Author: Michael Gillan Peckitt

UK & CP born, living in Japan, blogging about disability
by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 25, 2025 1
Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Japan student suicides hit record high in 2024 despite overall decline

Japan’s overall suicides fell to 20,320 in 2024, the second-lowest figure on record, but the number of schoolchildren who took their own lives rose to a record 529, government data showed. Suicides among junior high school students reached their highest level since statistics began in 1980, with school-related problems cited as the leading cause. The 2025 White Paper on Suicide Prevention noted that overdoses, including those involving over-the-counter drugs, were a major factor among young people, prompting plans to tighten restrictions on drug sales to minors. Despite the nationwide decline, experts warn the record student suicides reflect deepening mental health and social issues among Japan’s youth.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 25, 2025 1
Disability Japan Mental Health

Record 529 Students Committed Suicide in Japan in 2024

The number of elementary, junior high and high school students in Japan who committed suicide in 2024 stood at 529, up by 16 from the preceding year and the highest since data became available in 1980, a government report showed Friday.  According to the 2025 white paper on suicide prevention adopted at a cabinet meeting the same day, overall suicides in the nation fell by 1,517 from 2023 to 20,320, the second lowest since statistics began in 1978.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 24, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Elderly Japan Podcast Politics Sanae Takaichi

New Cabinet under Takaichi omits dedicated minister for elderly, disabled [Podcast Episode]

As of Tuesday 21st October, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s new Cabinet appointed Kenichiro Ueno as health, labor and welfare minister and Hitoshi Kikawada as minister for children and population issues, but did not include a minister specifically in charge of elderly or disabled affairs, leaving those areas under the health ministry’s broader welfare framework.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 23, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Elderly Japan Medical Nursing Care Politics

Balancing Medical Services, Costs a Major Challenge for Takaichi

New Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces a difficult challenge in maintaining the quality of the country’s medical and nursing care services while lowering related expenses, amid an aging population. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), the new coalition partner to Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has called for lowering social security premiums for working people. But this requires reforms that are expected to increase the burden on society, including the elderly, as a whole. Since medical and nursing care services are offered at fixed prices set by the state, many service providers are struggling to cope with rapid inflation and are operating at a loss.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 22, 2025 1
Disability Elderly Japan Sanae Takaichi

New Cabinet under Takaichi omits dedicated minister for elderly, disabled

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s new Cabinet, launched Tuesday, appointed Kenichiro Ueno as health, labor and welfare minister and Hitoshi Kikawada as minister for children and population issues, but did not include a minister specifically in charge of elderly or disabled affairs, leaving those areas under the health ministry’s broader welfare framework.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Disability Japan

Abe Killer’s Mother to Testify in Court

The mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, indicted for killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a handmade gun in Nara in 2022, will go to court as a defense witness, it was learned Wednesday. 
   In the final pretrial arrangement proceeding held the same day, Nara District Court decided to have five witnesses testy for Yamagami, 45, and seven others for the prosecution as requested by the two sides, respectively.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Autism Crime Japan Podcast

Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Autistic Defendant over Fatal Crossbow Attack in Japan [Podcast Episode]

Japanese public prosecutors on Wednesday 15th October sought the death penalty for Hideaki Nozu, who has been charged with killing three members of his family with a crossbow at his home in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, in June 2020.The prosecution said that Nozu’s autism spectrum disorder did not significantly affect his motivation and that his acts were planned. The defendant maintained the capacity to control his actions and was fully competent, as he hesitated to carry out his plan, it said.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Health Japan Prison

Japan Government Ordered to Pay Damages for Verbal Abuse of Inmate

A Japanese court on Monday ordered the government to pay some 300,000 yen in damages over verbal abuse and other illegal acts by prison guards against an inmate in Aichi Prefecture. Presiding Judge Akira Chino denied the causal relationship between his death and medical treatment provided by Nagoya Prison in the Aichi city of Miyoshi. he man was sent to a hospital for a possible heart attack on Feb. 22, 2022, when he was serving his sentence for an assault. He died of multiple organ failure on March 1 that year at the age of 71 after coming back to the prison. The ruling by Tokyo District Court came after the bereaved family of the inmate sued the government for some 40 million yen, accusing it of failing to offer proper medical treatment to him.