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A bill to revise the disabled person self-support law was approved on November 18 in the House of Representatives by the majority of votes of the Democratic, Liberal Democratic, and Komei parties, leaving a loophole in the controversial law. The Japanese Communist Party voted against the bill because in defiance of strong opposition from disabled persons and their families the bill maintains the beneficiary pays system forcing disabled persons to pay 10 percent of the costs for welfare services. People with disabilities across the country filed lawsuits claiming that the current law's beneficiary pays system is unconstitutional. Fujioka Tsuyoshi, leader of the plaintiffs' legal team said, "The DPJ-led government promised to abolish the current law and began discussing the drafting of a new law by setting up a government panel with the attendance of representatives of the disabled. However, the approved bill was passed before the establishment of the panel." He went on to say, "The approval of the bill caused a sense of crisis and belief that the government's real intention is to keep the current system as is." |
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