ESASHI, Hokkaido Prefectural officials are investigating a local facility for people with intellectual disabilities after learning that eight couples, each hoping to live together or marry, underwent sterilization procedures at the organization’s urging.
With special government COVID loans starting to come due in January, close to 1 million households have applied for an exemption on repayments because they cannot make the monthly repayments.
A U.N. committee is asking Japan to address problems with how the nation treats people with disabilities, such as the prolonged institutionalization of those with intellectual disorders.
Japan commemorated its war dead in a significantly downsized government ceremony on Aug. 15, the 77th anniversary of its defeat in World War II, as the novel coronavirus continues to rage throughout the nation.
Experts say the slow rollout of COVID-19 booster shots can largely be blamed on a sudden revision in inoculation timetables brought about by the emergence of the infectious Omicron variant late last year.