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.
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.
Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka was accused Thursday of abusive remarks and inappropriate behavior toward city officials and assembly members. The mayor allegedly made derogatory remarks about the city assembly speaker, the deputy mayor and others, such as “fat,” “die” and “human scum.” These allegations were reported in the online edition of the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine Sunday.
A Japanese district court on Friday ordered the government to pay 1.1 million yen in damages to the mother of a Ground Self-Defense Force member who committed suicide in 2012. They claimed that Kawashima, who was stationed at the GSDF’s Camp Shiraoi in the Hokkaido town of Shiraoi, took his life as appropriate measures were not taken against bullying mainly by one older officer.
People with disabilities in Hyogo Prefecture will hold an emergency rally in Kobe on January 24th to protest violence at residential care facilities and to call for the early realization of deinstitutionalization. The gathering was prompted by reports that a resident with intellectual and physical disabilities died after being assaulted by staff at a facility in Sanda City. Organized by the Independent Living Center ‘Ring Ring’ and co-hosted by ‘Remember 7.26 Kobe Action’, the event will feature speakers from ‘Hyogo People First’ and will focus on disability rights and the need for community-based living.
People with disabilities in Hyogo Prefecture will hold an emergency rally in Kobe on January 24th to protest violence at residential care facilities and to call for the early realization of deinstitutionalization. The gathering was prompted by reports that a resident with intellectual and physical disabilities died after being assaulted by staff at a facility in Sanda City. Organized by the Independent Living Center ‘Ring Ring’ and co-hosted by ‘Remember 7.26 Kobe Action’, the event will feature speakers from ‘Hyogo People First’ and will focus on disability rights and the need for community-based living.
Cases of abuse against people with disabilities in Japan reached a record high of 3,770 in fiscal 2024, the welfare ministry said Tuesday 23rd December, citing an increase in consultations and reports to local governments. The total, confirmed by prefectural and municipal authorities, rose by 293 from the previous year, the ministry said.
Cases of abuse against people with disabilities in Japan reached a record high of 3,770 in fiscal 2024, the welfare ministry said Tuesday, citing an increase in consultations and reports to local governments. The total, confirmed by prefectural and municipal authorities, rose by 293 from the previous year, the ministry said.
Public prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in the western city of Nara in July 2022. In the 15th hearing of the lay-judge trial of Yamagami, 45, at Nara District Court, the prosecution said that the shooting was “an extremely grave incident unprecedented in our country’s postwar history” and a “shortsighted and selfish” crime, leaving “no room for leniency.”The defense requested a fixed-term sentence. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Jan. 21.
The Hikone branch of the Otsu District Public Prosecutors Office announced on the 10th that it has decided not to indict a 70-year-old male care worker from Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture. The man had been arrested on suspicion of preparation for murder and violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Act after allegedly hiding a kitchen knife at the welfare facility for people with disabilities in Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture, where he worked, with the intent to kill a 44-year-old resident. The prosecutors did not disclose the reason for their decision.
Barrier Free Japan