Category: Podcast

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Health Japan Podcast

Unicharm to Test Sanitary Pad Dispensers in Tokyo’s Shibuya [Podcast Episode]

Unicharm Corp. announced on Wednesday 15th October it will begin a trial installation of free sanitary pad dispensers at 22 public facilities in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, in partnership with the local government. Running until Dec. 26, the initiative aims to support individuals who cannot afford menstrual products. While Unicharm provides the dispensers, Shibuya Ward will supply the sanitary napkins. The company, which has already introduced the dispensers in schools and businesses, expressed hopes of expanding the program through further cooperation with local governments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Crime Disability Japan Podcast

A Tale of Two Care Home Crimes in Japan [Podcast Episode]

In two separate incidents in Japan, vulnerable residents of care facilities tragically lost their lives under disturbing circumstances. In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, a 38-year-old woman with disabilities died in December 2022 after suffering severe burns from overly hot bathwater during staff-assisted bathing. Three employees of the Hitakami-en facility have been referred to prosecutors for professional negligence resulting in death, as the water temperature was found to be dangerously high. Meanwhile, in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, two elderly women were found dead on October 15, hours after being discovered bleeding and unconscious in their care facility.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Japan Podcast Travel

Saitama Bus Service for People with Disabilities to Be Discontinued Due to Driver Shortage [Podcast Episode]

A long-running bus service for people with disabilities in Saitama Prefecture will be discontinued at the end of the fiscal year due to a shortage of drivers and the wider availability of lift-equipped charter buses from private operators, the prefectural government said. The Oozora-go, a 40-seat bus donated over decades by Musashino Bank, has served thousands annually since 1973, offering affordable group travel for disability organizations. Advocates have expressed disappointment, saying the service promoted social participation for people with disabilities, while Governor Motohiro Ōno said the prefecture will consider alternative measures in light of user feedback and social changes.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 13, 2025 Number of comments0
Holidays Japan Podcast Sports

The ‘Supōtsu no hi’ One: Typhoons, Dementia and Matsuri! [Podcast Episode]

October 13th is ‘Sports Day’ national holiday in Japan! A Japanese government survey showed Friday that 75.8 pct of the respondents are unaware of the enactment of the country’s basic law on dementia. The result of the public opinion survey by the Cabinet Office revealed that public awareness in Japan remains low even more than a year and a half after the law’s enforcement in January 2024. Of the respondents, 16.4 pct said they are aware of the law’s enactment but do not know its content, while 4.5 pct and 1.0 pct said they know its content “to some extent” and “in detail,” respectively.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 10, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Disability Disasters Japan Podcast Typhoon

Typhoon ‘Action’ and Mie Eyes Action Against Customer Abuse [Podcast Episode]

The Mie prefectural government plans to create what it says will be Japan’s first ordinance with a penalty aimed at deterring customers from behaving abusively to workers.The ordinance would define customer abuse as excessive nuisances that go beyond social norms and harm employees’ working environment. Vicious behavior, such as shouting to demand an apology, would be classified as designated customer abuse. When a business files a complaint of customer abuse, the prefectural government will ask a panel including lawyers to investigate and seek opinions. The perpetrator will be fined if the order is not observed. The fine is likely to be about 500,000 yen.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 8, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Infectious Diseases Influenza Japan Podcast

Flu Season Starts in Japan, 2nd Earliest in 20 Years [Podcast Episode]

Japan has entered the influenza season nationwide, marking the second-earliest beginning in the past 20 years, the health ministry said Friday. The number of flu patients reported from some 3,000 regularly monitored medical institutions across the country stood at 1.04 per institution in the week through Sunday 5th October.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 6, 2025 Number of comments0
Japan Podcast Politics Sanae Takaichi

Sanae Takaichi Becomes New LDP Leader, Likely To Be Japan’s First Female Prime Minister [Podcast Episode]

Sanae Takaichi was elected leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday 4th October, paving the way for her to become the nation’s next prime minister and Japan’s first female prime minister. At her first press conference, Takaichi vowed to form an inclusive leadership team, drawing on members from all generations, including her four rivals in the LDP race. Takaichi is expected to finalize executive appointments within the coming week.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 3, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Kagoshima City Ordered to Repay 35 Million Yen, Disability Welfare Designations Revoked [Podcast Episode]

On September 26th, Kagoshima City took administrative action to revoke the disability welfare service designation of the “Employment Support Center Shichifukujin” (Takashi 2-chome), a Type B Continuing Employment Support Facility operated by the Social Welfare Corporation Tenyukai (Director: Yurika Nagata) in Murasakihara 5-chome, for fraudulently claiming training and other benefits. The city also ordered the repayment of 25,176,250 yen fraudulently claimed and received, plus additional payments totaling 35,240,631 yen. The revocation of the designation will take effect on September 30th.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 1, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Intellectual disabilities Japan Podcast

Four in Japan arrested for robbing intellectually disabled man after forcing him to drink [Podcast Episode]

Tokyo police have arrested four people on suspicion of robbing and abusing a man in his 40s with a mild intellectual disability after forcing him to drink large amounts of whisky, the Metropolitan Police Department said Sept. 26. The suspects — a 22-year-old company worker from Shizuoka Prefecture, a 24-year-old woman from Tokyo, a 21-year-old university student from Hokkaido, and a 19-year-old male restaurant worker — allegedly met the victim through social media and conspired to exploit his condition. Police said the four made the man drink over 700 milliliters of whisky in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward in June, stole his smartphone and used about 100,000 yen in electronic money. They also filmed the incident, which included acts of sexual humiliation, and later abandoned the victim near his home and again in Shizuoka Prefecture. All four have admitted to the allegations, according to the police.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 29, 2025 Number of comments0
Art Disability Japan Podcast

The First Paragraphs of a New Story by Akutagawa Prize Winning Author with Disabilities, Saou Ichikawa [Podcast Episode]

Saou Ichikawa was born in 1979. Diagnosed in childhood with congenital myopathy, a rare disease that causes muscle weakness, and has used a ventilator since age 14. Ichikawa graduated in March 2023 from Waseda University’s School of Human Sciences correspondence program. Her thesis “The Reciprocal Influence Between the Representation of Disabled People and Real Society” won the Ono Azusa Memorial Academic Prize. Her debut novel “Hunchback” won the 169th Akutagawa Prize in July 2023. Her most recent book, to be published in September 2025 is “A Girl’s Spine”.