Author: Michael Gillan Peckitt

UK & CP born, living in Japan, blogging about disability
Disability Japan Osaka Welfare

After Second Court Case, Osaka High Court Upholds Right to Disability Pension for Type 1 Diabetes Patients, Reversing Govt’s Decision

Eight years ago, eight patients living in Osaka, Nara, etc. filed a lawsuit against the government after their long-term basic disability pension was discontinued, and all of them won, but they were subsequently rejected again by the government. Since the payment was made, they filed a second complaint. On April 19th, the Osaka High Court ordered the government to pay pensions to all eight people, stating that it was illegal to deny them pensions.

Crime Elderly Japan Travel

5 Years On, Japanese Man Remains Resolved to Eliminate Accidents

A Japanese man who lost his wife and daughter in a high-profile accident involving a runaway car driven by an elderly man five years ago says he hopes to “leverage (through dialogue) the victimizer’s experience to prevent traffic accidents.” 

The bereaved man, Takuya Matsunaga, 37, is slated to hold a meeting shortly with the elderly man, Kozo Iizuka, 92, who is serving a prison term over the incident.

Health Japan Minamata Disease

Japan Court Orders Damages over Niigata Minamata Disease

A Japanese district court Thursday ordered Resonac Holdings Corp. to pay 104 million yen in damages to people claiming to suffer from Niigata Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by mercury poisoning.

The judge rejected the claim against the government while ordering Resonac to pay 4 million yen to each of the 26 plaintiffs identified as disease victims. His ruling was read out by another judge Yusuke Suzuki.

Disability Japan My Number Welfare

Fujitsu Given Guidance over My Number System Problem

Last year, there were 15 cases of erroneous issuance through the system. Although the system operator took corrective measures, including fixing the program, the latest problem occurred. Some of those errors included some individuals’ disability welfare and health-related information being ‘linked’ to the wrong My Number account. The most recent case of such a mistake was reported by Aichi Prefecture in March 2024 when 95 new cases of incorrect linking were confirmed.

Disability Japan Travel Wheelchair

Electric Wheelchair User Denied Boarding on Japan LCC ‘Peach’ Due to ‘Visible Battery’ Problem

On April 5th, a Taiwanese national with a physical disability attempted to board a Taiwan-bound flight of low-cost carrier (LCC) Peach Aviation (headquartered in Osaka Prefecture) at Naha Airport in Okinawa, but was denied boarding because the battery in their electric wheelchair was not visible from the outside. They complained that this was a discriminatory response, as airlines differ in their response to the issue of visual confirmation of batteries.