Author: Michael Gillan Peckitt

UK & CP born, living in Japan, blogging about disability
by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 25, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Education Intellectual disabilities Japan

Japan’s Ministry of Education to Examine Appropriate Teaching Methods in High Schools

The Ministry of Education announced plans to review how tsūkyū shidō—a system that allows students with developmental disabilities to take some lessons in separate rooms while remaining in regular classes—can be better implemented in high schools. While more than 200,000 students nationwide now use tsūkyū shidō, the highest number on record, participation among high school students remains limited. Starting next year, the ministry will designate model schools to study effective teaching methods, expand support with a focus on employment after graduation, and promote awareness of the system. It will also research ways to share information between schools and disability support facilities using ICT, and improve teachers’ understanding of severe behavioral disorders.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 25, 2025 Number of comments0
Animals Care Disability Elderly Japan Podcast

73-Year-Old Woman Dies Almost Three Weeks After Bear Attack Outside Akita Care Home for Disabled [Podcast Episode]

Hideko Miura, 73 was found bleeding and collapsed near the entrance to Tsutsuji, a group home for the intellectually disabled in Uesugi, Kitaakita City, around 11:00 PM on the 31st of July. Based on injuries to her head and face, it was suggested that she had been attacked by a bear. Miura was reportedly unconscious when transported to the hospital, but never regained consciousness and passed away on the morning of August 20th.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 23, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Health Infectious Diseases Japan

Tick-Borne Infection Cases Hit Record High in Japan

The number of people diagnosed with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, a tick-borne viral disease, in Japan this year totaled 135 as of Aug. 10, marking a record high, according to data from the Japan Institute for Health Security. The previous record high was 134 cases in 2023. If infected, the disease can cause symptoms, including fever and abdominal pain, after an incubation period of six to 14 days.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 23, 2025 Number of comments0
Animals Disability Elderly Japan

Elderly and Disabled Among Victims in Recent Bear Attacks Across Japan

A 73-year-old woman living in a group home for people with intellectual disabilities in Akita has died from injuries sustained in a bear attack, marking the prefecture’s first such fatality this year. Her death follows a series of incidents across Japan in July in which an 81-year-old woman was killed in Iwate and two other elderly women were injured in separate attacks in Aomori and Nara, underscoring how recent bear encounters have disproportionately affected elderly and disabled residents.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 23, 2025 Number of comments0
Animals Barrier Free Disability Elderly Japan

Japan to Help Local Govts Deal with Bears

Japan’s Environment Ministry plans to boost support to secure and train local government employees dealing with bear incidents, following the recent string of bear sightings and bear-inflicted injuries. The ministry will seek 3.7 billion yen in its fiscal 2026 budget request to cover costs for measures to handle wildlife species designated for control, including bears.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Japan

Free Sanitary Items Offered in Restrooms at Osaka Expo

Sanitary items are provided for free in some women’s restrooms in the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka through a project led by the University of Osaka. Faculty and students from the university have installed self-developed cardboard dispensers to provide menstrual products, supplied by sponsoring companies, at nine restrooms at the Expo venue, including pavilion areas. The team aims to foster a society with restrooms where sanitary items for women are easily accessible. When they first installed a dispenser in a campus restroom in 2021, they received many positive opinions. One user said, “I felt like someone sympathized with the pain I feel during menstruation.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast

Games with people with disabilities in Japan; both technological and abusive [Podcast Episode]

There are two types of ‘game’ for people with disabilities in Japan being played here. On the one hand, digital technology is set to play an exciting role at the Tokyo Deaflympics in November, with organizers aiming to create an immersive experience that engages athletes and spectators with hearing impairments; and on the hand, an after-school day service facility for children with disabilities in Hiroshima City has been penalized after staff, including the operator’s representative, were found to routinely use wrestling moves, shouting, and hitting as a supposed form of “communication” with children, behaviour described by a former employee as a daily occurrence and treated as “part of a game.” Hiroshima City has suspended the operator Watanohana for three months.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Japan Typhoon

Typhoon Lingling Makes Landfall in Kagoshima

Typhoon Lingling, the 12th typhoon of the year, made landfall near the city of Hioki, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at around 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. 
   The typhoon, which developed from a tropical depression at 9 a.m. the same day, had a central atmospheric pressure of 1,002 hectopascals as of 4 p.m. It is expected to move into neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture before weakening back into a tropical depression by Friday afternoon.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Children Disability Japan

Abuse was “part of a game” at Hiroshima Support Facility for Children with Disabilities Facing Administrative Action

An after-school day service facility for children with disabilities in Hiroshima City has been penalized after staff, including the operator’s representative, were found to routinely use wrestling moves, shouting, and hitting as a supposed form of “communication” with children—behavior described by a former employee as a daily occurrence and treated as “part of a game.” Hiroshima City has suspended the operator Watanohana for three months.