Category: Japan

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 14, 2024 1
Care Crime Japan Megumi Corporation

“Some facilities will no longer be able to operate” as Disgraced Megumi Care Facility Operator Prepares to Transfer Control of Business

Megumi, which operates a group home for people with disabilities, submitted its business policy to Aichi Prefecture on July 12th, indicating its intention to transfer the business within the year.

There is a possibility that some facilities will no longer be able to operate… Megumi, which operates a group home for people with disabilities, aims to transfer the business to a separate corporation within the year.

After being found to have inflated food costs and fraudulent compensation claims, Megumi was administratively punished by Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, and will no longer be able to operate group homes nationwide.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 12, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Paris Summer Olympics Japan Mental Health Para Sports Paralympics Sports

Mental Health Experts to Join Japan Delegation at Paris Olympics

The Japanese delegation to the Paris Olympics, which begin later this month, will include four mental health experts to help create a better environment for Japanese athletes. It will be the first Summer Olympics where such experts, called “welfare officers,” will accompany Japanese athletes. Previously, mental health services for Japanese athletes were provided online. But Dohi said it is “easier for athletes to talk” to accompanying experts.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 10, 2024 Number of comments0
2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disability Hospitals Japan

Public Hospitals in Quake-Hit Okunoto Area Bleed Red Ink

Four public hospitals in the earthquake-hit Okunoto area in central Japan ran a combined loss of over 1.2 billion yen in fiscal 2023, it was learned Tuesday. 
   The Okunoto area, which is the northern point of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, was hit especially hard by the 7.6-magnitude quake that shook the peninsula Jan. 1.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 9, 2024 Number of comments0
Abuse Crime Disability Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #41: Kyoto men accused of forcing disabled person into washing machine

Kyoto police arrested two men on Thursday for allegedly forcing a disabled coworker into an industrial washing machine and turning it on, injuring him. On March 26 at around 2:30 p.m, the two suspects reportedly told their coworker, a 50-year-old man with an intellectual disability, “You stink! Get in the washing machine.”
They allegedly proceeded to force him into the machine and turn it on, resulting in injuries that required two weeks to heal. The victim sought medical attention a few days after the incident. The doctor who treated him noticed bruises and other injuries all over his body and reported the case to the police.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 8, 2024 Number of comments0
Japan Kumamoto Minamata Disease Politics

Environment Minister Meets Again with Minamata Disease Sufferers

Japanese Environment Minister Shintaro Ito on Monday met again with Minamata disease sufferers after the microphone was abruptly switched off at a previous meeting while such people were speaking. 
   “I apologize again. We will give assistance to the fullest extent possible,” Ito said at Monday’s meeting in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, with six groups of sufferers of the neurological disorder caused by polluted industrial wastewater.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 7, 2024 Number of comments0
Abuse Cults Japan Jehovah’s Witnesses

Only 8% of religious group followers’ children back government remedy steps

Only 8 percent of “second-generation” members of religious groups such as the Unification Church in Japan feel the government’s measures to protect them, which include banning maliciously solicited donations, are sufficient, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.

Their plight has garnered attention since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022, by a man claiming to hold a grudge against the controversial group due to his mother making financially ruinous donations to them.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 7, 2024 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Cults Disability Japan

Unification Church in Tough Position 2 Yrs after Abe Shooting

As Monday marks the second anniversary of the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Unification Church finds itself in a difficult position as the incident shed light on the religious group’s controversial practices, such as collecting massive donations from its followers.

Since November 2022, the culture ministry has repeatedly exercised its right to have the group respond to its inquiries. And in October last year, the ministry asked Tokyo District Court to issue an order to dissolve the group, alleging violations of the Civil Code.