Japan Press Weekly

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2022 November 9 - 15 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Law revisions under debate may increase forced psychiatric hospitalizations in disregard of UN recommendation

Japanese Communist Party representative Miyamoto Toru on November 11 warned that a system currently being discussed for hospitalizations of mentally-troubled persons may lead to an increase in undue admissions in disregard of a UN recommendation, demanding that related law revisions be reviewed.

The House of Representatives Health and Welfare Committee is discussing a package of bills to revise the Act for the Comprehensive Support of Persons with Disabilities and four laws, including the mental health law.

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities made a recommendation to the Japanese government in September based on the UN disability convention, calling for the abolishment of legal provisions regarding involuntary hospitalizations of persons with disabilities.

Miyamoto pointed out that the revisions in the law will expand hospitalizations for the purpose of medical care and protection of persons with disabilities which may increase undue involuntary admissions. He criticized the revisions under debate for completely ignoring the UN recommendation.

Miyamoto noted that the ratio of involuntary hospitalizations to the total admissions of mentally-troubled patients accounts for 49.7% in Japan, exceeding the 10% level in EU countries. He also noted that the duration of their hospital stays in Japan is 294 days on average, far longer than 10-40 days in other countries.

Miyamoto asked, "Why is the number of involuntary hospitalizations in Japan larger than that in other countries?" Health and Welfare Minister Kato Katsunobu answered, "Because post-discharge support measures in Japan are not always sufficient."

Miyamoto in response said, "Japan's system is full of flaws. We should fix the flaws one by one, item by item. This is what the UN recommendation asks Japan to do." He again demanded a review in the draft revisions from scratch.