A group of disabled people and members of citizens' groups supporting them petitioned the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday to withdraw its plan to cut financial assistance to people with heavy disabilities.
The metro government revealed in early July that it would re-examine the level of monthly assistance it has granted to those officially recognized as severely disabled. The aid, launched in 1973 under Gov. Ryokichi Minobe's welfare programs, is currently set at around 60,000 yen per month. Currently, 10,000 people in Tokyo receive such assistance.
Metro officials said that amid Tokyo's current financial difficulties, direct assistance now granted to those with heavy mental and physical disabilities, the aged and one-parent households has became a heavy burden on its coffers.