Japan Press Weekly

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2020 February 11 - 18 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Workshops for disabled demand continuation of gov’t subsidy for facility meals

Kyosaren, a nationwide organization of small-sized community workshops for disabled people, on February 12 submitted to the Welfare Ministry a petition demanding that the government not end the lunch subsidy program provided to workshop users.

The petition has so far been endorsed by 3,702 similar workshop operators and organizations supporting disabled persons.

The subsidy program is designed to help community workshops for the disabled which provide facility meals to hire cooking staff. However, the Abe government is considering ending the financial support in 2021.

After the submission of the petition, Kyosaren representatives held a press conference in the Welfare Ministry office building and published the results of a survey of its member facilities which was conducted between October and November 2019. In the survey among 763 workshops which answered that they provide facility meals, mostly lunch, 694 or 91% receive state subsidies. However, 95% of the 694 workshops said that the amount of subsidies falls short of covering the cost of hiring cooking staff.

Kyosaren (the Japan Association of Community Workshop for Disabled Persons) standing director Ono Hiroshi said, “The abolition of the subsidy program will lead to higher lunch fees. If it comes to that, many workshop users will have to give up on having a healthy lunch and instead eat nothing or resort to eating cheap instant foods.”

Hayashi Yuko, a disabled workshop user, said, “We, the disabled, all live on the small amount of disability pension benefits. An increase in lunch fee will be a heavy blow. I want the government to understand our difficult situation.”

Past related articles:
> More and more disabled persons rely on welfare assistance [April 8, 2018]
> Termination of subsidy for welfare facility meals will impose heavier burdens on disabled people [December 7, 2017]