disabled

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Bill debilitating self-help of the disabled railroaded through Lower House

In the House of Representatives on July 15, the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties used their majority to railroad through a bill to force disabled people to shoulder heavier costs. The Japanese Communist, Democratic, and Social Democratic parties voted against.

The bill, if enacted, will force the disabled to pay 10 percent of the costs for welfare services and the full cost for hospital meals under the rhetoric of "supporting the promotion of self-help of the disabled." It will only discourage disabled people from visiting doctors.

At a committee meeting in the House of Representatives the previous day, JCP representative Yamaguchi Tomio pointed out that disabled people would not be able to afford to pay 4 times as much as the present fees for home care services and 14 times as much for care at medical institutions, and that it would run counter to the support for the self-help of the disabled and their participation in their communities.

Yamaguchi said that as the discussion on the bill progressed, many municipalities as well as local assemblies expressed their opposition to the bill, and demanded that the bill be withdrawn by stating, "The Japan Federation of Bar Associations also points out the possibility that the disabled won't be able to support themselves in their own communities."

"This will undermine our efforts to achieve self-help. 'It's a matter of life or death'," the disabled in the gallery angrily shouted at ministry officials shrugging off their mistakes in documents and data they used to justify the bill and at LDP and Komei lawmakers supporting the bill.

Hiroshi Kataoka, who came to Tokyo from Shiga Prefecture to observe the committee proceeding, said, "I never knew that the Diet is such a dishonest place. They don't care for the human rights of the disabled."

After the bill was passed through the committee, disabled people's organizations and those who observed the committee proceedings held a rally in front of the Diet with JCP, DPJ, and SDP Dietmembers attending. -- Akahata, July 14, 2005