Category: Disability

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 7, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

Japan’s “Father of Disability Welfare” Applied for Forced Sterilization, Told 16-Year-Old Girl bed-wetting will stop [Podcast Episode]

It has been discovered through research that Omi Gakuen, a facility for children with intellectual disabilities in Shiga Prefecture founded by Kazuo Itoga, who was praised as the “father of disability welfare,” gave a 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability the false explanation that “your bed-wetting will stop” when applying for her forced sterilization in 1952, during the period when the Eugenic Protection Law was in effect (1948–1996). The law permitted sterilization to be carried out through deception. This is the first time that the specific means of deception used in such a case have been identified in Shiga Prefecture.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 6, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Crime Disability Japan

Employee at Chiba disability facility arrested on suspicion of assault after striking resident

The suspect is accused of striking a 52-year-old male resident near the face with a sandal around 4:30 p.m. on September 23 at “Sodegaura Hikari no Gakuen”, the facility in Shimoshinden, Sodegaura City where he works as a care worker, and grabbing his upper body and tripping him so he fell backward around 7:50 p.m.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 5, 2026 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

Japan’s “Father of Disability Welfare”Applied for Forced Sterilization, Told 16-Year-Old Girl bed-wetting will stop

It has been discovered through research that Omi Gakuen, a facility for children with intellectual disabilities in Shiga Prefecture founded by Kazuo Itoga, who was praised as the “father of disability welfare,” gave a 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability the false explanation that “your bed-wetting will stop” when applying for her forced sterilization in 1952, during the period when the Eugenic Protection Law was in effect (1948–1996). The law permitted sterilization to be carried out through deception. This is the first time that the specific means of deception used in such a case have been identified in Shiga Prefecture.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 5, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Earthquake Elderly Health Infectious Diseases Influenza Japan Kumamoto

Flu Spreads in Quake-Hit Kumamoto as Japan Sees Early Outbreak

As Japan saw the second-earliest start of a nationwide influenza outbreak, the flu is also spreading in Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit by a powerful earthquake in July. With more than 1,300 people still staying at evacuation centers two months after the July 28 temblor that registered the maximum 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, an expert has stressed the importance of getting vaccinated early.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 4, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Disability Japan

Tsu District Court Orders Compensation After Name of Disability Facility Whistleblower Leaked

According to the ruling and other sources, the man reported to Taiki Town where a resident at the facility lives; in February 2024 that he had witnessed fellow care workers verbally abusing residents and striking them on the back. When a town official contacted the facility, they disclosed that the man was the whistleblower.  

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 1, 2026 1
Disability Japan Sagamihara

Sagamihara Stabbings retrial bid rejected; Supreme Court dismisses second special appeal

The Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Kimihiro Ishikane, has ruled against a second retrial petition filed by former employee Satoshi Uematsu, 36, who was sentenced to death for the 2016 killings and wounding of 45 people at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture. The decision, dated Sept. 29, dismissed the death-row inmate’s special appeal.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 30, 2026 1
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Housing Japan

Survey finds one in ten people with disabilities denied private rental housing in Fukuoka

Some respondents said they had been turned away because of their disability. Experts say such cases could constitute “unjust discriminatory treatment,” which is prohibited under Japan’s Act for Eliminating Discrimination against People with Disabilities. The survey was conducted from December last year through March this year through the group’s 20 member organizations and other channels.