Majority of people in Japan with disabilities, illnesses have trouble working: survey
Photo credit: Government News
- Xinhua
- July 9, 2019 10:25 AM
TOKYO-- A Japanese labor ministry survey released Tuesday showed that the majority of people suffering with disabilities or illnesses here have trouble working with their impairments or trying to balance their professional lives with ongoing treatment.
According to the 2018 white paper on labor and welfare, 66.3 percent of people with illnesses or disabilities surveyed said that working with their disability was difficult or maintaining the balance between work and treatment was a struggle.
The survey also revealed that 84.5 percent of those who responded said they wanted to work or continue working. Of the 268 respondents who were not currently working, 64.2 percent of them said they did want to work.
A lack of physical strength was cited by 50.6 percent of respondents as to why they think they cannot work or cannot continue working, while 36.9 percent of those polled said they couldn't work or keep working due to not enough flexibility in terms of working hours and time off.
As for gaining the support or understanding from their superiors and coworkers, 30.3 percent of respondents mentioned difficulties in doing so.
The labor ministry said it will step up its efforts to support companies that proactively help people to keep working despite having disabilities or illnesses.
Of the 1,000 people who responded to the labor ministry's survey, 664 were in employment, 268 were not working and 68 were away from work on leave.
The survey was conducted last February by the labor ministry and polled 1,000 people with illnesses or disabilities in Japan who were aged between 20 and 64 years old.
