Category: Disability

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 23, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Unification Church

Japan Top Court Upholds Order to Dissolve Unification Church

Japan’s Supreme Court has upheld lower court rulings ordering the dissolution of the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church, rejecting a special appeal filed by the organization. In the ruling dated Monday, the court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Eriko Watanabe, said the dissolution order “does not violate the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and association.” The four justices unanimously supported the decision.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 23, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Discrimination Hansen's disease Japan

Honor-Restoring Ceremony for Leprosy Patients Held in Tokyo

A ceremony was held in Tokyo on Monday to restore the honor of leprosy patients in Japan, who had suffered severe discrimination based on the government’s past forced isolation policy.”We former patients and their families still live silently, hiding ourselves from prejudice and discrimination that are still swirling,” said Isao Tateyama, head of a group of plaintiffs in damages lawsuit against the government.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 22, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Disability Japan Podcast

Driver sentenced for killing pregnant woman leaving unborn child with disability [Podcast Episode]

After prosecutors indicted Chigono in June last year on charges of negligent driving resulting in death, Sayaka Togitani’s husband Yudai Togitani, 34, and her father Atsushi Mizukawa, 62, asked prosecutors in September to recognize Hinami as a victim and also charge the suspect with negligent driving resulting in injury of the daughter.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2026 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Blind Disability Discrimination Election Japan

Miyazaki Disabled Man Gave Up on Voting After Mother’s Help Deemed Interference by Polling Station Staff

According to the city and other sources, the man requires assistance with walking and also has a visual impairment. He visited the polling station together with his mother. Because it took him some time to complete his ballot, his mother spoke to him while standing nearby. However, polling station staff judged her actions to constitute “voting interference,” which is prohibited under the Public Offices Election Act.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 19, 2026 1
Children Crime Disability Japan Nagoya

Driver sentenced for killing pregnant woman leaving unborn child with disability

After prosecutors indicted Chigono in June last year on charges of negligent driving resulting in death, Sayaka Togitani’s husband Yudai Togitani, 34, and her father Atsushi Mizukawa, 62, asked prosecutors in September to recognize Hinami as a victim and also charge the suspect with negligent driving resulting in injury of the daughter.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 19, 2026 Number of comments0
Care Disability Hyogo Japan Mental Health Police

Teenage Girl Dies After Falling Ill; Family Sues Hyogo Prefecture and State, Alleging Illegal Police and Prosecutorial Investigation Was the Cause

The girl, who was 16 at the time and worked at a disability welfare facility in Hyogo Prefecture, had been arrested on suspicion of assault after restraining a service user who became violent. She was detained for 18 days. Although prosecutors ultimately decided not to indict her, she continued to suffer from eating disorders and other physical and psychological health problems, and died five months after her release.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 19, 2026 Number of comments0
Children Crime Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Former Employee of Facility for Disabled Re-arrested for Fourth Time Over Sexual Assault of 9-Year-Old Girl [Podcast Episode]

Goto is suspected of sexually assaulting a girl who attended the facility (then aged 9) in February of the year before last at a restroom in a shopping mall in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, knowing that she was under the age of 13. He is also suspected of filming the assault. Goto had previously been arrested and indicted for allegedly committing indecent acts against a five-year-old girl who also attended the same disability support facility and filming those acts. This latest case marks his fourth arrest.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 18, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Welfare

Japan Bar Association Group Calls Out Failure to Explain Disability Service Denial

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said via a press release on June 16th that Tachikawa City’s failure to provide written reasons when partially denying disability welfare services to a woman violated Article 8 of the Administrative Procedure Act and risked infringing her right to fair administrative procedures derived from the principles embodied in Article 31 of the Constitution.