The mentally disabled living alone can hardly reintegrate into society without public financial support.

This is the heartfelt scream I wrote in the article: Since September 2016, it has become severely difficult to receive a DISABILITY PENSION for only THE MENTALLY DISABLED in Japan.

Almost three years have passed since this article was published. And now the world has been hit by the COVID-19 economic crash, I am forced to re-realize the meaning of my term.

I must pay the house rent. Not only that, I have to pay for utilities, and also I am charged for social insurance premiums. Cash spreads its wings and flies away without mercy.

Even if I don’t eat, I will force myself to work again for securing a place to live. However, the overwork doesn’t last long, and the disease re-worsens. The tragedy repeats over and over again.

Things haven’t changed at all during the last three years.

What is disability pension?

The disability pension is a pension benefit which people with disabilities can reiceive. This is not the old-age pension, so age doesn’t matter.

Moreover it doesn’t matter what type of disability you have. People with all types of disabilities (physical, intellectual and mental) can apply for it. Of course, the more severe the disability, the more benefits you will receive.

In the case of the mentally disabled, the amount shown in the table below will be paid.

However, in Japan, the disability pension is paid in every two months, not every month. Of course, the amount is twice the monthly amount.

As for the 3rd grade, it’s relatively easy to receive it. You can easily get 50,000 to 60,000 yen per month.

seishinshogaisha-koyo-totaru-sapota (Total supporter of employment of the mentally disabled) told me so. I unquestioningly believed him and applied for the disability pension in November 2016.

But he was totally a liar.

The guidelines were changed for the worse on September 1, 2016

My application was rejected.

Just two months before my application, on September 1, 2016, “the new grade determination guidelines for mental disorders” came into effect.

Ruthless point rating system

Since then, the patient’s “ability to perform activities of daily living” is rated on a 1 to 4 scale, and the disability grade is determined based solely on that score and the level.

The score of “ability to perform activities of daily living” is composed of each ratings in 7 categories.

The seven categories are as follows:

As for rating, for example, 1 point is given, if you can do it by yourself. In the worst condition, 4 points are given: you are unable or unwilling to do it, even if advice or guidance is given. The breakdown of points is as follows:

So, inevitably, they get a lot of “you can do that all by yourself” ratings. That means they will earn only one point in most categories. Thus, their score of “ability to perform activities of daily living” becomes below 1.5. And their application will surely be rejected.

However, the discussion of how well the patients can perform activities of daily living on their own is almost identical to the certification of needed long-term care and needed support for nursing care insurance.

It’s quite beside the mark.
By the way, does your country have a long-term care insurance system?

No payments, as long as you live alone

As long as they go to the hospital and take their medication appropriately, the mentally disabled who have lived alone for many years can perform their daily activities (eating, shopping, etc.) by themselves.
No matter how serious their conditions are, or how difficult it is to reintegrate into society.

However, if they can’t go to the hospital or take their medication in time, they become possessed by the “Reaper” and commit suicide. There must have been many more suicide victims like them.

Dead men tell no tales. No more details are known.

As long as they go to the hospital and take their medication as instructed, their “ability to perform activities of daily living” will remain high. And their applications will be rejected eternally.

But once they miss the timing of their doctor’s appointment and taking medication, the risk of suicide grows exponentially. These are the anguish and fear that the mentally disabled living alone have to live with until the end of time.

Can depression go into remission under these circumstances?

Tyrant is Disability Pension Center

Nowadays, it is also said that there is a tendency for the new grading guidelines to be broadly interpreted to become even more unfair to the mentally disabled.

For example, it is reported that some patients were disqualified simply because they were living alone, even though they were undoubtedly to be certified as Grade 2 under the new grading guidelines.

The patients, who should have been certified as Grade 2, are actually suffering from very serious medical conditions.

This is a deviant administrative act.

Some of the other unreasonable cases are listed in the table below.

Officials are violating the rules

In fact, even the inhuman new grading guidelines, which came into effect in September 2016, have certification categories of Grade 1 or 2 , Grade 2 or 3 , and Grade 3 or Rejected .

These unclear categories suggest the possibility of being certified one grade lower.

But no one has ever heard of a case where the mentally disabled was certified two grades lower!

There is no certification category such as Grade 1 or 3 or Grade 2 or Rejected . If they follow the new grading guidelines correctly, there is no reason for patients to be certified two grades lower.

Persecution in Japan

Now even the latest grading guidelines don’t make sense.

The mentally disabled are living in a state of lawlessness. And Disability Pension Centers act like tyrants. They persecute the mentally disabled in an unreasonable and brutal way.

The mentally disabled are persecuted simply because they are living alone. It’s an persecution based on household structure.

In another case, the application was rejected based on the quibble that “the dosage was small.” Under the new grading guidelines, patients will be graded solely on their “ability to perform activities of daily living.” The dosage has nothing to do with “ability to perform activities of daily living” at all.

Too crazy, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Why do they hate the depressed and mentally disabled so much?

Lost Opportunities

It is of course a matter of life and death whether we can receive a disability pension (at least 50,000 yen: about $470 per month) or not. It will greatly affect our subsequent life planning.

Wages for disabled people are low

But, wages for the disabled are low. This tendency is stronger for the mentally disabled. Working more than 30 hours a week, they can earn only about 189,000 yen (about $1,800) a month.

The take-home pay of the mentally disabled is probably around 150,000 yen (about $1,400). And we also have to pay the house rent. The rent for a single person in the Tokyo metropolitan area is probably in the 50,000-65,000 yen range (about $470-$610). Moreover, we have to pay utility bills which are probably around 10,000 yen (about $94) every month.

After all, there are only two ways left: become the working poor, or become unable to earn a living.

To find a job that allows them to earn a livelihood, they must tell a lie that they are healthy.

And even if they don’t eat, they force themselves to work again for securing a place to live. However, the overwork doesn’t last long, and the disease re-worsens.

We are robbed of opportunities to reintegrate into society

If only I could receive a disability pension, I would have the option of working as a disabled person. This way of working was the best way to balance earning an income and the disease treatment.

I’m not despairing that I didn’t get the money. But rather, I despair that my possibilities for reintegration were significantly narrowed.

Without any support, I can’t get out of the vicious cycle.

I work as a healthy person for a while, then the disease worsens, and I finally become jobless. When the conditions become better, I force myself to work again. On the surface, I may appear to be moving from job to job. And actually I’m poor and starving. No hope for the future. I am like a desperado.

Why should I suffer so extremely, while having lingering depression, simply because I am living alone?

You better let somebody love you
(Let somebody love you)

You better let somebody love you

Before it’s too late

The final lyrics from The Eagles’ signature song Desperado.

I was not able to receive a disability pension or public support (Love). It was too late.

Disability pension funded by donations

The state has no human hearts; It can’t provide loving support to the mentally disabled.

Instead, I’ve started to accept donations from warm-hearted people. That will replace the disability pension or public financial support. These supports will surely open up my opportunities and facilitate my reintegration into society.

That’s the goal of my recurring donation system, in other words, Private Disability Pension System funded by donations.

Hand-to-mouth life. Eagerly I wanna escape from this hopeless life right away.

Aside from being now-now, I’d like to dream about tomorrow and the future.

This is not just my wish. It’s also the wish of all the mentally disabled living alone who can no longer receive disability pensions due to the new inhuman grading guidelines.

But, it’s also a foolish dream.

Since I know very well that there is no culture of donation in Japan.

How to donate

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Victims of this unfair society

To tell the truth, I had used the PayPal Donation service for about four years until shikin-kessai-ni-kansuru-horitsu (Payment Services Act) was enacted in 2010.

But, there were no donations at all. I think It was mainly due to the poor contents on my site. But, this bitter experience made me painfully aware that Japanese people really don’t donate at all.

There are a few cases where Japanese donate voluntarily. They tend to donate more, when incidents occur that are beyond the control of people, such as natural disasters.

However, Japanese generally have strong feelings of resistance toward donations. It might be similar to the feelings that Westerners have toward wearing face masks.

I know it very well. And I feel it’s a very reckless plan to ask Japanese people for donations.

But looking at reality, there are so many mentally disabled people living alone who are starving to death right now. Furthermore, the mentally disabled have the highest percentage of those living alone.

The root cause of our difficulties is that the inhumane new grading guidelines came into effect in September 2016.

The law reform action was so sneaky that no patients could do anything about. But the changes were huge. Such despicable things happen so commonly that no matter how much the mentally disabled unite to make collective protests, this unfair society will never change.

That’s why we seriously need people-to-person support or private support. Disability pension funded by donations.

Small donations are welcome. I hope you will join in this program.

• Wages are 60,000 yen (about $565) lower than the physically disabled
• The mentally disabled living alone will never receive a disability pension of at least 50,000 yen (about $470) per month
• The mentally disabled have the highest percentage of those living alone
• We have to pay the house rent every month

There is an economic disparity of at least 110,000 yen (about $1,050) compared to the physically disabled.

The mentally disabled living alone will starve without support from others.

Please bless those sufferers with the Love of donation.