Category: Podcast

Care Children Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #31: Japan Amends Law to Give National Support to Young Caregivers

Japan’s parliament enacted on Wednesday an amended law stipulating government assistance for young people who provide daily care for family members. The revised law to promote support for child-nurturing and youth development was approved by a majority vote of the ruling bloc at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber.

Care Crime Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #30: Suspicious Death of Disabled Man After Dental Surgery and a Film about Forced Sterilization

The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.

According to the police, at around 2:00 p.m. on the 27th of this month, a 69-year-old man with intellectual disabilities who was staying at the Andante Kashima facility for the disabled in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, lost consciousness while undergoing treatment for a cavity. The man was taken to the hospital, but died about an hour later.

Police investigation revealed that the cause of death was acute respiratory failure due to pressure on the chest and abdomen.

Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast

As Japan’s Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Forced Sterilization, the Victims Speak

The Japanese Supreme Court’s Grand Bench held an appeal hearing Wednesday on five damages lawsuits filed against the government over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, in which victims sought a decision giving them relief.

“Please write a judgment that gives relief to the lives of the victims,” an 81-year-old male plaintiff from Tokyo using the pseudonym Saburo Kita, who was forced to undergo sterilization at the age of 14, said at the hearing.

Barrier Free Disability Japan Kobe World Para Athletics Championships Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #29: Kobe Para Sports, Journalism in Japan & ‘Wheelchair-bound’ versus ‘Wheelchair User’

“But another Kobe resident in her 50s said that the city was “divided in some parts,” while also lamenting that attendance could have been better. She came to see the tournament with her husband and daughter, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound.”

Some people with disabilities who use wheelchairs find ‘wheelchair-bound’ to be offensive and prefer the term ‘wheelchair user’. Barrier Free Japan sometimes gets comments and posts on social media about this issue.

Disability Forced Sterilization Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #27: Japan’s Supreme Court Makes ‘Accommodations’ So Disabled Plaintiffs Can Attend Forced Sterilization Case

Japan’s Supreme Court will take measures to accommodate disabled plaintiffs in five damages lawsuits over forced sterilization under the now-defunct eugenic protection law, including setting up ramps for wheelchair users. It will be the first time for the top court to implement measures for disabled people on a large scale.

Disability Japan Media Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun TV Drama

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #26: Japan’s NHK Drama ‘Percent’ Highlights Issues About How Disability is Depicted

The NHK TV concerns Mirai (Miku, Marika Ito) who joins a TV station because she admires their drama production, and one day, her project is accepted for the first time. Her joy is short-lived, however, when her programming manager Fujitani (Satoshi Hashimoto) tells her to change the character of her main character to a person with a disability in a special drama for “Diversity Month.” Although she is confused, she begins to interview, during which she meets Haru (Yui Wago), a high school student in a wheelchair. She feels a strange attraction towards Haru, but she rejects her, saying, “She doesn’t want her disability to be taken advantage of.”

Abuse Care Disability Hospitals Japan Podcast Sexual abuse Shog.A.I. Shimbun

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #25: Fukuoka Prefecture Hospital says sorry for male staff sexually abusing patients, no further action taken

The president of National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital apologized on May 2 after confirming that male employees sexually abused patients who have severe mental and physical disabilities. The hospital has not taken any administrative action against the five employees who are suspected of abuse. The employees abused patients by stimulating their pubic areas while they were sleeping or being assisted in the bath, and touching female patients’ breasts.

Disability Employment Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun Welfare

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #24: Workers with Disabilities Told Only “Coming to the farm is your job”

“The work was far from professional agriculture, and most of the time was spent on breaks. If there was a harvest, I would do it, but there were days when I just watered the crop. In those cases, it only took about 30 minutes, and I had five or six hours of free time. Some people were on their cell phones or listening to music, and had a lot of free time. They told me that ‘coming to the farm is your job.’”