Category: Japan

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 24, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Sagamihara

Seven Years Pass Since the ‘Sagamihara Massacre’ when 19 People with Disabilities at a Care Home in Japan were Killed

July 26th 2023 will mark seven years since the ‘Sagamihara Massacre’, when, in the small hours of July 26, 2016, Satoshi Uematsu, a former worker at a care facility for people with disabilities in Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture, broke into his former place of employment and killed 19 residents aged between 19 and 70 with a knife and injured 26 others, specifically 24 residents and two employees.

Satoshi Uematsu’s death sentence was finalized in March 2020.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 23, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Elderly Housing Japan

Japan Govt to Help Elderly, Disabled And Others Rent Homes Despite Landlords Concern They May “cause trouble with neighbours”

The Japanese government plans to help the elderly, disabled and others rent homes, by creating an environment that allows landlords to rent properties to them with ease.

There are cases in which landlords refuse to rent properties to such people out of concern that they might default on rent, die alone or cause trouble with neighbors.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 22, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast Writing

Disability News Japan Podcast: Sao Ichikawa, A Woman with a Disability, Wins Japan’s Prestigious Literary Prize

Sao Ichikawa, the winner of the Akutagawa Prize, is a 43-year-old resident of Kanagawa Prefecture.

She was diagnosed with congenital myopathy, a muscle disease, one of the most intractable diseases, when she was 10 years old, began using a ventilator at the age of 14, uses an electric wheelchair for transportation, and writes using a tablet device.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 20, 2023 Number of comments0
Crime Japan Mental Health Self Defense Forces

Japan GSDF recruit to undergo psychiatric test after shooting instructors

A Ground Self-Defense Force recruit who fatally shot two of his instructors and injured another during a live-fire training exercise in central Japan last month will be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation, prosecutors said Thursday.

The 18-year-old will be detained for approximately four months through Nov. 24 for the examination, the Gifu Summary Court said after accepting the request by prosecutors for his detention.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 20, 2023 Number of comments0
Disability Elderly Hearing Impaired Japan

Jiji Press, Seven Others Team Up to Tackle Hearing Loss

Jiji Press Ltd. and seven partners on Wednesday signed a declaration of cooperation to prevent social isolation for elderly and other people with hearing loss.
The partners will disseminate information on cases where new technologies, such as cartilage conduction earphones, are in practical use, aiming to promote support for those people.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 19, 2023 Number of comments0
Art Disability Imperial Family Japan

Japan’s Princess Kako Attends ‘Doremifa Dance Concert’ Performed by People with Disabilities

Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, attended the Doremifa Dance Concert in Tokyo on Monday 17th July.

This was the fourth time that Kako attended the event, which was organized by a Tokyo-based non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of people with disabilities, inviting people with disabilities and their families as spectators.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 19, 2023 3
Art Disability Japan Writing

Sao Ichikawa, Woman with Congenital Myopathy Wins Japan’s Akutagawa Prize

The protagonist of the story is a woman with the same serious disability as Ichikawa.

She describes her life in which she is forced to rely on medical equipment such as a ventilator and aspirator to aspirate her lungs, while at the same time humorously expressing her bitter sarcasm toward the lives of normal people.

The work is full of Ichikawa’s powerful words as a person with severe disabilities.