This year’s Tokyo Paralympics will set a participation record with athletes from around 170 national organizing bodies competing, surpassing the record 164 bodies that took part in the 2012 London games, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
While the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are touted as a chance to create a more inclusive society, a Kyodo News survey showed 66 percent of respondents did not see any improvement in accessibility or understanding of disabilities since 2013, when Tokyo was awarded hosting rights. In comparison, 34 percent said they had noticed progress.
Two severely people with disabilities in their 20s who need medical care for 24 hours have left their parents for the first time and have begun living together in a private house in Fukuoka City.
Around 60 percent of local government buildings across Japan were not equipped with emergency power supplies lasting 72 hours, a crucial time frame in saving human lives during times of disaster, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Thursday.
The number of disabled people who were abused rose to more than 3,300 people nationwide last year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare concluded that while workplace abuse decreased, it increased at homes and welfare facilities.
The survey found that the number of people abused by nursing facility staff stood at 927. Of them, 688, or 74.2 pct, were women. Of the total victims, over 50 pct were physically abused.
A former employee, a 75-year-old woman who had been working at the facility for about 40 years, said, “No matter what the outcome of the trial, the victims will not return. I want the defendants to feel a little sorry.”
There are more than 460,000 persons with disabilities working in private companies across the Japan where employment of persons with disabilities is required, and this is the highest ever, while approximately 30% of companies do not employ any persons with disabilities, a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has shown.
On December 24th, a hearing impaired couple from Fukuoka Prefecture filed a lawsuit at Fukuoka District Court on the grounds that they were forced to undergo infertility surgery under the old Eugenic Protection Act, an act which violated basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. They are seeking damages of 10 million yen.
It was previously reported by Kyodo News that the he would plead not guilty, arguing he was not mentally competent to bear responsibility for his acts due to the effects of marijuana.
Barrier Free Japan