[KANAGAWA] Prefectural Government Establishes the Committee for the Exploration of Future Prospects of Disability Welfare from the Perspective of the Persons with Disabilities

On 9 July 2021, the Kanagawa Prefectural Government held the first meeting of the Committee for the Exploration of Future Prospects of Disability Welfare from the Perspective of the Persons with Disabilities.

The Committee was set up with the aim of "exploring the long-term prospects of support for people with disabilities and discussing the philosophy and practice of disability welfare from the viewpoints of people with disabilities." With the future vision of disability welfare in the prefecture around 2040, the Committee discussed how the prefecture administration, business operators, and citizens should work from a medium- to long-term perspective to materialize the vision. As a result, the following views (draft) have been presented.

  1. The Tsukui Yamayuri incident (Sagamihara Stabbing) - a former care worker killed 19 disabled people and injured dozens more at the institution - should be a catalyst for an inclusive society.
  2. In disability welfare, we should pursue the view of the person with disabilities (e.g., supported decision-making) rather than the perspective of their families and support workers.
  3. The prefecture should make a bold effort to address complex support issues such as severe behavioral disorders, older adults with disabilities, and children who need constant medical care (e.g., involving local people and training human resources).
  4. People with disabilities are community members, and it is their right to live as they wish, with dignity and in the place of their choice (social resources, service infrastructure, etc.).
  5. We should make use of the value created by people with disabilities and the SDGs' principle of "leaving no one behind" to achieve a sustainable, diverse and inclusive society.

The Committee will remain in place until 31 March 2022 and will produce an interim summary of its work by October 2021 and a report by the end of 2021.

For more information, please visit the following websites (in Japanese only)  https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/m8u/tenboukentou/tenboukentoutop.html

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