Japan gov't to raise employment rate of people with disabilities

TOKYO -- Japan's labor ministry has decided to raise the statutory employment rate of people with disabilities from 2.3% to 2.7% -- the largest increase since the current system was introduced.

The proposal will be presented to the Jan. 18 subcommittee meeting of the Labor Policy Council -- an advisory body to the labor minister. Considering the time required for companies to prepare for the change in the system, the government plans to increase the rate in two stages: first to 2.5% in April next year, and then to 2.7% by the end of fiscal 2026.

National and local governments, whose current employment rate of people with disabilities is higher than that of the private sector, will raise the figure to 3%, while prefectural education boards will boost the ratio to 2.9%. The same 0.4 percentage point increase as that of the private sector will similarly be applied in two stages.

The Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities currently requires that companies with 43.5 or more employees have an employment rate of at least 2.3% for people with disabilities. This is a measure to increase the number of workplaces for such people.

As of June 1, 2022, the number of people with disabilities working in companies reached about 614,000 -- a record high for the 19th consecutive year. However, only 48.3% of all firms have achieved the legally mandated employment rate. Many small and medium-sized companies do not have the know-how on employing people with disabilities, and it is likely that more support will be required for such firms.

(Japanese original by Natsuko Ishida, Lifestyle and Medical News Department)