The Osaka-based school corporation ‘Heisei Healthcare Academy’ had previously filed three lawsuits across the country, in Sendai, Tokyo and one other in Osaka, arguing that a law that regulates the establishment of anma massage shiatsu teacher training schools for visually impaired people, violates the “freedom of choice of occupation” guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution.
In July in Naka-ku, Yokohama, a hearing-impaired woman tried to ride on a ropeway by herself, but was refused use because of her disability, according to an interview with a person concerned. It was reported that the business operator has stipulated in the manual that hearing-impaired people should not use it alone.
Yasuhiro Nakata, a man who was born with cerebral palsy claimed that the Public Election Law’s provision limiting the number of assistants to “those who work at polling stations” violates the Constitution because it does not protect the secrecy of the vote. The court rejected the man’s appeal.
The Osaka High Court on July 9 rejected the appeal of a lawsuit filed by Heisei Healthcare Academy, a school corporation in Osaka City, against the government’s refusal to allow the establishment of a new Shiatsu training facility for the visually impaired.
On 28 May, the revised Disability Discrimination Act was unanimously passed by the House of Councillors at a plenary session, requiring private companies to provide “reasonable accommodation” to support the mobility and communication of people with disabilities. The government will now consider the fundamental policy based on the revised law and make a cabinet decision.
The revisions to Law for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities were unanimously passed and enacted at the plenary session of the House of Councillors on May 28, requiring private businesses such as companies and stores to provide “reasonable accommodation” to support the mobility and communication of persons with disabilities.
Masakatsu Amami (71), a patient with cerebral palsy in Chiba City, said that it was unreasonable that the disability welfare benefits based on the Comprehensive Support Law for Persons with Disabilities were discontinued at the age of 65 and that the transition to long-term care insurance caused self-pay. On the 18th, the Chiba District Court dismissed the claim.
Mayu Yamada, a single parent with four children, was receiving child support allowance when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was awarded a basic disability pension in April 2017. However, in January 2006, Kyoto Prefecture suspended her child support allowance on the grounds that she was receiving a disability pension.
“I think that if you use a method like exercising your strength, it will not be understood by people with disabilities, but it will not lead to repulsion. Is it really good for other people with disabilities?”
In a recent blog post entitled ‘Wheelchairs were denied boarding at JR’, the disability activist and writer, Natsuko Izena describes not being allowed to board a JR station, something that she describes as “a common occurrence for wheelchair users in this day and age.”
Barrier Free Japan