OSAKA (TR) – Kizuna Holdings, an Osaka City-based welfare enterprise operator, has been stripped of its licenses after fraudulently receiving roughly 15 billion yen in authorities subsidies by way of an employment scheme that exploited disabled people, stories the Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 28).
On March 27, the Osaka City revoked the designations of 4 “Type A continuous employment support” amenities operated by Kizuna Holdings (Kizuna HD) after uncovering the huge fraud. The metropolis is at present demanding the return of about 11 billion yen.
At the middle of the scandal is a scheme the corporate referred to as the “36-Month Project.” Starting in 2020, Kizuna HD employed disabled facility customers as operational workers, solely to dismiss them after six months so they’d revert to common “user” standing. They have been then repeatedly employed and fired in a cycle designed to artificially inflate “employment retention” figures and rake in large authorities payouts.
“We cannot evaluate their system as one built to support employment retention,” Shinichi Inoue, Director of town’s Operations Guidance Division, instructed reporters on Friday.
Audit
During an audit launched in August final yr, metropolis officers additionally uncovered the truth of the corporate’s touted “online employment” system. Investigators gathered testimonies revealing that many distant customers have been merely “watching videos at home.”
As the audit progressed, the corporate scrambled to cowl its tracks. Management abruptly ended the distant work possibility, ordering all customers to commute to the bodily places of work. The sudden change led to extreme overcrowding — with traces spilling out of restrooms — and induced immense misery among the many disabled employees.
One lady in her 20s, who joined the power as a result of distant work accommodated her adjustment dysfunction, developed a sleep problem as a result of stress of the sudden commute. “I just wanted to rebuild my life and reintegrate into society,” she lamented.
The scenario worsened after media stories uncovered the suspected fraud in November. In February, the amenities abruptly switched their work assignments to “cleaning only” below the pretext of defending jobs. Workers who had beforehand achieved information entry or artwork creation have been pressured into bodily labor.
“I was told it was ‘cleaning or nothing,’ even though I suffer from dizziness and physical labor is difficult,” one consumer reported to an area labor union.
“Grab subsidy money”
The founding father of Kizuna HD stepped down as director in December 2024. In a 2021 ebook, he claimed the corporate’s mission was to assist disabled folks “shine” by treating their traits as “talents.” However, former workers instructed reporters the undertaking was nothing greater than a “business designed to grab subsidy money.”
City officers additionally famous that the amenities routinely violated welfare legal guidelines by exceeding their 20-person capability limits and illegally leaking customers’ private data to the guardian firm.
Following the revocation of their licenses, Kizuna HD held a briefing for customers and workers on March 27, abruptly asserting that every one amenities will likely be shuttered by the tip of April.
The sudden closure has sparked panic among the many 334 disabled customers and 1,006 operational workers at present registered on the amenities.
“I was suddenly told about the closure. I am panicking about where to go next,” a feminine consumer in her 30s stated.
To mitigate the fallout, town and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have established session desks to help the disabled people who’re all of a sudden shedding their help networks and incomes.