YOKOHAMA -- The Kanagawa Prefectural Government on Dec. 10 criticized a prefectural facility for the intellectually disabled for its "mechanical" response to the family of a man in his 40s on the waiting list to enter the institution, who was allegedly later murdered by his father.

The man reportedly had a severe behavioral disorder, and it has emerged that ahead of the incident, the man's father had repeatedly complained to the facility, Nakai Yamayuri-en, that he was at his limit. In an interim report probing the state of support for this family, the prefectural government pointed out that the facility's "mechanical response drove the family into a corner."

The fatal incident occurred on July 4 in Chosei, Chiba Prefecture, where the man and his father had moved from Kanagawa Prefecture, and the father has since been indicted for murder. Right up until before the incident, the man had been on the waiting list to enter Nakai Yamayuri-en, located in the Kanagawa Prefecture town of Nakai, on a long-term basis. A team of experts began reviewing the situation in August.

According to the interim report, the father and son had lived in the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Odawara. The man had been visiting Nakai Yamayuri-en since 1998, but this mainly consisted of short-term stays, and his father looked after him most of the time at home.

At the facility, a mark suggesting the man had been choked was found on his neck. Upon receiving the report, an Odawara city official confirmed the situation with the father, who admitted, "I eventually just did it," but this was not recognized as a serious case of abuse. Even after this, the father sometimes hit his son after becoming exhausted from dealing with him.

In October 2020, when short-term stays at the facility were suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, the father applied to have his son stay there on a long-term basis. Around that time, he repeatedly approached the facility to seek long-term placement, saying, "I can't hold out mentally," and, "I'm approaching my limit." The facility, however, stopped receiving users in April 2022 after it emerged that staff had been abusing residents. After his son used the facility on a short-term basis in May 2024, he and his father moved.

The prefectural government's interim report stated that the family had lost hope after being driven into a corner from the mechanical response to their requests for long-term placement and that "the organization was unable to respond to this as an important issue that could foreseeably be life-threatening." It also stated that its collaboration with support organizations was insufficient. The team of experts plans to further check the status of use of the service after the family moved, and compile a final report.

Nearly 50% report 'workplace harassment' in staff survey

In a survey of staff at Nakai Yamayuri-en after abuse of users by staff was uncovered, close to 50% responded that they were worried about harassment in the workplace. The prefectural government announced this finding in a prefectural assembly standing committee meeting on Dec. 10. The prefectural government has launched an investigation into the state of the harassment.

The survey was conducted between Aug. 15 and 28 on all 187 employees, and responses were obtained from 122 of them.

In the survey, when employees were asked if they wanted to continue working there after the transition to a local incorporated administrative agency, planned for fiscal 2026, 74 said they wanted to work somewhere else. The most common reason for this was "I don't find the work rewarding or appealing," cited by 38 workers. The next most common reason, selected by 33, was "The workplace environment and personal relationships aren't good."

When asked what they were worried about at work, 56 respondents picked harassment. Specific opinions included, "Executives and advisers take attitudes that lack compassion and consideration," and, "I am sharply rebuked at meetings."

Nakai Yamayuri-en brought in external advisers in fiscal 2022 to improve support for users. The prefectural government stated, "We take this seriously, and will quickly move ahead with addressing the issues."

(Japanese original by Masashi Yomogida, Yokohama Bureau)