Japanese Minister Confirms Padded Disabled Employment

August 21, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese internal affairs minister Seiko Noda on Monday confirmed that her ministry has padded its employment rate of people with disabilities to meet a legal requirement.

"I don't know the precise figures, but I was deeply shocked to hear about the situation," Noda told reporters in Tokyo.

Almost all ministries have been in a similar situation, Noda said, citing a briefing by her subordinates.

"I can't overlook this matter, not as internal affairs minister but as a disabled child's mother," Noda said, indicating that her ministry will consider ways to address the situation.

The prefectural governments of Ehime and Yamagata separately said Monday that they have padded the employment rates of people with disabilities for years.

The prefectural government of Ehime, western Japan, said the misconduct started at least 15 years ago.

The prefectural government of Yamagata, northeastern Japan, said checks on whether calculations are correct have been insufficient since the employment of people with disabilities became mandatory in 1976.

The misconduct involving the two prefectural governments was uncovered by their own investigations following the discovery of padding allegations at central government agencies last week. Jiji Press