Japan Press Weekly

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2007 September 5 - 11 [WELFARE]

JCP urges government to review disabled person self-support law

The Japanese Communist Party requested the government to make a drastic review of the disabled person self-support law, including revocation of the current beneficiary pay principle that requires disabled persons to pay for their use of services.

Koike Akira, JCP member of the House of Councilors who heads the JCP commission on the promotion of disabled persons’ social participation and equality, and other JCP Dietmembers on September 6 visited Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Masuzoe Yoichi.

They made the request based on opinions expressed by representatives of 31 organizations advocating the rights of disabled persons and patients at a meeting with the JCP Dietmembers’ Group in September.

Koike said to Masuzoe, “Ever since the law to promote the self-help support of disabled persons came into force in April 2006, the new government policy replacing the principle of ‘according to the ability to pay’ with the ‘beneficiary pay’ principle that requires the service users to pay 10 percent of the cost. This is an unbearable burden for many disabled persons.”

According to a survey by the ministry, 1,625 people have been forced to give up using facilities providing services for disabled persons since the law went into force.

Stressing that the “beneficiary pay” principle must be revoked immediately, Koike requested Masuzoe to review the law concerning six points, including an increase in the rate of compensation paid to facilities for services they provide.

Masuzoe told Koike that he will look closely at the current situation concerning the self-support promotion law.