Do We Need to Talk About Social Care in Sagamihara? [Podcast Episode]
It just does often seem like social care for people with disabilities and the elderly in Sagamihara City and Kanagawa Prefecture as a whole, seems to suck.
Category: Podcast
78-year-old Chiba father pleads guilty to murder of disabled 44-year-old son saying “I did nothing wrong” [Podcast Episode]
At the first hearing of the lay judge trial held at the Chiba District Court on February 17th, the defendant admitted to the charges, saying, “I did nothing wrong.” The defense responded by arguing that the father had reached his limit with caring for his son, and that the sentence should be considered in light of the circumstances leading up to the incident.
New ‘Welfare’ NHK E TV Programme ‘toi-toi’ to Start in April 2025, Replacing ‘NHK Baribara’ [Podcast Episode]
NHK E will begin airing a ‘welfare’ TV Programme on NHK E called ‘toi-toi’ from April 2025. On January 7th 2025, it was announced on the official website that NHK Educational TV’s barrier-free variety show “Baribara” (broadcast on Thursdays 8pm) would end in March 2025. However, it promised a replacement in the TV schedule. According to the NHK E Website ‘toi-toi’ is a “new welfare program where everyone thinks about the “question” that a person has had deep in their heart. The protagonist who posed the “question” explores the “question” while talking to people with diverse perspectives. We will search for clues to realize a world where we accept differences and live together.” ‘toi-toi’ will be broadcast on NHK E on Thursdays at 8PM.
People with Disabilities in Yamagata Face Redundancy as Seven Employment Offices are Due to Close [Podcast Episode]
It has been revealed that a disability welfare service company with its headquarters in Shinjo City has indicated its intention to close its seven Type A continuous employment support offices in the prefecture at the end of March next year. According to the company, it plans to close seven Type A continuous employment support offices, where disabled people work under employment contracts, in Shinjo City, Murayama City, and other locations at the end of March next year, and lay off over 200 employees. The company explained the reason for closing the facilities as follows: “The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has indicated its intention to abolish the annual income requirement for social insurance premiums. If this is abolished, we estimate that our annual burden will increase by approximately 68 million yen. It will be difficult to generate profits that correspond to this.”
Japan’s Health Ministry Introducing System to Assist Institutions with ‘Brain-Death’ Organ Donations [Podcast Episode]
Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry this year started rolling out an online system to enable about 70 institutions with minimal experience in the processes behind organ donations from brain-dead patients to connect with core medical institutions that have abundant experience. The initiative seeks to help the inexperienced institutions with declaring patients as brain dead and is part of an effort to increase the number of organ donations in the country.
The Saga of “Scandal-Tainted Kobayashi Pharma Co” Continues [Podcast Episode]
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said on Friday March 22nd 2024 it will voluntarily recall some 300,000 packs of five supplement products in Japan after reports of health damage suffered by users. The Osaka-based company said in March 2024 that 13 people had developed kidney disease and other symptoms after taking the products, advertised as foods with functional claims, including three containing “beni koji,” rice fermented with monascus purpureus, a species of mold that is red.
A Disability News Digest From ‘Snow Country’! [Podcast Episode]
A ‘News Digest’ about disability in Japan in podcast form! It has been snowing and is really cold, hence my breathing is a bit laboured at the end of the podcast, the air being that dry!
Fear of Shaming May Cause Hesitancy in Making Compensation Claims for Japan’s 25,000 Forced Sterilization Victims [Podcast Episode]
Japan’s government says roughly 25,000 people are eligible for compensation as victims of forced sterilization or their bereaved relatives. It is believed that some of them may hesitate to apply due to fear of discrimination or may be unable to do so because of their disabilities.
Disabled student filmed in school toilet, serious bullying incident in Mie Prefecture [Podcast Episode]
It has been revealed that in October last year, a male student with a disability attending a special needs school in Mie Prefecture was filmed in a school toilet by two high school students and posted on social media, causing him to miss school for an extended period of time, and the school has determined that this constitutes a serious case of bullying. According to the Mie Prefectural Board of Education, in October last year, a male student with an intellectual disability (then 17) attending a special needs school, which is attached to a prefectural high school in the prefecture, was filmed in a shared toilet stall by two male high school students and posted on the social media site Instagram.
Chiba civil engineering company settles lawsuit over “insufficient understanding” of disability [Podcast Episode]
A lawsuit filed by a man in his 30s from Chiba Prefecture against his former civil engineering company in Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture for damages, alleging that he was discriminated against and forced to resign from the civil engineering company where he was employed as a disabled person through Hello Work because the company did not take his developmental disability into consideration, has been settled in the Chiba District Court. The former employer will pay the man approximately 300,000 yen in settlement money. According to the man’s attorney, the settlement was reached in October last year. The settlement terms stated that the former employer apologized to the man for not fully understanding the characteristics of his developmental disability and would pay him the settlement money.
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