Annual Report (Summary)2004
Part IV. Building the foundations for daily life


Part IV. Building the foundations for daily life

Section 1. Measures for securing livelihood for persons with disabilities


[ Principal measures implemented ]
  1. Since April 2004 welfare services for persons and children with physical or intellectual disabilities has been changed from a measure-oriented system under which administrative governments specify the recipients of services and decide on the nature of services to a new user-oriented system ("assistance benefit supply system") under which persons with disabilities, on an equal footing with the service provider, select and utilize the services by the contract.

  2. In May 2003, the Headquarters for Mental Health and Welfare Measures (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) prepared an interim report on the future direction of measures to be taken which said that realization, if conditions were met, of early deinstitutionalization of persons with mental disorders might be taken into consideration, in accordance with promotion of spread and education (promotion of people's understanding of persons with mental disorders), reform of mental health (enhancement of the quality of medical treatment through functional segmentation of psychiatric beds and establishment of a community care system, including emergency care system), and community life support (securing housing, promotion of employment support, improvement of consulting institutions).

  3. According to the full enforcement of the Law of the Assistance Dog of Persons with Physical Disabilities in October 2003, managers of such facilities for public use as hotels and department stores, shall in principle accept persons with disabilities accompanied by certified assistance dog.

  4. ISO/IEC Guide 71, a set of guidelines to address the needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities, was established as Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) in June 2003.

  5. The 3rd National Sports Games for Persons with Disabilities was held in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan.

  6. Equipment of text-to-speech reading for persons with visual disabilities and equipment of receiving information for persons with hearing disabilities became assistive items for daily life supplied by the public.


Index   -   Back   -   Next

- Back to Top


Top Page