Takatsu Ward. He became a hospital employee in September 2025, but at the hospital’s request, continued working at the farm. The vegetables he harvested were reportedly taken home by workers, and there was no indication that they were used in meals served at the hospital.

From November, at the direction of the company, he began mixing chicken manure with leaf mold in a greenhouse at the farm to produce compost. As he continued working in the greenhouse, which was filled with the smell of ammonia, he began suffering from headaches and nausea. In January this year, he was diagnosed with suspected pneumonia. He applied for workers’ compensation at the Kawasaki Kita Labour Standards Inspection Office in February and subsequently resigned from the hospital. In July, his condition was recognized as work-related, and payment of his medical expenses was approved.

According to Next One’s website and other sources, the company was founded in 2006. It opened its farm in 2024 and provides introductions of disabled people to employers as well as workplaces where they can work.

Next One acknowledged to The Yomiuri Shimbun that the man’s illness had been recognized as work-related, saying, “As the party responsible for managing the facility, we take this matter very seriously. We are continuing discussions in good faith toward an amicable resolution.” The medical corporation operating Sogo Takatsu Chuo Hospital said, “We will continue to respond sincerely to the individual, as we have done so far.”

The disability employment business has come under scrutiny as demand has grown from companies seeking to meet their legally mandated employment quotas for disabled people. Cases have emerged in which disabled people hired by companies through such intermediaries were placed in inappropriate working environments, including situations where they were effectively not given meaningful work. At the end of August, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released a proposal for regulating the disability employment business and has been conducting investigations into operators as part of its response.

The man whose illness was recognized as work-related because of his duties at Next One’s farm spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun, expressing anger that “I was not told about the dangers, and even when I asked them to take action, nothing was improved.”

The farm in Tama Ward, Kawasaki, where the man worked, has large greenhouses and trailer houses. Beginning in November last year, he worked inside one of the greenhouses producing compost.

He said neither the company nor others had given him any particular explanation about the dangers involved in the work. Inside the greenhouse, however, there was a strong, irritating smell. “The nausea and sore throat were so severe that I couldn’t stand it,” he recalled.

He said that even after asking the company to improve the working environment, he did not feel that it responded adequately, noting that there were occasions when the greenhouse was not properly ventilated.

“There were other disabled people who complained of feeling unwell. I wonder if some of them simply gave up without receiving any remedy,” he said.

He was diagnosed with suspected pneumonia in January and resigned in February. He continues to receive treatment from a respiratory medicine department.

“I thought it was a safe workplace where consideration was given to disabled people. I never imagined I would be made to do dangerous work,” he said, expressing frustration.

Through the labor union supporting him, he is currently negotiating with the company and the hospital, seeking an apology and a lump-sum payment.