Latest Posts

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 21, 2025 1
Assisted Living Disability Independent Living Japan

Izumisano Welfare Association in Osaka Runs Program for People with Disabilities and Their Parents to Learn “Jiritsu” (Independence)

The Izumisano Welfare Association, a social welfare corporation operating 28 disability welfare facilities in Osaka Prefecture (chaired by Hirofumi Muroi), has created a program titled “Parent-Child Mirai Work: A Guide to Everyone’s Path to Jiritsu (Independence) from a Lifewide Learning Perspective”, which helps both young people with disabilities and their parents learn about “jiritsu” (independence). The word “jiritsu” is written in hiragana to avoid making the concept seem overly complicated. The program summarizes the results of a two-year project supported by the Nippon Foundation.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Disasters Imperial Family Japan Nursing Care

(Update) Imperial Couple Visit A-Bomb Survivors’ Nursing Home in Hiroshima

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Friday visited Yano Orizuru-en, a nursing home for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of the western city of Hiroshima. The Imperial couple visited the facility for the first time and met with 10 nursing home residents aged 81 to 99. Emperor Emeritus Akihito visited the nursing home with Empress Emerita Michiko in 2014, before he abdicated the throne.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Disasters Imperial Family Japan Nursing Care

Hiroshima A-Bomb Nursing Home Awaits Imperial Couple’s Visit

A nursing home for atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima is awaiting Friday’s visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako during their trip to the western Japan prefecture as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The facility was opened in 2007 and currently accommodates about 100 residents whose average age exceeds 90. While supporting the residents’ daily lives, it also works to pass on experiences of the 1945 atomic bombing.

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 June 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Education Japan Sexual abuse

Japanese Government to Seek Students’ Opinions for Sexual Abuse Prevention

Japan’s Children and Families Agency will hold an in-person session next month to hear the opinions of junior high and high school students on a planned system for checking whether teachers have sexual crime records.  Over the so-called Japanese version of Britain’s Disclosure and Barring Service, the government set up a panel of experts in April to discuss its details, and plans to draw up related ordinances and guidelines later this year and implement them on Dec. 25, 2026. Around 12 students will be selected by lottery from volunteers to participate in the upcoming hearing session at the agency.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Nursing Care Politics

Japan Government Draft Policy Eyes Boost for Disability Welfare Sector

On June 6th, the Japanese government presented a draft of the “Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform” at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. The draft states that a clear shift will be made away from cost-cutting approaches in regard to wage increases and stable management in the fields of medical care, nursing care, and disability welfare. It also notes, “Appropriate measures will be taken to reliably lead to stable management and wage increases for a wide range of professionals working in the field.” Furthermore, it clearly states, “We will understand and verify the actual state of past treatment improvements and consider the matter so that a conclusion can be reached by the end of 2025.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 16, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Disability Health Japan

Japan team creates device to measure dizziness symptoms in children

Graduate school students in Japan have developed a device to easily measure symptoms of orthostatic dysregulation, a disorder common among children that causes them physical difficulty getting up in the morning and dizziness when standing.
The team at Nagoya University’s graduate school hopes the device will help sufferers communicate their symptoms clearly when they need to skip classes due to their condition.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 16, 2025 Number of comments0
ALS Assisted Dying Euthanasia Japan Podcast Yuri Hayashi

Top court rejects appeal by doctor over euthanasia of ALS patient [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s top court rejected an appeal on Thursday 12th June by a doctor convicted of consensually killing a woman, Yuri Hayashi, 51, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2019 in Kyoto, western Japan, finalizing his 18-year prison sentence. The Supreme Court’s Second Petty Bench rejected arguments that found Yoshikazu Okubo, 47, guilty of aiding another’s suicide would violate the constitutional right to self-determination.