Three people, including the president of an NPO in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, have been arrested again for allegedly cheating disabled people out of their nursing care benefits.
Last April, two brothers in their 50s were found dead in a house in Nishiyodogawa Ward, Osaka City. The younger brother (56 years old at the time) had a severe intellectual disability, and the elder brother (57 years old at the time) was the sole caregiver.
“Kikuo Fujita (78) of Hodatsushimizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, who has a physical disability, said that it was illegal to refuse to apply for a disability pension because he did not have a medical certificate. The appeal decision was made at the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court on the 15th. Judge Shunji Hasui decided that the government’s response was “illegal.”
The plaintiff had been seeking payment from the national government for 37 years of Disability Basic Pension, coming in to a total of about 17.63 million yen (around $161,000). In its ruling, the high court ordered that some 15.5 million yen (about $141,000) be paid to the man.
The mudslide disaster in the Izusan area of Atami City has deprived disabled people of a place to live. The Shinzo Megumikai Community Workshop in Izusan survived the disaster, but its premises have been closed to the public.
Masakatsu Amami (71), a patient with cerebral palsy in Chiba City, said that it was unreasonable that the disability welfare benefits based on the Comprehensive Support Law for Persons with Disabilities were discontinued at the age of 65 and that the transition to long-term care insurance caused self-pay. On the 18th, the Chiba District Court dismissed the claim.
A joint project team of Japan’s welfare and education ministries has drawn up measures to support young carers, or children under 18 who look after family members, including those in poor health. It will be the first time for the Japanese government to adopt support measures for young carers.
Mayu Yamada, a single parent with four children, was receiving child support allowance when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was awarded a basic disability pension in April 2017. However, in January 2006, Kyoto Prefecture suspended her child support allowance on the grounds that she was receiving a disability pension.
The work of filling the cans, replenishing the product line, and collecting empty cans is done by disabled people who use the Nanohana Club (Usuki City) of the Oita Kenan Regional Welfare Office.
Governor Kuroiwa, who received the report, said, “Although we cannot directly link this to the incident in which 19 people were killed, the problem is connected to it, and the prefectural government’s responsibility for overlooking it has been severely pointed out. We will take the report seriously and work to realize support from the user’s perspective,” he said.
Barrier Free Japan