On January 13th, the Yokohama District Court held the sentencing hearing for a 31-year-old male defendant, a resident of Yamato City, charged with violating the Cannabis Control Law and other offenses for cultivating cannabis plants at the support facility for children with disabilities in Fujisawa City where he was employed.
On the 13th, the Yokohama District Court held the sentencing hearing for a 31-year-old male defendant, a resident of Yamato City, charged with violating the Cannabis Control Law and other offenses for cultivating cannabis plants at the support facility for children with disabilities in Fujisawa City where he was employed.
Barrier Free Japan went to see ‘Black Box Diaries’ directed by Shiori Ito on January 13th, which had its theatrical release in cinemas in Japan a few months ago. I appreciate that it’s been divisive in some communities over source protection issues and maybe because it’s an emotional thing to watch, but I recommend it & consider it necessary to watch. I’ve seen in it different forms a couple of times as it started life out as a BBC ‘Storyville’ documentary.
A new program offering comprehensive legal assistance for victims in serious crimes, including murder and sexual offenses, and bereaved families started in Japan. Eligible participants include victims and bereaved families with current assets of 3 million yen or less, such as deposits and savings.
Sign Language Link is provided by the Japan Foundation Telephone Relay Service, a general incorporated foundation based in Tokyo. When police officers leave a kōban or a residential police post, they put up a notice indicating their absence. By scanning the QR code on this notice with a smartphone or other device, users are connected to a video call, initiating a three-way conversation between the user, a sign language interpreter, and an officer at the police station.
A man was found dead with massive bleeding at an apartment in Tokyo’s Ota Ward on Thursday morning. The Metropolitan Police Department found stab wounds to the neck, abdomen, thighs and other parts of the body of the victim, who is believed to be the apartment’s resident in his 40s. Police also discovered several bloody footprints at the scene.
The use of loss prevention tags by stalkers quickly spread in Japan last year, the National Police Agency has reported. According to the NPA, police across the country gave advice to victims of stalking using those electronic tags in 592 cases between January and November 2025, up 1.6-fold from the whole of the previous year. Their misuse for stalking increased from three cases in 2021 to 113 cases in 2022, 196 cases in 2023 and 370 cases in 2024, amid small, inexpensive products becoming widely available. Many victims have discovered the tags, which are supposed to be attached to wallets and keys by the owners, affixed to their cars without their knowledge or hidden in their belongings, the NPA said.
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.
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.
“Black Box Diaries,” an Oscar-nominated film directed by Japanese journalist Shiori Ito documenting her experience after suffering sexual violence, was released in Japan on Friday. It was screened at overseas film festivals in 2024 and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at this year’s U.S. Academy Awards. Meanwhile, lawyers, including those who helped Ito win a civil lawsuit against the former TV journalist over her sexual abuse case, had criticized the use of hotel security camera images and statements from taxi drivers without permission.
Barrier Free Japan