Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on January 19th that in fiscal 2024 there were 6,258 reports and notifications received by prefectures and designated cities concerning alleged abuse of persons with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 260 cases were officially recognized as abuse.

Under the revised Mental Health and Welfare Act enacted in 2022, reporting abuse of persons with disabilities by psychiatric hospital staff to prefectures and designated cities was made mandatory. This is the first time such data have been compiled. The ministry stated, “We have confirmed that the reporting system is being recognized. We will continue to closely monitor future trends.”

Episode notes:

‘Japan Compiles Statistics on Abuse by Psychiatric Hospital Workers for First Time':

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/29/japan-compiles-statistics-on-abuse-by-psychiatric-hospital-workers-for-first-time/

More than half of Japanese companies say they will struggle to meet the government’s higher disability employment quota, highlighting persistent challenges in workplace readiness and internal awareness. A survey by disability employment support firm Persol Diversity found that 52.6% of companies view achieving the revised statutory quota of 2.7%, which takes effect in July, as difficult, underscoring gaps in organizational understanding and the need for improved accommodations and support systems for workers with disabilities.

Episode notes:

‘52.6% of Companies in Japan Find Disability Employment Targets “Difficult” to Achieve':

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/27/52-6-of-companies-in-japan-find-disability-employment-targets-difficult-to-achieve/

Gunma Prefecture issued guidance to a social welfare corporation operating a disability support facility following an investigation into an accident in which a male high school student (17 at the time), who attended a disability support facility in Ōra Town, Gunma Prefecture, fell ill and died during a sea swimming outing. The prefecture cited a “delay in transporting him to a hospital” as a contributing factor and pointed out that countermeasures against aspiration of seawater had not been discussed, stating that “risk management was not in place.”

Episode notes:

‘Gunma Issues Guidance After Death of Disabled 17-Year-Old on Outing, Cites “delay in transporting to hospital” ’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/26/gunma-issues-guidance-after-death-of-disabled-17-year-old-on-outing-cites-delay-in-transporting-to-hospital/

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned the government's responsibility in her meeting with victims of forced sterilization conducted under the country's now-defunct eugenics law. 
 "The government's responsibility is extremely grave," Takaichi said when she met with the victims at the prime minister's office on Wednesday. A law on compensation to forced sterilization victims took effect on Jan. 17 last year following a Supreme Court ruling that recognized the state's liability. While victims are estimated to include around 25,000 individuals subjected to sterilization procedures and about 59,000 who had abortions, the number of cases certified under the law remained at just 1,560 as of the end of November last year.

Episode notes:

‘Takaichi Meets with Forced Sterilization Victims’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/23/takaichi-meets-with-forced-sterilization-victims/

The man who killed former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was given an indefinite prison term on Wednesday for the fatal shooting with a homemade gun in the western Japan city of Nara in 2022.

Referring to Yamagami's background, the ruling said, "he became unable to find a haven within the family" after his mother became a follower of the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church.Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka suggested that the motive claimed was irrational, stating, “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact.” During the trial, the defence argued that, given Yamagami’s troubled background related to the controversial religious group Unification Church, with which Abe allegedly had ties, his sentence should be no more than 20 years.

Defendant Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, plans to decide next week whether to appeal his sentence. Yoshihide Sakurai, a specially appointed professor of sociology of religion at Hokkaido University, who attended the trial as a defense witness, said after meeting with Yamagami on Thursday, that Yamagami appeared to have expected a long prison sentence and did not express dissatisfaction with the verdict.

Episode notes:

‘Judge in Ex-PM Abe Trial Says of Killer: “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact”’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/21/judge-in-ex-pm-abe-trial-says-of-killer-it-cannot-be-said-that-his-background-had-a-great-impact/

Tetsuya Yamagami, who fatally shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday 21st January, three and a half years after the killing Abe in Nara.

The Nara District Court’s ruling was consistent with the sentence sought by prosecutors in connection with the July 2022 shooting, in which Yamagami used a homemade firearm.

Episode notes:

‘Life Sentence for Man Who Shot Former PM Shinzo Abe’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/21/life-sentence-for-man-who-shot-former-pm-shinzo-abe/

On December 23 last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government submitted a request to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Children and Families Agency regarding the June 2026 interim revision of disability welfare service fees, calling on them not to implement a nationwide reduction in basic compensation for newly established providers of certain services.

Episode notes:

‘Tokyo Opposes Cuts to Disability Welfare Fees’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/17/tokyo-opposes-cuts-to-disability-welfare-fees/

The South China Morning Post reported on January 13th that Grok-generated deepfake images of Japan’s Princess Kako, the niece of Emperor Naruhito, in a bikini circulating online have renewed scrutiny on Elon Musk’s X chatbot. Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad, while working twice a week since April 2024 at the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, which she joined as a part-time employee in 2021.

Episode notes:

‘Grok-generated Deepfake Images of Sign Language Literate Imperial Princess Kako Circulate Online':

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/18/grok-generated-deepfake-images-of-sign-language-literate-imperial-princess-kako-circulate-online/

On January 13th, the Yokohama District Court held the sentencing hearing for a 31-year-old male defendant, a resident of Yamato City, charged with violating the Cannabis Control Law and other offenses for cultivating cannabis plants at the support facility for children with disabilities in Fujisawa City where he was employed.

Episode notes:

‘Yokohama Court Hands Suspended Sentence to Man Over Growing Cannabis at Facility for Disabled Children’:


https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/01/14/yokohama-court-hands-suspended-sentence-to-man-over-growing-cannabis-at-facility-for-disabled-children/

Barrier Free Japan went to see 'Black Box Diaries' directed by Shiori Ito on January 13th, which had its theatrical release in cinemas in Japan a few months ago. I appreciate that it’s been divisive in some communities over source protection issues and maybe because it’s an emotional thing to watch, but I recommend it & consider it necessary to watch. I’ve seen in it different forms a couple of times as it started life out as a BBC ‘Storyville’ documentary.

Episode notes:

Black Box Diaries (UK trailer):

https://youtu.be/zeHfN61S6Gg?si=c0NU-Mz8_AtMRdPn