On December 18 the ‘group home’ operated by Asunaro Social Welfare Service Corporation in Esashi, Hokkaido, admitted that it had made sterilization a condition for mentally disabled couples for more than 20 years.
Approximately four hours after Hokkaido and Esashi Town officials entered the group home shortly before 1:30 p.m. on December 26, they loaded cardboard boxes, believed to contain materials from the facility, into a car.
A total of five clusters have occurred at welfare facilities and schools for the elderly, children and people with disabilities in Shimane Prefecture.
Hokkaido Governor Suzuki said, “If it is confirmed that the operators are not providing proper welfare services for persons with disabilities, we will consider necessary measures such as recommendations and orders based on the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act”.
According to the corporation, its homes have since the late 1990s asked male residents to undergo a vasectomy and female residents to use a contraceptive ring if they want to marry or live with a partner at these facilities.
A 29-year-old man, a former employee of a workshop for the disabled, was accused of quasi-forced sexual intercourse and quasi-forced indecency for sexually assaulting two women with severe intellectual disabilities. It was held at the Otsu District Court on the 15th. Presiding Judge Yasushi Hatayama handed down a sentence of 5 years imprisonment for “an extremely despicable and vicious crime”.
On the 4th of December, the Hokkaido facility held an information session for the residents’ families, reported the abuse, and apologized. In the future, it is said that an “abuse verification committee” will be set up to consider measures to prevent recurrence.
The officials have confirmed that six male workers were involved in 38 cases of physical and mental abuse on 13 male residents.
The abusive acts included leaving naked residents unattended for long periods, forcing the residents to eat food that had been spilt, and forcibly moving wheelchair users’ body parts that had stiffened.
A former director of a company that operated a facility for children with disabilities was accused of defrauding the city of Sakai in Osaka of more than 78 million yen in benefits by making a false application. A complaint was filed.
A part-time staff member at a support facility for people with disabilities in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture has been arrested on suspicion of injury after he pushed a man who was staying at the facility and injured him.
Barrier Free Japan