Disability News Japan
Kanal jikme-jiklikleri
Disability News Japan
Hosted by Michael Gillan Peckitt, who resides in Kobe, Japan, the Disability News Japan Podcast is News website 'Barrier Free Japan's podcast, a weekly digest of some of the news about disability in Japan in audio form. New episodes will usually be available every Friday at 6am Japan Time.
Soňky bölümler
632 bölüm
Japan's Labour Ministry Suspects Abuse of Remote Work Systems for People with Disabilities as Use Triples
According to Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry data released on the 4th, the number of vocational training centres for the disabled where “more tha...
On People With Disabilities Who Go Missing in Japan
After a man with disabilities went missing from a ‘Group Home’ in Tokyo recently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police requested information from the public...
Osaka City files criminal complaint against Kizuna Holdings over 15 billion Yen in fraudulent disability employment support funds
The city of Osaka has filed a criminal complaint against the operating company of Kizuna Holdings (HD), which had been subject to administrative sanct...
Japanese Tabloid Investigates Misuse Of Disability ‘Help Mark’ as ‘Life Hack’
The Japanese tabloid magazine ‘FRIDAY’ has been investigating misuse of the ‘Help Mark’, which was designed to help people with disabilities alert peo...
Some Notes on Blindness in Japan During Golden Week
A lawsuit is being heard at the Imabari branch of the Matsuyama District Court in which a visually impaired woman is seeking approximately 1.7 million...
The Showa Day Pod: Earthquake Advisories Lifted & ‘Disability Dating App’ Fraudster Suspects Re-Arrested
Tokyo police have re-arrested two men, including the alleged leader of a group accused of exploiting a dating app aimed at people with disabilities, i...
Earthquake with upper Shindo 5 intensity strikes Hokkaido, northern Japan
An earthquake struck the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido early Monday morning.
The Japan Meteorological Agency says it occurred...
Oita District Court Rejects Disabled People’s Claim over Unmanned Stations, Citing “Excessive Burden” on JR Kyushu
A district court in southwestern Japan on Thursday 23rd April dismissed a damages claim by people with disabilities who said that the unmanned operati...
Male Radiologist Found Guilty of Molesting Fukuoka Female Student with Intellectual Disabilities During Medical Exam
In a retrial at the Fukuoka District Court on the 20th, Presiding Judge Shinichi Suzushima sentenced a 44-year-old male radiological technologist to o...
‘Subsequent Earthquake Advisory’ Issued Plus 24 Hours
A strong earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Monday, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, an...
'Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' Time
A strong earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Monday 20th April 2026, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the Japanese seismic int...
7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northeastern Japan, Tsunami Warnings Issued
A strong earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Monday, measuring up to upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, an...
“The users are the victims”: After ‘Kizuna Holdings’ Scandal, 1,280 Disabled Service Users to Lose Jobs
“Kizuna Holdings hasn’t suffered any damage, but we are the ones struggling. They are the embodiment of insincerity…When I look for new work, I’m ofte...
Two Strong Earthquakes, Magnitude 5, Hits Nagano Prefecture
Two strong earthquakes jolted Nagano Prefecture in central Japan on Saturday 18th April, with the first measuring a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 follo...
Japan to Lift Organ Donation Curbs on Europe Stayers
Japan’s health ministry decided on Wednesday to lift restrictions on organ donations from individuals who have stayed in Europe, a measure introduced...
Government Survey Indicates 4.5 Percent in Japan Constantly Feel Lonely
A Japanese government survey in 2025 published on Tuesday 14th April showed that 4.5 pct of respondents in the country often or constantly feel lonel...
Tokyo Police Arrest Ex-Child Facility Worker for Indecent Assault Against 5-Year-Old Girl with Disability
Tokyo police have arrested a former worker of a facility for children with disabilities in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, for an alleged indecent as...
Sapporo Employment Support Agency Executive Referred to Prosecutors Over False Disability Claims
Masamichi Sone, the representative of a company operating facilities such as “Rapport” in Nishi Ward, Sapporo, has been arrested and referred to prose...
Tokyo’s Toshima Ward Revokes Designation of Deaf Child Daycare Centre Over 58.3 Million Yen Fraud, Falsified Staff Reports
Tokyo’s Toshima Ward announced on the 10th that it has revoked the designation of the childcare support service “Aton Juku – Child Development Support...
60% of Workers in Japan with Mental or Developmental Disabilities Do Not Disclose Disability
When an advocacy group for people with mental and developmental disabilities conducted a survey on employment, over 60% of respondents reported having...
Novel Alzheimer’s Therapies Given to Less than 20 Percent of Applicants in Japan
Novel Alzheimer's therapies have been given to 19 pct of outpatients who applied for the medications, according to a recent survey at a Tokyo hospital...
Disabled Service Users at Employment Facility Exploiting Benefit Loopholes “felt something like guilt”
Amid support programs for the employment of people with disabilities, an unprecedented case of fraudulent benefit claims by an Osaka-based company has...
Nearly 500 elderly killed by family caregivers in Japan in Fiscal Years 2006-2024
A recent analysis of a government report showed that nearly 500 people aged 65 and older died between fiscal 2006 and 2024 as a result of murder or ab...
Japan Health Minister Warns about Rising Measles Cases
Japanese health minister Kenichiro Ueno on Friday 3rd April urged the public to exercise caution as measles cases are increasing. The number of people...
Survey Reveals 60% of Families of People with Disabilities in Japan Feel They are at Care “Limit”
A survey of families of people with disabilities has revealed that nearly 60% responded that they feel they have reached their limit with caregiving (...
“We’d like you to resign”: Worker in Japan fired 4 days after revealing autism
“We’d like you to resign.” Hearing those words, Yamakawa (a pseudonym) was shocked. They never expected such a drastic change in their employer’s atti...
Shindo 5 Earthquake in Eastern Japan April 1st
An earthquake struck eastern Japan on the morning of April 1st, with the Japan Meteorological Agency reporting a magnitude of 5.0.
The qu...
Wakayama Fails to Hire Statutory Number of People with Disabilities
According to the announcement, as of June 1, 2024, three municipalities, Kinokawa, Shirahama, and Kushimoto, did not meet the statutory employment rat...
Osaka revokes licenses of four Kizuna Holdings employment support facilities over excess disability subsidies
Osaka City said March 27 it had revoked the operating licenses of four disability employment support facilities run by subsidiaries of Kizuna Holdings...
Japan Sees Fewest-Ever Suicides in 2025
According to the report for 2025 compiled jointly by the health ministry and the National Police Agency, the total suicide figure dropped 1,132 from t...
Students with Developmental Disabilities in Japan Rise to 12,000 Nationwide
The number of students diagnosed with developmental disabilities in Japan is increasing. A key issue is how schools provide support. This report looks...
Miyazaki City Day Care Centre for Disabled Children Improperly Claimed 14 Million Yen
Miyazaki City has revoked the designation of service provider ‘Porto’ that supports preschool children with disabilities after it was found to have fr...
Tottori Accepts Liability in Death of Disabled Teen at Care Facility
In an accident in March 2025 at the “Prefectural Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center,” a residential facility for children with disabilities in Yonago...
227,000 people in Japan have ‘Higher Brain Dysfunction’
An estimated 227,000 people in Japan are living with higher brain dysfunction, an “invisible disability” caused by brain damage from strokes or accide...
People with disabilities in Japan face persistent barriers to housing and accommodation
People with disabilities in Japan continue to face significant barriers in securing housing and accommodation, with multiple recent cases highlighting...
Japan’s new guidelines aim to reduce long lines of women at public toilets
Japan’s transport ministry has come up with draft guidelines aimed at reducing long waiting lines at women’s toilets at stations and commercial facili...
Book Review: Alone in Japan by Tom Feiling
I thought ‘Alone in Japan: A Journey to the Future’ by Tom Feiling was interesting and engaging. I recommend the audiobook.
‘Alone in Jap...
Shikoku Island Town Trials New Pedestrian Crossing for Visually Impaired
A pedestrian crossing built to a new standard with wider spacing between white lines than before was introduced this month at an intersection near JR...
Withdrawal of Appeal against Death Sentence Found Valid in KyoAni Case
In the ruling on Tuesday 17th March, Presiding Judge Hisashi Ito said that Aoba clearly understood the meaning of his decision, and that the impact of...
Oita Prefecture receives notebooks to assist hearing-impaired in emergencies
The notebooks include instructions such as “Please call 110 (police)” and are intended for use by people who are deaf or have difficulty speaking, ena...