Category: Intellectual disabilities

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 25, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Education Intellectual disabilities Japan

Japan’s Ministry of Education to Examine Appropriate Teaching Methods in High Schools

The Ministry of Education announced plans to review how tsūkyū shidō—a system that allows students with developmental disabilities to take some lessons in separate rooms while remaining in regular classes—can be better implemented in high schools. While more than 200,000 students nationwide now use tsūkyū shidō, the highest number on record, participation among high school students remains limited. Starting next year, the ministry will designate model schools to study effective teaching methods, expand support with a focus on employment after graduation, and promote awareness of the system. It will also research ways to share information between schools and disability support facilities using ICT, and improve teachers’ understanding of severe behavioral disorders.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Election Intellectual disabilities Japan

People with intellectual disabilities create election dictionary

A group of people with intellectual disabilities in Japan has created and published an online dictionary for teaching others about election-related terms and the steps to vote. With Sunday’s election for the House of Councilors — the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament — drawing closer, in-person and online study sessions have been held using the dictionary. The 236-page “Senkyo no Kotoba” (terms of election) dictionary contains about 170 election-related terms, such as “the right to vote,” “candidate” and “democracy,” and the voting procedure is explained in hiragana letters in principle. The group of about 30 people, mostly users of Soshien, a social welfare organization for people with intellectual disabilities in the city of Higashiosaka in Osaka Prefecture, spent a year making the dictionary from April 2024.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast

Japanese Rapper with Intellectual Disabilities ‘Sapporo Gag Man’ Talks About “the sadness of living as a disabled person” [Podcast Episode]

“Your intelligence stopped at the third grade of elementary school” — the rapper and comedian from ‘Sapporo’s Gag Man’ from Sapporo, (28), was told these shocking words by a teacher in the summer of his first year of junior high school. He was diagnosed with intellectual disability and panic disorder. How did his life change after his disability was discovered? Here is an excerpt from his new book, “Not Normal: Why I’m a Rapper, Even though My Intelligence Stopped in Third Grade.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 19, 2025 1
Disability Entertainment Intellectual disabilities Japan

“Your intelligence stopped at the third grade of elementary school” Sapporo rapper (28) with an intellectual disability writes about “the sadness of living as a disabled person”

“Your intelligence stopped at the third grade of elementary school” — the rapper and comedian from ‘Sapporo’s Gag Man’ from Sapporo, (28), was told these shocking words by a teacher in the summer of his first year of junior high school. He was diagnosed with intellectual disability and panic disorder. How did his life change after his disability was discovered? Here is an excerpt from his new book, “Not Normal: Why I’m a Rapper, Even though My Intelligence Stopped in Third Grade” (Saitosha)

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 4, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Golden Week Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast Welfare

Golden Week ‘Shogai Podcast Shorts’ 2: Greenery Day [Podcast Episode]

In response to a Kyodo News report that the number of people being denied Japan’s national disability pension has surged in fiscal 2024, the National Federation of Associations for the Support of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Zenkoku Te o Tsunagu Ikuseikai Rengōkai), which consists of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families, issued a protest statement by May 2, saying, “If the report is true, it cannot be overlooked.” The organization is demanding that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare verify the facts and publicly disclose the results.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 3, 2025 4
Disability Intellectual disabilities Japan Welfare

Protest Statement Issued by Japan National Intellectual Disability Organization Over Sharp Increase in Disability Pension Denials

In response to a Kyodo News report that the number of people being denied Japan’s national disability pension has surged in fiscal 2024, the National Federation of Associations for the Support of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Zenkoku Te o Tsunagu Ikuseikai Rengōkai), which consists of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families, issued a protest statement by May 2, saying, “If the report is true, it cannot be overlooked.” The organization is demanding that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare verify the facts and publicly disclose the results.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 27, 2025 1
ADHD Autism developmental disabilities Intellectual disabilities Japan

Amidst Controversy Over Book Depicting Neurodivergent People as Animals, Publisher Changes Author’s Credentials

In the pre-release book that the Mainichi Shimbun obtained by the 18th, Kanda’s title was listed as “industrial counselor,” but by the 23rd, the title had been changed to “psychological counselor” on the website and mail-order site of the publisher, Mikasa Shobo. According to the Japan Association of Industrial Counselors, which administers the qualification exam for industrial counselors, Kanda is not currently registered as an industrial counselor. Kanda passed the “industrial counselor” qualification, a certification given by the former Ministry of Labor, in January 1999, and considering that “the author has been displaying this qualification for about 30 years, long before the association registered the trademark,” she initially used this title in the publication.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Intellectual disabilities Korea Podcast

Suspicion of Forced Labour of Intellectually Disabled People in Korea’s Taepyeong Salt Fields Emerge [Podcast Episode]

Since 2014, suspicions of human trafficking and forced labor of intellectually disabled people have emerged in salt fields in Sinan-gun, including Taepyeong Salt Fields. In 2022, victims of forced labour in salt fields spoke to the media, saying things like “I ran away but was caught” and “I was beaten.” The US has imposed an import ban on solar salt products produced by a Korean company, citing “forced labour.” This is the first time that a foreign government has banned the import of a Korean company’s products for the reason that they were made using forced labour.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 28, 2025 Number of comments0
ADHD Autism Education Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast

Parents and Neurodivergent Children Attending ‘Inclusive’ Tokyo School Required to Sign Non-Disclosure Agreement [Podcast Episode]

A school operator in the Tokyo suburbs required parents of newly enrolled students to submit a written pledge promising not to leak internal school information to outside parties, sources have told the Mainichi Shimbun. Musashino Higashi Gakuen is known for its inclusive education model, in which children with and without autism study together. Some parents have noted that “few places offer inclusive education for children with autism,” amid growing unease about the institution’s future.