The Japanese government has approved a bill to boost the safety of shelters for the needy following a slew of deadly fires at such facilities across the country. The government aims to have the bill enacted in the current Diet session and bolster fire protection measures at the shelters, such…
The Japanese government has approved a bill to boost the safety of shelters for the needy following a slew of deadly fires at such facilities across the country.
The government aims to have the bill enacted in the current Diet session and bolster fire protection measures at the shelters, such as the securing of evacuation routes, from fiscal 2020.
The move followed a blaze in late January in Sapporo, Hokkaido, which killed 11 people at a decrepit lodging facility that housed impoverished elderly and disabled people.
Similar incidents occurred at an apartment accommodating the needy and mentally disabled in Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan last August, where five were killed, and at a lodging facility housing elderly welfare recipients in Kawasaki near Tokyo in May 2015, resulting in 11 deaths.
Free or low-cost accommodations run by nonprofit organizations are offering services for many old or sick welfare recipients who are often denied renting rooms operated by private companies due to fear of rent arrears.
But critics have pointed out poor safety conditions at such facilities that are often made up of a cluster of small rooms.
