Overview

• At a September 5 council at the prefectural government office, held to discuss preventing abuse and eliminating discrimination, about 30 participants included prefectural welfare staff, disability groups, and lawyers.
• After a report on abuse cases, a male prefectural employee said disabled people had become “strong” and were “being paranoid,” prompting immediate objections from advocacy representatives.
• Other prefectural staff at the meeting countered that hitting, verbal abuse, or discrimination against disabled people is never acceptable.
• The employee received a strict warning from his supervisor for the inappropriate remarks, and the prefecture confirmed the incident.
• Aichi Prefecture plans to brief and apologize to the groups that attended, while the employee has said he intended to defend the prefecture’s efforts.