Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 17 - 23 [WELFARE]

Court rules city’s rejection of welfare benefits for disabled woman to be illegal

The Osaka District Court on April 19 ruled that it is illegal for Hirakata City in Osaka Prefecture to turn down an application for welfare benefits from a disabled woman because she has a car.

Sato Kiyoko is a 73-year-old woman with a congenital disability. As she cannot walk for any extended distance, she needs a car for her daily life and for her visits to a hospital.

Sato started to receive welfare benefits from Hirakata City in November 2006, five months after the death of her husband. The city office repeatedly urged her to sell the car to pay for living expenses. She kept refusing to do so and the local government finally stopped paying her benefits in May 2007.

In April 2009, she submitted an application for welfare benefits to the city and the authority rejected it claiming that she had a car which was considered to be a financial asset. Two months later, Sato once again applied for the social security benefit, and it was granted. She has been on welfare since July 2009.

Acknowledging that in April 2009 when her application was rejected, she was fulfilling the government requirements for welfare recipients while having a car, the court ordered the city to cancel the rejection and pay her around 1.72 million yen in compensation.

Sato in a news conference held after the ruling said, “I have been fighting hard not only for myself but also for people who may be facing the same or similar situation as me. I am so pleased with the outcome.”