Category: Disability

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 3, 2024 Number of comments0
Care Crime Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #30: Suspicious Death of Disabled Man After Dental Surgery and a Film about Forced Sterilization

The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.

According to the police, at around 2:00 p.m. on the 27th of this month, a 69-year-old man with intellectual disabilities who was staying at the Andante Kashima facility for the disabled in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, lost consciousness while undergoing treatment for a cavity. The man was taken to the hospital, but died about an hour later.

Police investigation revealed that the cause of death was acute respiratory failure due to pressure on the chest and abdomen.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 31, 2024 1
Disability Health Intellectual disabilities Japan

Male Resident of Osaka Facility for Disabled Dies After Dental Treatment, Chest Compressions Investigated

A 69-year-old male resident of a facility for the disabled in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, lost consciousness while undergoing treatment for a cavity and later died.

He is said to have suffered acute respiratory failure due to pressure on the chest and other areas. At the time, five staff members at the facility were holding the man down to prevent him from moving during treatment, and the police are currently investigating the details.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 30, 2024 1
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan

New Film Depicts Suffering Of Forced Sterilization Victims; “Chinmoku No 50-Nen” Explores History Of Japan’s Eugenics Law

Japan’s defunct Eugenic Protection Law, which allowed for the forced sterilization of people with disabilities, is at the heart of a recently completed film.

The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 29, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

As Japan’s Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Forced Sterilization, the Victims Speak

The Japanese Supreme Court’s Grand Bench held an appeal hearing Wednesday on five damages lawsuits filed against the government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, in which victims sought a decision giving them relief.

“Please write a judgment that gives relief to the lives of the victims,” an 81-year-old male plaintiff from Tokyo using the pseudonym Saburo Kita, who was forced to undergo sterilization at the age of 14, said at the hearing.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 26, 2024 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Japan Kobe World Para Athletics Championships Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #29: Kobe Para Sports, Journalism in Japan & ‘Wheelchair-bound’ versus ‘Wheelchair User’

“But another Kobe resident in her 50s said that the city was “divided in some parts,” while also lamenting that attendance could have been better. She came to see the tournament with her husband and daughter, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound.”

Some people with disabilities who use wheelchairs find ‘wheelchair-bound’ to be offensive and prefer the term ‘wheelchair user’. Barrier Free Japan sometimes gets comments and posts on social media about this issue.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 24, 2024 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan Mental Health

Nagano Murder Hearings Not in Sight 1 Year after Incident

Despite Saturday marking a full year since a fatal stabbing and shooting incident in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, it remains uncertain when hearings will begin in the trial. According to his lawyer, Aoki has accepted visits but has shown little interest in most things, remaining silent about the incident, in which four people were killed. He is being held at a facility in Nagano, after he was indicted last November following three months of detention for psychiatric evaluation.