Category: Reiwa Shinsengumi

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 22, 2026 Number of comments0
Health Japan Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi Reiwa Shinsengumi

Reiwa Shinsengumi Chief Yamamoto Resigns from Upper House Due to Health Problems

Taro Yamamoto, leader of Japanese opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, on Wednesday resigned from the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, due to health problems.
   “I’m one step away from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. If I don’t live by the main theme of not letting it progress, I could lose my life,” Yamamoto said in a video posted on the party’s official YouTube channel.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 17, 2025 Number of comments0
ALS Disability Japan Podcast Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi

Ex-lawmaker in Japan with ALS calls on politicians to ensure right to live [Podcast Episode]

Yasuhiko Funago, a former House of Councilors lawmaker with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, called on politicians to guarantee the right to “live until the end,” in a recent written interview. The retired lawmaker of Reiwa Shinsengumi, an opposition party, served one six-year term in the Upper House before deciding not to seek re-election in this July’s election.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 16, 2025 1
Assisted Dying Assisted Living Disability Japan Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi

Ex-lawmaker with ALS calls on politicians to ensure right to live

Yasuhiko Funago, a former House of Councilors lawmaker with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, called on politicians to guarantee the right to “live until the end,” in a recent written interview.
The retired lawmaker of Reiwa Shinsengumi, an opposition party, served one six-year term in the Upper House before deciding not to seek re-election in this July’s election.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2025 Number of comments0
ALS Japan Podcast Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi

Election Time is Upon the Upper House in Japan, Lawmaker with ALS, Yasuhiko Funago Retires from Politics [Podcast Episode]

House of Councillors lawmaker Yasuhiko Funago, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, held a press conference on Tuesday and announced his intention not to seek another term in this summer’s Upper House election and to retire from politics. At the press conference in the Diet building, a statement prepared by Funago, 67, also deputy leader of the opposition Reiwa Shinsengumi party, was read using the automatic speech function of a personal computer, as he is unable to use his own voice.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 24, 2025 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Japan Podcast Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi

Extract from The Mainichi Shimbun’s Interview with Yasuhiko Funago, Diet Member with ALS [Podcast Episode]

Yasuhiko Funago (67), a member of the House of Councillors of the Reiwa Shinsengumi, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is severely disabled, attracted a great deal of attention when he was elected for the first time in 2019. About five and a half years have passed since then, and Funago says he feels that the reasonable accommodations being promoted in the Diet for people with disabilities are being mistakenly interpreted as “giving charity from above.”

In the podcast is an extract from the interview, rendered using text-to-speech software.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 22, 2025 1
ALS Barrier Free Disability Japan Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi

Member of Japan’s House of Councillors with ALS, Yasuhiko Funago Concerned that Reasonable Accommodations in the Diet Mistaken for “giving charity from above”

Yasuhiko Funago (67), a member of the House of Councillors of the Reiwa Shinsengumi, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is severely disabled, attracted a great deal of attention when he was elected for the first time in 2019. About five and a half years have passed since then, and Funago says he feels that the reasonable accommodations being promoted in the Diet for people with disabilities are being mistakenly interpreted as “giving charity from above.”