Twenty-four people were confirmed dead Friday after a fire raced through a psychiatric clinic in an eight-story multiple tenant building in a bustling area of Osaka, with murder and arson suspected, police said.
In a lay judge trial, Presiding Judge Kentaro Iijima recognized that the defendant was in a state of insanity at the time of the incident due to a mental disorder, acquitting him of charges including murder.
It was also revealed that Princess Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, has been feeling unwell since around 2018 and had been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder caused by what she described as psychological abuse of the couple and their families.
With the Tokyo Olympics attracting a lot of public attention in Japan, some people who are not interested in the Games, or sports in general, are feeling uncomfortable or even harassed.
According to a survey by the ministry, suicide was the second leading cause of death among Japanese nationals living abroad in 2019, following injury and illness. People living abroad especially could face the issue of loneliness and isolation, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a press conference on July 9, when the ministry’s project was launched. “We would like to make efforts to carefully listen to the voices of such people.”
The number of victims makes the attack one of Japan’s biggest-ever mass murders. This suspect’s motive as well as his mental competency are expected to be the focus of his trial.
Shoji Tsuchida, Professor of Safety Psychology at Kansai University, warned against simply sneering at such postings. “Telling antivaccine people without much consideration that they’re crazy will make the situation even worse,” he said.
According to the Japan Association of Psychiatric Hospitals, from March last year to January this year, a total of 1,548 people, including 1,123 patients and 425 staff members, were infected at 116 facilities nationwide. Of these, about 60% wanted to be transferred to coronavirus beds but were unable to do so, mostly because of mental disorders, according to the association.
Regarding the vaccination of the new coronavirus, an expert group of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved on the 18th that people with severe mental illness or intellectual disability will be included in the priority vaccination.
More than 60% of patients found to be infected with the novel coronavirus while in psychiatric hospitals in Japan could not be transferred to other medical facilities designated for COVID-19 cases, as general hospitals apparently tend to refuse them due to the perception that they are difficult to deal with, a survey has revealed.
Barrier Free Japan