Confusion and concern are spreading among families of children with developmental disabilities and medical professionals over the revision to Japan’s medical fee schedule that took effect on June 1.
Tropical Storm ‘Jangmi’, known in Japan as typhoon No. 6, is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds across a swath of the country from Tuesday to Wednesday. The storm is forecast to come closest to Okinawa on Monday night and to the Amami region by Tuesday morning, before moving northeast and approaching the Kyushu, Shikoku, Kinki, Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions through Wednesday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Two male employees accused of assaulting residents at a disability support facility in Kushiro, Hokkaido were arrested, it has emerged that several other staff members have also been voluntarily questioned by police.
A provider of after-school day services for children with disabilities designated by Kawasaki City has failed to repay more than ¥548 million in fraudulently obtained funds and related charges, and the city has announced its intention to file a criminal complaint. Mutsumi Tanno, director of Kawasaki City’s Disability Health and Welfare Department, said:
“The misconduct is extremely malicious. We regard this as a very serious incident. We intend to take the appropriate measures.”
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, as of 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jangmi was moving northwest over the waters east of the Philippines at a speed of 15 kph. The central pressure is 992 hectopascals, and the maximum wind speed near the centre is 23 meters per second.
Two male employees accused of assaulting residents at a disability support facility in Kushiro, Hokkaido were arrested, it has emerged that several other staff members have also been voluntarily questioned by police.
The Japanese health ministry is set to begin providing about 470 million yen in aid this fiscal year to medical institutions that conduct a large number of organ transplants from brain-dead patients.
Typhoon Jangmi, also known as Typhoon No. 6, will reach the south of Okinawa Prefecture by 9 a.m. on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It is expected to reach the waters off Shikoku by 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
The city of Yao in Osaka Prefecture said on May 27 it revoked, effective the same day, the business designation of the Type A continuous employment support provider “Taylor’s Guild” in the city for fraudulently receiving about ¥440 million in additional subsidies and other payments intended for disability employment support services. The fraudulent claims were made across 28 municipalities in Osaka and Nara prefectures, including Yao. The total amount sought for repayment, including penalties imposed for the violations, is expected to reach about ¥614 million.
An internal document acknowledged the risk that reviews could be repeated until staff were satisfied, suggesting potential arbitrariness, but the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare concluded it could not confirm such behaviour and attributed most cases to errors or scheduling constraints under a strict three-month processing deadline. However, some staff remain skeptical of the ministry’s findings, arguing that internal investigations cannot uncover the truth and that reassessments were sometimes influenced by expectations about how particular doctors would rule, raising concerns about transparency and fairness in the system.
Barrier Free Japan