 Government ordered to pay pension to disabled citizens The Hiroshima District Court on March 3 nullified the government action to deny two disabled men disability pension benefits on the grounds that it is in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution that guarantees equality under the law. The court also ordered the state to pay them 2 million yen each in compensation (the two had been seeking 400 million yen each). One plaintiff became disabled because of an accident and the other because of illness they had when they were students. The national pension premiums payment at that time was not compulsory for students who were 20 and older. Nine similar lawsuits have been filed by 29 plaintiffs throughout Japan. Following last year's rulings at the Tokyo and Niigata district courts, the latest one also recognized the government's failure to provide disability benefits as illegal. The recent ruling was the first to nullify the government denial of disability benefits. On March 3, following the Hiroshima District Court ruling, Toba Tomoko, the mother of one of the plaintiffs, visited the welfare and justice ministries to urge them not to appeal to the high court so that this case can be settled without delay. Toba has for 17 years taken care of her son after he suffered a traffic accident and he became paralyzed. "The district court ruling is a good one that meets our needs. I want to see the government give up appealing against it. I am too old to continue with a prolonged lawsuit in terms of physical and mental strength as well as financial ability. I ask the government not to add to the suffering of our family members," Toba said. There are approximately 4,000 disabled people who are denied disability benefits because they did not join the national pension plan as students. (end) |