Category: Welfare

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 27, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Welfare

About ¥690,000 Fraudulently Received, Disability Welfare Services Provider in Komatsushima City Faces Administrative Penalty

According to the prefecture, at the company’s Reiwa Takenoko-no-Sato day-care service facility for people with disabilities in Anan City, it created false records stating that a full-time nurse was assigned to the facility even though no such nurse was actually present. The company did this between June 2024 and February 2026, fraudulently receiving approximately ¥690,000 in care benefit payments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 25, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Welfare

Miyagi steps up disability employment support after Sendai welfare provider suspension

The Miyagi Labour Bureau, Sendai city government and the Miyagi branch of the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers will jointly call on employers and economic organizations to strengthen efforts to promote and maintain employment of people with disabilities, prefectural officials said Monday. The initiative comes amid scrutiny of the provision of disability welfare services in Sendai.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 24, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Imperial Family Japan Podcast Welfare

Japan’s Princess Aiko Visits Shiga Welfare Facility [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s Princess Aiko on Friday interacted with people at a medical and welfare facility in the city of Maibara in the western prefecture of Shiga. At the facility, the princess, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, observed a rehabilitation session for children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 21, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Care Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Kyoto Man with Disabilities Left Alone for 2½ Hours While Caregiver Played Pachinko [Podcast Episode]

It was learned on the 19th that, in February this year in Kyoto City, a male home-care worker who was assisting a man with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and who lived alone left the man’s home for about two and a half hours in order to play pachinko. In April, the city officially recognized the incident as abuse under the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities. Calling it “an issue involving the man’s life and safety,” the city also ordered the home-care service provider employing the caregiver to take measures to prevent a recurrence and make other improvements.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 19, 2026 Number of comments0
Care Disability Japan Welfare

Mother Talks About Facing the ‘18-Year-Old Wall’ with a Child with Disabilities

The “18-Year-Old Wall” refers to a phenomenon where the governing legislation for receiving welfare services shifts at age 18 from the Child Welfare Act to the Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act. Because of this legal switch, individuals are often unable to access the same services they received prior to turning 18, creating significant disruption in daily life for both the individual and their family.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Japan Welfare

Matsuyama disability welfare operator referred to prosecutors over unpaid wages for 10 of 11 months

On the 12th, the Matsuyama Labour Standards Inspection Office referred a 63-year-old woman, the de facto representative of Godo Kaisha Slow, a company operating a disability welfare service facility in Nishi-Ishii, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, to the Matsuyama District Public Prosecutors Office. The company and the woman are suspected of violating Japan’s Minimum Wage Act by failing to pay an employee’s wages.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 12, 2026 Number of comments0
Care Disability Japan Welfare

Oita’s people with disabilities voice concerns as care providers close amid helper shortage

As a shortage of helpers supporting the daily lives of people with disabilities becomes increasingly severe, an emergency public meeting was held in Oita on August 11th, where supporters and others voiced their concerns over the difficult situation. According to the organizers, since the revision of long-term care service fees in 2024, service providers have been withdrawing from the sector and suspending services one after another. The groups said they plan to call on the national government to improve working conditions and take other measures to address the problem.