Category: Disability

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 26, 2023 Number of comments0
Coronavirus COVID-19 Disability Elderly Japan

Japan may have entered 9th COVID-19 wave says virus expert Shigeru Omi

Japan may have entered its ninth wave of COVID-19 infections, an expert who served as the government’s top coronavirus adviser said Monday, stressing the importance of protecting vulnerable elderly individuals from the disease.

“A ninth wave may have started,” Shigeru Omi told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss the recent nationwide increase in infections after the government eased countermeasures, including downgrading the legal status of the disease to the same category as seasonal influenza in May.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 26, 2023 1
Abuse Crime Disability Japan

Suspects in 6 Year Old Boy’s Death in Kobe also Arrested for Mistreating Boy’s Wheelchair-Using Grandmother

According to the prefectural police force’s first criminal investigation division, Yumiko had been locked in the closet from the outside. She had meals regularly, but is believed to have been locked up several dozen times over the space of three months. She escaped when the four went out, and police took her into protective custody in Kobe’s Tarumi Ward on the evening of June 20. She was in a wheelchair, and suffering from eye and back injuries, but her injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 24, 2023 1
Disability Discrimination Japan Media

Request to Cut Interview with Disabled Employee from Japan’s ‘Itoham’ Video Sparks Controversy

When a restaurant that employs people with disabilities was interviewed on Itoham’s official YouTube channel, the company instructed to cut out the part of the interview with a disabled employee. The controversy stems from a post by Hiromichi Shizume, a TV producer and writer in charge of production and appearances for the channel’s project, which has sparked controversy over Itoham’s response to the situation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 22, 2023 1
Care Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Hokkaido Japan

Disabled Resident of Hokkaido Care Facility “felt coerced” into being Sterilized

On June 21, an interview with the Hokkaido prefectural government revealed that a person with a mental disability who wished to get married or live together at a group home run by Asunaro Fukushikai, a social welfare corporation in Esashi, Hokkaido (Hidetoshi Higuchi, president), stated that he “felt as if he was forced to do so” when asked by the prefectural government about the sterilization procedures being performed on him.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 21, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Eugenics Forced Sterilization Japan

“Take our sufferings seriously soon,” Says Victim of Japan’s Forced Sterilization Program after Government Report is Submitted to Diet

Referring to findings in the Diet report, an 80-year-old victim of forced sterilization at age 14, said it showed the government “had been doing terrible things by deceiving children.”
“I would like the state not to shroud the issue in the darkness but take our sufferings seriously soon,” the victim, who goes by the pseudonym of Saburo Kita, said at a news conference.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Japan My Number Welfare

62 ‘My Number’ Disability Certificate Linkage Mistakes Found in Japan’s Social Security System

Sixty-two cases in which My Number personal identification numbers were mistakenly linked with certificates for people with disabilities have been confirmed in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka, it was learned Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the health ministry asked local governments across the country to report by July 20 on how procedures for linking My Numbers with certificates for people with physical disabilities, for people with intellectual disabilities and for people with mental disorders are carried out and report by Sept. 29 whether there are any linkage errors.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Japan My Number Welfare

Japan’s Social Security System ‘My Number’ Mistakenly Linked to Disability Certificate Holders in Shizuoka

Dozens of cases in which My Number personal identification numbers were mistakenly linked with certificates for people with disabilities have been confirmed in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka, the health ministry said Tuesday.

They are the first linkage mistakes involving disability certificate information that came to light in the country.