Category: Podcast

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 24, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Crime Disability Disasters Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast

Male Radiologist Found Guilty of Molesting Fukuoka Female Student with Intellectual Disabilities During Medical Exam [Podcast Episode]

In a retrial at the Fukuoka District Court on the 20th, Presiding Judge Shinichi Suzushima sentenced a 44-year-old male radiological technologist to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.The man had been charged with quasi-forcible indecency for touching the chest of a female student with intellectual disabilities during a 2018 medical check-up at a high school in Fukuoka Prefecture. Judge Suzushima upheld the credibility of the student’s testimony, describing the act as a “despicable crime that exploited his professional position.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 20, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Podcast Welfare

“The users are the victims”: After ‘Kizuna Holdings’ Scandal, 1,280 Disabled Service Users to Lose Jobs [Podcast Episode]

“Kizuna Holdings hasn’t suffered any damage, but we are the ones struggling. They are the embodiment of insincerity…When I look for new work, I’m often asked, ‘Where did you work before?’ When I tell them it was a Kizuna Holdings facility, they say, ‘Oh, there. That means you were complicit in the crime. You’re an accomplice,’ and then tell me not to come back. But the one truly in the wrong is Kizuna Holdings, the users are the victims.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 16, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Mental Health Podcast

Government Survey Indicates 4.5 Percent in Japan Constantly Feel Lonely [Podcast Episode]

A Japanese government survey in 2025 published on Tuesday 14th April showed that 4.5 pct of respondents in the country often or constantly feel lonely, up 0.2 percentage point from the previous year. The share of people who often or constantly feel lonely was higher in their 30s to 50s. The survey, conducted by the Cabinet Office in December, found that 13.7 pct said they sometimes feel lonely and 19.5 pct said they have lonely feelings once in a while.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Podcast Welfare

Sapporo Employment Support Agency Executive Referred to Prosecutors Over False Disability Claims [Podcast Episode]

Masamichi Sone, the representative of a company operating facilities such as “Rapport” in Nishi Ward, Sapporo, has been arrested and referred to prosecutors. Sone is suspected of repeatedly submitting false applications to Sapporo City between 2022 and 2025, claiming to have provided employment support services for persons with disabilities despite not having appointed a qualified managing supervisor as required. He allegedly defrauded the city of approximately ¥35 million in benefit payments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 13, 2026 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Tokyo’s Toshima Ward Revokes Designation of Deaf Child Daycare Centre Over 58.3 Million Yen Fraud, Falsified Staff Reports [Podcast Episode]

Tokyo’s Toshima Ward announced on the 10th that it has revoked the designation of the childcare support service “Aton Juku – Child Development Support and After-School Day Service for Children Living with Sign Language,” after it was found to have fraudulently received approximately 58.3 million yen in benefits by concealing a staff shortage. The revocation will take effect from July 1.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 11, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Podcast

60% of Workers in Japan with Mental or Developmental Disabilities Do Not Disclose Disability [Podcast Episode]

When an advocacy group for people with mental and developmental disabilities conducted a survey on employment, over 60% of respondents reported having experience with “closed employment” – working without disclosing their disability. Many cited the reason for non-disclosure as “feeling that it would lead to employment disadvantages such as dismissal or contract non-renewal.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 10, 2026 Number of comments0
Alzheimer’s Dementia Japan Podcast

Novel Alzheimer’s Therapies Given to Less than 20 Percent of Applicants in Japan [Podcast Episode]

Novel Alzheimer’s therapies have been given to 19 pct of outpatients who applied for the medications, according to a recent survey at a Tokyo hospital. The lecanemab and donanemab therapies for early-stage Alzheimer’s patients are now clinically available under Japan’s national health insurance scheme, which curbs a sharp rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses. Despite the relatively low-cost availability, however, the drugs have eventually been administered to only 87 out of 456 applicants, the survey by a study group at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology showed.