Author: Michael Gillan Peckitt

UK & CP born, living in Japan, blogging about disability
by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Japan Unification Church

Life Sentence Sought for Abe Shooter Yamagami

Public prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in the western city of Nara in July 2022.  In the 15th hearing of the lay-judge trial of Yamagami, 45, at Nara District Court, the prosecution said that the shooting was “an extremely grave incident unprecedented in our country’s postwar history” and a “shortsighted and selfish” crime, leaving “no room for leniency.”The defense requested a fixed-term sentence. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Jan. 21.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Welfare

Japan Govt to set cap on number of ‘retained workers’ used to calculate disability employment subsidies following excessive payments

Japan’s health ministry is planning to introduce a cap, possibly as early as next fiscal year, on the number of “retained workers” that can be counted when calculating additional payments for disability employment support, following allegations of large-scale overpayments in Osaka City. The move comes after three Type A continuous employment support facilities allegedly cycled users through repeated six-month employment periods and reported around 200 retained workers per year—despite each facility having a capacity of only 20 users—resulting in suspected excess subsidies of more than ¥2 billion.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 18, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Mental Health Osaka Building Arson

Victims of 2021 Osaka Clinic Arson Attack Remembered

Victims of an arson attack on a psychosomatic clinic in Osaka were remembered on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of the 2021 incident that killed 26 people including clinic head Kotaro Nishizawa, then 49. In front of the building that housed the clinic, people related to the victims gathered and prayed for them.  Nishizawa’s younger sister, Nobuko, 48, arrived at the building shortly after 9 a.m. She made offerings including tea, lit incense sticks and recited a sutra for some 10 minutes.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Mental Health Osaka Building Arson

4 Years On, Osaka Arson Victim’s Sister Helps Rehabilitate Inmates

Four years after a deadly arson attack on a psychosomatic clinic in the western Japan city of Osaka, the sister of the clinic’s then 49-year-old director is helping rehabilitate inmates, as well as people suffering from drug addiction. Nobuko Nishizawa, 48, whose brother, Kotaro, was among the 26 victims of the Dec. 17, 2021, attack, began meeting with inmates this year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Man Disabled in Bear Cull Shooting; Yamagata Town Seeks Damages from Hunter [Podcast Episode]

In April two years ago, in Oguni Town, Yamagata Prefecture, a bullet fired by a hunter engaged in a bear extermination operation struck another man in the leg, causing serious injuries that resulted in permanent aftereffects. The injured man has filed a lawsuit against the town, seeking approximately 30 million yen in damages.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 16, 2025 Number of comments0
Art Disability Japan Writing

Debut author Saou Ichikawa enters global spotlight with “Hunchback”

“Hunchback,” a novel by Japanese author Saou Ichikawa, is rapidly gaining international recognition, earning nominations for several major Western literary awards despite being the writer’s first published book. Ichikawa, who relies on a ventilator and electric wheelchair due to an incurable congenital muscle disorder, has drawn praise from critics who describe the novel’s global rise as an “unprecedented achievement.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Education Imperial Family Japan Nursing Care

Princess Aiko Attends Ceremony for Chiba University School of Nursing

Japanese Princess Aiko on Sunday attended a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Chiba University’s School of Nursing. 
   “I hope that you will continue to thrive while supporting people, and that you will dedicate your efforts to the further advancement of nursing and nursing science,” the princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, said in her speech at the ceremony held at the university in the eastern Japan city of Chiba.  Chiba University is the country’s only national university with a nursing department. Some 400 people, including students and university staff, attended the ceremony.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Mental Health Podcast

On Loneliness and Isolation in Japan [Podcast Episode]

Almost half of Japanese nationals feel familiar with loneliness and isolation, a government survey showed Friday. According to the Cabinet Office’s first public opinion survey on the issue, 48.4% of respondents answered they feel “familiar” or “rather familiar” with such feelings, while 49.6% chose “not familiar” or “rather do not feel it.” The remaining 2.0% did not answer.