Monday, June 4, 2012

Here's some more of what Hashimoto has to offer...

Today I received my monthly newsletter from Deaf Support Osaka. In it was a recap of a major news story, at least for so-called disabled people, in Osaka. Here is the English version which was reported in The Mainichi, May 7, 2012 (can't seem to find any other English reporting in other sources...):

 Draft ordinance criticized for blaming developmental disorders on lack of parental love 

A draft ordinance mulled by a group of city councilors here has come under fire for attributing developmental disorders to a lack of parental love. 

 The group -- members of the Osaka Municipal Assembly who belong to the Osaka Restoration Association (Osaka Ishin no Kai) headed by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto -- is planning to propose the draft called the "home education support ordinance." 

The proposed ordinance links juvenile delinquency and child abuse by parents to development disorders, and blames a lack of parental love for such disorders. However, doctors and parents have voiced strong opposition to the proposed ordinance, saying it is groundless and would increase prejudice. 

On May 7, 13 groups of parents and guardians who raise children with development disorders visited the Osaka Municipal Assembly and demanded the draft not be proposed. In response, the municipal assembly members' group has decided not to submit the draft to this month's municipal assembly meeting. 

The planned ordinance was unveiled by the city councilors' group on May 1, with the aim of raising parents' awareness as guardians and enhancing support for home education amid a series of child abuse cases. 

The draft ordinance has five chapters and 23 articles, including "support for parenthood education" and "prevention of development disorders and abuse." 

The draft ordinance, however, attributes development disorders to a lack of attachment formation during infancy and maintains that such disorders can be prevented by traditional child-rearing. 

Satoshi Takada, professor at Kobe University graduate school, criticized the proposed ordinance, saying, "The assertions that development disorders can be prevented by traditional child-rearing and the expressions that attribute such disorders to the parents' way of child-raising are groundless from a medical point of view and could lead to prejudice against children and their families." 

A 45-year-old mother in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, whose 16-year-old son has pervasive development disorder, was critical of the proposed ordinance. 

"I was hurt because the ordinance appeared to be blaming me for my son's development disorder. While I'd appreciated recent legal improvements and deepened public understanding of development disorders, I'm too angry for words," she said. 

The 13 groups of parents that visited the Osaka Municipal Assembly -- including "Osaka Jiheisho Kyokai" (Association of autism in Osaka) and "Osaka LD Oya no kai Otafuku-kai (Association of parents of children with learning disabilities in Osaka) -- criticized the planned ordinance as "based on logic that is academically groundless," demanding its withdrawal and the holding of study meetings inviting concerned groups and experts. 

Protests against the proposed ordinance have also prevailed on Twitter since May 1, with comments saying, "Is my child a failure?" and "It's bogus science." 

Mayor Hashimoto revealed on May 7 that he demanded the city councilors' group review the controversial ordinance plan. "The proposed ordinance is tantamount to declaring to mothers of children with development disorders that they are lacking in affection for their children," he told assembled media representatives. 

Link: http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120507p2a00m0na013000c.html

Link (in Japanese): http://mainichi.jp/area/news/20120508ddn041010026000c.html

Oh there is so much going wrong with this guy...

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