Michael Gillan Peckitt

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 31, 2026 0

Abuse Found at Ehime Disability Facility; Manager Dismissed

The prefectural government announced that it has imposed an administrative sanction on a group home support facility in Tōon, Ehime Prefecture, after confirming that the facility’s then-manager repeatedly abused residents. According to the prefecture, inspections and audits found that over a period of about one year from November 2024, the manager subjected users to physical, sexual and psychological abuse on multiple occasions. The manager has since been dismissed, and the prefecture ordered the facility to suspend accepting new users for one year under the Act on Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities, citing the seriousness and repeated nature of the misconduct.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 31, 2026 0

Children Japan Mental Health

Japan Forms Group to Protect Juveniles from Social Media Issues

Japan’s Children and Families Agency has set up a working group to discuss possible regulation of social media services to prevent juveniles from being caught up in problems via the internet. The group will mull measures while taking into account a revision of the law to improve the environment for young people’s safe and secure internet use, which restricts the browsing of harmful information by such people. The group, expected to release an interim report in July, will have opportunities to exchange opinions with junior and senior high school students.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 30, 2026 0

Barrier Free Disability Japan Robotics Technology

After Trial in Miyazaki, Saga City Pilots “OriHime” Robot to Support Employment of People with Disabilities

Saga City and other local governments in Japan are increasingly turning to avatar robots to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities, with the humanoid robot “OriHime” emerging as a key tool. Saga City has launched a pilot program placing an OriHime robot in the lobby of its city hall, where it is remotely operated by people with disabilities to guide visitors during peak hours, in cooperation with a local employment support facility. The initiative aims to create new, flexible work models for those who have difficulty commuting or working in person, while also improving public services. Similar efforts to raise awareness of avatar robots have been seen elsewhere, including an event in Miyazaki Prefecture in 2024, highlighting growing interest in OriHime as a way to connect people with disabilities to society and the workforce.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 30, 2026 0

Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Suicides in Japan Fall below 20,000 for 1st Time in 2025, Students Reach Record High

The number of people who died by suicide in Japan in 2025 came to 19,097, standing below 20,000 for the first time since the statistics began in 1978, preliminary government data showed Thursday. Suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students came to 532, hitting a record high for the second straight year since comparable data became available in 1980.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 30, 2026 0

Abuse Disability Hospitals Japan Mental Health Podcast

Japan Compiles Statistics on Abuse by Psychiatric Hospital Workers for First Time [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on January 19th that in fiscal 2024 there were 6,258 reports and notifications received by prefectures and designated cities concerning alleged abuse of persons with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 260 cases were officially recognized as abuse. Under the revised Mental Health and Welfare Act enacted in 2022, reporting abuse of persons with disabilities by psychiatric hospital staff to prefectures and designated cities was made mandatory. This is the first time such data have been compiled. The ministry stated, “We have confirmed that the reporting system is being recognized. We will continue to closely monitor future trends.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 29, 2026 0

Children Crime Disability Japan Pregnancy

Prosecutors Amend Indictment in Fatal Crash Involving Pregnant Woman, Stops Short of Injury Charge for Fetus

At the second hearing on Jan. 26 at the Ichinomiya branch of the Nagoya District Court, prosecutors amended the indictment in a fatal traffic accident case involving a pregnant woman to include harm caused to the fetus, while declining to apply a separate charge of negligent driving resulting in injury to the child. The husband of the victim, Yudai Togitani, who lost his wife and whose daughter was left with severe disabilities, said the grief of losing his wife and the anger over having his daughter’s future taken away have remained unchanged since the accident, adding that he could not accept that his daughter was not treated as a victim when her name was initially omitted from the indictment.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 29, 2026 1

Abuse Disability Hospitals Japan Mental Health

Japan Compiles Statistics on Abuse by Psychiatric Hospital Workers for First Time

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on January 19th that in fiscal 2024 there were 6,258 reports and notifications received by prefectures and designated cities concerning alleged abuse of persons with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 260 cases were officially recognized as abuse.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 28, 2026 0

Abuse Care Crime Disability Japan

Ex-Employee Arrested for Multiple Assaults at Saitama Disability Facility

A former employee of a facility for people with disabilities in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, has been arrested on suspicion of repeatedly assaulting and injuring a male resident in his 20s with a disability on three occasions between 2021 and 2024, police said. Investigators allege the 42-year-old man initially told colleagues the injuries were the result of an accident, but the case came to light after a relative of another resident contacted police in January last year. Authorities have since identified injuries among other residents from the same period that may have been caused by assaults, raising concerns the suspect may have routinely abused multiple residents, and police are continuing their investigation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 28, 2026 0

Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Employment Japan Podcast

52.6% of Companies in Japan Find Disability Employment Targets “Difficult” to Achieve [Podcast Episode]

More than half of Japanese companies say they will struggle to meet the government’s higher disability employment quota, highlighting persistent challenges in workplace readiness and internal awareness. A survey by disability employment support firm Persol Diversity found that 52.6% of companies view achieving the revised statutory quota of 2.7%, which takes effect in July, as difficult, underscoring gaps in organizational understanding and the need for improved accommodations and support systems for workers with disabilities.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 27, 2026 0

Crime Disability Japan

75-Year-Old Tottori Man Sentenced to Three Years and Two Months For Multiple Hit-and-Run Incidents, Leaving 9-Year-Old Disabled

In explaining the reasons for the sentence, the court first referred to the incident on March 31, 2025, in which the defendant caused serious injury to a 9-year-old child through negligent driving. The 9-year-old child who was injured suffered “diffuse axonal injury, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, acute subdural hematoma, swallowing dysfunction, and quadriplegia, among other injuries, and at one point was in a life-threatening condition.” Even now, “the function of both the upper and lower limbs remains severely restricted, nutrition is almost entirely provided through tube feeding, the child can barely speak, and requires assistance for most daily activities.” The prospect of future recovery remains uncertain.