March 8 was International Women’s Day. The Asahi Shimbun reported that whilst there has been an increase in the number of women with disabilities in employment, women with disabilities only represent about 30 percent of all workers with such disabilities.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that his government has canceled plans to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care in August. His ruling coalition plans to revise the government’s fiscal 2025 budget bill, which is being deliberated in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, after its passage in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, earlier this week following revisions to the original bill. If a government budget bill is approved after revisions during Upper House deliberations, it will be the first time that such a change is made under the current Constitution.
The Japanese government is considering shelving a plan to raise the ceiling of out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care in August, it was learned Friday. The move came after cancer patients’ groups and some ruling bloc members opposed the hike, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had indicated his policy of not changing the plan. To forgo the hike, the government may have to revise the fiscal 2025 budget bill, currently being deliberated in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament after clearing the House of Representatives, the lower chamber.
On the 27th of last month, Sho Tanaka, 31, a doctor, was found collapsed in a space on the first basement floor of an elevator in a commercial building in Chuo Ward, Kobe, and later died. Before Dr. Tanaka was found, a store employee saw the elevator’s fourth floor door open with no “cage” in place.
In August 2024, Ms. Koyuki Hamano, 16, an intellectually disabled girl who was a resident of Chiba City, was rejected from the Chiba prefectural high school entrance examination, and asked the prefectural government to cancel her rejection, the Chiba District Court rejected her request to be provisionally obligated to enroll in the school. On February 4, Hamano’s parents held a press conference in the city and announced that they have given up on the idea of continuing her education in the prefecture, terminated the trial, and that she will enroll in a Tokyo metropolitan high school from April.
On February 28th, 18 kindergarten children at Amagi Certified Childcare Center in Shizuoka Prefecture filmed messages of support in sign language for the Deaflympics, a sports festival for people with hearing impairments, for which Izu City will also be one of the venues. The Deaflympics, held every four years, will be held in Japan for the first time in from Saturday November 15th 2025 until Wednesday November 26th 2025, and the Japan Cycle Sports Center in Izu City in Shizuoka prefecture will be the venue for six cycling events.
The final episode of NHK’s TV programme on minorities ‘Baribara’ will air on NHK E on Thursday March 6th 2024 at 20:00PM. It will look back on the 15 years of the programme covering the issues concerning minority groups in Japan.
In August 2024, Ms. Koyuki Hamano, 16, an intellectually disabled girl who was a resident of Chiba City, was rejected from the Chiba prefectural high school entrance examination, and asked the prefectural government to cancel her rejection, the Chiba District Court rejected her request to be provisionally obligated to enroll in the school. On February 4, Hamano’s parents held a press conference in the city and announced that they have given up on the idea of continuing her education in the prefecture, terminated the trial, and that she will enroll in a Tokyo metropolitan high school from April.
The psychological hurdle of disclosing one’s sexual orientation and gender identity, a concept known by the acronym SOGI, is significant for many in the country’s LGBTQ+ community, and some are reluctant to see a doctor due to insensitive remarks they have received from health care professionals.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that his government will reconsider its plan to raise the ceiling on out-of-pocket expenses for high-cost medical care. The government will conduct the first phase of the expense cap hike this August as planned, and make a decision by this autumn on further increases, currently scheduled for August 2026 and later. Ishiba made the announcement in response to a question from Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at a meeting of the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
Barrier Free Japan