Activity Report from Human Care Association, Japan

Human Care Association Intensive Peer-Counseling Course in 2007

Human Care Association (HCA) organized peer-counseling intensive course from Sep 30 to Oct 2 in 2007 at Tokyo Tama Sports Center for the Disabled. Nine persons with disabilities including not only persons with physical disabilities but also persons with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities participated into the course.

Since some participants had never taken peer-counseling, we were careful to help them understand the meaning of peer-counseling through actual practice.

We started the course with relation building for ice-breaking. Participants and course leaders took a time to know each other and tried to make cozy atmosphere for next two days. We spent rest of the day for themes such as “purpose and agreement of peer-counseling” and “roles of counselor and client”.

On the second day, we conducted “nature of human beings,” “discharge of emotion,” and “meaning of disability.” Each participant closely looked into his/her own feeling through sessions and Think and Listen about each significant theme. Participants had opportunities to speak about bitter experiences in the society. They listened each other and shared feelings as “peers.”

In the evening, we had a party, which is indispensable part of the course for further communication among participants and course leaders. We made some groups and give performance, such as, skit, game and quiz.

On the last day, we conducted “relation between ILP and peer-counseling” and “role-playing” for understanding concrete methods to support independent living of persons with disabilities.

At the beginning of the course, we worried of our health conditions because we had to bear 3 days at different living environment. However, each of us could maintain good health condition with mutual support and communication of necessary information about own disabilities and illness for participation into the course.

We wish experiences and relationship gained through the course will be meaningful for participants’ daily life.
(Yoshihiro Mitsuoka)

Independent Living Movement in Developing Countries - Shoji Nakanishi

Independent Living Movement in Developing Countries

Shoji Nakanishi
Japan Council on Independent Living Centers

It haｓ been many years since experts of rehabilitation recommended training and educations to people with disabilities to enable them to get jobs as non disabled people do. The experts believe that independence means only economical independence. As a result, parents think it impossible for their disabled children to live independently in their communities. Parents tend to put these children into a residential institution for them to live permanently. Following these ideas, the government is promoting to build more institutions and to train more experts for people with disabilities.

The Independent living movement by severely disabled people in America denied institutions that lead to isolation and discrimination. In 1972 The First IL center was established in Berkeley, the second one in Houston, in 1974 the third in Boston. A lot of IL centers have come into the world in a very short time. All disabled people in the whole country were united, and then won the amendment of rehabilitation law in 1978. As a result, IL centers got great opportunities to get subsidies from the federal government. “Independent Living: From Social Movement to Analytic Paradigm”, An academic paper written by Gerben DeJong, published in 1978, drastically changed the way of thinking toward disabilities, from rehabilitation to independent living. With this paper, the philosophy of independent living was accepted as a social movement on a academic basis. These two events rapidly promoted the establishment of IL centers nationwide.

Independent Living Movement in Developed Countries

The IL movement, which gave dreams and wishes to disabled persons, has grown to service provision systems by disabled peoples themselves and advocacy activities by IL centers in the last 30 years in all developed countries, except the Oceania region.

Ed Roberts, the founder of the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley and other activists with disabilities said, “People with disabilities should live in communities.” “People with disabilities are neither patients to be cared for, children to be protected, nor Gods to be worshipped.” “People with disabilities themselves can identify their necessary assistance and manage it.” “People with disabilities are the victims of social prejudice rather than victims of disabilities.” This philosophy was soon accepted in many parts of the world. On the grounds of this philosophy, IL centers are providing these services below:

1. Dispatch of Personal Assistants.
There are two ways of dispatching personal assistants; one is the way of direct dispatching like in Japan, another in the way of introducing through IL centers like in the U.S.
2. Peer Counseling
Counseling, talking or sessions among peers who have the same or similar experiences of disabilities
3. Independent Living Skill Training
4. Advocacy Activities
5. Providing information
Housing and social welfare referral is included.

Now the organizations of IL centers are established in each country and region, such as NCIL in America, CAILC in Canada, JIL in Japan, and ENIL in Europe. In 1999 The first summit of World independent Living was held in Washington D.C, U.S.A . Since then, three summits have taken place in different areas where a great number of disabled leaders, including leaders from developing countries became involved.

Conditions Concerning Independent Living in Developing Countries

The Idea of independent living, which insists on self-decision and self-management, also fascinated people with disabilities in developing countries. But because of lack of social resources, it is thought to be difficult in developing countries to achieve environments where there are enough services and accessibilities. Moreover, quite a few people thought by mistake that independence means only economical independence, so that they believed that nobody can live an independent life except for a lightly disabled person. It is nearly impossible for people with disabilities to get jobs in Asia, where only 5 or 10 percent of disabled children can have school education.

As a result, almost all developing countries tried to get disabled people to be independent through CBR (Community based rehabilitation) produced by experts, in the same period of the IL movement. Services based on institutions could be only beneficial for disabled people living in urban areas. The main target of CBR is for disabled people who live in rural areas, occupying 7 or8 percent of the total population. Non-disabled people in their communities were voluntaries trained as CBR workers, and then they did some simple rehabilitation work and help the daily lives for disabled people. Indeed, the quality of life for disabled persons might get improved to some extent, through basic physical training, walking training, sign language education, inclusion by CBR workers, and financial aids of private companies like Micro Credit. But CBR did not necessarily bring independent living for disabled persons though disabled persons had joined as official members since the beginning of providing services. That is because CBR was firstly positioned as extensions of institutions, so that disabled persons were kept under control or management of experts without disabilities.

It is often the case that disabled people who have loved the idea of IL also name their activities IL in some developing countries. For example, a certain disability organization In Mexico established a new organization named “International Organization of Independent Living for People With Disabilities”, arranging the curriculum for disabled people which included lessons about fitness, physiology, swimming, manipulation of wheelchair, driving of remodeled cars, sexuality and family life, urology, training of daily living activities etc. In Thailand, one of the staff with disabilities working at Sirindorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center suggested the Independent Living Unit, providing much the same program as Mexico’s organization did. Even though these trials may not always share the same meaning of original independent living, it indicates that there are also many disabled people having a try at independent living by themselves, in developing countries.

Scheme for Spreading IL in Developing Countries

In 1980, American disabled people who had got involved in the IL movement began to act in other countries to spread the philosophy abroad. Nowadays, Japan is taking charge of propagation of IL in the Asian region, while in America, IL centers or other organizations like Mobility International are inviting other countries’ disabled leaders to their training seminars.

One of 4 activities is often adopted as a way of spreading the IL philosophy in developing countries; first is promoting theoretical framework of IL, second, advocacy, third, participation of severely disabled persons in self-help organizations, and the last, showing a role model as an example of IL.

1. Activity to promote the theoretical framework of IL
Firstly it is necessary to correct the mistake about IL that independence means doing everything alone without any help. In spite of someone’s help, it is regarded as IL, if only self-decision and self-management can be done. This idea welcomes people with disabilities as “very good news”. But, in most cases, this acceptance does not immediately bring grassroot activities. For instance, a lot of disabled people were excited to meet American activists who came to Japan for an IL promotion tour in 1982, but the IL movement in Japan did not start untill the first IL center was established in 1986. It is very important to follow up on their experiences.

The first IL seminar in Asia was held in Bacolod, the Philippines in 1994, mainly promoted by STIL, Sweden and the Human Care Association, Japan. Three Asian persons with quadriplegia joined this seminar. After the seminar, Motab from Bangladesh tried to expand his job at the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed to the activity of independent living but in vain because of his death 3 years ago. Male participants from the Philippines, all of whom had already married, got quite interested in the IL movement, but they found it difficult to make a movement in their own country, because they had to prepare for their family before they join the movement. On the other hand, Topong from Thailand, on the grounds of the ideals of the IL movement, held a demonstration for better access of Sky Train, and educated other organizations in local areas. The Human Care Association supported his activities, and then offered him to come to Japan for training

Famous disabled activists participated in the 1999’s seminar in Malaysia held by the Asia Disability Institute. One of them was Christine Lee, who had staged a demonstration for access of the mono railway at the risk of being arrested. All participants were wildly enthusiastic on the last day of the seminar, and promised each other to promote the IL movement more actively from now on. But actually, few of them were able to increase their activities in the IL movement. There may be two reasons. One is most of the participants have their own jobs and have no time for the IL movement; the other is that severely disabled persons who really need IL have not joined the movement yet.
Promoting activities are very essential to support and spread the IL movement

2. Advocacy
The IL movement in Brazil was based on advocacy. Rosangela Berman Bieler, a Brazilian woman with quadriplegic who happened to visit an IL center in America was so impressed with its philosophy that she joined the IL movement. In 1988 CVIRJ, the first IL center in Brazil, was establish by her in Rio de Janeiro. CVIRJ began to start a movement for easy access to the city, such as getting rid of steps on side walks. The problem of accessibility is very meaningful not only because it is a problem that applies to all kinds of disabled people, but also because it will bring visible outcomes as advocacy. The IL center in Brazil made the movement more powerful by keeping contact with IL centers in America. Now in Brazil, there are 25 IL centers established, and the national union of IL centers has been united.

In South Korea, the IL movement has made rapid progress in a short time, because the Korean people getting involved with the IL movement have already created activities of advocacy on a large scale. Chon Manfu, a severely disabled person who applied for the role model of IL in 2000, was empowered through the experiences of joining big demonstration in 2001 and a long-term hunger strike in May 2002, triggered by the death of a wheelchair user at a subway station. These events were arranged by Pack Gyoung Souk, the principal of a night school for the disabled people. A lot of his students, who have studied IL, are taking part in the IL movement, which is one of the reasons why the Korean IL movement has such power. Now, the main issue in Korea is to train disabled people as peer counselors. The physical and mental conditions for developing IL in Korea are being prepared; 3 IL centers in Japan, Human Care Association, CIL Tachikawa, and HANDS Setagaya, collaborated with each other to establish a new project team that dispatches peer counselors to Korea several times a year and provides long-term training in Japan for Korean disabled leaders. As a result, some of them have reached the high standard of peer counselors that JIL is setting. There are 5 IL centers in Korea.

3. Participation of severely disabled persons in self-help groups
In Thailand, many disabled people used to sell lottery as a job, which made enough money to prepare for their own family. But because of this job, the disability movement did not grow among people with disabilities in Thailand. Under these circumstances, Topong, as I said before, thought it was only the IL movement that would change the environment of disabled people in Thailand. He tried to promote the IL movement in collaboration with 3 organizations of disabled people, Nontabri,Chonbri,Nakonpatom, three of which were very conscious about the rights of people with disabilities. To support his activities, the Human Care Association invited him to come to Japan for an IL seminar.

Each of these three organizations were democratic self-help groups, which provided home visiting services for disabled persons. Leaders of these organizations were willing to accept the idea of IL. The first step of a three year project is to open a seminar by Japanese disabled leaders, ten participants from three organizations were all studying hard, but none of them were severely disabled. So, the project team gave a task for them that they should find at least five severely disabled persons and take them outside their homes until the next years’ seminar was held.

After this, three organizations began to train students to be a voluntary staff, and ask them to take severely disabled persons outside. Some of disabled persons went outside for the first time in their lives; some of them were strongly opposed by their families, so that they were forced to refuse staff visits; some of them gave up to go outside because of their bad health; some of them had lifters fixed in their bathroom by staff who saw families lift the disabled person with great difficulty. As a result, many of them attended the peer counseling workshop held in 2002 empowered physically and mentally. As they are finished learning skills of managing an IL center in 2003-2004 year, the real activities are ready to start.

4. Showing role model of IL
Young disabled persons who belong to the Milestone Society in Pakistan came to Japan for the Duskin Training Program, including the 9 month IL seminar at several IL centers, such as Human Care Association and Main Stream Association. It is almost a year since they have gone back to Pakistan and begun to start the IL movement. They looked around Lahore to discover severely disabled persons confined in their homes, and persuade them to attend training workshops held at an office. They asked some promising participants to experience IL in a room in the corner of the office.

In the end, a young girl with muscular dystrophy made a decision to live independently. She learned various IL skills such as how to take proper care from others and how to tell personal assistants what she wanted her PA to do by actually living in a special room arranged in a corner of her house. In the day time, now she works as a member of the Life IL Center the renamed office, riding in a power wheel chair taken from Japan. It is very meaningful that she began to live independently for the first time in Pakistan, moreover in such an Islamic society, where women are likely to be conservative. After her independence, two male disabled persons, who have been encouraged by her, want and even practice now to live independently.

Spreading the Correct Philosophy of IL

It is true that more and more people have heard about IL, and especially in developing countries, where their expectation toward IL is getting bigger and bigger. Nevertheless, most of them have given up their dreams, making excuses like these: “We have no resources to use in our country.” “Prejudices against disabled people are still deeply rooted.” “Government does not still prepare sufficient welfare systems.”

One of the strategies to achieve the targets of the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action is “Strengthened community-based approaches for the prevention of causes of disability, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities.” It says that “Many developing countries in the region are now beginning to augment and replace traditional institutional and centralized rehabilitation programmes and projects with approaches better suited to their social and economic environments of poverty, high unemployment and limited resources for social services. Community-based rehabilitation programmes form the hub of such strategies. The community-based approach is particularly appropriate for the prevention of causes of disability, early identification and intervention of children with disabilities, reaching out to persons with disabilities in rural areas, raising awareness and advocacy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all activities in the community, including social, cultural and religious activities. Education, training and employment needs could also be met by this approach. It is essential that persons with disabilities exercise choice and control over initiatives for community-based rehabilitation..” It even recommends in Strategy 10 that “Governments, in collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society organizations, should immediately develop national policies, if that has not yet been done, to promote community-based approaches for the prevention of causes of disability, for rehabilitation and for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Community based rehabilitation (CBR) perspectives should reflect a human rights approach and be modeled on the independent living concept, which includes peer counseling.”

Many people tend to think it nearly impossible to introduce IL to their countries. Naturally the idea of IL can apply to all disabled people in all countries by all ages. The problem is whether you can have the courage of doing what you have not done yet, and whether you have many peers and friends who will support your activity. Pioneers have a lot of difficulties, but have a great impact on other people. Nowadays a variety of IL programs and seminars are prepared for such people. People in developed countries including ＵＳ are ready to assist you to be a leader of IL movement. We are showing the achievements and good news of IL at all times.

Independent Living Movement and Social Reform from Below - Shoji Nakanishi

Paper for the Workshop Session “What Is IL?” on September 6, 2007 at the 7th DPI World Assembly in Seoul, South Korea

Independent Living Movement and Social Reform from Below

Shoji Nakanishi
President of Japan Council on Independent Living Centers

Many of persons with disabilities (PWDs), who account for 10% of world population, have been left as the discriminated weak in poverty. Capitalist society gives the highest priority to economic value, and emphasizes efficiency and productivity. This capitalist value puts PWDs into the lowest class of society. With this recognition of the situation, I have continuously raised the questions “how we could improve social status of PWDs, and how we could realize the society where PWDs have more respect by overcoming the view of seeing them as inefficient and unproductive,” and sought for answer for more than twenty years.

In searching of the answer, I met independent living (IL) movement and learned a lot from its philosophy. I learned that PWDs can facilitate their own social participation not by overcoming their disabilities with forced rehabilitation, but by reforming society more accessible and inclusive. IL movement contributes to social reform by uncovering PWDs’ needs, disseminating needs to public administration and improving the social status of PWDs. In this presentation, I also mention the possibility of implementation of IL in developing countries.

1. Uncovering PWDs’ Needs
Now, we can see the emergence of accessible societies allover the world. These societies, however, are not the products of proactive measures by public administration for disabilities. Rather, in the basis of accessible environment of these societies, there are always the needs of persons with severe disabilities who had to live in the communities without mobility by, such as, wheelchairs. The birth of accessible societies is attributed to their needs.

In the social system with difficulty in uncovering their needs, true measures for disabilities hardly come out. So, what can we do for uncovering and reflecting their needs into society? Even though PWDs have the needs, but are isolated each other, all they can do is just tell the needs to family members or surrounding persons. To promote their needs into society, the formation of PWD-led organizations is necessary. When persons with same needs gather, they can raise louder voice which is hearable to governments.

In developing counties, however, specific government measures against poverty of PWDs are not usual because many other people are also suffered in similar conditions. And also in the conditions of poverty, organizations by PWDs tend to target for those who have minor physical disabilities. Persons with real difficulty in mobility, especially those who lost functions of both legs and arms, are often neglected their voice. The needs from organizations by persons with minor physical disabilities tend to focus upon only the issue about employment. Lucky ones who obtain jobs often seek for only higher payment and forget the needs of other disabled persons.

On the other hand, IL centers, which are run with the severely disabled persons, can uncover and promote more important needs for accessible society. Assistance for daily living, support for housework, accessible toilet for wheelchair users, supportive devices, and pension system are examples of the needs. The needs also include accessible road and transportations for wheelchair users, and accessible public spaces such as shops or educational institutions. These needs can be uncovered and promoted only when persons with severe disabilities become the core members of movement organizations.

In IL center, those who have minor disabilities take supportive role in cooperation with severely disabled persons. They put priority not on their individual interests, but on the realization of the needs of whole disabled persons. With the thought about whole PWDs, IL center can be the place of mutual cooperation and improvement of life. As a result, PWDs have strong bond each other.

2. Dissemination of Needs to Public Administration
To bridge the needs of PWDs to public administration, we choose a person with the most severe disability as a model who can integrate and represent the needs. IL center supports the model person for being able to live in community. Then, the needs of every PWDs in community appear in concrete shapes. The needs, for example, to access to public office and library, to have assistance for daily living, and to have income secured for house rent and utility, are soon exposed as demands to public administration.

For the side of public administration, launching measures targeting for the model person is more realistic and achievable because it can plan and implement measures with less financial burden. It is impossible for any developed countries to change whole in a moment. Important point is whether we take a first step for gradual process of improvement. When we take the first step, the model project opens the door to the next projects for improvement.

Once the community living of a disabled person as the model project starts, it is followed by the other person, and then, by the third person. The more the number of persons with disabilities seeking for the life in community grows, the more the movement for accessibility develops. When the nation-wide demand for the improvement of accessibility appears, the situation becomes easier for public administration to decide comprehensive policies for accessibility. The reform of society is realized through the communication with public administration to disseminate PWDs’ needs.

The most severely disabled person rents a house and lives in community with personal assistance service from IL center. Then, he or she accumulates experiences and know-how of independent living. This accumulation offers the opportunity of job to that person to relay experiences and know-how to other disabled persons who want to live in community. Experiences and know-how include ways to reform house accessible, knowledge about available social resources, methods to build human relationship in community, and necessary knowledge and negotiation ability to improve workplace environment. That person tells these experiences and know-how to other disabled persons through IL program.

IL center is established on the basis of the needs of the most severely disabled persons. It provides services to fulfill their needs through, such as, “peer-counseling,” “independent living program,” or “personal assistance service.”

Other than these services, IL center also takes in charge of activities which are commissioned by public administration. These activities include supports for the independence of persons with disabilities, research on accessible environment, and recommendation of policies to public administration. Communities with IL center have the system in which public administration works together with PWDs for policy-making based on their needs. Communities with IL center have accessible train stations which have accessible toilets for wheelchair users. On the other hand, train stations in communities without IL center often do not have slopes and toilets because there is no channel to hear the voice of persons with disabilities. For public administration, development of the relations with IL centers is indispensable to recognize their true needs. And with the policy recommendation from IL centers, public administration can implement effective policies.

It is only after PWDs are secured the right to live in community and have accessible social environments that all of them can be included into society. Then, they can reach to workplace, have income, and escape from poverty. I would like to emphasize again that such change of social system begins from one severely disabled person.

3. Improvement of the Social Status of PWDs
Activities to improve the social status of PWDs should have the aspect of social contribution for public interests. PWDs in such activities also should have consciousness that they not only work for their own needs but also for other socially disadvantaged persons.

For this, those who work in activities need to change their positions from served by social benefits and charity to support other persons. IL centers make the change of positions possible in following way:
At IL centers, the most severely disabled persons, who are seen as the least efficient and productive, are required as the most significant staff. The reversal of ordinary social values is realized hereby. The most severely disabled persons can obtain jobs at IL enters, and escape from poverty. Then, IL centers become the workplaces where disabled persons can recognize their contribution to society with utilizing their disabilities. In collaboration between IL centers and public administration, contribution of PWDs wide spread into society.

When the issues of the most severely disabled persons are addressed, the society becomes good place to live for other persons, such as, those who with minor disabilities and elderly ones. Since the most severely disabled persons have job due to their disabilities, those who have minor disabilities can also obtain jobs in the light of their disabilities.

I can mention an example of job for severely disabled persons. In corporations, it is often happened that workers and their family members have disabilities. In such cases, they tend to get lost because they do not know how to face with disabilities. However, if these companies have counselors with severe disabilities, problems are addressed. Counselors with disabilities can give them right and necessary advices emphatically. The movement by disabled persons has developed counseling method that is called as “peer-counseling”, which is the most useful in such cases.

This kind of job is the utilization of experiences and knowledge attributed to disabilities, and the effective use of social resources. PWDs can work with dignity and joy because it is their experiences and knowledge which are required. Previously, they were abandoned at the corner of society as the least efficient and productive. But now they participate into the society with significant position as the providers of welfare services. When the society can utilize all the people, it also can make them happy.

Memory of Topong

Dear Friends,

As I mentioned in my previous email, Topong passed away at 11:20 (Thai local times) on 7 June 2007. He returned from the South Asian workshop on ‘Capacity Building of Southern Disabled People’s Organizations in Bangladesh on 4 June. At that time his condition was bad, so that he stayed at home for a while. Then he developed a high fever over 40 degrees and was taken to the Army Hospital. In the night on 6 June, his condition turned to be critical. He had cardio-respiratory arrest 5 times until the morning. After the struggle with illness, while he was taken heart massage from doctors, he passed away.
Topong was a great leader of disability movement. Before he became disabled in 1986, Topong had served Royal Thai Army. Following his graduation from Royal Military Academy in 1981, he extended his study and training at the US. Army Infantry School in 1984-85. He got car accident during his patrol duty near Thailand-Malaysia border in 1986, injured his cervical cord, and became quadriplegic. He was promoted to be lieutenant colonel after leaving the army in 1989. While taking rehabilitation at the hospital, he participated in DPI Regional Assembly held in Thailand in 1988.
His encounter with disability sector led him to deep commitment to equal opportunities of persons with disabilities in society. Then he got a chance to participate in the Nagoya City Handi-Marathon and to visit an independent living center, Human Care Association, in Japan. During his visit, he stayed my home and learned that a person with severe disability could live in community not in hospital. He began to live in community where he started to drive a car and to write by himself.
Then he became President of the Association of the Physically Handicapped in Thailand (APHD) and developed APHD from a small organization coving only Bangkok area to a nation-wide organization. He was also an activist in an independent living (IL) movement, after he had invited to an IL study trip in USA in 1991 organized by the Human Care Association. He was always a great leader of our movements, such as establishing Rehabilitation Law, making accessible stations of Bangkok Sky-train, and organizing campaign for barrier-free new Bangkok airport. Appointed as Regional Development Officer of DPI-Asia-Pacific region in 1999, he used his talent for fostering young leaders with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. His attractive character caught many disabled persons’ minds and brought unprecedented success in the last 20 years of disabled persons’ movements in Asia-Pacific region. In the region, there is no person with disability who has never heard of Topong Kulkhanchit.
Our strong movement deeply owes to his activity. Once he said “Leader works when staff are tired. Leader keeps awake to work when staff go to bed. Leader works without taking meal when staff are hungry.” He spent his life as his words. He continued his fight until his last moment and I believe he fulfilled his life.
May he rest in peace. I also offer my sincere condolences to his wife Ying, and his mother and sister.
We persons with disabilities left behind carry his torch and continue to fight to realize his vision of society of equality and full participation.

Yours sincerely,
Shoji Nakanishi
Chairperson, DPI Asia-Pacific Region

News from Japan (June 27, 2007)

Serious shortage of personal assistants

In Japan, many IL centers are now facing serious shortage of personal assistants. Shortage of PAs becomes major threat to many PWDs’ who practicing independent living in community.

Shortage is attributed to the drastic cut-back of public financial support for PAs by Japanese national government two years ago in the name of revenue shortfall. Since then, despite of serious effort of IL centers to rationalize operation, IL centers have lost certain number of PAs and also have difficulty in recruiting new ones.

Currently, we continuously and widely offer job while negotiating with national government and municipalities to restore the cut of public financial support.

Disability Movement Won a Moderate Improvement of Support Act for Independence of Disabled Persons in Japan

News from Japan

Disability Movement Won a Moderate Improvement of Support Act for Independence of Disabled Persons in Japan

PWDs in Japan launched 15,000 person demonstration around the Diet on October 31, 2006 to protest so-called Support Act for Independence of Disabled Persons in Japan. Mass media also widely reported problems of this act. Some representatives of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – a ruling party in the Diet – were afraid of this issue being a disadvantage of coming Upper House election in this summer and, hence, demanded both Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and Ministry of Finance to reduce self-pay ratio to have services in the Act. We also lobbied to influential representatives of LDP. As a result, we won agreement with MHLW on December 30 to reduce self-pay ratio in service use from 10% to 2.5%.

We also won to rise the basis of minimum annual income for service payment waiver from \1 million to \6 million so that most of PWDs in Japan will have waiver. Under 10% self-pay ratio, PWD staff of Human Care Association have to pay \37,200 every month. After modification, our payment will be reduced to one-fourth – \9,300 per month. This modification is significantly reduce our burden because our average monthly income is \160,000.

Our remaining problem was 20% decrease of income for necessary expenses for IL center management. To this problem, our movement brought result in limiting the shrink to 10%. Repetition of reduction of public payment for personal assistance services, however, has put management of IL center into harsh conditions. Hence, we IL centers will support each other and continue our negotiation with city and prefecture governments in order not to stop services.

JIL