A total of 278 disability care facilities in Kumamoto Prefecture have been affected by the powerful earthquake that struck the region earlier this week, Kyodo reported on July 31, citing the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry.
“Through these experiences and the many people he has met along the way, Kazuya seems to be steadily expanding his world and broadening his horizons,” said Yasuki Otsubo, Ono’s lead caregiver. An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 jolted southwestern Japan on Tuesday, with many feared injured as authorities scrambled to assess the extent of the damage amid reports of collapsed buildings, fires, power outages and traffic disruptions.
The facility is operated by Innovel Healthcare (Midori Ward, Nagoya City), which took over the operations in March 2025 from “Megumi”, a major group home operator whose license was revoked in 2024 due to issues such as overcharging for food expenses. According to the city, staff members engaged in physical violence against residents, including kicking them, and made threatening statements such as “Do it properly.” The city determined these actions constituted physical and psychological abuse.
“My name is Yasuki Otsubo, and I am Kazuya Ono’s lead caregiver. Kazuya himself finds it difficult to write emails or communicate verbally, so I am writing on his behalf.
This year marks Kazuya’s sixth year living independently with the support of personal assistants after moving from an institution into a community apartment…”
More than 800,000 students attending public elementary and junior high schools across Japan are estimated to have developmental disabilities, according to a government survey, with experts saying the increase reflects improved recognition rather than a sudden rise in prevalence.
According to the city, when physical restraints are used, facilities are required to obtain the consent of the resident’s family and document the reasons for and methods of the restraint. The city suspects these procedures were not followed. Officials conducted an on-site inspection of the facility on July 15 and are now considering possible administrative sanctions.
According to those familiar with the situation, in late June a staff member verbally abused a male resident who was using the toilet, shouting remarks such as, “Come on, get it out (the feces),” and “You piece of trash.” The toilet door was also left open, allowing other residents to see him while he was defecating.
The Abilympics Fukuoka 2026, a competition in which people with disabilities demonstrate and compete in vocational skills they have developed through their work and daily employment, was held in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, on July 11. The Abilympics are organized to help working people with disabilities improve their skills while also promoting greater understanding of the employment of people with disabilities. Competitors who achieved outstanding results qualified to compete at the National Abilympics, which will be held in Aichi Prefecture this December.
According to the complaint and a report by a third-party committee established by the city, the young woman, now a high school student, attended a municipal elementary school in Sakai. Between her third and fourth grades (2018–2019), she was bullied by classmates, who blacked out her name in a shared notebook and stuffed small stones and other objects into her shoes. She eventually stopped attending school and later transferred to another school.
In the case involving a teenage girl with an intellectual disability who was allegedly confined in a closet at her family’s home in Machida, in which her parents and two brothers – a total of four people – were arrested and indicted, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigation Division on July 6 arrested another teenage brother on suspicion of unlawful confinement, according to investigative sources. Police believe the girl had been subjected to abuse by every other member of her family.
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