Japan Press Weekly

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2016 December 21 - 2017 January 3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Eugenic thought led to mass murder of the disabled: welfare expert

Five months have passed since 19 people were stabbed to death at a facility for the mentally retarded in Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture. Rikkyo University Professor Hirano Masaaki, a welfare expert, pointed out in an Akahata interview that this incident occurred against the backdrop of social intolerance and eugenic thought. The following is a summary of his interview:

As middle class living conditions are deteriorating, the trend of bashing people living on public money, such as the disabled, the elderly, and welfare recipients, is spreading.

The murder suspect, a former worker at the facility, maintained an idea of intolerance which excludes all thoughts other than his. I guess that this idea, connected with eugenic thought and the trend of bashing the socially disadvantaged, led to the incident.

In order to prevent a recurrence of such a crime, members of society need to understand the rights of socially disadvantaged people, including the disabled, and work to help them integrate into society.

The suspect killed disabled persons indiscriminately, considering them to be a “burden” on society. At the root of this barbarous act lies the denial of disabled people’s right to life. Therefore, many disabled persons and their families took this case seriously.

If the disabled themselves assume themselves to be an “obstacle” to society, they may be isolated by hesitating to file for and receive social assistance.

Eugenic thought, an underlying cause of this incident, embodies the idea of dividing citizens into two groups; “useful” and “useless”. Every member of society must be informed so that they can reject such a notion.

The need now is to create a society where everyone lives together in harmony and embracing diversity.

Past related article:
> Discrimination against the disabled must be overcome [July 29, 2016]