The health ministry Tuesday approved the production and sale of a new medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Japan, raising hopes among patients. In a doctor-led clinical trial, the drug, mecobalamin, extended the survival period of patients within a year of the onset of ALS by over 500 days, surpassing existing drugs.
A total of 509 patients in Japan gave up on organ transplant operations last year because hospitals were unable to carry out such procedures, a health ministry survey showed Tuesday. It was the first time the government conducted a fact-finding survey on the matter. A total of 3,706 people could not receive transplant operations last year, including 509 cases caused by reasons attributed to hospitals, such as the lack of hospital staff and insufficient space in intensive care units needed for operations.
A forum was held in Tokyo on September 22nd to form a national network for people with developmental disabilities, Kyodo News reported. In order to reflect the voices of people with developmental disabilities in national and local government policies, local groups of people with developmental disabilities have decided to form a national network. The forum was held in Tokyo on the 22nd. Representatives of the initiators exchanged opinions on issues such as employment and welfare. A website will be launched within the year and participation will be encouraged.
A survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on the 6th revealed that the number of children with disabilities who used “part-time class instruction” at public and private elementary, junior high and high schools, where they are enrolled in regular classes but receive lessons in separate rooms as needed, reached 198,343 in 2022, a new record high. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities advocates “inclusive education,” in which children with disabilities are not separated from other children and students, but Japan’s current situation has been criticized as going against this.
Japanese Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, attended a national sign language performance contest for high school students Sunday.
“I hope that through this contest, people’s understanding will deepen of various languages including sign language, complete hearing loss and hearing difficulty, and backgrounds and situations different from their own,” she said in sign language at the opening ceremony of the event, held in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, western Japan.
According to a questionnaire survey conducted by NHK in collaboration with experts this year in all prefectures and municipalities across the country, there are at least 22,000 people with disabilities who wish to use large-scale “residential facilities” or “group homes” where small numbers of people live, but are on waiting list.
On September 17th, two parents and their children in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, filed a human rights complaint with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, claiming that their opinions and those of their guardians were not respected and were harmed during school counselling sessions for their children with disabilities.
A report published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 4th, states that the number of workplaces where abuse was confirmed (including overlaps) increased by 4% from the previous year to 447, and the number of people with disabilities who were abused increased by 16% to 761.
The parents and children allege that they wished to study in regular classes at public elementary and junior high schools, but were not accepted by the local public schools and the Board of Education, and that they were further subjected to human rights violations in which their wishes were denied by the parents and children, who were subjected to hurtful words during the consultation.
Japan’s health ministry said Wednesday that puberulic acid caused kidney damage to users of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice. The acid is one of three chemical compounds detected in the supplements, while no kidney toxicity was confirmed in animal experiments from the other two compounds, the ministry said.
Barrier Free Japan