Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto

Efforts are underway in Kumamoto Prefecture to provide children with developmental and intellectual disabilities with places to stay during the day and relieve stress, after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern Japan prefecture late last month. At Asobi Studio Uki, an after-school daycare service facility in the city of Uki, the voices of elementary and junior high school students echoed through the building Friday. Some children relaxed by lying on balance balls, while others had their hair tied by staff members. During a game of team ball-toss, a boy on the losing team asked a staff member for another round. Episode notes: ‘Children with Disabilities Offered Places to Feel at Ease in Quake-Hit Kumamoto’: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2026/08/10/children-with-disabilities-offered-places-to-feel-at-ease-in-quake-hit-kumamoto/