The deaths of the 87-year-old man from Kanagawa Prefecture and the 84-year-old woman from Tokyo raised the number of fatalities in Japan of people infected with the COVID-19 virus to three, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
The number of fatal accidents caused by drivers aged 75 or older fell to 401 in Japan in 2019, accounting for 14.4 percent of the total, slightly lower than a record high seen the previous year, police data showed Thursday.
A woman in her 80s in Kanagawa Prefecture has died of the new coronavirus, the first confirmed fatality in Japan, the health minister said Thursday. The government has decided to allow elderly passengers suffering from chronic illnesses to disembark earlier than scheduled if they test negative for the virus.
The elderly passengers and those with chronic health problems may leave the cruise ship as early as Tuesday morning, the source said.
Japan’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved bills to urge businesses to let employees work until age 70 as the country seeks to expand the working population to cover rising social security costs amid the rapid aging of society.
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.
Under the current system, people aged 75 or above, excluding those with incomes comparable to those of preretirement workers, pay 10 pct of medical expenses out of pocket. The government plans to boost the share to 20 pct for those with incomes above a certain level.
A panel of experts called on Japan’s National Police Agency on Thursday to introduce a system under which elderly drivers at high risk of causing accidents need to pass a driving skills test in order to renew their licenses.
“Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to strengthen support from the next fiscal year for people with disabilities and senior citizens who repeat crimes due to problems with welfare networks and difficulties in living circumstances.”
“While a significant proportion of those who died in vehicles were young, many of those who died inside their homes were elderly.”
Barrier Free Japan