Japan’s Children and Families Agency has compiled draft guidelines for municipalities on operating shelters for young people who run away from home due to abuse or family issues, clarifying that those aged below 18 can use such shelters without parental consent.
Concerns have been raised about the deaths of elderly people who died of “indirect causes” after they were evacuated, dying at care facilities. Jiji Press reported that as of Wednesday 25th December 2024 that “22 of 176 elderly evacuees from Ishikawa had died at elderly care facilities or elsewhere in Toyama, according to the Toyama Prefectural Government. In Aichi, 16 of 68 such evacuees died at care facilities or hospitals.
On January 7th, it was announced on the official website that NHK Educational TV’s barrier-free variety show “Baribara” (broadcast Thursdays 8pm) will end in March.
Among the children and students attending public elementary and junior high schools in Nagano prefecture, there are over 10,700 children with developmental disabilities, the highest number since statistics began being collected in 2003. The Prefectural Board of Education intends to improve support to meet the needs of each individual. In September of last year, the Prefectural Board of Education conducted a survey of public elementary and junior high schools regarding children and students with developmental disabilities. According to the survey, the total number of children with developmental disabilities was 10,786, including 6,789 elementary school students and 3,997 junior high school students, the highest number since statistics began being collected in 2003.
Gambling addiction through online casinos is becoming a serious problem in Japan, particularly after the COVID-19 crisis began in 2020. The number of requests for related consultations received by the Society Concerned about the Gambling Addiction, a public interest incorporated association in Tokyo, has increased 11-fold in five years.
Concerns have been raised about the deaths of elderly people who died of “indirect causes” after they were evacuated, dying at care facilities. Jiji Press reported that as of Wednesday 25th December 2024 that “22 of 176 elderly evacuees from Ishikawa had died at elderly care facilities or elsewhere in Toyama, according to the Toyama Prefectural Government. In Aichi, 16 of 68 such evacuees died at care facilities or hospitals.”
Tomiko Itooka, recognized by Britain’s Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest person in September last year, has died in western Japan, health ministry and other officials said Saturday 4th January. She was 116. Itooka died at 9:03PM of old age on Dec. 29 at a care home for the elderly in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
As JR East promoted the employment of people with disabilities, they realized that many workplaces had no contact with the outside world. So, starting in the summer of 2023, JR East decided to have people with disabilities serve customers in a food truck. In December 2024, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s Tokyo Labor Bureau released the results of a survey on the employment status of people with disabilities. The number of people with disabilities employed by private companies reached a record high of 251,901 (a 5.3% increase from the previous year). Meanwhile, 17,369 companies in Tokyo have not met the legal employment rate, and of these, 9,785 companies do not employ any people with disabilities.
2025 is the year of Tokyo Deaflympics, which will be held from November 15 to 26, 2025 in Tokyo with other venues in Shizuoka and Fukushima. Despite being older than the Paralympics – the first Deaflympics was held in Paris, France in 1924 – it doesn’t receive as much attention as the Paralympics, although like the Paralympics it is recognized by the IOC. This event will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Deaflympics, the Winter events being held in 2024 in Erzurum, Turkey.
A growing number of local governments in Japan are using a smartphone app to help visually impaired residents access critical information in the event of a natural disaster.
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