Japan

Government responses

Mainstreaming of disability inclusion, participation, and partnerships

• [n.d.] The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has published a series of guidelines to address the needs of persons with disabilities during the pandemic.

Continued access to goods and services

• [18 March 2020] New legislation has been proposed to support persons with disabilities during the lockdown, including the treatment improvement bill for disability welfare workers which gives each employee a subsidy of 10,000 yen and the employment support bill for home-visit carers.
• [28 March 2020] Life support businesses have been required to operate during the state of emergency, including support services for older persons and persons with disabilities.

Accessible public information

• [n.d.] The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare operates an accessible website with a dedicated section on COVID-19 measures for persons with disabilities and a COVID-19 consultation desk for persons with hearing impairment.

Medical and quarantine policies and processes 

• [18 March 2021] Persons with severe mental illnesses or disabilities would be prioritized in the vaccine roll-out.

Social protection and employment support

• [5 March 2020] Temporary measures have been made for the certification of disability support classification.
• [7 April 2020] The Emergency Economic Package Against COVID-19 comprises cash handouts for every individual and affected firms.

Institutions and facilities 

• [15 April 2020] Disability welfare service establishments and medical care centres for children have received a priority supply of ethanol for hand disinfection.

Last modified: 6 May 2021