Japan under fire for lying about hiring people with disabilities

Officials have allegedly been padding data to escape a penalty

BY Nurhuda Syed 23 Aug 2018

Several ministries in Japan have allegedly been lying about the number of employees with disabilities on their staff to meet a legal quota and escape a penalty.

The country is launching a nationwide probe following claims by local media last week about the cheating scandal. If found guilty of manipulating hiring data, the actual figures may mean the government is in violation of the law.

One media report singled out the land and internal affairs ministries for padding hiring data but additional reports this week suggested similar cheating at other ministries and local governments.

Last year, Japan set a quota for the number of employees with disabilities in government ministries at a minimum of 2.3% of the staff, while the private sector had to meet a minimum of 2%.

Ministries subsequently reported that 2.49% of their staff were people with disabilities, according to AFP.

However, a recent report by NHK stated that out of the 6,000 government employees claimed to be people with disabilities, over 1,000 were not. This was discovered through government sources.

Another broadcaster, TV Asahi, claimed the figure was even higher – around 2,000.

Jiji Press agency also reported similar manipulation of the hiring data by several local governments.

Officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed they manipulated the data to meet the legal quota. Minister Seiko Noda was “extremely shocked” to hear about the scandal, even though exact figures have not been released.