System of Certification for Persons with Disabilities

Number of certificates issued (thousand)	Verification provisions	Responsible entities	Application desk
Physical disability certificate	5,109	Article 15 of the Act on Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons	Prefectural governors Mayors of designated cities, Mayors of core cities,	Directors of welfare offices that administers place of residence (or mayors of towns and villages in the case a town or a village has no welfare office)
Medical rehabilitation handbook	832	Medical rehabilitation handbook system (Notification No.156 from Children and Families Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1973)	Prefectural governors Mayors of designated cities	Directors of welfare offices that administers place of residence (or mayors of towns and villages in the case a town or a village has no welfare office)
Mental disability certificate	595 (The number registered in the benefit payment book as of the end of fiscal years deducted by the number expired)	Article 45 of Act on Mental Health and Welfare for the Mentally Disabled	Prefectural governors Mayors of designated cities	Mayors of municipalities that administers place of residence

Source: “Report on Social Welfare Administration and Services FY2010” for the number of physical disability certificates and that of medical rehabilitation handbooks, and

“Report on Public Health Administration and Services FY2010” for the number of mental disability certificates issued.

(Note) The figures exclude the following due to the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake:

• Municipalities of Fukushima Prefecture apart from Koriyama City and Iwaki City for the figures for physical disability certificates

• All municipalities of Fukushima Prefecture for the figures for medical rehabilitation handbooks

• Municipalities of Miyagi Prefecture apart from Sendai City for the figures for mental disability certificates

Detailed Data

Number of Persons with Disabilities (estimate)

Total	Persons living at home	Persons accommodated in facilities
Children/adults with physical disabilities	Younger than 18	98,000	93,000	5,000
18 or older	3,564,000	3,483,000	81,000
Total	3,663,000 (29)	3,576,000 (28)	87,000 (1)
Children/adults with mental retardation	Younger than 18	125,000	117,000	8,000
18 or older	410,000	290,000	120,000
Unknown age	12,000	12,000	0
Total	547,000 (4)	419,000 (3)	128,000 (1)

Total	Outpatient	Inpatient
Persons with mental disorders	Younger than 20	178,000	174,000	4,000
20 or older	3,054,000	2,725,000	329,000
Unknown age	6,000	5,000	1,000
Total	3,233,000 (25)	2,900,000 (23)	333,000 (3)

Source:

“Persons with physical disabilities”

Persons living at home: “Survey on persons with physical disability” (2006), MHLW

Persons accommodated in facilities: “Survey of Social Welfare Institutions” (2006), MHLW, etc.

“Persons with mental retardation”

Persons living at home: “Survey on persons with intellectual disability” (2005), MHLW

Persons accommodated in facilities: “Survey of Social Welfare Institutions” (2005), MHLW “Persons with mental disorders”

Outpatients: Dept. of Health and Welfare for Persons with Disabilities, Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau, MHLW based on the "Patient Survey" (2008), MHLW

Inpatients: Dept. of Health and Welfare for Persons with Disabilities, Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau, MHLW based on the "Patient Survey" (2008), MHLW

(Note) 1. The figures in parentheses indicate the number of persons per population of 1,000 (base on 2005 Population Census).

2. The number of persons with mental disorders is calculated by adding the number of epilepsy and Alzheimer patients to the number of patients of “V Mental and behavioural disorders” of ICD-10 with mental retardation excluded.

In addition, the number for each age group is rounded, thus the sum of breakdowns may not equal the total.

3. The number of persons with physical disabilities who are accommodated in facilities do not include those accommodated in facilities for the elderly.

4. The number of persons is rounded, thus the sum of breakdowns may not equal the total.