An interview with a person concerned revealed that a man in his 50s was seriously injured last month (September) at a facility for the disabled in Takatsuki City, Osaka, breaking his ribs. According to the facility, one of the former employees admitted to assaulting the man, and the city is now investigating the details.

Three organizations representing people with disabilities in Aichi Prefecture have submitted a written request to the prefectural government and the city of Nagoya demanding that the government take action in response to the issue of the Megumi Corporation (Tokyo), a welfare company that operates facilities for people with disabilities nationwide, overcharging its users for foodstuffs.

Episode Notes: ‘Takatsuki City investigates assault by former employee of resident at facility for disabled people’: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/21/takatsuki-city-investigates-assault-by-former-employee-of-resident-at-facility-for-disabled-people/

‘Three Aichi organizations submit requests to provide relief for people with disabilities over excessive food costs’: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/17/three-aichi-organizations-submit-requests-to-provide-relief-for-people-with-disabilities-over-excessive-food-costs/

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Sunday visited Ishikawa Prefecture to attend the opening ceremony of the National Cultural Festival and the National Arts and Culture Festival for Persons with Disabilities in Kanazawa, the prefecture's capital.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/16/japan-emperor-empress-visit-ishikawa-pref-attends-national-arts-and-culture-festival-for-persons-with-disabilities/

Some issues and incidents regarding people with disabilities in Japan seem to keep re-appearing and re-occurring. They also often seem to keep happening in the same place. A lot of the recent cases of suspected abuse of people with disabilities seem to occur in Tsu City in Mie Prefecture, western Japan. The episodes notes for this podcast episode provides a brief timeline of the suspected abuse reported in the press.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/14/suspected-abuse-of-disabled-people-in-tsu-city-mie-prefecture-a-timeline/

According to the Japanese Government, 'Society 5.0' is a “human-centered society that achieves both economic development and the resolution of social issues through a system that highly integrates cyberspace (virtual space) and physical space (real space)."

Episode Notes:

'Society 5.0': https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/society5_0/

The Robots Are Coming! (To Take Care of You, We Promise): https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/08/17/disability-news-japan-podcast-the-robots-are-coming-to-take-care-of-you-we-promise/

Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward is trialing a virtual ward office in the metaverse, aiming to offer administrative services for people unable to visit the real-life office.

In the “metaverse ward office,” local residents can use their avatars to move around inside a virtual municipal hall, which is designed like the real one, after accessing the virtual space from the ward’s website. The ward aspires to make the service fully available to all residents, covering all of its departments by fiscal 2028.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/08/tokyo-ward-tests-metaverse-office-for-disabled-seeks-full-support-by-fy-2028/

“Miss Keller met the press upon completion of her tour of Japan and gave her impressions of the work being done here for the blind and deaf.

Just as the education of normal people in Japan depends on school boards represented by intelligent men and women alive to democracy and public ideals, so the blind and the deaf will receive the best assistance if the persons appointed to watch over their affairs are well qualified, forward-looking and sincerely interested in the well-being of the sensorially crippled, Miss Keller went on.

The Japanese public must get it out of their heads that blind people are limited to just one job, that of massage, she emphasized.”

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/07/the-japan-times-1948-helen-keller-recounts-impression-of-japan-tour/

Two cases of abuse at a facility for persons with disabilities in Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama City, where staff members kicked users in the knees, have been recognized by the city as abuse of persons with disabilities, and the city has instructed the facilities to prevent recurrence.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/05/yokohama-city-recognizes-two-cases-of-abuse-at-facilities-for-persons-with-disabilities/

It was learned on October 1st that a 31-year-old woman with a mild intellectual disability living in a group home (GH) in Kanagawa Prefecture gave birth to a boy and wanted to raise him, but had no choice but to place him in an infant home. They were not accepted at GH, and it was difficult to receive sufficient childcare support outside of the GH.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/10/03/people-with-intellectual-disabilities-in-japan-unable-to-raise-their-children-sent-to-infant-home-without-support-system/

The Mie Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, which provides support for the hearing impaired and trains sign language interpreters, announced that someone had gained unauthorized access to a staff member's computer, possibly leaking the names, addresses, and other personal information of about 1,200 people, including the hearing impaired and sign language interpreters, to outside parties.

Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2023/09/30/unauthorized-computer-access-at-mie-support-center-for-the-hearing-impaired-personal-information-may-have-leaked/

I went to Tokyo for an academic conference, my first time going to Tokyo for over four years. I do approve of the work that is being done on JR Shibuya Station to make it more accessible, but I can appreciate that it can be an inconvenience to some people whilst the work is being carried out.