The Disability News Japan 2024 Wrap-Up! [Podcast Episode]
In the style of all the ‘big beasts’ of social media, I thought ‘Barrier Free Japan’ should do a ‘Wrap-up’ at the end of 2024.
Category: Japan
Record 78 Percent in Japan Feel Anxious Government Survey Shows
A Japanese government survey showed on Friday 20th December that 78.2 pct of respondents feel anxious or worried, the highest level since the government began asking about such sentiment in the annual survey in 1981. The public opinion survey on people’s lives by the Cabinet Office also found that 28.1 pct of respondents think that their standard of living is in the lower middle part of the general public, the highest level in 35 years, while 46.7 pct answered middle, 14.2 pct upper middle, 8.7 pct low and 1.7 pct high. People worry most about their own health, cited by 63.8 pct of all respondents, followed by plans for life after retirement, picked by 62.8 pct, and the outlook for future income and assets, chosen by 58.0 pct.
Large Number of People with Disabilities in Japan ‘let go’ from Workplaces as Government-aided Employers Close Down [Podcast Episode]
large number of people with disabilities are being let go from workplaces in Japan as government-aided employers which offered them chances to gain skills and knowledge while working have been closing down. Formerly, there were about 4,600 such facilities nationwide. Between March and July this year, this was reduced by more than 160, and around 4,300 people lost their jobs. Usually, between around 1,000 and 3,000 people with disabilities are fired each year.
Kanagawa Prefecture holds first meeting considering measures to address medical issues at sister facility to ‘Sagamihara Massacre’ care home
The first meeting of the “Medical and Health Management Issues Reform Committee,” which will consider measures to address high health risks for residents of Nakai Yamayuri En (Nakai Town), a prefectural facility for the intellectually disabled, was held on December 18th at the prefectural office in Naka Ward, Yokohama. As investigations into cases of abuse of residents at the facility progress, issues such as residents not receiving appropriate medical care have emerged. At the beginning of the meeting, Governor Yuji Kuroiwa said, “A new issue of medical gaps has come to light. We would like to position this as part of the reform of Nakai Yamayuri En.” ‘Nakai Yamayuri En’ is ran by the same company that manages the ‘Tsukui Yamayuri En’ care facility where, in the early hours of July 26th 2016, a former employee broke in and killed 19 residents between the ages of 19 and 70 with a knife, injuring 26 others.
Fukui Prefecture Takes “administrative action” Over Fraudulent Claims of 7.95 Million Yen in Welfare Benefits for People with Disabilities [Podcast Episode]
On December 13, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, took administrative action under the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act to revoke the designation of ‘MIRAI’, a Type B support for continuous employment support facility operated by Imakoko, a general incorporated association in the city, for fraudulently claiming and receiving approximately 7.95 million yen in disability welfare service benefits.
Large Number of People with Disabilities in Japan ‘let go’ from Workplaces as Government-aided Employers Close Down
A large number of people with disabilities are being let go from workplaces in Japan as government-aided employers which offered them chances to gain skills and knowledge while working have been closing down. The national government should speed up support measures while thinking up systems to protect their employment. Formerly, there were about 4,600 such facilities nationwide. Between March and July this year, this was reduced by more than 160, and around 4,300 people lost their jobs. Usually, between around 1,000 and 3,000 people with disabilities are fired each year, but this year stands greatly apart.
Manhunt continues after McDonald’s stabbings leave teen dead in Japan
Police continued their search on Monday for a man believed responsible for the stabbing death of a 15-year-old junior high school girl two days ago at a McDonald’s restaurant in southwestern Japan.
The man, described by witnesses as being around 40 years old, also stabbed a male student who was waiting in line with the female victim, Saaya Nakashima, at the fast-food restaurant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The 15-year-old boy, who police did not name, survived but suffered serious injuries.
Second Anniversary of Disability Studies Scholar and Japanologist Dr. Mark Bookman’s Death [Podcast Episode]
Two years have now passed since the disability studies scholar and Japanologist Mark Bookman PhD (1991 – 2022) died on December 16th 2022. At the time of his death, Mark was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Tokyo College and about to take up a position at Ritsumeikan University.
Fukui Prefecture Takes “administrative action” Over Fraudulent Claims of 7.95 Million Yen in Welfare Service Benefits for People with Disabilities
On December 13, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, took administrative action under the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act to revoke the designation of ‘MIRAI’, a Type B support for continuous employment support facility operated by Imakoko, a general incorporated association in the city, for fraudulently claiming and receiving approximately 7.95 million yen in disability welfare service benefits.
Japan high court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
The Fukuoka High Court on Friday became the third high court in Japan to rule the country’s lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss plaintiffs’ claim for damages. In the ruling, the court judged for the first time that civil law provisions not allowing same-sex marriage violated Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to the pursuit of happiness. The court also said the ban violates sections of the Constitution that guarantee equality under the law and upholds individual dignity and the essential equality of both sexes. “There is no longer any reason to not legally recognize marriage between same-sex couples,” Presiding Judge Takeshi Okada said.
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