Category: Disability

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Disability Japan

Trial of Shinzo Abe’s Assassin May Begin in October

The trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, may begin this October, it has been learned. On Friday, Nara District Court presented the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office and Yamagami’s lawyers with a proposal to hold the first hearing of his trial in late October, informed sources said. Yamagami, 44, is expected to admit in court that he intended to kill Abe, according to the sources. A total of six pretrial conferences have been held on the case so far, and the seventh is scheduled for May 27.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 17, 2025 1
Blind Crime Dating Disability Japan

Japan’s Disability Dating App Scammers: Man with Visual Impairment Speaks Out

In the wake of three employees being arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for luring a man they met through a matching app to a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, forcing him to pay 1.1 million yen in cash and other charges in a scam; a man in his 20s who was a victim of the “rip-off” scam by the recently arrested group spoke to NHK. The man has a level two visual impairment and usually uses a white cane when walking outside.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 16, 2025 2
Crime Dating Disability Japan

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Arrest Three Bar Employees Who Used ‘Dating App’ to Lure Man with Disabilities to Pay 1.1 Million Yen

Three employees were arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police for luring a man they met through a matching app to a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo, and forcing him to pay 1.1 million yen in cash and other charges in a scam. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police are currently investigating the group’s activities and the full extent of their illegal operations.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 15, 2025 1
Children Disability Japan Mental Health

Japanese kids’ mental health ranks poorly among rich nations: UNICEF

Children in Japan continue to suffer poor mental health, with the country ranking 32nd among 43 developed and emerging nations due to high suicide rates and other factors, a UNICEF report released Wednesday showed. The country improved from 37th in 2020 when the ranking was last published, although this time the suicide rate among Japanese youth was the fourth highest among wealthy states surveyed, worsening from 12th.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 14, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Elderly Japan Podcast

Elderly and Disabled Woman in Mie Prefecture Banned from Using Car for “overuse” [Podcast Episode]

A woman, aged in her 80s, lives in the city of Suzuka in western Japan’s Mie Prefecture. She has an artificial bladder due to cancer and so is unable to work. Her son, with whom she lived before he passed away, suffered from an intractable disease and required canes to walk. Both had disability certificates. The woman had been receiving welfare since August 2019, but in September 2022, the payments abruptly stopped. Subsequent district and high court rulings accepted the mother and son’s claims, and ordered the city to rescind its decision, although the city appealed the ruling

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 13, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Elderly Japan

Chiba Boy Arrested for Alleged Murder of Elderly Woman

Police in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, arrested a 15-year-old junior high school boy in the city of Chiba, the prefecture’s capital, on Monday on suspicion of murdering an 84-year-old woman. The boy allegedly stabbed Yayoi Takahashi in the back with a knife-like object on a street in the city’s Wakaba Ward around 5 p.m. Sunday. He is admitting the allegation, investigative sources said. Police are investigating the possibility that the boy randomly attacked the woman as they did not know each other, according to the sources.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 12, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Human Rights North Korea

Defector Talks About Stigma People with Disabilities Experience in North Korea [Podcast Episode]

Maeng Hyo-shim was born and raised in North Korea before she and her family defected in 2018. She graduated from high school in South Korea and is currently attending Seoul Women’s University. She works to raise awareness within the international community about the human rights situation in North Korea and was recently interviewed by NHK on the situation people with disabilities face in North Korea.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 11, 2025 1
Barrier Free Disability Elderly Japan Welfare

Elderly and Disabled Woman in Mie Banned from Using Car for “overuse”

A woman, aged in her 80s, lives in the city of Suzuka in western Japan’s Mie Prefecture. She has an artificial bladder due to cancer and so is unable to work. Her son, with whom she lived before he passed away, suffered from an intractable disease and required canes to walk. Both had disability certificates. The woman had been receiving welfare since August 2019, but in September 2022, the payments abruptly stopped. Subsequent district and high court rulings accepted the mother and son’s claims, and ordered the city to rescind its decision, although the city appealed the ruling.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 10, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability North Korea

Defector Talks About Stigma People with Disabilities Experience in North Korea

Maeng Hyo-shim was born and raised in North Korea before she and her family defected in 2018. She graduated from high school in South Korea and is currently attending Seoul Women’s University. She works to raise awareness within the international community about the human rights situation in North Korea and was recently interviewed by NHK on the situation people with disabilities face in North Korea.