Fukuoka launches employment support program for people with disabilities — The Japan Times
Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan has launched a program under which human resources department representatives from companies visit businesses with successful practices for employing people with disabilities. The initiative is intended to help businesses create conditions in which employees can realize their abilities and remain in their jobs longer, The Japan Times reports.
The program began this year. In July, Japan raised the legally mandated employment quota for people with disabilities at private companies from 2.5% to 2.7% of total staff. Participants visit two model companies and then receive consultations twice from specialists at employment support organizations. A total of 10 such cycles involving 20 businesses are planned. Visits to four companies have already taken place.
Trial Benefits practice
One of the businesses hosting program participants was Trial Benefits, a special subsidiary of discount store chain operator Trial Holdings in the city of Fukuoka. In July, it was visited by HR staff from six companies with offices in the prefecture.
Trial Benefits employs about 40 people with disabilities who perform administrative tasks, including in accounting and labor administration. Across the entire Trial Holdings group, more than 900 such employees are employed, including staff at stores and a recycling center where collected cardboard is compressed. As of June, the employment rate for people with disabilities in the group was 2.8%.
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The company involves employment support organizations in selecting candidates, offers job seekers an opportunity to visit the workplace and complete a two-week trial. An interview is conducted after the employer assesses the candidate's characteristics and abilities. Work instructions are given to employees by one designated person, while a representative of the administrative unit holds an individual 30-minute meeting with each employee every two months.
Prefecture indicators
As of June 2025, the average employment rate for people with disabilities at companies in Fukuoka Prefecture was 2.42%. Fewer than half of businesses subject to the requirement met the quota, while nearly 30% employed no people with disabilities.
Through Hello Work employment centers, 5,736 people with disabilities found jobs in fiscal 2025. At the same time, the number of such employees in the prefecture increased by about 900 people compared with the previous year, although direct comparison is complicated by the counting methodology: part-time employees are counted as 0.5 of an employee.
Companies that do not meet the 2.7% quota must pay 50,000 yen each month for every employee they fall short of the established target. Businesses that exceed the standard may receive subsidies. One manufacturer that took part in the July visit pays 2.4 million yen annually under this system.
