The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a claim for disability benefits from a blind woman who changed her nationality from South Korean to Japanese in 1970, upholding lower court rulings that Osaka's refusal to pay her a pension was constitutional.
Presiding Judge Masamichi Okuda turned down the suit filed by Hide Shiomi, a 66-year-old masseuse from Osaka, seeking the revocation of the Osaka Prefectural Government's decision that she does not legally qualify for a disability pension.
"Whether to provide a pension (to her) should be left to the discretion of the legislature. A high court ruling that found the treatment constitutional is just and should be upheld," Okuda said.