Jun 05 (Kyodo) - A western Japan city initially excluded people with no bank account from the blanket cash handout program as part of the central government's coronavirus response on the assumption that most such citizens belong to organized crime groups.
The Kochi city government's handling in May of the across-the-board handouts may have deprived homeless people and recipients of welfare payments who do not have identity documents needed to open accounts of receiving 100,000 yen ($920) per person, their supporters said.
The local authorities opened a special counter last month for impoverished people so they can receive the money earlier than others. But they did not prepare a space on the application form about how to receive the cash other than bank transfer.
They told Kyodo News three times between May and June that their reasoning was most such people are members of anti-social organizations such as organized crime syndicates.
"(The Kochi city government) did not give a helping hand to the most-strained people," said Kiyomu Tanaka, a professor at the University of Kochi versed in community-based welfare.
If the payments for them will be delayed because of lack of bank accounts, the city government's attempt to deliver the cash to needy citizens earlier becomes pointless, said Tanaka, who also heads a local civic group supporting homeless people.
The municipal authorities are scheduled to mail application forms to all households in the city on June 11, having now included a space for those who do not have bank accounts.
