Specified Non-profit Corporation　

IPPO HOUSE
 
Social Welfare Service for persons with disability ・Japan

In Japan, the provision of welfare services and daily life supports to the persons with disabilities are based on an Act called “Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act”.  

The basic principles of the Act:

• Every citizen has the basic human right and is being respected as an individual, regardless of his / her disabilities. 

• Person with disabilities is able to access and receive the supportive service in the community. 

• Efforts are to be made in order to remove any restrains (such as the system, belief and etc.) which will hinder the principles stated as above. 

 

For official details of the Act, please visit the homepage of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省) 

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare　《Social Welfare for persons with disabilities》

There are various disability welfare services provided in Japan based on the Act. In general, those services can be divided into the following categories: 

 

For care support:

• Home help service (居宅介護)

• Visiting care for persons with severe disabilities (重度訪問介護)

• Medical care (療養介護)

• Care for daily life (生活介護)

 

For daily support:

• Activity support (行動援護)

• Day service for children (児童デイサービス)

• Local activity support center (地域活動支援センター)

• Grant on Prosthetic devices (補装具費の給付)

 

For residential support:

• Short-stay service (短期入所)

• Comprehensive support for persons with severe disabilities (重度障害者等包括支援)

• Group home with care (共同生活介護)

• Support for persons in residential care (施設入所支援)

 

For employment support:

• Rehabilitation service (自立訓練)

• Transition support for employment (就労移行支援)

• Support for continuous employment and group home with aid (就労継続支援及び共同生活援助)

 

For counselling support:

• Consultation support (相談支援)

In general: 

Basically, it is the human right for every people to access and receive the welfare services when in need, no matter what age, sex, race and religion you are. Unless you are holding the Short-Term Stay (短期滞在) or staying in Japan illegally (不法滞在), it will be the exceptional case.

 

In the other word, if you (or your family member) are holding an eligible visa with the Residence Card (在留カード) or the Special Permanent Resident Certificate (特別永住者証明書), you can apply for any welfare services when in need. But the eligibility for the use of the welfare service is depended on various criteria, such as the requirement of such service, the vacancy of the service, the region that living in…and etc. Furthermore, the amount of the service fee to be paid by the service user is determined by the financial status of the applicant.   

​

About the disability welfare services:

The eligibility of the use of services is based on the consultation with responsible staffs of the local Ward Office(区役所). During the consultation, a specific system so-called "the Classification of Needed Support for disabled persons" (障害支援区分) will be conducted so as to determine the content of the service in Japan. You may inquire at the local Ward Office of your residential region for more details about the assessment. 

​

＊　For details about 「The Classification of Needed Support for disabled persons障害支援区分」, please refer to the homepage of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省) 

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare　《The Classification of Needed Support for disabled persons障害支援区分》

​