Japan Press Weekly

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2012 June 6 - 12 [WELFARE]

JCP assembly members request Tokyo gov’t to promote home-visit services for mental patients

Japanese Communist Party members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly on June 8 requested the metropolitan government to promote home-visit services for mental patients and their families.

In the petition, JCP assembly member Oyama Tomoko said, “In Japan, hospital treatment is still considered the only treatment for mental illnesses. The medical system for early detection of mental diseases and for supporting patients’ families is insufficient. Patients and their families are suffering from social prejudice against mental illnesses. The metropolitan government should take the initiative in promoting home-visit services for them ahead of the central government.”

The JCP assembly members’ group made a proposal to set up outreach workers’ teams per 100,000 residents in the Tokyo area. Outreach workers are mental health professionals who are in position to support the overall livelihoods of patients and their families by visiting them in their homes. Their presence has achieved a great success in many countries.

The metropolitan assembly in March unanimously adopted a resolution urging the national government to enact a fundamental law for mental health as soon as possible.