Author: Michael Gillan Peckitt

UK & CP born, living in Japan, blogging about disability
by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 17, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Disability Hyogo Japan Podcast Police

Complaint Filed Over Death of 16-Year-Old Hyogo Girl Following Arrest, Interrogation [Podcast Episode]

According to the complaint, Runa (a pseudonym), who was 16 at the time, was arrested in June last year on suspicion of assaulting a user at a disability welfare facility in Hyogo Prefecture. She was held in custody for 18 days. Runa was released and subsequently not prosecuted. However, her family says that she developed PTSD and an eating disorder due to the stress caused by the interrogation, during which investigators allegedly pressured her to confess, saying things such as, “Do you want to go to a juvenile detention center?” About five months later, she died in a state of severe malnutrition.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 15, 2026 1
Abuse Disability Hyogo Japan Police

Complaint Filed Over Death of 16-Year-Old Girl Following Arrest, Interrogation

A complaint has been accepted against police officers and a prosecutor in a case in which the bereaved family alleges that the death of a 16-year-old girl was caused by an unlawful arrest and interrogation. According to the complaint, Runa (a pseudonym), who was 16 at the time, was arrested in June last year on suspicion of assaulting a user at a disability welfare facility in Hyogo Prefecture. She was held in custody for 18 days. Runa was released and subsequently not prosecuted. However, her family says that she developed PTSD and an eating disorder due to the stress caused by the interrogation, during which investigators allegedly pressured her to confess, saying things such as, “Do you want to go to a juvenile detention center?” About five months later, she died in a state of severe malnutrition.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Crime Disability Hokkaido Japan

Prosecutors seek 18 months for ex Kushiro care worker accused of assaulting 4 residents

The defendant, 29-year-old Kai Takahashi, a former employee of the Kushiro disability support facility Tsurugaoka Gakuen, is accused of assaulting four residents by kicking them around the waist and face and slapping them in the face, among other acts, up until March 2026. One of the victims was a 58-year-old male resident at the time.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan Welfare

Matsuyama disability welfare operator referred to prosecutors over unpaid wages for 10 of 11 months

On the 12th, the Matsuyama Labour Standards Inspection Office referred a 63-year-old woman, the de facto representative of Godo Kaisha Slow, a company operating a disability welfare service facility in Nishi-Ishii, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, to the Matsuyama District Public Prosecutors Office. The company and the woman are suspected of violating Japan’s Minimum Wage Act by failing to pay an employee’s wages.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Japan Podcast Travel

Written Warning Issued to ‘Hanshin Bus’ After Electric Wheelchair User Refused Boarding [Podcast Episode]

According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 13, 2026 1
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Hyogo Japan Travel

Written Warning Issued to ‘Hanshin Bus’ After Electric Wheelchair User Refused Boarding

According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 12, 2026 Number of comments0
Care Disability Japan Welfare

Oita’s people with disabilities voice concerns as care providers close amid helper shortage

As a shortage of helpers supporting the daily lives of people with disabilities becomes increasingly severe, an emergency public meeting was held in Oita on August 11th, where supporters and others voiced their concerns over the difficult situation. According to the organizers, since the revision of long-term care service fees in 2024, service providers have been withdrawing from the sector and suspending services one after another. The groups said they plan to call on the national government to improve working conditions and take other measures to address the problem.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 12, 2026 Number of comments0
Children developmental disabilities Disability Disasters Earthquake Japan Kumamoto Podcast Typhoon

Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto [Podcast Episode]

Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 10, 2026 1
Disability Japan Disasters Kumamoto Earthquake Intellectual disabilities developmental disabilities

Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto

Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.