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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 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Japan Podcast Travel

Written Warning Issued to ‘Hanshin Bus’ After Electric Wheelchair User Refused Boarding [Podcast Episode]

According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 13, 2026 1
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Hyogo Japan Travel

Written Warning Issued to ‘Hanshin Bus’ After Electric Wheelchair User Refused Boarding

According to the bureau, at around 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a woman using an electric wheelchair attempted to board a bus at the Higashinada Ward Office bus stop in Kobe’s Higashinada Ward. The driver refused her request, citing overcrowding. In fact, only the front part of the bus was crowded, and the bureau determined that the driver had failed to assess the situation properly or ask other passengers for their cooperation.

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 12, 2026 Number of comments0
Children developmental disabilities Disability Disasters Earthquake Japan Kumamoto Podcast Typhoon

Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto [Podcast Episode]

Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 10, 2026 1
Disability Japan Disasters Kumamoto Earthquake Intellectual disabilities developmental disabilities

Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto

Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 7, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Gaming Japan Technology

Children with Special Medical Needs and Disabilities Experience Latest Gaming Tech at Tokyo Event

An event was held in Tokyo on the 6th, offering “children with medical needs” – who require daily medical support – and children with disabilities the chance to experience gaming through technology. Because “children with medical needs” wear medical devices such as ventilators on a daily basis, their opportunities to go out and participate in activities are limited. Around 60 families attended the event to try out games suitable for parents and children, such as a “giant ball rolling” game, as well as playing musical instruments by operating tablets with tiny bodily movements.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 7, 2026 Number of comments0
developmental disabilities Film Japan Podcast

Japan health ministry teams up with film to promote understanding of developmental disabilities [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) announced in a press release on August 5 that it has partnered with the upcoming film ‘Parallel and Vertical’ as part of a nationwide campaign to promote public understanding of developmental disabilities. The film directed by Seitaro Kobayashi and starring Shota Yasuda and Non, opens in cinemas across Japan on Aug. 28. The story follows the siblings as they confront a major turning point in their lives when the younger sister prepares to marry, prompting both to reconsider the nature of their lifelong bond.